Autumn in Ganymede

Posted on Sun Oct 1st, 2023 @ 3:21am by Lieutenant Jin-soo Tae & Captain James Phoenix

2,168 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Untested
Location: Transporter Room 2, USS Horizon
Timeline: Day 1, 0945

Sol to Andoria in under twenty-four hours. Not exactly a record, but certainly faster than what would have been if she caught a ride by way of Yellowstone runabout. Instead, she found herself amongst the crew of the USS Monaghan. A cutting edge Odyssey-class, it had a comfortable cruising speed of warp 9.92, trivialising almost any distance between each Federation core worlds. It was by virtue of association she was able to catch this ride; a former colleague on the Anson had received a promotion to Chief Tactical Officer of the Monaghan. They met on Earth not too long ago by chance at a coffee shop, nostalgia for the past led to discussion of the three year interlude where neither laid eyes upon one another which eventually culminated in a confession of current affairs. That was when the offer came and she was more than happy to accept. The Monaghan was due for a retrofit at Andoria Prime Shipyard, the same exact place Jin-soo’s new posting on the Horizon was.

Around 0900 the Monaghan had arrived in the Andoria system, by 0930 she was cruising into the shipyard. A notice was sent out to the Horizon and by 0944 Jin-soo had said her farewells to the crew along with her acquaintance and was standing on the transporter ready to beam over. In a sudden flash of blue her silhouette disappeared from the Monaghan before rematerialising a few kilometres away on a near identical hexagonal platform as she was on before. She had with her a duffle bag in one hand and a PADD with her transfer orders in another, a pair of translucent aviators resting comfortable over the ridge of her nose. Her uniform was freshly replicated, the heat and scent still lingering even after a brief stint existing as dissociated particles. The definition of grooming standards, though perhaps not the glasses.

There was now roughly a few days before the Horizon's slated launch for her post-upgrade shakedown cruise and it was all hands on deck to get everything ready. James was on his way back from getting an update from Engineering around the time his new pilot was reporting aboard. So thus, for the second time, he made the decision to meet one of his new senior officers in the transporter room. Knowing that she was transferring he had made sure to read over the CFCO's file since she was the new pilot. He wanted to make sure that she was up to the task. In fairness, he knew she would be if Starfleet offered her a position on a Century class, but pilot's one one of the roles on a ship where they essentially have the responsibility of the entire crew. One of the reasons why he had high respect for them.

Soon enough he entered the transporter room and as he entered the room he noticed the woman materializing in. The Transporter Chief among seeing the Captain stood at attention.

"As you were Chief" he looked at the enlisted man before turning to his new Chief Flight Control Officer, who was wearing the typical Command Red uniform with two gold pips, indicating that she was a Lieutenant.

"Lieutenant Tae, I presume?" he began. "I'm Captain James Phoenix, ship's captain" he said before extending a hand to greet her.

Her expression cracked into a smile as she stepped down from the platform, her right hand tucking the PADD underneath her left so she may receive the Captain’s hand. She held it firmly, not too tightly and not too loosely, before giving it a squeeze and letting go.

“They say a picture can add ten years, I never believed that myself until now. Hello Captain, Lieutenant Tae Jin-soo reporting as ordered.”

Her hand returned to where the PADD was being temporarily held, before subsequently being retrieved and presented to her superior.

“My transfer orders, I believe that should conclude the necessary paperwork?”

Her head gave a subtle tilt to the right as both hands came to grasp the duffle bag now that the PADD was no longer in her possession. She was a head shorter than James, causing her to gaze up through her transparent shades. She didn’t mind, most had a few inches over her. The way she spoke gave a soft cadence of eagerness, but nothing more. Tender and refined, there were no doubts that she was a child of the Fleet, having grown in the presence of Commodores and Admirals.

James chuckled lightly at the picture adding ten years comment since in a way it felt like it described him. He then took a quick skim over it before looking up. "Everything looks right" he smiled. "Though I have read your file, if you don't mind I'd like to ask, is your mother Commodore Tae from Starfleet Intelligence?"

The question broke her cadence, but only for an unregistered second. Many had asked this question and while she preferred to keep such things lowkey, she knew eventually it would come up. Better to get it over with now than kick the can later down the road.

“As a matter of fact she is.” Jin-soo replied, her smile beginning to curl wider by miniscule millimetres whilst her heels bounced up by a single inch before falling flat on the deck. “I hope that won’t be a problem and no, before you ask, mother dearest did not write Admiral Clancy to get me this job.” The smile had grown into a grin at this point, finding humour if any at the discussion of familial circumstance.

James smiled. "It won't be an issue Lieutenant and to be honest, even if she did write the Admiral to land you this assignment, I have full confidence in your abilities as my Chief Helm Officer regardless of how you got this position" he said with complete honesty.

“A ringing endorsement on my very first day, I must have done something right.” She commented briefly before looking past the Captain for just a split second. “Well, since you’re here, mind showing me around this vessel?”

"Of course Lieutenant" James smiled. "Where would you like to go first?"

“Your choice,” She returned his smile, tilting her head to the other side as she waited eagerly for what comes next.

"Very well" he started towards the door. "How does the bridge sound, Lieutenant?"

"No objections here," Jin-soo replied as she followed after the Captain.

There was a little bit of silence in the corridor that they were walking in. It was nice since it meant the Horizon was nearing her shakedown and it was also a change of pace and scenery too. "So Lieutenant, what are your thoughts on the Horizon? Or the Century class in general?"

“State of the art deep-space explorer, what’s not to like?” Jin-soo replied as they walked down the sleek but rather elegant corridors of the Horizon. She opted to keep her answer short, finding words and perhaps enthusiasm lacking when the matter of discussing ship classes came up. Perhaps at one point she would have chewed the Captain’s ear off, obsessing over the minute differences between Century and Sovereign, but that girl has since retired to a distant recess within her mind. There were far more interesting things in her opinion than an increase in shield frequencies or how close one came towards the infinitesimal gain for warp 10.

“Pretty quiet,” She commented as her gaze panned around the halls after a short pause in silence. “I guess we're still lacking in requisite crew?”

"Unfortunately" he began. "When we took the Horizon for her upgrades most of the crew, including most of the senior staff received transfers or promotions. We're still rebuilding our crew and while we have enough to launch, we'll be launching with a near skeleton crew. Without an official XO as well, unless Starfleet can come through. We were supposed to get one but he got transferred almost as soon as he got here."

“Well, here's hoping they do,” Jin-soo said as she gave the Captain a soft but reassuring smile. All her past assignments had full compliments so working with a skeleton crew would most definitely be a new experience.

Eventually after a few more paces, they arrived at the turbolift entrance.

The two officers entered the turbolift. "Bridge" Phoenix called out as he turned to face the door. The lift began to move. After that, he turned his attention towards the Lieutenant. "Well, I have read your file Lieutenant, but if you don't mind, I'd like to hear about yourself, in your own words if that is alright to you?"

Jin-soo turned and leaned her back against the walls of the lift once inside, facing the Captain. “Icebreakers already?” She quipped, “I’m usually not a fan but I’ll indulge.”

“Where should I start, well, you obviously know everything there is to know about my mother.” She gave him a wry grin. “I assume you’ve read everything all the way back to SFA? Just so you know, I’m not a Hannie…” She paused for a moment, realising not everyone might see the reference.

“He’s a erm… guy from some old Earth movie that’s a bit psycho. I’m not that!” She reassured, her back straightening for a brief second. “You don’t have to worry about me flying the Horizon apart, not that I think she would. Heh.”

"I know I don't need to worry" he smiled. "Did you mean Han Solo?" he asked, connecting the dots to her reference.

Jin-soo's mind drew a blank as she stared back at the Captain, eyes blinking. "Whose that?" She asked flatly.

He realized that she didn't quite understand the reference. "He was a character from an old Earth movie franchise called Star Wars. He was one of the main protagonists and he was a damn fine pilot. If people are comparing you to Han Solo, then you must be a goddamn ace" he chuckled.

“Oh!” Jin-soo exclaimed before letting out a short laugh, “See I knew it was something related to old Earth, had a classmate obsessed with that kind of stuff. I always thought it was an insult for me being too reckless, but I guess they were just impressed.” Her shoulders gave a shrug as the turbolift arrived at the bridge.

He didn't say anything in response to that as the turbolift doors had opened to reveal the bridge. James motioned towards the opening. "After you Lieutenant."

She gave the Captain a nod before stepping onto the bridge, stopping at just the edge so she may take in the view of the bridge in its entirety. “Well she’s certainly something,” Jin-soo said as she turned her head to gaze back at James, a small smile painted across her expression, “Reminds me of my first posting, I assume the conn station is at the same place as a Sovereign's?”

"She certainly is" he smiled before looking around the bridge. "The conn should be the same as most of the Sovereigns" he began.

"The bridge also reminds me of my junior year cadet field assignment to the Enterprise E, as well as my time on the Washington E. Both are absolutely fine vessels."

“The Enterprise and the Washington? That’s quite the resume you have yourself Captain,” Jin-soo commented as she walked up next to the helm controls. They were near-identical to a Sovereign’s, from the seat to the console itself though she could notice some minor differences in structure; the Century was an upgrade after all. She decided to stand over the console rather than sit, sitting was probably best left for her time on duty. Her right hand did however extend to touch the console, causing the once black screen to light up in a show of coolish blue shades depicting a modern LCARS.

“I opted out of my cadet cruise to fly aerobatics during my junior year,” She finally said after a brief moment spent examining the console before turning back to face James. “I’m still not sure whether I regret it, but being on the Enterprise must have been quite the experience. Did you ever get to meet Admiral Picard?”

James smiled. "He was promoted the year before my cruise. But he did come aboard once for an inspection. I don't think any of us cadets attached to the Enterprise were ready" he chuckled. "But I was fortunate enough to meet Captain Worf."

“Now you’re really making me regret not taking that opportunity,” She smiled before walking slowly towards the centre of the bridge. “Well, this has certainly been a pleasure, thank you for indulging me but I think I should probably settle in before my shift.”

James returned the smile. "You are certainly welcome Lieutenant. If you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out to me or any other member of the command crew."

With one final nod, Jin-soo departed the bridge via the turbolift.

 

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