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Passing on a Star

Posted on Fri Dec 18th, 2020 @ 12:29am by Lieutenant JG Sher'ra Verona

1,809 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 2 - Echoes Of An Empire
Location: Security Office
Timeline: MD 1

Tamaska stepped inside the security office, looking around, remembering the times she had spent here. Now things have changed. She felt some nostalgia wash over her. She will miss this but now there was a new sheriff in town. Ensign Sher'ra Verona. In her pocket she had a gold star badge which had the word Sheriff engraved on it. She chuckled, remembering the rite of passage when the position of Chief of Security was passed on to someone else. Holt was going to do the same for Sher'ra. Not seeing Sher'ra in her office yet, Holt walked in where the brig was.

She thought back to an incident that had happened when she had wrestled one of her security people who had gotten drunk. Big burly fellow.. Marks was his name. He had gotten word that his girlfriend had dumped him. He had been ready to ask the girl to marry him. She wasn't having any of that, so he went on a drunken binge. Good old Marks. She stopped short, blast, tears were forming. Marks was one of the one who didn't make it.

Standing in the brig, Sher'ra was keeping herself busy by inspecting all of the locations on the ship she would be responsible for. The only other starship she'd served on was an old Miranda class which, while small compared to most ships of the line, was still larger than the Copernicus. Every other assignment had been on a starbase, so it was going to take some time for her to become accustomed to the close quarters.

finishing up her inspection, Sher'ra stepped out of the brig to be met with an officer on the verge of tears. Quickly looking at their collar, Sher'ra took a deep breath, "is everything alright Lieutenant?"

Tamaska quickly wiped away the tear that had escaped, shifted her shoulders just a bit. She looked at Sher'ra, " It will be, just memories, one of my men in security. He had gone on a drunken binge when his girlfriend dumped him, just after he proposed to her. I had to bring him in here to cool off. Didn't want him to break the ship in half." she half chuckled, with a slight sob. She swallowed hard. "He was part of the crew that didn't survive the attack. My right hand man, boy did he bellow not being happy to be in the brig."

She took deep breath and let it out slowly, then said to Sher'ra. "Want to go talk in the office? I'd like to find out more about you."

Sher'ra nodded, "sure, I assume you know the way" she said, recognizing her face as the former Security Chief and now current XO, "it'll be good to have someone show me the ropes. Being on such a small ship is a little off putting"

Tamaska chuckled, " You are correct." leading the way to her old office. She stepped inside, taking the seat on the side that a visitor would be sitting, motioning for Sher'ra to take the chair behind the desk. "And I'll guide you in navigating the ship. The Copernicus isn't a bad little ship. I had to get used to being on her, since I was used to being a a large station. The one that is above the Earth. She is cozy though. I think you are originally from the Merlin or.. the station?"

"Most of my career have been on starbases, the only other starship I've served on was the USS Ulysses, an old Miranda class ship, while it had been updated, it still felt like stepping back in time" Sher'ra answered, taking the indicated seat, "is it going to be strange for you to see someone else in your office?"

Holt nodded, "the Miranda's are definitely classy and classic ships." at Sher'ra's question Holt paused a moment contemplating it, looking at Sher'ra on the other side. "I think that you look good on that side of the desk. It might be strange, maybe only for an instant but in truth, I'd rather it be you. You've already earned being there. You came to our rescue, in our most darkest hour. I'm good with you there." smiling. "Hopefully you will find that side of the desk comfortable for you. "

Sher'ra shrugged, "I'm part Klingon, I can find a metal bench comfortable if needed"

Holt gave a nod, "Okay, now time for details about you. And you may ask questions about me as well. First off, what do you like to do, your hobbies, likes or dislikes, that sort of thing."

Sher’ra thought for a moment, “well, I guess you could call cooking a hobby every though I’m probably better trained in how to prepare food than anyone else on this ship. Other than that, I like to read or workout on the holodeck.”

Tamaska raised an eyebrow at Sher'ra's comment about cooking, then chuckled, "Sounds to me like you have quite a bit of confidence in your cooking. I cook as well, and I'm good at it too. Just a minor word of caution for you, there maybe others who cook rather well" giving Sher'ra a calm look. "So, until you know the skills the crew might or might not have, I'd not assume that you are better trained. Agreed?" her demeanor wasn't one of being hurt or insulted.

"What sort of books do you like to read?" Tamaska asked.

"Romance novels mainly. Though it has been some time since I have had the chance to sit down and read one." Sher'ra replied, thinking over her comments of other crewmembers being able to cook, "so you say there are others that can cook? perhaps if we find ourselves with some downtime between assignments we could organize a cook off in the mess hall. Just a friendly competition of course. I would love to see what meals the crew like to cook"

"That sounds like a splendid idea. If you are not careful we might make you our morale officer as well." Holt giving a grin. "And perhaps you and I can do some working out together. If you are interested that is."

Sher'ra smiled, "are you coming onto me Lieutenant? not that I mind but we've barely met one another" she said with a playful look on her face.

Tamaska blinked, gave Sher'ra a bit of a confused expression, cocking up an eyebrow. "Wait.. what?" Going over what she had just said in her mind. Then it dawned on her, Holt doing a mental facepalm, and blushing slightly. She was really going to have to watch her words where this one was concerned. "A cheeky one aren't you." she said with a bit of a laugh, her face going back to its normal color. "What I meant was, are you interested in working out together as in, using heavy bag and doing some running. And some martial arts. And of course you knew exactly what I was referring to." shaking her finger at Verona, but still smiling.

"i'm always ready to work up a sweat" Sher'ra replied, somewhat amused at Tamaska's reaction. Curious how far she could take things with her, Sher'ra put a hand up to her hair and gave it a flirtatious brush, "perhaps we could test each others flexibility?"

The girl certainly had a way about her, that was evident. And her looks would certainly turn a guy's head or even a girl's head if they were inclined that way. A corner of her mouth quirked up, as Tamaska gave a calculating gaze at Sher'ra.

"Hmnnn... you are indeed rather playful." Holt stated. "On a one to one basis, a bit flirtatious. I'm certain you aren't that way when it comes to putting someone in the brig though." not acting if she were insulted by what Sher'ra was doing. Holt was finding it mildly amusing, possibly Sher'ra was testing the waters, to see what Holt would do. "You are attractive, I'm not afraid to admit that." Holt remarked, "but I am not interested in you that way."

Sher'ra gave a shrug, "oh well, worth a shot" she said, sitting back in her chair, "I like to keep things pretty relaxed. I find it helps when things get hectic because at the end of the day, my staff always have somewhere relaxed to return to whether or not they're on duty. I'm sure you can understand"

"I perfectly understand, and Verona, I'd like us to be friends." Tamaska giving a smile. "If there are issues though let me know." she shifted in her seat then said, "Now that I've been asking the questions, do you have any for me?"

Tamaska paused as something occurred to her, she pulled out her PADD and looked through it. "Ah I do have another question for you. I did forget an item, for this particular ship, security will also be taking care of gathering intelligence. Do you think you will be up for that sort of detail?"

Sher'ra looked surprised, "Intelligence? Ma'am, that's not my training. I'm not sure I even have the clearance for it."

"Okay to put it in a nutshell, both Security and Intelligence do what they can to make the Federation secure from different enemy sources. Security does do investigation and so does Intelligence. Intelligence goes and does undercover work. Security has done so from time to time, at least that's what I've done when a situation called for it. Both Security and Intelligence have to have a clearance to do certain things and to read certain things. I know it seems over simplified but you can see the similarities of both positions."

After a moment, Sher’ra gave a sigh than nodded, “alright, I guess I don’t have much of a choice anyway”

"You actually do have a choice, but I thought that perhaps you wouldn't mind, if we were to combine the positions. I think you are capable of doing the details pertaining to Intelligence. And if you will consider it, then when the commander asks you can give the answer to him. Which reminds me I've got something for you." her hand moving towards her pocket. "Its a tradition passed down with security personnel." pulling out a gold sheriff's star reminiscent of the old west. "This here is for you, you are the new sheriff in town."

Looking at the badge for a moment, Sher’ra hesitated for a moment before picking it up and pinning it to her sleeve, “thank you for your confidence in my abilities. I won’t let you down”

"And if you need any help, or have questions, contact me, come see me, and we can figure things out." Tam replied, giving a smile. " I know you have the capabilities and abilities to do this job."

END:
XO Tamasaka Holt
Ensign Sher'ra Verona
CSTO

 

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