Station Post#13 Off On a Quest

Posted on Sun Mar 31st, 2024 @ 6:02pm by Taavis {SF Capt. Ret.} {UFP Intel Agent} & Lieutenant JG Gavin Lasso {Honorary KDF}
Edited on on Wed Apr 3rd, 2024 @ 1:32pm

Mission: TALES FROM THE MIDDLE STARS
Location: various
Timeline: Current

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After having spoken to Captain Bjorgo, and finishing her breakfast, Taavis rose to her feet and turned towards her bathroom. Gavin had already dressed and departed after he had made breakfast for her. She was disappointed in that, not because he was a dedicated officer but because she had been looking forward to some water sports before her day began. But, it was obvious that the Five Elements had other things in mind. So, sliding her robe off she stepped into the exquisite steaming hot spray, cleansing both mind and body as she bathed. Afterword Taavis saw to hygiene, got dressed in her all crimson catsuit with Starfleet paraphernalia and left her quarters. Entering her offices she greeted her staff and made her way to her own office, taking a seat and calling up her computer. When it had activated she then went through the steps for a diplomatic call. Using the comm codes provided by the Duran Folk she sent out that she was interested in speaking to them via visual communication. While waiting for a response she spun her chair about and used the replicator behind her desk to order a thermomug of mint tea, taking it up once it materialized. Leaning back in her chair, blowing on the surface of the hot liquid and sipping, she remained patient.

The comm chirped and then her assistant spoke. "Captain Taavis, we have an incoming transmission from Durana. They agree to visual communication and are eager to speak with you. One Earl Janell of Duranar."

"Thank you, Ensign." Taavis said as she sat up and set her mug to the side. "Patch them through, please." The Ensign acknowledged and her screen morphed from a Starfleet screensaver to an open communication between parties. There, before her on the screen was a pleasant looking female with hair so blonde it was almost white, her fair skin only adding to her allure and seeming to almost glow with a purity she had never seen before. Though the woman appeared to be Human in almost every detail she did sport a pair of slightly pointed ears and her smile was both genuine and filled with warmth. Her clothing had to be hand made with how exquisite it was, the stitching and embroidery perfect and strong. It was like looking at something from back in Earth's ancient times, with cloth and leather combined to provide both a fine look and protection as light armor.

"Captain Taavis, I am Earl Janell representing the Duran Folk. Well met, Captain." Janell beamed another smile at this strange looking woman.

Taavis gave a nodding bow from the neck. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Earl Janell. I thank you for returning my call." Remembering the name Janell from Bjorgo's logs she had to inquire. "Would you be the same Janell that Captain Bjorgo spoke of? The captain of the freighter?"

"I am," Janell said. That big smile remained. "What can I do for you, Captain?"

There was a commotion on the other end of the line as Taavis went to speak, with what sounded like two different people laughing and carrying on out of view. Janell looked towards the sounds and her expression became perturbed but not angry. "Tomar, Boris! I'm on a call with the Federation." She made the shoo motion with her left hand at them, telling them to depart.

"The Federation!?" The two male voices came out in stereo. There was rustling and then two more of these Duran Folk entered into the frame. "Hi!" She got a silly wave from each, with one speaking for the two of them. "I am Tomar," he touched his own chest then motioned to the other. "This is my brother, Boris."

Boris broke in, leaning in closer to look at Taavis through the screen. "Are you really from the Federation?"

Taavis could not help but smile. "I am, yes. Good to meet you."

Janell began to push on them lightly as she was trying to herd them away from the call and out the door. "Later, lads. Let me speak to her first. Go! Shoo, shoo." All of them had disappeared from view, then the sound of an actual heavy door closing, with Janell coming back into view as she straightened her garments. "Apologies, Captain Taavis. Not many of us have met off-worlders. It is how we safeguard our home and our people. Only those we trust are ever invited to visit and we take great pains to obfuscate any paths back to our star system."

"Understandable, Earl." Taavis was impressed with this woman using words like obfuscate. It showed a level of intellect and wisdom that all too often was missing from various cultures. "As a Vulcan we have a belief we live by. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. Protecting the citizens should always be the first priority."

Again Janell gave a wide smile. "We are glad to hear that, Captain. After meeting Captain Bjorgo and his crew and the fine way they saw to our needs, we came to the conclusion that meeting the Federation would be in our best interests. You seem to value similar beliefs to our own. Which, of course, led us to contact you and arrange a meeting here on our world. We want you to see all we have and why we will die to the last to protect it."

Taavis heard the conviction behind those words, and even as Janell spoke them her smile faded and her eyes showed a determination that minutes before had not been apparent. It was obvious they were a fiery people, not prone to violence, but willing to resort to it to save their way of life. In her mind there was no greater honor than to give one's life to save another. "That is why I called, Earl Ja..."

"Just Janell. No need to stand on ceremony, if you don't mind." Janell said. "How can we be honest with one another unless we drop all preconceptions and speak plainly. On an equal level. Would you be opposed to speaking common to one another?"

"Not at all," Taavis said, a friendly grin on her face. "Taavis, then. No need for rank, Janell."

Janell's big smile returned. "I am pleased. Thank you." Once that was settled she went back to what was being said. "So, Taavis, you were trying to explain?"

"Yes, I was." Taavis responded, setting herself for what she had to relay to the Earl. "Captain Bjorgo has been called away to another assignment which means his ship is also not in the area. So, I was calling to apologize and to see if we can arrange a different time for the USS Nazgul to come to Durana and meet with your people."

Janell's face had sank as she listened, the disappointment clear. "That is unfortunate. We were so looking forward to it. All the arrangements have been made for the feast and welcoming celebration once they arrived."

"Celebration?" Taavis asked, an eyebrow arching as she leaned in a bit more. "What if things went badly? All that preparation would be for nothing."

Giving an offhand waving away motion Janell responded. "Bah. We celebrate first contact with a feast of greeting. If you are not invited here then you are not meant to be here. So, we make sure to show those invited that they are important enough to at least enjoy a meal with the King and Queen. It is during the feast that we weigh your character and measure your worth, face to face."

As Janell spoke Taavis had been considering all she was saying. A massive feast and party, merely to say hello and greet their guests. A celebration of fellowship. She felt like she was speaking to someone from a medieval epoch. "Would you consider another representative?"

Janell tilted her head slightly, a thoughtful expression on her face. "You would be willing to assign another herald?"

Herald? Taavis thought to herself. There it was again, that manner of speaking. "Always, Janell. The Federation does not take their friends lightly. Starfleet is here to defend our citizens and way of life, it is not a military force by definition. Our first priority, our first choice, is to always seek a peaceful solution to any confrontation. But, if you are willing to accept a proxy we will accommodate."

"Gladly!" Janell said with excitement. Her smile was even more pronounced. "King Duran will be most pleased."

"King Duran?" Taavis asked. "Your species is named after your royalty?"

"No, not at all, Taavis." Janell gave a knowing smile and the amusement in her eyes was plain as day. "Our species is named after THE royal family. But," she held a hand up before Taavis could ask another query regarding that matter. "We can discuss that with your herald."

Taavis had been right at the cusp of saying something but, when Janell stopped her and said what she said Taavis clamped down on it. "Fair enough. Well, we have your system coordinates and can be there in a short time. Would you be opposed to speaking with me as herald to the Federation?"

"Really!?" Janell got excited all over again. They had already formed a diplomatic bond, and this alien woman seemed quite pleasant and understanding. She knew of Vulcans but had never met one, the rumor being that they were creatures of logic and tended to be cold and unemotional. Some Duran Folk had even referred to them as arrogant. Their staunch belief in their logic made them act as if they were never wrong. But, that was not the case with this one. Perhaps the rumors were untrue. "I will let the King know. You would be most welcome. With my recent promotion to Earl you can come and stay in my lands and mingle in the villages. I will gladly show you everything. But, will you be coming alone, or will you have any Humans with you?"

The sheer joy and positive energy from this woman was like a shot of adrenaline. Taavis was enjoying every minute of talking with her. "I have someone in mind to bring with me. He is Human and a good sort." She almost gave a giggle at that. Her mode of speaking was angling to match Janell. Not a bad thing, she thought. "We'll leave as soon as we can. I promise, we will take a meandering route to your world, Janell. Please, give your King our best, and let him know we look forward to meeting him."

Janell gave an excited clap. "Excellent! Haha! What a glorious moment. I will send you the route we use to get home from out in the wilderness. I must let you go, however. A conference is in order. Until we meet, Taavis, may the sun forever shine on your head."

Taavis gave a bowing nod from the neck. "As we Vulcans say; Live long and prosper, Janell. Taavis, out."

Janell gave a nod of goodbye and then she reached out on her end and closed the channel.

Grabbing her mug, Taavis spun her chair and tossed it into the refuse chute. Spinning back around, and after a fifteen minute conversation with Rear Admiral Aaron Stone, she was given permission to be the special envoy to the Duran Folk. In that conversation she had also mentioned the officer who would accompany her, since all Starfleet away missions required two personnel at minimum unless they were done under special circumstances. Once that was finished she informed her staff and set up her Acting Fleet Officer to see to the daily grind while she was away. After that she was gone.

***

Gavin Lasso was in his office going over the vector routes for traffic, duty reports, and maintenance reports. Getting to the end of it all he then leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. As he was doing so his door chime sounded so he dropped his hands in his lap and gave a brief sigh before he called out. "Come." Imagine his surprise when in walked Taavis, not expecting to see her again until sometime this evening.

"Come on," she said with a grin and a mischievous glint in her eye. "We're going."

"Going?" Lasso asked as he stood up. "Going where?"

"We have an away mission with Admiral Stone's approval." Taavis made sure the door closed behind her and then went around his desk to give him a quick kiss. "Giving up the Nazgul was a mistake. I so miss being in the middle of things. This station has made me complacent, sedentary. But, we have an opportunity to add to the Federation, or at least gain an ally. As envoys."

"Wait, us?" Lasso was surprised by that but pleased to hear it all at once.

"Yeah, us." Taavis said, standing against him as they spoke face to face, her hands on his forearms as she stood before him. She knew she was falling hard for this rough-around-the-edges officer. There was no denying that. "It's all approved. You and I are going to meet the Duran Folk."

"Aren't those the halfling people Bjorgo met?"

"The same," Taavis said. "The Nazgul has been sent to aid the Peel. Tore was going to go to Durana and meet with the Folk, but the Peel issue was a priority. O'Connell is a fine captain and he deserves some backup. I hope it isn't needed but with the Gola, anything could happen."

"I have a runabout that just went through maintenance, Captain. Shall we?" Gavin asked, grinning. A mission alone with his new fling, what's not to like, he thought.

"We shall. Designation?" Taavis asked.

"USS Jordan. Main shuttle bay for this section. I'll meet you there after I inform my Second."

"Got it." Taavis gave him another kiss and then let go of him and left straight away.

Seeing she was excited to get going Gavin did not waste time in arranging his department for his absence. Being marked as an envoy was an honor. If this went well it would put a shining mark on his personnel record. By the time he left his office he was looking forward to the mission with gusto. The Starfleet mission statement came to mind as he made his way through the corridors. 'To boldly go where no one has gone before. To seek out new life and new civilizations'.

Arriving at the USS Jordan Gavin stepped aboard, seeing Taavis in the co-pilot's seat as she was running through pre-flight.

Taavis looked over and smiled. "Hey, sexy. Headed my way?" She gave a giggle.

Lasso tossed his pack to the side and sat in the pilot's seat. That was what he liked about Taavis. She was his superior, and if she wanted she should be given leeway to pilot the small starship as the mission commander. But, knowing it was his duty to see to small craft and starships she had left that task to him out of respect for his position. "All systems look good. Ready?"

Taavis gave him a nod, her eyes showing that she was more than ready. It was an interesting feeling, totally letting go of all emotional suppression. This was not the first time she had done this, the last few times not ending well. Brutality was not foreign to Vulcans and their emotional content was far more in depth than Humans. Dangerously so. As a follower of Jarok she attempted to reconcile Surak's logic with the undeniable truth of emotional existence. Followers of Jarok seek to embrace, understand, and thus tame their emotions rather than fighting to suppress them. Her Vulcan discipline aided in not losing total control, but often times that discipline was put to the test if she went too long in her explorations of her own personal character. Taavis was a disciplined Vulcan, a brutal Romulan, a Starfleet officer, and a crime lord all rolled into one. She had been from one spectrum of life to the other.

The runabout, USS Jordan, lifted off and exited M-69. After crossing through traffic vectors and getting to the outer markers Taavis input their first jump coordinates and sat back as Lasso locked them in and engaged the warp drive. The Jordan jumped to warp four and disappeared into light speed.

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