Communicating The XO Part 2

Posted on Tue Apr 8th, 2025 @ 9:09pm by Lieutenant Megosho Gehente & Lieutenant Commander Valerie Novis

1,601 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: ARYL 1X01: Bound for Cold Frontier
Timeline: Prior to We Ride

And now for the conclusion...

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'Precisely,' Meg replied with a little chuckle. 'As we're talking being here, how did a Trill end up in Starfleet? Were you a member of the Trill defence forces - if there is such a thing - before joining?' Genuinely interested, she hoped she hadn't offended her new superior officer by asking such a bluntly direct question.

"Oh, there are Trill defense forces, but they're being reduced in size as Trillius Prime relies more and more on Starfleet for overall defense. I was never a part of them, getting in on Starfleet early for my people." Okay, that was a lie, but if she spoke about 'her experiences' in the TDF, it would be an awkward explanation, but Valerie wasn't going to need to go that far, but she still smiled brightly, "Since we officially joined the Federation only a couple decades ago, well, less than that actually, Trill have been accepted like everyone else. One of my mentors on Romulus said I was a natural Intelligence officer, she also was Trill who did most definitely serve in the TDF prior to joining Starfleet Intelligence."

'That's absolutely fascinating,' Meg smiled. 'And I can attest to the Federation's welcome. My parents were immigrants I guess,' Meg frowned, 'well ... kind of. The Rigellian Colonies are weird. With some of the planets, no one power has a claim on its entirety. So it's a mix. Anyway ... my family are from the Colonies, but my parents decided that they would become Federation citizens, for business opportunities, I guess! So, yeah, they accepted my family with open arms, and then Starfleet accepted me too. It's a wonderful feeling.'

"I know that there are many people out there who look down on Orions, but please rest assured that I don't." Valerie shrugged, "It's amazing that despite how many species are already members of the Federation how they just don't like someone that's 'different'. I constantly get asked about my spots, where they are, if they can see them, at least from some people who don't know what tact is. Even some people ask if they can touch them, like they're bumps or something." She gave a theatrical roll of her eyes as she chuckled.

'Ah, spots for Trills, pheromones for Orion women,' Meg laughed and shook her head. 'There was one guy at the Academy, he was convinced I was using my pheromones to gain an advantage in class. Banged on and on about it for weeks,' she sighed, 'he was really put out when I had a meeting organized with one of the deans, and they had to show them I'm one of the ones that can't produce them.'

"The Few, The Proud, The Pheremoneless!" Valerie laughed, then her voice sobered up a bit, "But actually that would sortof put you at a disadvantage compared to many other Orions. Not that you would use them to do anything untoward, I'm sure, but there are some out there without the scruples to resist. And of course, then the assholes like you were saying. I've been accused of flirting with more senior officers before myself." She gestured down to where the skirt ended, the spots running down the outside of her legs until they too were cut off, "Being suggestive about these."

'Oh, don't I know it,' Meg laughed, glancing at Valerie's leg. 'Thankfully once word gets around there's a competitive kickboxer about, there's a few less leery stares from the men. Usually.' She sighed, 'I guess it falls to us to be exemplars of our people, pioneers if you will.'

"A fellow martial artist?" Valerie's eyes glittered, "My form of martial arts may not be legal in competitions, but I've gotten to be pretty good about it, a high grade of Journeyman, but don't let that get you dismayed." She put her cup down and gestured with her hands, "Jin Kee is a defense-first type, with so much precision required so that those of any Novice level are only learning how to defend against attacks, no offensive moves at all. Journeyman status is where counter-attacks are added in, but that's the limit. To even pass out of Novice, the person must be able to defend against four or more attackers at once. Only those of Master rank even get to think about learning to attack using Jin Kee, again with pinpoint precision. I'm almost at the point that I could take the test to make Master First. Almost."

'That sounds like quite the dedicated martial art,' Meg replied, impressed with Valerie. 'I've literally never heard of Jin-Kee, but it sounds quite formidable.' Unconsciously twirling a lock of her purple hair, she smiled in embarrassment, 'I really only took up kickboxing at the Academy to blow off some steam. It was tough adjusting to Earth coming from the Rigelian colonies. Kicking things was easy therapy.' She chuckled, 'that and basketball. Love playing, love watching. How'd you get in to Jin-Kee?' Meg leaned forward, hanging off the Trill's every word.

'I was dragged into it by an annoying little turd.' Valerie thought to herself, shaking her head slightly, "One of the officers on my first assignment, Kyra, was a practitioner of it and she just got me started on it when she'd learned that I'd only learned the standard Security hand to hand. After she died, I just kept up with it and found a new mentor for it." That was the truth, just the mentor was far closer than anyone would think possible. Along with all of the experience that came with that. "But if you ever get frustrated, bring me in and you can go all out, I'm preeetty sure I can handle it." She gave a laugh at that one.

Meg's eyes narrowed slightly and she smiled. 'Well. We'll see about that, Commander. Orion's are tougher than we look, and we can build up plenty of ... frustration.' She giggled. 'But it'll be nice to have someone to spar with for a change. You're not in to basketball, are you, by any chance?'

"I've never really played, aside from when I was in athletics classes and we were introduced to it. I found I couldn't make a goal in close to save my life, though fair from long range, what's that called?" Valerie pondered for a few moments, then shook her head.

'It's a shame, you're about the right height for a point guard,' Meg told the shorter woman with a smile. 'I bet with your martial arts experience, you'd be great on the court.' She supposed that it was a bit much to expect someone who had grown up outside the Federation to be as in to basketball as she was. 'Are there any sports you enjoy apart from Jin-Kee?'

"I, um..." Valerie started and trailed off. She hadn't been in a cockpit in years, aside from occasional shuttles, but who would ever believe she flew air-breathing fighters, or had competed semi-professionally in Triness, one of the Trill pastimes that had fallen out of favor several decades ago. There was always her own, of course, "I do swim a lot, whenever the opportunity arrives, but other than that, I do play a mean game of pool. I've had plenty of time to practice that on Starbase Thirty-Three."

'Swimming seems quite solitary,' Meg replied, 'just you out to improve on your own swim time I suppose.' She brightened a little. 'Pool I can get behind - I like team games, ya know? Or games where you have a lot of interaction with your opponent. I find it a lot more fun, more motivating.' She paused, then said, 'perhaps you can teach me the finer points of pool some time.'

"Tell you what, I'll teach you the finer points of pool, you teach me how to play basketball?" Valerie stuck her hand out to make the deal, "I'm a quick learner, I promise."

Taking the hand quickly, Meg shook it firmly, then lingered for a moment before letting go. 'You've definitely got a deal, Commander,' she replied warmly.

"Then we'll have to make plans for some recreation time." Valerie agreed, "Just give me a heads up and I can typically get away from whatever I'm doing. If I can't, well, it would be obvious that it isn't time for having some fun."

Chuckling in response, Meg just about controlled an ugly snort-laugh, 'yeah that seem about fair, Commander, I'll make sure to check you don't have your serious face on before asking you to shoot some pool.' Looking up at the chronometer, she frowned. 'This has been pleasant, Commander, but it's getting late. I'm sure we both have a lot to prepare in the morning before launch.'

"If we don't, then we're not doing things right, aren't we?" Valerie gave a wry smile, glancing up at the chronometer herself, "But the good news is that once we're on our way, we will have a fair amount of free time until or unless we run into something that's a bother." She stood from where she was seated and sighed, "Back to work for us, Lieutenant, the both of us."

Mirroring the movement, Meg nodded, 'it's been a pleasure talking to you Commander - I hope we have a chance to do it some more at some point.' She grinned, truly enthused about her work aboard the Ark Royal, 'but duty first, eh?'

 

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