The New Sherriff in Town

Posted on Mon Jun 28th, 2021 @ 1:39pm by Captain Luka Mahone & Ensign Davna & Lieutenant JG Robert Zažeckis

1,672 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Frizzle
Location: Haumea, Shuttlepad
Timeline: MD 1 : 1843 Hrs

The journey from Earth to Haumea Colony was a haze. For much of it, Zaz had drugged himself to make the claustrophobia tolerable. Well, the doc at Starfleet medical who had prepped him had bristled at that terminology. Rather, he’d taken full advantage of the neural inhibitor they had prescribed to facilitate his journey. Still felt pretty much like being drugged though.

In fact, he wondered what anyone watching might think as he staggered out of the shuttle and administered a hypospray to counteract the effect. At least it didn’t take long before he felt his full faculties return. He moved to the side of the shuttlepad and dug out a PADD, calling up the local comm network. The journey here hadn’t been very productive, but before leaving he’d done some study of the base. Enough to get a sense of the layout here and the chain of command.

He sent a message to the Captain’s Yeoman notifying them that he’d landed and requesting an appointment when possible. Then he wandered toward the ground transport taking on supplies from the shuttle to see if he could hitch a ride to base.

It surprised him to find a single ops crewman assigned as driver for the transport. SOP for any expeditionary force he'd been a part of was paired at least - usually one of them being security, the other a mission specialist essentially. Of course he hadn't spent much time on permanent bases like this. He'd have to check the regs when he got a minute. On the plus side, that meant there was an open seat up front for the ride in.

He helped the crewman load up, enjoying a chance to move, to work his muscles some. Sitting around half-sedated on a series of shuttles and starships with no actual duties had been numbing of both body and mind. Not that his partner offered much to help sharpen his mind. Maybe it was some hesitance to say too much to security but, beyond recommending what sounded like some sort of fru-fru brewpub, he didn't have a lot to say about the colony. At least that posed limited distraction from taking in the scenery and breathing in the unique scent of a new planet.

The view approaching the base was more disturbing than he'd expected. He knew it'd been adapted from a crashed ship, but reading that and seeing the saucer there just lying on the ground was something else entirely. It looked wrong. Out of place. But this was home now. He checked in with the sentry and made his way up to the command complex.

With an arrival of a new Security Chief, Davna was aflutter with excitement. This meant there were fewer files for her to sift through and toss to the Captain, and many fewer complaints she would have to field to see who she was sending things off to. While Lieutenant Winslow's leave was not all that long ago, and Lieutenant Veaya's stint with Haumea buffered the short time period between, there was a vacuum that needed to be filled post-haste. Luckily, Robert's file had appeared within twenty four hours of the request being put in, and all they had to do was wait for the formality of him appearing on the colony itself.

So, when the man presented himself in front of the Orion yeoman, she bounced in her seat and offered a giant grin. "We're so glad you've made it, Sir," she stated pleasantly. "The Captain should be able to see you right away, if you'd like to shuffle on in."

Returning the Yeoman's grin, he said, "Well, I appreciate the warm welcome, Ensign," and stepped through the doorway to the Captain's office. Once there, he tucked his PADD under his arm and stood at attention, waiting for his new CO to acknowledge him.

That would not take long, as the Captain's four-legged distraction was sitting in the massive dog bed off in the corner of the office, taking a nice little nap. The Captain had not removed himself from his seat for the past ten hours, furiously typing away and coordinating people and resources. But, the work ceased as the door slid open, and Luka rose from his seat to offer the Lieutenant the chair that sat empty across from his desk. "Please, Lieutenant Zažeckis? It's been a long time coming, sit. I'm sure we've got quite a bit to discuss."

"Yes, Sir," Zaz nodded and took the offered chair. "I tried to go over what I could before heading out here, but it seemed like the files Command gave me weren't complete somehow. I'll go over what's in the Security system here, but I certainly did want to get a sense of your priorities for the department. Anything I need to keep my eye on right off the bat."

This was something Luka prepared for. From his desk, he pulled a PaDD that he slid across the table to Zaz. "There you should find everything your predecessor had filed. We had to have it transferred from paper and pen to these files, but the originals should also be in a file at your office should you want to take a look. This is more for our records." The Captain's cheeks pushed outward as he exhaled a breath. "There's a delicate balance here in regards to security. I'm sure you were informed that this was a joint venture for the Federation? Starfleet isn't here to do more than monitor and protect. Acting as police to the citizens of the colony is something that is expressly frowned upon on the general, and that's a balance I'd like to maintain, unless we need to step in for whatever reason. It hasn't been an issue thus far, but I want to make sure that that's clear."

"Pen and paper?" Zaz looked like he was straining to imagine something so quaint as keeping security records longhand in ink. "So, like a filing cabinet out of some old mystery movie? That'll be interesting to go through.

"Sure, there's a whole town out there. Steer clear of the civvies, I get that. Though our folks do mingle out there, yeah? Off-duty at least? Not to suggest Starfleet personnel would be anything but professional and polite, but they're our problem if there are any... misunderstandings. Has there been any trouble like that? Any particular spots I should worry about?"

"Mingle? Yes. I'm sure you'll get the tour from someone," Luka explained. "We all have our favorite spots. As for trouble? Also yes. We have not made the... most positive waves here. This building you're sitting in being the best example. I've just heard that this was supposed to be a plot for a farmland. And, since then, I've not seen an end to the formal complaints lodged. For the most part, we seem to be able to launch joint ventures in science and engineering endeavors, but if something were to happen... I'm not sure how the general populace would react to Starfleet Security in their presence. And we have our Marine contingent... that has seen some mixed reactions as well. As for where specifically? At this point? The Bray facilities. They're science-based, and while they're good-natured, I would rather not mess with their personal security teams. Not until we absolutely have to. They're adding more to the community and are not harmful, so I don't see the need to get in there and look around. Other than that, anywhere that seems to have a high presence of Federation civilian security."

Luka gave pause. "... We're here to keep the colony safe from outside threats, and any internal threats that may threaten the wellbeing of the people here. If the citizens need assistance, they tend to ask. Or I tend to make those calls myself. It's my job to direct the miscommunications and keep everyone smoothed over. All I ask is that we not make matters worse."

"Well, I'm not looking to 'mess' with anyone, but I was thinking I should reach out to the private security folks. Call it professional courtesy. Show them the respect of an introduction before anyone gets heated over anything that might force us to into a situation where we're faced with either working together or against each other." The security officer took a moment to chew over what he'd been told and added, "But you've made your point, sir. No stirring any pots or sticking our noses where they aren't invited. Make sure our folks stay in line and count on them to do the same."

"Introductions shouldn't hurt," Luka stated plainly. In truth, he was only vaguely aware of what the civilian leadership had set in place for peacekeeping and law enforcement. In the past, that was all up to security. "I'm sure there's a molehill somewhere that someone's called a mountain, but I aim to exercise caution. Just in case someone's called another mountain a molehill."

A chirrup broke through their conversation, and Luka had a hand on the comm on his desk. "Everything alright, Davna?"

=~'Yessir, just reminding you that you have Councilwoman Macae arriving soon.'~=

"Ah. Thank you, Davna." The Captain stood, attention returning to Zaz. "You'll definitely not want to be around for that. The civilian council only makes visits these days when they have something... urgent to bring up with me." He could only imagine what. Luka had a few ideas, especially with what had transpired over the past few days. But he was sure if it wasn't anything he could think of, there was something someone thought was important.

He held out his hand for a shake. "Regardless, it will be a pleasure working with you, Lieutenant. Hopefully you'll settle in fine here."

"I will leave you to that then," he said, rising to take the Captain's hand. "You'll get nothing but my best. And... maybe not so much in the way of handwritten reports."

RSS Feed