Aisling's Arrival

Posted on Thu Mar 6th, 2025 @ 6:28am by Commander Aisling Bangerjee & Captain James Phoenix

1,243 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Frozen Acquisition
Location: Captain's Ready Room

Aisling nodded politely at the security guard at the airlock, she regarded the Cardassian door and was suitably impressed by it's brutal looking functionality. Frankly she found all of DS9 to be an interesting place; Cardassian aesthetics were actually rather pleasant, especially adorned with Bajoran accoutrements.

The guard handed her the padd with her orders back and she said formally, "Permission to come aboard."

"Permission granted, Commander," the guard replied soberly, "Welcome to Sovereign."

"Thank you, crewman. I assume the bridge is more or less at the top of the ship?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Well," she muttered as she strode through the airlock, "That is unfortunate..."

Aisling exited the turbolift onto the bridge and took a long moment to admire it. Honestly if it were up to her she would have gotten rid of the central seats and replaced it with a massive holo tank, but her paper on redesigning the bridge went ignored. Likely her follow up paper, the one proposing the bridge be placed in the very center of the ship where it was safest, would likewise be ignored. She headed for the ready room and tapped the chime on the door frame...

James was in his ready room, standing around his desk. He'd been reviewing of crew reports, including the personnel file of his new first officer, Aisling Bangerjee. He only knew her from her file, but he wasn't complaining. He was just glad to have an XO aboard the Horizon after a decent period of time without one. The Captain set the XO's file on the desk before moving behind it and standing in front of his chair.

"Enter" James called out.

Aisling strode through the open doors and into the ready room-

And froze in mid stride.

Wow. Just...wow. That face, those arresting eyes. Aisling quickly looked away and allowed her own pale green eyes to scan the ready room, knowing she probably looked like some slack jawed moron or swooning cadet.

Damn, she thought, I really do need to start dating again. Maybe Mother had a point.

"Commander Banerjee, reporting for duty, Captain," She finally said, "Ah...nice office." Great. Now the Captain think's Starfleet sent a mentally deficient officer...

James watched her freeze for a moment before she said the usual words folks used for reporting in. Perhaps she was nervous? Nothing wrong with that. Hell, he would be too if he were reporting into a new ship as a first officer. Who wouldn't?

"Rest easy Commander" Phoenix gave a short, professional smile before extending a hand. "Welcome aboard the Horizon."

Please don't let my palm be sweaty, Aisling thought as she accept the handshake. Nice hands-

Stop that!

"It's a pleasure, sir," She replied, "I am greatly looking forward to the assignment and this opportunity."

She let his hand go and waited, staring up at him. It was difficult sometimes, having been born into a race of comparative giants...

"The pleasure is mine Commander. We're glad to have you aboard" he motioned to the seat in front of his desk. "Please, feel free to take a seat."

Aisling nodded and waited until the Captain himself was seated before she took her own. She crossed her legs, then uncrossed them. Why was she so nervous? She got the job. hadn't she? She kept her mouth shut and waited to see what the Captain had to say.

James noticed the Commander fidget slightly. He didn't blame her for being nervous. "I hope your transfer went well?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Ah, well, I was subjected to an enforced ten days leave," Aisling replied, "It was a...difficult adjustment. I am not used to so much free time. My last day was spent on Bajor, where..."

Aisling paused, realized that talking about that incident might put the Captain off. Instead she cleared her throat and said, "Anyway, it is good to be back in uniform and ready to work,Sir. Sovereign is an impressive ship, I was able to use some of my down time to study her and her manifest. And to adapt to whatever command style you prefer," she smiled slightly, "Despite my size I can play 'mean officer' as easily as 'nice officer'."

James nodded in agreement. "Horizon certainly is a fine ship. Her name and class definitely fit the primary role of her class. As for command style I care more about the jobs the crew does. Obviously, formalities and professionalism are needed, but in the event of a serious situation, such as a red alert for example, I'd rather my crew focus on getting to their stations first."

"Understood, sir," Aisling replied, "I am, of course, eager to meet the senior staff and to get to know everyone personally: there is only so much a personnel jacket can tell me. Might I ask, are you aware of the nature of our next mission?"

James slid over a PADD. "Yes. Our orders are to report to ICE-II, a frozen M-Class planet close to the Ferengi border, on our side. There is an abandoned SCE outpost there dubbed Barrow Station. Starfleet wants us to investigate and salvage any of the experimental small craft and ground vehicles left behind. Command also wants us to watch out for any rogue Ferengi. If they have found the base, they'll want the financial opportunity. That's the gist of it anyway. I'll go more into it during the staff meeting once we're underway. Any questions?"

"No, sir," Aisling replied, accepting the padd, "I will do my homework on the station and read up on any intelligence reports on the area, especially where Ferengi are concerned. I will also dig up an inventory for the base to see what they are supposed to have there. I-" she hesitated, then said, "All right, this will bother me to no end unless I do ask: why was the station abandoned, sir?"

"That is the other reason why we're going actually. The base was decommissioned after the Dominion War as there wasn't a use for it anymore. The crew were transferred, but the craft weren't. It seems as if plans to dismantle the complex were somehow forgotten. Starfleet wants us to find out why" James said.

Aisling nodded thoughtfully. It was a mystery, and she loved mysteries. Problem was, digging into it might step on the toes of other people and there was nothing worse than a boss who thought they could do your job better than you. She needed to talk to the Chief of Security before she started poking her nose into this affair.

"Sounds like I have some homework to do, sir," she said, then smiled slightly, "Sadly homework I can't delegate, so I should get to it. Unless you have something else for me to do?"

"Not at this time Commander" James nodded. "If you don't have anything else for me you're dismissed. Welcome aboard the Horizon" James gave a light smile.

Aisling felt a slight flutter in her belly at the man's smile. As she rose she tried her best not to look like a bashful school girl as she nodded politely to her boss and quickly exited the ready room. She paused outside, feeling a sense of eagerness as she considered her new job. She glanced about at the bridge, saw her chair. Her chair. Next to the captain.

Grinning, she strode towards the turbolift, earger to be about her new assignment...

 

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