A New Breed Of Officer

Posted on Tue Jul 8th, 2025 @ 4:00am by Ensign Siat-or-iian Elkovais & Captain T’Kal

1,598 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: ARYL 1X01: Bound for Cold Frontier
Location: Captain's Office
Timeline: The day before launch

Tori knew that her position was tenuous in general, knew it because Feixeia was not yet a member of the Federation, though the Emperor had decreed that they were seeking membership because they needed help against the continuing encroachments by the Klingons. If THAT empire decided that they wanted to add the Feixians and Oanari to their ranks, there was little that the Feixians could do, not that they wouldn't try. But she was the first of her people to exit the Academy's experienced entrants regime, which got her caught up on all but the basics of the workings of a Navy, but those she already knew. Still, as a new officer from a new world, it would be good to meet with the Captain of this ship.

And that was how Tori found herself outside the Captain's office and pressed the buzzer even as she nervously twitched her tails behind her without thinking. It was probably one of the only nervous tics she had, and she wasn't nervous often, not being a member of shipboard security even back in the Empire. The waiting was the worst.

The hour was late, late enough that there was no support yeoman there at the secretary desk to greet the Feixian officer. But the day had been long and the paperwork of command never seemed to relent — an aspect that, T’Kal privately lamented, her last commanding officer nor Admiral Cartwright had told her about. Still, the work needed to be done, and her discipline would not permit an early night when the office was right there, easy to use at any hour.

The door chimed, breaking her concentration if only for the volume of it. She would see if Inda could do something about that. “Enter,” she called out, a verbal command which unlocked and opened the door automatically.

The Feixian took a breath and then stepped through the threshold of the door and made sure that she wasn't going to get her tails caught if it slammed shut on her. Her typically puffy tails appeared skinnier than usual, a sure sign of her nervousness of the moment. She'd met ship COs in the past, sure, but this was different, because she wasn't among her own kind. "CAPtain," She squeaked out before calming her voice, "Ensign Sait'or'iian Elkovais reporting. I was instructed to report directly to you when I came aboard." Her name sounded like it was three parts, but not broken up where it was spelled. An involuntary twitch of her tails and ears came along with the statement.

”Ah, yes, welcome, Ensign,” T’Kal responded. “I have had not the honour of working with anyone from the Feixian Empire before now. I understand you are among the first of your kind to graduate Starfleet Academy?” She gestured to the chair opposite her. “Please. Unless these seats are incompatible with your physiology.”

Tori gave a squeamish look at the chair which was very obviously not built for her people, but she sat on the edge of it with another simultaneous twitch of her tails,, to avoid putting them in the most uncomfortable and squished position, “No, Captain, I’m actually THE first of my kind to graduate the Academy, probably because I’m a security specialist: combat, electronic warfare and systems maintenance. There are at least another twenty from the Empire at the Academy in various programs such as medical and engineering, science, plus two ship commanders who are getting some very intense training before assuming XO slots for a three month tour before gaining their own Starfleet ship commands.” Communications among the picked personnel were strong, “I want to point out that I’m not complaining, Captain, but I had nearly a decade of service in the Imperial Navy, seven on ships, and was the equivalent of a Lieutenant before I came over to Starfleet, so don’t let the Ensign rank make you think I’m inexperienced, it just isn’t so.”

“Duly noted,” the Captain said. “I would not presume to doubt your experience from the basis of your rank. I myself had a full career before joining Starfleet.” She studied the ensign a moment. “Feixia is far along in the process of Federation membership, and as far as I can tell the only independent world in the region which is suitable for it. It would not surprise me if in a year’s time we are the ship which escorts in the welcome delegation.”

"Which would be an honor to be on." Tori said solemnly, "And no doubt the Emperor Himself would be at the welcoming ceremony, but I would wonder what all it would entail. I know of smaller ceremonies for individual ships returning home, with alterations for being victorious in conflict, or simply a cargo vessel returning from a routine trading run." She pondered what something the magnitude of a full diplomatic detail would require, especially on a momentous occasion like signing the entry documents for the Federation. Of course, the Oanari would be in even higher spirits and these negotiations were being held openly, "I do know that they are planning for both a Feixeiri and an Oanari each as our delegation to the Federation." She remarked.

"Such inclusivity is to be commended," T'Kal remarked. "Can you tell me more about how the Feixian state organizes itself? If and when the order comes to journey there, I wish to be prepared." Constitutional Monarchies in the Federation were not unheard of, but each worked a little bit differently. Every bit of information would help.

"Of course, Captain." The ears went slightly slack towards the sides as Tori decided on how to tell her, "The Empire is a constitutional monarchy, where the Emperor remains as primarily a figurehead to the State, but he holds some very real power as well. If our Parliament cannot come to a decision, He is the tiebreaking vote and his decision is binding. His Majesty can also make unilateral decisions regarding the Empire, but those can be overridden by a simple majority vote by Parliament at any time, so He and His predecessors rarely invoke that privilege unless Parliament is not available and it's a time sensitive decision. It's just too embarrassing for them to have such a decision denied because they made it on a whim." One ear came back forward, while the other stretched further back and down, "We, of course, have incorporated the Oanari into the Empire many, many centuries ago, since they developed on one of our moons, now named Oanar, but in the way olden days it was named Fenria. That itself has it's own story and history."

"Seldom does a civilization incorporate external species as equals," T'Kal observed. "The Federation is exceptional in this regard, as is the Feixian Empire. I believe that our future united is inevitable. Especially as the Klingons threaten us both."

The ears on Torii went off to the side at the comment by T'Kal, because this was one of the guilty consciences from Feixeri history, "Likewise, seldom does one sentient species hunt another for sport and food.. I mean, back when it happened, we looked different as did they, and it was very early in our spaceflight history. It took almost two centuries for us to realize that the creatures on our 'hunting reserve' of a moon were actually sentient beings trying to communicate. Their cities and the like were primitive and very well hidden, but they were there and we didn't see them."

The Captain leaned forward across her desk. "Ensign, your people realized the harm they were doing and stopped. I do not know how long it took, but your society changed once the nature of the mistake was understood. Change of that scale is not something that is done easily. Sometimes it is outright impossible." She sat back. "My people were once deeply divided and ultra violent. We wore our passions on our sleeves and murdered over trivialities. Surak eventually taught us how to control our impulses and adopt pacifism and logic, but we did not change overnight. It took nuclear holocaust to make most people see that we needed to evolve past our base emotions. And now here we are. And here you are."

"Yes, Captain." Torii agreed, mostly because it was expected of her. It was a species guilt that had persisted for well over a millennia, "And you would be surprised how quickly the Oanari have adapted to life in the Empire, really evolved in general." One ear came back forward fully, one half-cocked forward again, "If you looked at imagery of them back when we found them versus now, you could almost believe that they were two different species! Apparently this has been a genetic trick of theirs from their time immemorial, back when Oanar had at least two major predator species. As the environment changed, so did.." The ears flicked back again, but only momentarily as she caught herself rambling, "Sorry, history is one of my guilty pleasures."

“Do not apologize for that, Ensign,” T’Kal said with what some might mistaken for a smirk. “We all have interests which we might pursue to an illogical level.” She did not gesture to the pencil drawing of three Vulcan women that was framed on her desk, the hand-drawn replication of a photograph of her and her sisters. “At any rate, welcome to the Ark Royal. Be prepared for launch tomorrow. Dismissed.”

"Aye aye, Captain." Torii said with a slight smile, hobbies were indeed something that everyone had.

 

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