A First Look (Part 2)

Posted on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 @ 1:32pm by Commander Grace Vetur & Lieutenant Commander Anahera Chernova & Lieutenant Amanda Rose & Lieutenant Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii

1,117 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Lonesome Road

[Previously]

'Sure Commander, I'd be happy to,' replied Yiv. 'I suppose as a freighter hand I'm in on the side hustle?' The Efrosian was rapidly warming to the idea of being a ne'er-do-well. 'All that danger, that cloak and dagger, quite exciting don't you think? What's the name of the ship?' That was a more relevant question, he thought.

[Continued]

"Very creative!" Amanda complimented Yiv. "And that's simple enough to remember. I'll be the corporate employee, as you said. I suppose I'm dressed a little more casually to be more discrete, to see how it is here from a normal person's perspective...."

'Exactly. You want to see how they treat a normal person, not how they roll out the red carpet for corporate bigwugs, I suppose,' he said, mispronouncing the word. 'Now I need a name,' Yiv thought for a moment. 'This is more difficult than I thought actually ... Perhaps I should just stick with my cousin's name, Ede'baran'tarnak Ra-Havrottimeii. It's quite traditional,' he said of the mouthful.

"Indeed," Grace said. "I think I'll be a retired business woman looking to open a shop on the frontier." She wanted to keep her personal close to her personality. "Also, while we are here, first names only. We're civilians, so no ranks. Please call me Grace."

Anahera thought for a moment. "The freighter is named the Odessa." She said. "And Yiv, I'll call you Ede, if that's okay?"

'Odessa and Ede it is,' nodded Yiv in response, 'now ... if something should go south, what's the plan?'

Amanda wrinkled her nose thinking about it. "I suppose that depends on how far south things go. If for some reason someone is detained, we have the tracker. We probably should hold to our stories or give no more than rank, name, and serial number if our disguises are penetrated. It would be best to have a rendezvous point. Probably not the shuttle. That could be traced. Thoughts?"

"We'll find a place when we gt there," Grace said after a moment. "Some place not too busy but with enough people it'll be a safe place to rendezvous."

A nurse walked in, administered the rest of the trackers, and departed.

When he was gone, Grace nodded. "All right, let's see what's down here."

Amanda pulled her hair forward and started to run her fingers through the ends of her curls. "Ready whenever you all are." She found a seat on the shuttle that was near a window and stared out it, anticipating seeing stars.

"Shall I drive, Grace?" Anahera asked.

"If you wish," Grace said to the Security Chief, taking a seat.

Setting himself down in one of the passenger seats of the shuttle, Yiv looked around, 'I would have preferred the Captain's Yacht, but I suppose we can slum it,' he observed mock-seriously. 'Ready when you are.'

"It is better not to announce our presence by taking the captain's yacht. Someone is bound to notice," the first officer replied to Yiv.

'This is a sound judgement, Commander. It is better we slip in unnoticed - we should be able to get more information that way,' Yiv relaxed in his seat as he waited for take-off. He had however, placed himself near a bulkhead, so wouldn't see much of the starfield around them. Folding his hands in his lap, he did his best to contain the nervous energy that he found coursing through himself. An Away Mission was exciting business for a desk jockey.

Grace nodded. Until they knew more, it was better to err on the side of caution. "Indeed." She turned to Anahera. "Ready when you are."

Anahera took the pilot's seat and went through the pre-flight checks.

Finally, they were ready. "We have clearance to launch. Coordinates for the docking area are on screen."

Yiv looked around the back of his chair to have a look at the coordinates on the screen. As with most Starfleet Officers, he could make a decent fist of piloting a shuttle, but he enjoyed watching those more comfortable than him at the controls. He moved his attention away for a moment, hoping to catch Amanda's eye as he smiled giddily at the launch.

At that very moment, Amanda had happened to look into Yiv's direction and caught his eyes. The reaction was immediate and she blushed. She had no idea how she was going to handle this. On Avenger, her crush, the Captain never noticed her. Now, she was quite sure that two people were interested in her: Yiv and the Captain. How would she choose?! I think the Counselor needs a counselor.

The trip was uneventful. Before long, they were on the ground.

Anahera had spent the short trip going over possible scenarios, as her body flew the craft as if it were on autopilot.

As the craft came to a stop she turned to Grace, to await her orders.

"We're here to gather information," Grace said. "We'll start ;by staying together to get a feel for the place, then we may split into two groups. Whatever we do, we should meet back here in two hours."

"We're dressed as a rather eclectic group, Commander. I don't think most of us would have much in common. Do you really think staying together is best given we're under cover?" Amanda asked, nearly apologetically.

Grace raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think wandering around alone is a good idea?" she countered.

She nodded to Yiv and Anahera. "As those two are working on the same freighter, it would be best if they go together."

Disappointed that she would not get to spend time with Yiv, but understanding that it was best for the mission, she asked, "Who gets to come with this entrepreneur?"

"I'm afraid you're stuck with me for now," Grace replied. "We could mix things up after we've had a first look."

'That sounds like a decent plan - if we split up into pairs we can cover more ground,' replied Yiv with a nod at the XO. 'And a sensible division of groups. If we spot a suspicious location that seems to have a heavy presence we can always report it back and team up.'

"Exactly," Grace said. "Two hours," she reminded the others. "We'll decide what to do next when we regroup."

"Understood." Anahera said.

"Stuck with you, is hardly being stuck," Amanda replied with a pretty laugh. "Shall we go, Com, er, Grace?"



(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Commander Grace Vetur
Executive Officer

Lieutenant Commander Anahera Chernova
Security Chief

Lieutenant Amanda Rose
Chief Counselor

Lieutenant Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii
Chief Intelligence Officer

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