USS Endeavour NCC-71805
The last thing Mackenzie had expected when he'd met with the Klingon captain was the offer of a new first officer, or of any crew at all for that matter. To say he had caught by surprise was a major understatement, and he rather thought that 'could have been knocked over by a feather' was a better way to express his astonishment.
There was, naturally, no question of his refusing. At full strength, his ship should have over four hundred people onboard. He had barely half that. Back at the beginning of the Dominion war, all the families and the vast majority of the civilians had been off-loaded, leaving the ship seriously under-crewed. Until today's battle there had been two hundred and twenty people on board, now he had just lost another three – two engineers who had been repairing a damaged plasma conduit when it had blown up in their faces, and a nurse who should have been nowhere near the blast but was on her way back to sickbay after treating another injured crewman and had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Three crew members gone. Three more letters that he was going to have to write to the bereaved families.
The thought of those letters was enough to make Mackenzie sigh. He hated writing them. Some captains had resorted to the use of a template – fill in the names, personalise a few details, sign and send. The deceased and their families, deserved better treatment than that, and he hoped he never became so jaded, so hardened by the losses that such a thing ever seemed like a good idea.
Another sigh. He really did need the help, and from her personnel file, it appeared that the newly promoted Commander Kehlan was good at her job. He'd been suspicious at first when Krang had made the offer, wondering what was wrong with this person and why the Klingon captain wanted rid of her when he was also so short of experienced officers. Deciding that he had nothing to lose by bluntness, he'd asked the question, but having listened to the explanation and read her file, he'd come to the conclusion that he was very definitely getting the best of the bargain.
With her science background Kehlan would be doubly useful to him. She had majored in the biological sciences and after graduation, had won a scholarship to study at a Terran university of her choice, after which she had completed a further year's postgraduate study at the Vulcan Science Academy.
A little over five years ago, shortly before the beginning of the war, she had been one of those chosen to represent the Klingon Empire at a major bio-science conference on Frontera. It was there, Krang told him, that Kehlan had met his wife. The two women had become friends, keeping in touch as best they could over the years and meeting up whenever possible. As a result, Krang added, he knew her well enough that he could vouch for her character and had even named his youngest daughter for her - although that, he said dryly, had mostly been because his wife thought it was a pretty name.
When war had broken out, Kehlan had given up her career to join the Defence Force and since then had been serving as Captain Kay'vin's science officer, firstly on the gruesomely named IKV Death Hand and when that ship had been destroyed, along with Kav'vin and one or two other officers, she had transferred across to the Hegh'Ta with Kay'vin, Kargan and a few of his other officers. She was now twenty-nine years old.
Mackenzie made a mental note to organise a training programme for her, to allow her to become more familiar with Starfleet methods and procedures. He knew that she would find serving on Endeavour very different from the Klingon ships she was used to.
IKS Hegh'Ta
Packing her meagre belongings into her kitbag, and since she did not own a lot, it did not take long, Kehlan took one last look around the tiny cabin she had called home for the last year. She was excited about her unexpected promotion and looking forward to her new duties, but a little apprehensive as well. She had never even been on board a Starfleet vessel and now she was supposed to take over as first officer. Even if it was only for a short time, it was still a massive responsibility.
Krang obviously thought she was capable, otherwise he would not have recommended her for the role, and she hoped she could live up to his faith in her. She was Klingon, she reminded herself; she could do this. With that optimistic thought in her mind, she turned and headed towards the transporter room.
Reaching her destination, she was surprised to find Krang there waiting for her. He had been speaking with the transporter operator when she came in, but seeing her, he looked up with a smile.
"Ah, there you are, Kehlan. Ready to go?"
"Yes, sir." She took a deep breath and stepped up onto the transporter pad. "I'm ready."
With a curt gesture, Krang dismissed the transporter operator and the officer left, the door sliding shut behind him, leaving Krang and Kehlan alone in the transporter room.
"You're a good officer, Kehlan," Krang said, intuitively sensing her nervousness. "Stop worrying. You'll do fine on Endeavour." As he spoke, he moved over to the console, checking and double checking the controls and programmed coordinates.
Kehlan stared at him in surprise. How had he known? But she made no comment, saying only "Qapla'!" and offering him the Klingon salute.
With a nod of acknowledgement, he activated the controls and Kehlan felt the transporter beam take her. The room faded around her and after a moment of nothingness, the transporter room of the USS Endeavour began to solidify around her. She blinked several times, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the light and the room came fully into focus. Two uniformed officers stood there. One, in a yellow uniform, was obviously Endeavour's transporter operator, the other wore a dark green Marine uniform with rank pins, that if she was reading them correctly, denoted him as being a major. Her guess was confirmed when he spoke.
"Welcome on board, Commander. I'm Major Philip Speares, the marines' commander and second officer."
His tone was warm and friendly and Kehlan found herself relaxing and offering a smile in response. "I am Commander Kehlan," she told him with a grin. "I understand that it's considered polite to ask permission to come aboard, but as I'm already here, it's a little after the fact."
"It is indeed," he said cheerfully. "Although you're not officially considered onboard until you step off the platform. And since you outrank me, I'm only going to get to say this once, so I might as well enjoy it. Permission granted."
Kehlan stepped down from the transporter pad. That was a good start. If all the officers made her as welcome as this one had, she would get on fine here.
"The captain wants to see you," Major Speares told her. "I'll show you to his ready room." Seeing her start to lift her kitbag, he continued, "You can leave that here. I'm pretty sure he'll want to give you a tour once he's had a chat; no point in lugging it round the ship. One of the yeomen will take it to your quarters."
Acknowledging, she followed him from the room and along the corridor to the turbolift. Several crewmembers passed them, going about their duties, and Kehlan was aware of their stares, but she saw no animosity in their expressions, only curiosity. They probably wanted to know who this Klingon newcomer was. Or maybe they already knew and were wondering what sort of officer she would turn out to be. "Has the captain informed the crew?"
Speares nodded. "There was a ship-wide announcement an hour or so ago. He told me and the other seniors personally a bit earlier. Have to say, it's a relief to have the position filled again. I can get back to focussing on my own job now."
She looked at him curiously and decided that she might as well be blunt. Did he not harbour resentment at having someone come in from outside to take over his job?
"Lord no!" Speares looked horrified by the question. "I'm a marine. Running the starship isn't my idea of fun, thanks. You're welcome to the job. Having said that," he added seriously, "I know this must be a big change for you, so if you need anything, just ask, and if I can help, I will."
"Thank you." Kehlan had learned a long time ago how much importance Terrans placed on polite words and phrases that to Klingon ears were nothing more than meaningless platitudes.
The door of the lift slid open at that moment, and Speares gestured for her to precede him inside. She did so and the door slid shut behind them.
"Bridge."
The Endeavour was a big ship and even with the aid of the turbo-lift it took them several minutes to reach the bridge, but eventually they did reach their destination and the turbolift door slid open again to reveal the ship's command centre. The bridge was a large, roughly circular room, and like the rest of the ship, had carpeted floors and over-bright lighting.
The captain's ready room was located on the same side of the bridge as the turbolift. With only a few steps, they crossed the bridge and Major Speares pressed the chime.
A voice from within called, "Come in," and the door opened, again with that little swishing sound, revealing the captain's private office.
With a quick glance at Major Speares, Kehlan walked into the room and the doors closed behind her. "Commander Kehlan reporting for duty, sir," she said formally. This was actually her second meeting with the Federation captain – she had encountered him briefly onboard the Orinoco while she was working with the damage control – but now, for the first time she was meeting him as his subordinate, a member of his crew.
The captain looked up from his padd and smiled at his new first officer. "Welcome to the Endeavour. Take a seat; there are a few things we need to discuss, and then I'll give you a tour of the ship."
IKC Hegh'Ta
Krang watched as the transporter shimmered and soundlessly dematerialised the newly promoted Commander Kehlan, sending her to her new duties on board the Federation vessel. He himself had spent several years serving on such a vessel, an experience that had been both interesting and challenging. He had every confidence in Kehlan, and he was convinced that once she got past the initial culture shock, she would thrive in Starfleet.
He turned and left the transporter room, heading back to his new quarters. For the few weeks that he was likely to be in command of the Hegh'Ta, it hadn't seemed worth moving into the captain's quarters, but the crew had expected it. Other than its larger size, there was little difference between this room and the guest quarters, but the computer facilities were better, and he was surprised to find that Kay'vin had had a proper, Terran-style mattress installed on the larger than standard bed, and it was covered with some very nice-looking furs. Krang remembered that Kay'vin had shared these quarters with his mate until she had gone on leave. No doubt those little touches of luxury had been Marla's doing. She would have insisted on at least a little comfort in their private quarters. He grinned as he remembered Kay'vin's teasing accusation that he was going soft and his offer of some nice comfy pillows.
The tiny bathroom also held a surprise, having been fitted with an old-fashioned water shower. That was one luxury that he would be glad to take advantage of. After the events of the day he could do with a shower, but it would have to wait a little longer. First… any residual amusement faded; he had a difficult call to make, and he could no longer put it off.
USS Endeavour NCC-71805
The tour of the Starfleet ship had been both interesting and informative, if also more than a little overwhelming. The Terran captain had held nothing back. As first officer, he'd told her, nothing and nowhere would be restricted or off limits. He'd answered all her questions and made sure she saw everything important and quite a few things that probably weren't. He'd also introduced her to a lot of people along the way and she could only hope that she'd remember their names the next time she met them.
Visiting the engineering decks, Kehlan had been duly impressed by the towering warp core with its icy blue/white light and that odd, almost subsonic pulsating sound that seemed to resonate through her bones. The ship's research facilities were excellent although mostly unused now, which she thought was a shame even though she understood the reasons. The arboretum and hydroponics bays on the other hand had been full of life, and for Kehlan, they had been truly interesting. Most of the plants under cultivation were edible, although there were some areas dedicated to ornamentals. Thanks to the war, Mackenzie had explained, supplies were not always regular, and it was advantageous for them to grow as much fresh produce as they could. The flowering plants, however, were good for morale and so they stayed.
The ship's medical facilities had also been very impressive, and she'd been shocked by their size and scope. The term 'sickbay' was, she discovered, a misnomer. This was a full-scale hospital complete with triage area, intensive care and trauma units, operating theatres, medical laboratories, an isolation unit, areas for dentistry and ophthalmology and so on. There was even a neo-natal unit although it was currently empty.
Mackenzie had finished the tour with an overview of Endeavour's leisure facilities – the Ten Forward lounge, holodecks, gymnasiums, which he'd jokingly told her were the most important parts of the ship. After that, deciding that she'd seen enough for one day, he'd shown her to her quarters, located on deck eight next door to his. Pointing out the replicator, comm system and other facilities, he reminded her that the quartermaster would be happy to provide her with any furnishings or household items she required.
"If you need anything," he finished before leaving her in peace to settle into her new home, "or have any doubts or questions, feel free to call me."
Slightly dazed from the immensity of it all and the rapid change in her circumstances, and not quite sure what to do with herself, Kehlan had stared around her luxurious new quarters. Luxury didn't even begin to describe it. Not one but two enormous rooms plus her own private bathroom. Carpets on the floor, plush covers on the seats, a bed that was so springy she bounced when she sat on it. The bathroom alone was bigger than her previous quarters on Hegh'Ta. What in the name of Kahless was she supposed to do with all that space?
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