First steps to teh new life

Posted on Mon Feb 16th, 2026 @ 8:55pm by Colonel Vedrum Hazuh & Commander Aleshanee & Technical Sergeant Decker & Technician Tahlina Yanez-Tahli & Lieutenant Kesden Lokn & Flight Officer Phelan Sabrehagen & Chief Warrant Officer Karzen Son of Arjune, Son of Ragan MD, MPH & Warrant Officer Loren Baro & Technical Sergeant Josi Baro & Sergeant Benjamin "Ben" Hall & Senior Technician Jaime Mallory

2,426 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Quiet Stone
Location: Bridge

Vedrum was leaning against the small table at the back of the bridge on the Lovelace. The TIC (Tactical Information Center) added a briefing area without requiring another room. He was just waiting for the crew to arrive. The mission was a simple one, given to them by the Bajor. "Ah! Commander," *Vedrum said as Aleshanee walked onto her bridge.

"Colonel, I am a bit shocked that the Federation is allowing us to take on a mission while a decision is still being made on the CDF," Aleshanee said simply.

"This is more of a we actually don't have the ship and/or manpower to deal with this, and that your vessel is capable of delivering some simple supplies. As well as a goodwill mission of sorts, and to see if we can actually act as a non-paramilitary force," Vedrum added with a smirk.

Karzen stepped up onto the bridge. "You rang?" the old Klingon said. He noticed Vedrum. "Colonel Hazuh," he said, cautiously. "May I assume you have something for us to do?"

A soft chime sounded before the doors parted again.

Kesden Lokn stepped onto the bridge with his usual quiet composure. His eyes scanned the room; Vedrum at the briefing table, Aleshanee already there, Karzen just arrived. He gave a small nod as he moved toward the TIC area, settling into a spot near the others with an ease that felt familiar rather than formal, though his brow was slightly furrowed.

“Colonel. Commander. Doctor,” he greeted, voice even. A brief pause followed, his gaze flicking once toward the waiting display before returning to them. "I knew we were assembling," he said simply, "but I wasn’t told why. What’s the situation?"

Phelan strode onto the bridge, eyes going over the whole room once before settling on the group gathered by the TIC. He made his way over quickly but silently, giving each person there a brief greeting. He did not feel the need to say anything as the only thing he had right then was a 'why,' and he suspected that had already been asked by at least one of those who had arrived before him. So he merely waited.

Loren walked onto the bridge in her standard civilian field outfit, with her battered Bajoran phaser and rank pin, both known gifts from her mother. A very practical woman. "Hey." She greeted the group and found a wall to hold up as she waited to see what all the excitement was about.

"...bull shit," Decker said as the door slid open, "there's no way that old...," but he stopped quickly as he realized the door did open, "apologies, Colonel, Commander," he quickly said.

Tahlina just chuckled, always enjoying seeing Decker shift from an ex, well, there was no such thing as an ex-soldier, but shifting to that ingrained training.

The doors slid open again a moment later.

Ben Hall stepped onto the bridge with Jaime just behind him, both catching the last remnants of Decker’s abrupt change in tone. Ben’s mouth quirked faintly, the closest thing he ever offered to a grin.

Jaime, on the other hand, didn’t bother hiding her amusement. “Never gets old,” she murmured under her breath as they moved toward the others.

Ben gave a small nod to the group, more acknowledgment than announcement, and took up a quiet position near Loren, posture easy but attentive.

Jaime drifted a step farther, folding her arms loosely as she glanced between Vedrum and Aleshanee, waiting to see what they’d been called in for.

Josi Baro stepped onto the bridge with the quiet confidence of someone who already assumed something needed fixing. Her gaze moved across the gathered crew, lingering briefly on the TIC display before she joined the edge of the group.

"...ah, I believe that is everyone?" Vedrum asked, looking at Aleshanee, who just nodded before Vedrum continued. "We have been given our first mission of sorts. This is a goodwill mission, something that'll show the Federation and Starfleet that we can change," he said simply.

"It'll be a simple supply drop to Prophet's Run. The Bajoran government has found some ancient site(s), and they need some equipment and some other supplies."

"May I assume there is data on this planet somewhere?" Karzen said. "Atmospheric and environmental data? Flora and fauna? Unique microbes? Radiation levels? Toxicity of the environment? Health concerns? What kind of medical staff does the site personnel have? What kind of medical facilities?"

"Shockingly, Prophet's Landing saw very little fighting during the war, so almost all colonies, spaceports, and facilities are operational, as for environmental concerns, very little, as the Bajoran's haven been settling there since the early 2300s, I think around the 2310s or 2315s," Aleshanee said simply looking at Vedrum.

"That is correct, the supplies are for the dig, there is a team of both Bajoran and Federation archeology teams," Vedrum replied, "once we arrive, they may require support, or it may just be as simple as dropping off the supplies, and then coming back to Deep Space Nine," Vedrum added.

Karzen rolled his eyes. "You just had to use the 'S' word, didn't you?" he asked, rhetorically. "Now you've just about guaranteed something will be amiss or go badly. The universe doesn't always look kindly on optimism. It seems to equate optimism with arrogance and as we all know, the universe tends to punish arrogance." Karzen closed his eyes, as if in prayer. "I call upon the Great Bird of the Galaxy, the most benevolent and tolerant of all great entities, asking that he speak on our behalf with Okhala: Fire, Avilh: Earth, Ihheuin : Water, and Jaeih: Air, the D'ravsai: the Great Brothers, and Cradol: Fate, and of course, with Kahless the Unforgettable, lest he be forgotten! I ask that all of the above recognize it is not we few adventurers that were arrogant bastards, but rather he who sent us on this adventure, while he remained safe at home. Oh, make sure he doesn't change his mind and come with us. He's insufferable and annoying, and he needs to bathe more often. Amen." Karzen opened his eyes and looked at Hazuh. "Thank you for tolerating my superstitions and dry sense of humor. You may now continue."

Vedrum couldn't help but chuckle. "One thing we can take from the Federation is to allow all to have their belief system," Vedrum said, looking around to make sure it sank in. "Alright, any other questions?"

{Belief systems?} Karzen thought to himself. {No sense of humor?} The Great Bird of the Galaxy, maybe... and, well, perhaps the Ajoi (the Elements). Maybe Cradol (Fate). The D'ravsai on a slow day. No one really took them seriously, anyway, except for a few crazies. Karzen knew he was forgetting one, but he couldn't for the life of him think of who. {Oh, yes!} he thought. Kahless the Unforgettable, lest he be forgotten... which he had been... for a moment. {I must be getting old,} Karzen thought. Without really thinking, Karzen let rip a tremendous, hull-rattling belch. Then he suddenly seemed to remember he wasn't the only one in the room. "Apologies," he said. "Bad cheese. I'll check the refrigeration unit in my quarters when we're done here."

Aleshanee sighed and shook her head, "...please show some decorum, you are the chief medical officer," Aleshanee said, giving the Klingon a stare to rival that of their greatest enemy.

Karzen met Aleshanee's gaze without flinching. Displays of bravado did not impress him or frighten him. Aleshanee had just dimished herself in his estimation. The old Klingon shrugged and turned his focus to Hazuh, feeling no need to engage in a display of bravado himself. Instead, he amused himself my mentally running through a long list of powerful, long-lasting laxatives he might consider introducing into Aleshanee's dietary plan in the replicator. It would have to be something with no taste...

This was petty, and Karzen knew that. And it was highly unlikely he'd do it, since Aleshanee could be right. Besides, it wasn't a very Klingon thing to do. Then again, he was half Rihannsu... {Mother would be so proud...} Karzen thought to himself as a slight smile came to his face.

Loren was getting used to Karzen; she rather liked the interesting way his mind worked. And to be honest, he was highly entertaining as long as you could keep up. She was looking forward to it. She'd never been to Prophet's landing but anything that shed light on Bajoran history always had her attention. So much was lost during the war; she appreciated learning what she could. Outloud she said, "Any special info about the sites in case we need to pop in? Or just standard precautions? Ancient ruins are not known for their safety features."

"The dig is run by the Bajoran Ministry of Archeology, and they have not said a lot about it, besides it being a very important cultural site. So, I am not even sure if we'll be let inside the site; we may be just dropping stuff on the outskirts." Vedrum replied to the question.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Karzen said. "I wonder if that is academic hubris or the fact that they've found something dangerous? Perhaps an orb or some other artifact? The Cardassians looted Bajoran artifacts; many of those looted artifacts were probably on Cardassia when the Dominion bombarded the planet in the last battle of the war. Due to rarity, anything they find might be worth considerable amounts of Latinum on the black market. Also, I know there are Bajorans who do not appreciate anyone other than Bajorans, including the Federation, being involved with their archaeological ventures. It may seem foolish or short-sighted to non-Bajorans, but I know that if I put myself in their shoes, I would probably feel the same way. Those who have been violated are not quick to trust. These groups may consider us to be the same kind of interloper, no matter our best intentions." Karzen glanced at Loren and gave a respectful nod of his head and a slight smile. "Not to outworlder-splain the Bajoran situation to a Bajoran, of course. That was more of a reminder for everyone else." Karzen chuckled. "Or maybe it was just to hear myself speak. I can rarely tell these days. Please, Colonel Hazuh and everyone else, pardon an old man's ramblings."

Loren have Karzen a shrug acknowledging his comment, it was true the Occupations had made Bajorans cautious in such things. Though personally she would be disappointed if she didn't get a chance to check it out, they might let her but then again she was an amateur and she well knew how much professionals sometimes disliked making time to play tour guide. Her mind mulled such things as she nodded at the Colonel, "I understand so usual plan of roll with it."

Kesden waited until the humor settled before speaking, voice calm but grounded. “Colonel, one operational question,” he said. “Do the Ministry teams expect us to remain in orbit only, or is there a possibility they’ll request security or personnel support on the ground?” He paused before adding, "I’d prefer we know our posture before we arrive.”

"No, we'll be landing on the planet here," Vedrum said, pinpointing a small spaceport. "For now, most likely not for security, they might use us to escort the equipment, but outside of that, they have been pretty clear we cannot enter the dig site, or really get near it," Vedrum added.

Kesden inclined his head once, absorbing the boundary markers without visible reaction. His gaze perhaps lingered on the perimeter line longer than the others. “Understood,” he said evenly. “So we plan for planetside offload and escort as needed, but maintain a respectful distance from the site itself.” A brief pause. “I’ll have Operations draft a basic landing and support timeline once the manifest arrives.”

Aleshanee nodded glad that she made the right choice in making Kesden her second (executive) officer, "exactly, this is going to be our opportunity to prove to Starfleet and the Federation that we can follow the rules, and that we can evolve from what we were, and what we need to be for the people we are trying to protect," Aleshanee said making sure to make eye contact with everyone.

Loren nodded in return. She got the point, she didn't care for having to prove herself to anyone really but she understood the challenges of shifting focus, the stories her mother told her of the actual fist fights at Bajoran Militia leadership meetings were something else as officers who had been rebels were suddenly given uniforms and rules.

Kesden held Aleshanee’s gaze for a moment longer than the others might have. His expression didn’t change, but something in his posture settled; less tension in the shoulders, less guarded restraint.

He inclined his head once in acknowledgment. No words. Just an agreement.

Her eyes having flicked toward Kesden briefly, then back to Vedrum, Josi immediately asked, “If it’s dig-site equipment, I’ll want the cargo specs. Power cells, field generators, environmental stabilizers—anything that can’t take a rough landing, I’d rather know now than at the surface.”

"The dig site is here," Vedrum said, marking it on the 3D image of Prophet's Landing. "We are cleared to approach here," he added, marking another spot before also showing the perimeter line of where they could and could not go.

"We are waiting on that list as we speak," Aleshanee said, looking to Josi.

Josi’s expression tightened slightly at waiting on the list, more practicality than impatience. “Alright,” she replied. “The moment it comes through, Engineering will run handling requirements and make sure we’ve got the right dampening and transport gear staged. I’d rather over-prepare than discover the crates are half-century-old Bajoran ceramics at the bottom of a cargo bay.”

She glanced back at the display. “I'll need to know how much time we have before departure.”

"....within 24 hours, possibly earlier, it'll depend on how quickly we load everything up, and secure it," Aleshanee said, giving Josi a smile.

Josi gave a single, decisive nod. “That’s workable,” she said and returned the smile.

"Alright, prep the ship, and then do whatever you need to do before we shove off," Aleshanee said with a soft smile. It felt weird heading out and not prepping for a fight. And, with that, her first mission briefing was over, and she thought it went well.

 

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