I Have Arrived!

Posted on Tue Mar 12th, 2024 @ 1:30am by Captain Tristan Faust & Luminous Traite Ms

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Mission 5: The Price of Paradise
Location: Captain's Quarters
Timeline: M5 MD06 (2268.07.29) 0930

Luminous adjusted the snug dress she was wearing as she thanked the security guard at the ship's entryway. It had been a routine security check and she had all the proper credentials on her PADD to present at the checkpoint. Now that she was on board the multideck star ship it was a matter of finding the Captain's office or bridge or wherever the man was, after all she was not a Starfleet crew member. She was not familiar with the ship.

However all it took was asking a few questions of various crew moving about the corridors. One even recognized her from some of her FNN appearances. Lume smiled and informed the young lady that she was here on board as part of an upcoming series she was working on about Starfleet. And hey, it wasn't even a lie.

She ended up on Deck 5 and soon after there she was, standing directly in front of the captain's quarters. One press of the buzzer and she waited for a response. Hopefully the man wasn't wandering around this place, it was certainly big enough to get lost in. Lume figured she better get used to it though, for the next months she was going to be on board the vessel.

Not that anyone would confuse her for crew, she was wearing the latest fashion brightly colored skirt, above the knees accentuating her nice legs and gaudy purple boots. Her hair was up in a bun fixed behind her head, sparkling earings, and bright red lipstick.

It was but a few seconds but she was already getting impatient.

The door to the Captain's cabin open and the Captain's figure loomed over the door. His blonde pompadour was meticulous as was his gold command uniform. He looked over the young woman, "Ms. Traite? I received a warning from the Commodore's executive office that a reporter would be accompanying us on this mission," he said, deducing whom she was.

Lume blinked. OK, he looked even younger than his Starfleet personnel photo. Looks could be deceiving though. No matter.

She chuckled, "Warning? Really? Notification would seem to be the more appropriate word but you probably already know I am not the most popular journalist to many in Starfleet brass."

"That said, sorry, captain, but I'm here to do my job. Hope you won't hold that against me right off?" she then flashed a bright eyed smile.

"Of course not," Tristan responded before stepping back and raising an arm to usher her in, "Please have a seat. I want to set some ground rules for your time aboard then I will answer what questions you have." He walked over to the Burke chair behind his desk and sat down.

Least he did not seethe with hostility. Inviting her inside he also offered her a seat which she promptly took.

"Thank you."

Ahh, but here it comes. That was the thing with the military sorts, they always wanted to control everything. Well, she'd at least hear him out.

"Go for it, captain, I'm a big girl, I can take it," she smiled.

"First, everyone you interview will need to consent and have approval of their division chief," Tristan explained, "All matters sensitive to shipboard operations are restricted. Obviously no discussion of classified material. You will of course have free reign of the ship, but limited access to sensitive areas. Say you want to check out engineering, someone will need to escort you at all times. Under red alert status you need to remain clear of the Bridge and all battle stations until the emergency passes..." He figured he was being fairly lenient, most Captain's would confine a reporter to their quarters during an emergency and not grant them access to anything.

Right off there was an issue, she politely let him finish his authority-obsessed little spiel but then had to point out it's first sticking point.

"Excuse me, captain, but regarding interviews, Starfleet explicitly approved of my request to interview any crew member that I wished. And sometimes an interview opportunity comes up unplanned ....say in the ship''s cafeteria when I am sitting with some crewman and we start chatting. I will not be trying to run down department heads every time that happens," she stated calmly but firmly and cushioned it with a soft smile.

The Captain grimaced, "Fine," Tristan responded, "So long as the interviews do not venture into SBU or Classified material. I would hope you have some discretion. I've read your muckraking journalism and I must say my reaction is mixed."

Least he was willing to be flexible, that was encouraging. And some of his conditions were perfectly acceptable.

"I get that and no, I have no desire to compromise ship's security nor mission success. I can be discrete especially if it puts people at risk if I'm not," she assured him.

"Muckracking? Because I find out things that are illegal or corrupt or just plain wrong and don't keep my mouth shut? The higher up people are, the stricter should be their standards. I despise coverups," she defended herself, "I've never lied in any of my work."

"Well, let's just say a few things could have been handled a bit more delicately," Tristan responded as he shifted in his chair, "An Admiral making a pass at his yeoman, that I get. But sometimes the public doesn't always need to know what we find out here in the depths of space. Time travel, different dimensions and other such things are rather sensitive in nature..."

Luminous had to chuckle about that, "I wrote about corruption in high places, something that is not in the Federation's long term interest. I never wrote about time travel, different dimensions."

"I am beginning to doubt you even ever read any of my stuff. Don't just go by what some overzealous or angry officer might have told you."

"You know, captain, I must say I think you might be misjudging me or making up your mind about me before you even know me."

She flashed him a charming smile, "Get to know me first, that's all I ask."

"You might even learn to like me, shocking I know."

"Not enough clearly," Tristan admitted, "But I don't usually have the luxury of reading the morning newspaper... Usually have to settle with the morning newsbrief from my yeoman." He paused for the moment, "I'm not sure if anyone has given you your quarters assignment, but my personnel officer accepted your request and Ensign Brooke Parker has volunteered to bunk with you. Hopefully both of you will learn from the experience."

"Well fair enough, I do have a quite loyal readership but not you, I'll live," she grinned.

The Captain rolled his eyes at the comment.

"Ensign Brooke Parker. Sounds good. Now being brand new to this ship of yours, could you tell me how I get to my quarters then?"

"Go out the door, turn right, go down the corridor towards the turbolift at the end. Go up one deck to deck 4. Then turn right, 4B 22 is the address you are looking for," Tristan responded without missing a beat. He knew the ship inside and out.

She listened to that all and hoped she could remember it, it already had been a long trip and an eventful day.

"Thank you, captain. Oh, one last question before I go. I saw in my research your vessel has a holodeck on it. Am I permitted to make use of it or am I too big a security risk to Star Fleet's continued existence?"

Snarky yes but said with a big grin. It was fun to poke the bear that was Star Fleet brass.

"Yes, we are equipped with an experimental holographic rec deck," Tristan confirmed, "You are permitted to use it. You need to contact Ensign Dienstag and make arrangements to schedule some time. It is generally fairly busy. Ensign Parker will be able to get you in touch with him."

"Thank you! I will do that. And Ensign Parker sounds useful already...besides being my roomie. I look forward to meeting her," she now stood up.

"Thank you for seeing me. I appreciate it. And I will be asking you at some point for a full interview. My readers would be most interested in about a captain far more than say....an Ensign."

"Good day!" she smiled one last time and then left, hoping she remembered his instructions on finding her quarters.

 

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