Red is the New Teal

Posted on Tuesday, 11 May 2021 - 12:26pm by Captain Barret Stillwater & Lieutenant T'Lanna Vali

Mission: Operation: Neu Reich
Location: USS Standing Bear | Deck 01 | Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 8

One request for help out of the way T’Lanna made her way to Barret’s Office, she was going to need his help if she was going to succeed in her new duties. She had a lot to learn in a very short amount of time, and she had no doubt Stillwater was already miles ahead of her. As she arrived at the Office door she pressed the chime fidgeting with the collar of the new uniform she was wearing. It was going to take a while to get used to being in Red.

The doorway opened with Stillwater's authorization to do so, and he stood near his desk with a mug in hand. He gave the woman a quick look over. "Now that, is nice," he said with a small chuckle. "I have been so used to seeing you in the teal, lieutenant, but I must say command red is flattering to you. Be prepared though, once you put on command red, it is difficult to take it off."

T’Lanna offered an embarrassed smile. “It feels pretty odd to me at the moment Sir. I’m used to wearing medical teal not Command colours.”

"You will get used to it," Barret replied. "Think of it this way? Before you teetered in the realm of science and medicine, you saw people and you helped them, offered advice and sometimes you assisted me and the others in the meeting of species. Now? now, you are just doing more of the same. The uniform color may have changed, but the person wearing it has not. Just give it your all and be yourself. That's all Starfleet is asking of you in your 'new' position."

T’Lanna smiled. “You have a way of making people see sense Sir, thank you. So where would you like me to start?”

"We are set to rendevous with three starships and proceed to the M43 Alpha IV system, the star system that contains Ekos and Zeos," explained Captain Stillwater. "Petty Officer Baciami and Crewman Eberhardt appear to have been arrested by Ekosian authorities and are being held in an Ekosian prison," Barret added grimly. Ekos was not a Federation world. Non-Federation worlds had their own legal systems, laws, and often times capital punishment.

He took a deep breath. "You can start by digging into the history of Ekos and Zeos. I admittedly do not know too much about either except they have been warring for long before any of us were alive. The Federation has had brief encounters with these people, we are actually to blame for the escalation in violence. A Federation Historian and Anthropologist made an attempt to end the violence and bring together a fractured Ekos. He opted to use old early 20th century Germany to help them build a government quickly and swiftly. Unfortunately, they took hold of the darker notes of that era and it spread like wildfire."

T’Lanna nodded as she listened and took in what Stillwater was saying. “Are we talking Nazi Germany Sir?” T’Lanna looked at Barret concerrnedly. “Given Earth’s history in that respect, I dread to think how our people are being treated in prison!”

Stillwater nodded. "Yes, we are," he replied. "You may want to read the Captain's logs of James T. Kirk from 2268, the USS Enterprise had heavy involvement in trying to fix John Gill's work on Ekos. For a time it had potential to work." Barret shook his head. "That did not happen. The damned Klingons ventured far from their empire sometime around the 2290s and began supplying Ekosians and Zeons with weapons before they eventually withdrew. It just fueled the bloodthirst."

"The last time the Federation set foot on those planets officially was in 2357, the Federation attempted to and failed to broker peace between the Ekosians and Zeons. It resulted in the death of a starfleet officer, a lieutenant Freeman. It was clear that peace was not going to happen and the Federation did not want to lose any additional starfleet personnel. We withdrew after Freeman's death, and we have not returned since."

T’Lanna nodded. “So we’re walking into a fight based on one of the most tyrannical eras of Earth’s history. I hate to think what is going to face us when we get there.” She paused. “Do you really think we’ll stand a chance of getting Adrianna and Crewman Eberhardt?”

Barret groaned and shifted in his seat. "Intelligence was more of my strong suit than diplomacy, I was a strategist and tactically minded," he replied to the woman. "Command helped change me, though I have always been level-headed, still, diplomacy makes me uneasy. That is why I will not have the lead on this mission. Do we stand a chance? Not normally. The Federation is not seeking to violate its prime directive, but we are going to try to barter and bribe."

T’Lanna raised her eyebrows in typical Vulcan fashion at that comment. “Barter and bribe? That should be interesting. Exactly what do we plan to barter or bribe with?”

"Mining rights," Stillwater said with a scoff. "Sounds pretty mundane, right? The Federation wants to acquire mining rights from a moon rich in alloys and materials that are beneficial to starship construction. The moon is currently disputed between the Ekosians and Zeons. Neither species has the greatest economical situation. The Federation is willing to act as a middleman, in this case, we acquire the mining rights, Ekos and Zeos call a truce, and the Federation will sell some of what we mine to a third party in exchange for an agreed-upon currency that we will place into the Ekosian and Zeons economy."

T’Lanna nodded. “Interesting, so we just have to barter and bribe them into accepting it. May I ask who it is that’s leading the negotiations?”

Stillwater looked around his desk for the PaDD, it stood out from the others. It was not the normal Federation Starfleet grey, but one that was red. He picked it up and handed it over to T'Lanna. "Veruka Kitan," he said to the lieutenant. "Former Starfleet officer with impressive command history, a career diplomat. They pulled her away from her civilian life for this mission...sound familiar?" he added with a smirk referencing his own situation.

T’Lanna smiled and nodded. “Indeed it does. When does she arrive?”

"She does not, we do," replied Stillwater. "We have coordinates to reach, rendezvousing with those three starships. One of them is the USS Gillard, Kitan's old command. Her commission is being reactivated for this mission, and the Gillard will be her command."

“Interesting. Then I guess I have some work ahead of me.” T’Lanna offered a brief smile. “To be honest I wish I had my senses to rely on. They could give me the edge I need in these talks.”

Stillwater nodded. "They could, but you are as effective of an office without your skills as you are with them, perhaps even more so without them, because you will be determined to compensate."

T’Lanna nodded and smiled, “Thats true. I’ll admit I’m learning to cope with not having my senses to use. Commander Soral and Doctor Rose are helping me with my control issues.”

"You'll do fine," Barret said confidently. "Now, we are set to depart a bit prematurely. I had to sign off on a bunch of waivers basically saying the Starbase Commander and his engineering personnel are not responsible if the ship falls apart at high warp or is easily blown apart, but we are heading out sooner rather than later. It will take about a day to reach our rendevous coordinates. I'd suggest 'hitting the books' as soon as possible."

“I’ll do my best Sir” T’Lanna nodded. “Oh, and Sir, thank you for everything you’ve done to allow Jayce to stay aboard ship. If I’d have had to send him away he’d most likely have been with my father and ...” she let the sentence end itself. “I know this isn’t an ideal situation but at least I know my son is safe especially with everything that’s going on lately.”

"Given what has been happening on Earth, the Andorian attack on P'Jem, and the unrest on several worlds lately, I am beginning to suspect the safest place to be is aboard a starship or space station," he said shaking his head. "I never thought I would ever say such a thing, not after having served through the Dominion War."

T’Lanna nodded. “I’ve never been afraid to be Vulcan before, an Ex-B yes, but never afraid to be Vulcan at least not until now. Perhaps it’s the protective mother in me, but I’m scared by all this.”

Stillwater nodded. "T'Lanna, I am entirely Human and even I am terrified by all of this. The Federation is in a state...of disarray and decay. Our very moral fibers are being pulled apart. If we do not start fortifying who we are and what the Federation stands for, I do not know if it will survive as we've come to know it."

T’Lanna nodded. “You are all my family now, I don’t know what I’d do if we weren’t together.”

"Something somewhere doing something great no doubt."

T’Lanna smiled the biggest smile yet. “Thank you. I’ve no doubt you’d be back home with Talarn enjoying peace and quiet again.”

He was still aiming for that. "Yes, and that is where I plan to be when this is all over with."

T’Lanna nodded. “For what it’s worth Sir, When that time comes I for one miss you.”

"You are always welcome to stop by Prarie, T'Lanna, just don't bring the rest of Starfleet with you. When I say retired, I mean retired."

The Captain gave a nod to his new Foreign Area Officer, a woman he had served with for a year now. He trusted her, and he knew that no matter the obstacles ahead, Lieutenant Vali would do an admirable job. He had complete faith in her. As he watched her leave, he felt reassured that this was the right direction.

 

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