EPILOGUE
Stardate: 53808.2 (22 October 2376)
USS Thunderchild, Admiral Ross’ Office
Alpha Quadrant
“So they neutralized their own agent?” questioned the bulky Admiral Boral.
Ross nodded somberly, “That’s what my contact in the organization told me.”
“I don’t know about this, Bill,” the Andorian commented. “I understand drastic times call for drastic measures…but attempting to kill an entire crew.” He shook his head, “They’re getting out of hand.”
“They know what their doing,” the human reassured his peer, though he didn’t feel the confidence that his voice indicated.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Boral countered, “Satie is now a shoe in. The failed assassination only served to get her more supporters.”
William Ross averted his eyes for a moment.
Boral continued over sub-space. “Satie is talking about stopping starship production for gods’ sake.”
Ross felt obligated to defend Section 31. “They’ve treated us right, Boral. Just think of what shape the Federation would be in without 31? They forced the Founder’s hand when they infected the changelings. That alone saved countless lives.” He continued, “We wouldn’t have the interphasing cloak, we wouldn’t have the wormhole in the Molari Badlands…hell, if Praxis hadn’t exploded, the Klingons wouldn’t have been subordinate to us for the last century.” He leaned closer to the monitor, “We owe 31 a lot. Let’s not abandon them so easy.”
The Andorian’s antennae fidgeted. He leaned back, “Alright, Bill. Point taken, but what are they going to do now?”
Ross sighed, “They’re going to prepare, slowly and methodically; so next time they don’t fail.”
*****
Stardate: 53818.6 (26 October 2376)
Steamrunner Class, USS Independence (Formerly the USS Jaap Penraat)
Docked with Starbase 371
The Steamrunner-class ship had been out of commission for months. It was being repaired from an encounter with Lethean raiders in the Hekaras Corridor. Most of her former crew were transferred off to serve on active vessels. Starfleet’s ranks were still too thin to have an entire crew sitting at dry dock.
She was now orbiting Starbase 371. A crew worked on her hull in preparation for the re-christening.
*****
Captain Aurelia sat in her new ready room. She was pleased to see it was larger than her last one. She read the history of the Jaap Penraat. The ship’s first engagement was back in 2353, when Sintina was 13. The Steamrunner unsuccessfully defended a Starbase against the Tholians. She made first contact with the Mordanites and the Kressari. Then, she served in the Cardassian-Federation War, the 2nd Federation-Tzenkethi War, and patrolled along the Tzenkethi boarder during the Dominion War. The more she read, the more she regretted renaming the vessel.
A chime interrupted her research, “Come.”
Lieutenant Commander Ethan Windslow entered.
“What do you need, XO?” Aurelia questioned.
He laid a padd on her desk, adding to the pile. The captain read it and then, lowered it in disbelief, “You’re requesting a transfer back to the engineering division?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Why?” she asked. Aurelia was immediately amazed by her response. A few months ago, she would’ve packed his bags for him.
He sucked up some air in preparation for his answer, “I’m an engineer, Captain. I’m good at it. I’m not so good at command. Everyone knows that.” He took a seat and continued, “And beyond that, I’ve nearly lost my family…twice now. Once it was my fault. I still haven’t been able to spend as much time with them as I’d like. In fact, we are just now beginning to feel like a family again.”
She tilted her head, “Well, gotta respect that.” Sintina grinned suddenly and rummaged around the various padds on her desk. She found the one she was looking for and tossed it at Ethan. “I’ll need a good engineer. Interested?”
“You’re kidding?” Windslow blurted. “This is your big chance to get rid of me.”
Once more, Aurelia ate crow. “I ah…I’ve recently realized that I’m not as good of a captain as I try to portray myself as.” She made eye contact, “I think I’d be wise to have someone else with command experience on board.”
Ethan was astonished. He had never seen Aurelia so…so humble. Windslow considered. He probably wouldn’t be getting any better offers. He had already talked to his former CO at Utopia Planitia. There were no current openings. Ethan rubbed his red and silver goatee and said, “I’d have to talk to my family first, ma’am.”
She curtsied, “I understand.”
“You’ll have my answer first thing tomorrow.”
“Good,” she gestured to the pile of data cards. “If there’s nothing more, I need to get back to work.”
Ethan smiled, “Well officially, I’m still your exec and I have a recommendation for promotion...” he handed her yet another document. “…to first officer.”
She read it, leaned back and grinned, “We’re totally in agreement.”
*****
Stardate: 53824.2 (28 October 2376)
USS Independence, Captain’s Ready Room
Docked with Starbase 371
Lieutenant Commander Karim bin Nadal entered the office, sporting a red, command division undershirt. He stopped short of the desk, “You wanted to see me, ma’am?”
“Sorry, I couldn’t get you your third pip,” Aurelia started.
Karim dismissed it, “I’m not worried about it.”
She moved on to the real reason she sent for him, “I’ve got our new marching orders. We’re taking D’nas home to Tama.”
“Us personally?” he questioned. “It will take us three months just to get there.”
“Yeap,” she confirmed.
“Why us?”
“The orders don’t explain exactly,” she coolly stated. “But I can only guess that our friends want us out of the core systems for awhile.”
Bin Nadal began to nod, “I guess that makes sense. Get the spotlight off us.”
Sintina only grumbled.
He decided to change the subject slightly, “I’d like to put Jinal in for the Starfleet Medal of Honor.”
“I don’t know if it’ll go through, considering the official findings.” She crossed her arms, “but I’ll put it in anyway.”
The new XO curtsied, began to exit, but then turned back, “I’m glad to hear that you’re on board with Uhura’s group, Sintina.”
Captain Aurelia’s demeanor instantly changed. She became stone. She looked up with fierce resolve. “I really don’t care about this little covert war of hers. Uhura and Nechayev could prove to be just as bad as 31. They only difference I can see is, Uhura’s group never tried to kill us.” She leaned back, “In fact, they could be playing me right now, just like Section 31 was.” She finished with, “But right now, I don’t give a damn, because their enemy happens to be my enemy.”
Nothing more needed to be said. Bin Nadal silently gave a look of acknowledgement, and exited the ready room.
*****
Captain Aurelia entered the large doors to upper engineering on deck 6. She walked around unnoticed for sometime as engineers scurried about. Eventually, she found Commander Windslow. Even, when he was her first officer, he often found excuses to be in engineering. Most of the crew were new and didn’t know about his history. A part of her hoped the handful of people that came over from the Courgeous-class would keep their mouth shut.
Windslow seemed to be at home. This truly was his calling, she accepted. Sintina couldn’t help but be a little jealous.
Finally, the new chief engineer saw her, walked over, and asked, “What can I do for you, Captain?”
She jumped right in, “I want the Section 31 override program eliminated.”
Ethan’s eyes widened, “Well, that might take awhile.” He added, “Assuming, it can be done at all.”
His answer didn’t deter her, “As chief engineer, make it your top priority.”
“Yes ma’am,” he responded. He knew better than to argue further.
Sintina got a bit closer, “And see if you can disable the prefix code while you’re at it.”
A grin formed on his face. Aurelia was not a fan of the safety measure. He said satirically, “You know that’s against the regs.”
Aurelia raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. As she turned to leave, she offered, “I’d like to be the master of my own vessel from now on.”
Windslow turned to gaze at his new engine. He mused to himself, “What the hell…maybe I could be the oldest ensign in the fleet.”
*****
Stardate: 53838.1 (2 November 2376)
USS Independence, Deck 5
In the Betazed Sector (En-route to Tama)
The unique ‘single-hull’ of the Steamrunner-class Independence glided through subspace. They had been underway for a couple of days now.
*****
It was somewhat of a tradition aboard Starfleet vessels to name the main lounge area. Some ships referred to it according to its location, like “Ten-forward”; others preferred a more original name, like the “Afterburner.” It had taken Sintina nine months to officially label the lounge on her last ship. And it was simply “The Game Room.” Besides, she thought it best to let the crew come up with a designation. It was not something the captain had any business deciding. To that end, she made a ship wide announcement once they launched to have the crew present her with the name once it was decided. She hoped it would give the new crew a chance to get to know each other better. The actual name of the lounge was irrelevant to her.
The chief of the ship, Senior Chief Petty Officer Hatora of J’bel, informed her that the crew was ready. He requested her and the other senior officers to come to the lounge at 1800 hours.
Sintina had been in the lounge before they left Starbase. It was quite large for a ship this size. It was situated one deck higher than the forward torpedo launchers, just above the ‘notch’ of the leading edge of the ship. She made a mental note of being in the lounge at least once while they fired one off. It would be quite a sight.
She met up with bin Nadal, and Kimula along the way. Neither said they offered any suggestions and weren’t involved in the decision. As a trio, they entered the large room. It was packed with people. Chief Hatora called out, “Captain on deck,” as she walked in. Everyone came to attention.
Captain Aurelia immediately ordered, “At ease.” She smiled as she noticed a table in one of the corners with a miniature landscape on it. She looked at her companions, “Did you guys have anything to do with this?”
Kimula replied, “Not me.”
Karim shook his head.
Sintina spoke up with a grin on her face, “I never want to hear ‘captain on deck’ being called out in this room again. From now on, when we’re in this room, the ranks are dropped, understood?”
A roaring, “Yes ma’am,” came from the crowd.
Again, she looked at bin Nadal, “I see you’ve already told them how I don’t like being called ‘sir.’”
He smirked.
The captain noticed a large black cloth over something hanging off the bulkhead. She assumed it was the new name. She gestured to it and said, “Speaking of this room, what’s it called?”
The Illyrian noncom’s skin was a light gray and he had two ridges on his forehead creating a “V” pattern. The chief walked over to the shroud. “Captain Aurelia, it is my honor to inform you of the crew’s decision.” He grabbed the edge of the cloth, “Henceforth, the main lounge on the USS Independence is to be called…” He pulled at the covering and it fell to the floor.
Kimula’s hands went to cover her mouth and nose. Bin Nadal stood a bit taller and nodded. Aurelia bit her lips in an attempt to hold back an unexpected tear.
The shroud revealed a large wooden plaque. Engraved in it was some vertical Vulcan script and next to that, in Federation standard, it read “Jinal’s.”
END OF “THE EXPROPRIATION”
She'll be introduced soon.
