There were four officers of Captain Seth’s senior team that he needed to introduce himself to, and currently they were spread out all over the ship.  Maybe he just should have called a senior staff meeting and get the whole thing over with in one swoop.  Was it engineering that he was planning to go to first?  He couldn’t remember, there was too much going on in his head.  But luckily, someone with a little more familiarity with the ship and crew just happened to come passing by.  It was Ensign Ester. 

“Are you looking for something, Captain?  You look a little lost,” she remarked.

Seth was glad to see a familiar face.  “Actually, I am.  I’m just trying to familiarize myself with the ship a little bit.  I was hoping to meet up with my senior staff.”

“Here let me help you,” she said, looking at his PADD.  “The closest member of your senior staff is your Chief of Security.  He’s currently on Holodeck Two.”  Ester made the gesture for Seth to walk down in her direction.

“We’ve been commissioned for less than a day and he’s already on the holodeck?”

“Actually, he’s been with the ship for several months now.  He actually helped design the tactical systems of this ship.”

“Oh.”  The captain felt like he just got put in his place by his ensign.

“Is this your first time aboard?” she asked.

“Yes, I was serving as first officer aboard the U.S.S. Chicago just prior to getting this position.  The Chicago only came by to drop me off just this morning.  Today was really the first chance I got to really read up on the ship.”

“She’s quite something, I tell you.”

“So I keep hearing.”  Seth decided to change the subject.  “May I ask where you are from?  I’m assuming that you’re human.”  It was funny that in the twenty-fifth century, you couldn’t safely make that assumption about anyone anymore, just by their appearance alone.

“I grew up in South America.  My father was African-American, but my mother was from Brazil.  I spent most of my youth there with my mother.”

“Was it your mother that encouraged you to enroll in Starfleet?”

“Yes, it was.  I was very lucky that she encouraged me to do what I wanted, despite what she knew about the war.  She was only a child when the war happened, but she saw a lot of casualties first hand.  She never talked about it openly, but I know she lost a lot of loved ones.  Many parents at the time didn’t want their children enrolling in Starfleet after that.”

“Yes, we’re lucky to still have people that are still willing to explore space.”

“Amen to that,” she said.  “We’re here.”

Both the captain and ensign walked in through the holodeck doors.  What they saw was a single security officer fighting against a towering holographic Cardassian soldier.  The officer’s uniform was the same as everyone else’s, but appeared to be made from a different material.  It was thicker, and more padded.  He was also wearing a helmet, which was a little unusual for a Starfleet officer.  He also appeared to be using two side-handle batons as weapons, or at least batons that Seth had never seen before.  It looked to be of special design; the short end was sharp and red, and looked like they caused additional pain when striking the Cardassian hologram.  The long end emitted a lighter blue color.  When the officer found the opportunity, he whirled one of the batons around his one arm and struck down at the enemy’s head with the long end of the stick.  That must have done something to its head because the Cardassian was completely knocked out, ending with a large thud as he collapsed hopelessly to the ground.

“Computer:  Klingon, Level 4,” yelled the officer.  Then, a large Klingon figure appeared with a bat’leth in one hand.  The Klingon was clearly powerful, but the officer had some advantage in maneuverability, and was able to use his batons quite effectively against the bat’leth.  The officer was able to land in a few blows to vulnerable areas of his face and torso.  As the Klingon slowed, he was able to land a few more critical hits, and finished off with a powerful kick in the face, and eventually knocked the giant over.  He jumped onto the Klingon’s chest, and again, struck the long blue end of the baton onto his head, and rendered it a vegetable.  But apparently, the Klingon was not enough for the young officer.

“Computer:  Jem’Hadar, Level 5!” he cried again, appearing exhausted, but eager.  Another giant figure appeared behind him, and before the officer could realize it, the Jem Ha’dar had kicked him in the back and he flew several feet forward.  It did not seem to faze the young soldier.  It was quite impressive, actually.  The captain thought of himself as quite a spirited fighter, but back in the Academy when he was up against a Klingon at Level 5, he was rushed to the infirmary with three broken ribs, several lacerations, and a near concussion.

“So, that’s my Chief of Security, huh? ” the captain asked.

“What?  No, that’s Ensign Lo,” she said.  She gestured to a dark figure in the back, one that the captain had not noticed before.  “That’s your Chief of Security.”

A towering, dark figure began to reveal himself from the shadows.   He was quite tall, well over six feet.  He wore a helmet with a metallic mask, and the shape of the helmet very much resembled the samurai kabuto, with a metallic flap that wrapped his entire head.  His uniform was Federation, but more layered and draped that hung down towards his knees, almost like an overcoat.  He also wore a very tall shiny belt that covered a significant portion of his mid-section, and also looked to be derived from the samurai design.  Seth couldn’t see any skin on this officer.  In fact, there was not a single part of his body that was uncovered.  There was something about the whole outfit that was vaguely familiar to him, particularly since he had a very thin bright green laser that stretched across the forehead on his helmet.

“My Chief of Security is a Breen?” the captain demanded. 

The ensign just stared back.  “Yes.  That is Lieutenant Commander Thorn.”

PREV     NEXT