Chapter VI
The relatively small mess hall of Surprise was alive with a happy buzz as the scheduled time for the change of command ceremony approached. Although the bright white dress uniforms of Starfleet officers dominated the room, this being an event in the Federation core, there was also a good number of brightly coloured dresses and dashing civilian suits mixed in. Felix was touched by the size of the turnout, as many of his friends and acquaintances in the solar system had turned up to show their support.
This was the first time Felix had the opportunity to be given a command with a slightest bit of ceremony. When given the Defiant-class Audacious there was hardly a handshake before the partly-finished vessel was rushed out of dry-dock to serve as part of then-Captain Meyer's taskforce. When he took temporary command of the previously mothballed Nautilus, no one felt it appropriate to celebrate, given that he was being taken from the Deliverance on the eve of a major offensive to guard the core planets in a rusty old boat. While Felix didn't like to think he was big on ceremony, he had to admit that this was nice.
He, for his part, was looking the role of a decorated, worthy captain. Although generally against custom, for this ceremony Pavlik wore both his Starfleet Medal of Honour and his Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry; the former around his neck and the latter pinned to his chest. Both medals were given for events in which he had suffered terrible losses, events he felt were too conspicuous in his thoughts but neither honourable nor gallant, and yet he could not imagine going without them on this occasion. He certainly didn't mind the impressed expressions his officers wore as they introduced themselves to him.
He had just finished chatting with a young pilot named Hossa, who would likely serve as Surprise's beta shift helmsman when Commander Smyne arrived and walked over.
"What did I miss, boss?" the Risan asked cheekily as he shook Felix's hand. "Is this bucket your ship yet?"
Felix looked at him with false incredulity. "What kind of strange, alien drug did I inhale before I tapped you for XO?"
"With your weak human constitution, there are be more candidates than I'd care to list," Treyvin shot back. He laughed as his friend shook his head slowly. Treyvin tossed an arm around the taller officer and surveyed the room. "Where's this girlfriend of yours? The one I only found out about through Natalie?"
"She's at the buffet table, chatting with my sister," Felix replied with a sigh as he looked over at her. Emily was looking lovely, her long blonde hair up for the occasion, wearing a ruby red gown that hugged her curves and displayed a tasteful amount of cleavage. Felix noted with mixed feelings the approving nod from Treyvin.
"How wonderful!" he said, slapping Felix on the back. "I suppose this means she's forgiven you for the whole bucking-for-a-ship-without-telling-her thing?"
At this, Felix cracked his first laugh of the conversation, effectively ending his role as the straight man foil to Treyvin's funny man bit. "Oh no, Treyvin. She's still pissed," he said with special emphasis to convey the severity of her feelings. "I believe she is here to spite me, in a way, by showing me what a wonderful loving companion I am leaving behind."
Treyvin looked confused. "You mean she's being nice to you? Then why do you think that she's angry?"
"Because, brother, she shoots me cold looks when no one else is watching," Felix replied without the least hint of irony. After a silence, he tensed, barely perceptibly but Treyvin picked it up. "She's spotted us. Come on, we should go over so I can introduce you."
The pair of officers crossed the room to the buffet table where the ladies were standing, Treyvin smiling broadly while Felix maintained a carefully neutral expression. Both Natalie and Emily smiled at them and the latter offered Treyvin her hand without prompting.
"Emily, this is Treyvin Smyne, soon to be my first officer," Felix said with perfect civility, smiling politely. The two exchanged pleasantries before he continued. "He was my best friend since we served on the Impervious."
"Well, of those that survived the post, anyway," Smyne quipped, much to the horror of the siblings Pavlik. It was a distinctly Risan joke to make, of the kind Treyvin mainly made in Terran company to amuse himself with the reactions. Normally Felix and Natalie were fairly game for the Risan brand of dark humour, each playing the role of the easily-offended caricatures of humans that permeated the known galaxy. However, this time, when he saw Natalie most emphatically mouth NO, he realized that this was the wrong time to joke. Perhaps Felix wasn't joking? he thought to himself. He sighed inwardly. Humans are capable of such melodrama.
For her part, Emily played it cool, having experience with the peculiarities of dozens of species, not just Risans. She smile politely, nodded, and noted with some grim satisfaction the expression on her boyfriend's face. Then, she saw his eyes dart to the door, and with the slightest turn of the head she caught sight, from the corner of her eye, of the Harbourmaster, who had arrived for the ceremony.
"Excuse us, ladies," Felix told the pair, poorly hiding the relief in his voice. "The ceremony is about to start."
Felix turned and hurried over to the Harbourmaster and Treyvin followed after a polite bow in the direction of the ladies. Felix greeted the Harbourmaster, a fleet captain, and the assistant, a lieutenant commander, and exchanged a few private words before introducing Treyvin, who simply inclined his head in the way of greeting. The three senior officers lined up side by side at the head of the room, and the assistant stood slightly askew and a step or so ahead of them.
"Attention to orders!" boomed the lieutenant commander, and at this the room's Starfleet officers snapped to attention, while the civilians, many unsure of the protocol for themselves, simply fell quiet.
"To Fleet Captain Jeremy Boyle, Commanding Officer, Utopia Planetia Shipyards, Stardate 56887.6," the Harbourmaster read. "You are hereby requested and required to relinquish command of the USS Surprise to Captain Felix Pavlik, Starfleet Research, as of this date. Signed Rear Admiral Allison Meyer, Starfleet Command.
"Computer, transfer all command codes to Captain Felix Pavlik, voice authorization: gamma six."
"Transfer complete. USS Surprise now under command of Captain Felix Pavlik," chimed the computer coolly.
Pavlik turned to Boyle and said, "I relieve you, sir."
Boyle gave a smile as he shook Pavlik's hand. "I stand relieved."
Pavlik then turned to face the rest of the room. "At ease." The officers stood at ease and chatter began to pick up. The civilians hesitated, but were encouraged when Commander Smyne broke rank and insisted that they "Eat!"
Natalie was the first to congratulate Felix, as she came up quickly and gave her older brother a hug and a congratulatory peck on the cheek. She, however, withdrew almost as quickly as she came, so as to give Emily a moment alone with him.
She smiled weakly at him. "So this is what you really want, huh?"
"Yes," he replied after a momentary, apologetic hesitation.
"I can't change your mind?"
"No, I'm afraid not."
Emily sighed, knowing that there was nothing more to be usefully said on the matter. "Then we'll make it work."
"Look, I'm sorry. I should have talked about this decision with you sooner."
"Yes, you should have," she replied matter-of-factly. She briefly observed, and then lightly fingered his medals. "That said, when you get involved with a man with a Medal of Honour and a Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry on his wall, you have to be an idiot not to consider the possibility that he wants to be a starship captain - no matter how shaggy his haircut."
Felix grinned. "You are one hell of a woman, Emily Askew."
"And don't you forget it," she said as they embraced, just before she kissed him on the cheek. He followed it with a kiss on the lips, to which she acquiesced.
"Come, let me introduce you to some of my crew," Felix said after a moment and he led her into a bit of a scrum of well-wishers.
Emily handled herself and the crowd with the ease of a professional hostess. It seemed as though she knew just what to say to flatter others. To his security chief, she remarked, "I'm trusting you not to let the captain do anything stupid. If he returns with another one of these medals on his chest, I'm holding you personally responsible." To Kristen Ferris, "Felix has told me that you are a very smart woman. That, coming from someone who has told me without the least bit of jest that the Dean of the Daystrom Institute is a moron, is high praise indeed." And to Treyvin, who worried they had gotten off on the wrong foot, "I was pleased at first when Felix said you would be his first officer. From what he had told me about you, I had assumed that the decision would display enough poor judgment for Starfleet Command to reconsider."
By the time she had finished and she politely excused both herself and the captain, she had left the group thoroughly charmed and even feeling more comfortable with their new commanding officer. Felix wondered if he could talk Admiral Meyer into giving him a Public Relations Officer and Emily a commission.
"Hey, thanks for tonight," he said as he walked her to the transporter room hand-in-hand. "I can't work a room like you can."
"Don't mention it. I'm sorry I have to leave so early, I would have loved to stay," she replied as she regarded him from the corner of her eye. "When are you bringing the Surprise to Earth?"
"We still only have a skeleton crew here, but most of the senior staff is already aboard. I figure we'll have some fun tonight and then get underway in the morning. It will be a very short cruise to Starbase 1, where we will dock and complete our pre-tour diagnostics. That'll last maybe a week to go through everything as the crew assembles. Then, we'll be ready to go as soon as we receive orders."
"Oh."
"You know, if this whole long distance thing is going to be too hard on you, I won't take it the wrong way if you'd want to see other people."
Emily looked at him with a glare. "No, but I do wonder if you do."
"It's not that. It's just that I... I..." Felix looked away and exhaled. "I'm introverted and intense. I don't always express myself well, and I kept this from you because it was easier for me. You don't deserve that. I feel guilty.
"I still want to be with you - I love you - but actions have consequences and I'd rather face them an-"
"I love you too."
"Huh?"
"You said you loved me," Emily said, looking at Felix like he was a dunce. "I love you too."
"Oh," Felix blushed a bright red. "That's not really how I wanted to tell you. I was thinking something more romantic.
"Fuck it."
Felix wrapped an arm her around the waist, pulled her close, and kissed her.
"I can take one of the shuttles and take you back to Earth in the morning; stay with me tonight." Emily nodded and smiled at Felix. "Give me another thirty minutes for appearances sake, and I'll join you in my quarters."
"Of course."
Felix directed her to one of the wall panels and instructed the computer to show her the way while he returned to the mess hall. There he began to make the rounds that necessarily came before retiring to his quarters. While he lacked the skill and grace of his partner at this kind of enterprise, he handled himself well enough and the occasional flash of wit kept him in good spirits.
He was chatting with an old civilian professor he knew from his time spent as a fellow at the Daystrom Institute and who had taken an interest in Pavlik's career. A Zakdorn of considerable repute in Warp Field Theory, he maintained a steady distaste for Pavlik's non-academic career and saw it as a childish obsession with "playing cowboy." Still, upon this occasion he managed a congeniality not known of his people and the two had a nice discussion as they stared out of the large windows of the mess, which overlooked the impressive sprawl of the shipyards.
"Pardon me, Professor, I need a word with the captain," said a kind female voice, with a faint crackle of age. The pair turned to see a female admiral in her late sixties. The professor bristled briefly, but withdrew politely enough. "Oh Captain, wipe that scowl off your face."
Felix turned back to the window and stared straight ahead intensely. "What are you doing here, Sloan?"
"Dear Felix, did you really think I'd miss your big day?" Silence. "I am pleased to see that you have made up with Emily."
"You leave her alone, do you hear me?" Felix replied, shooting a stern, dangerous look at the undercover agent.
"All citizens have a role to play in ensuring the future of the Federation, Felix," Sloan replied casually. "Although, if you want to make sure that we don't call upon Emily - and, perhaps your sister as well - then all you need to do is cooperate."
"I don't respond well to threats, Sloan," Felix replied as he struggled to regain his calm. "I've been passive in my resistance to your organization. Stay away from my family to keep it that way."
"Captain, my life's work is responding to threats - both external and internal," Sloan said in a gravelly, stern voice, shooting him the first dangerous look he had ever seen her wear. "Don't make an enemy of me."
Pavlik looked straight out the window and suppressed a growl. He then turned his head back to the left and was about to say something when he noticed he stood alone. Felix looked over the room, but Sloan was nowhere to be seen. Instinctively, he sought out his first officer, and approached him when he found him.
"Treyvin, a moment," he said to the Risan, who excused himself from a conversation he was having with a young-looking Rigelian lieutenant.
"Boss, she is assigned to the shipyards - I checked," Smyne said defensively, a little red in the face.
"Don't care; not now, anyway," Felix said. He then motioned over his shoulder. "Did you see me talking to the admiral by the windows?"
"An older human with blonde hair, yeah?"
"Did you see her walk out of the room?"
"Umm, no," Treyvin said, his face scrunched up with thought. "Can't say that I did. Why are you asking? I thought that was Admiral Meyer."
"No, it was someone else," Felix replied. Before Treyvin could ask, Felix continued in a low. "I want a list of everyone who's come aboard and left the Surprise for the last twenty-four hours as well as a list of all scheduled maintenance for today and tomorrow. Get Petrovic to help you, but make sure you personally verify that all maintenance was done exactly according to the work order and that you can visually confirm every person to step aboard matches their life-sign readings.
"It's 2234 hours, so I want a full analysis of the internal sensor readings from now back to 2130 and I want to know if there seems to be the least hint of anomalous records. If there's nothing, then go back to 2030 and so on until you find something. Ferris is the top systems analyst at Starfleet Research, so put her on it. Report back to me with what you find."
"Do you want me to get started on this right away?" Treyvin asked, knowing better than asking for an explanation in a crowded room on what sounded like a matter of ship security. He was confident he would be appraised, just in a more appropriate setting.
"No. No, it can wait until morning," Felix replied, shaking his head. "Anything... anomalous will still be that way at 0800. I also don't want to give off the impression that we are looking for anything, just in case we're still being watched."
Treyvin's expression grew concerned and he was shaken to see Felix mirror the look.