Ship's Tour, Part 1

Posted on Sat 31st Oct, 2020 @ 8:17pm by Commander Zed & Lieutenant JG Sorrel Yezechi Dr & Daeren Iril & T'Vala & Tessanna (Tessa) Valeri & Miadze Palel

1,561 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Denouement
Location: Throughout the ship
Timeline: MD:1, 1800 hours

Zed had contacted all the dignitaries and arranged for them to meet for a tour of the ship about an hour or so before the reception. Once the tour was concluded, they would all head over to Five Forward for the reception. Five Forward was the main lounge that faced the rear of the ship, allowing patrons to view the stars streaming by and behind them.

Zed, for most of the day, had gotten out of her formal dress uniform and into her regular uniform to continue her duties. Thirty minutes before she was to meet the Ambassadors on the Bridge, she headed back to her quarters for a quick sonic shower to freshen up, and she got back into her dress uniform and headed back to the Bridge. She was grateful to find out that she was still the first one there.

She addressed the officer in the center chair, her XO. "Commander, when the Ambassadors arrive, send them to the Observation lounge." Zed decided that it was already time to start with a drink or two, as most visiting dignitaries seemed to stress her a little. She was always worried that they would spy on her and report back to Starfleet on her performance. Maybe it was just her Vulcan half judging her human half too harshly. There was always a conflict within, even though she never showed it.

She stepped into the quiet, dimly lit lounge and headed straight for the replicator, saying, "Saurian brandy." She heard the familiar sounds of the replicator creating her drink and in a shimmering light came a glass of light brown fluid. She took the glass, headed over to a seat, and plopped down in it. The seat was cool and cushiony and she began to relax her body before taking a drink. After a heavy drink from her glass, she sighed, the drink helping her relax even more.

Lieutenant Regos had been sitting in the dim lounge, waiting for time to join the diplomats, and felt caught as the captain of the ship came in, but the woman didn't notice her off to the side. In a way, she felt off duty on this trip. Her normal charge, the safety of Ambassador Krell, was not her purpose now. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure what her purpose was, other than to see that another ambassador didn't disappear.

Having sat a little too long without making her presence known, Lissi felt uncomfortable and opted for simply continuing to sit quietly. No doubt the captain of such a ship and mission could use a few minutes of quiet downtime.

On the VIP deck, Daeren met Miadze in the corridor between their quarters. He wore a formal type of suit worn on Trill--a dark red, knee-length jacket with stand-up collar, with gold embroidery on the left chest and running down the left arm, with black slacks underneath. Miadze had dressed to match him, which she usually did for formal occasions when they were expected to attend together. She appeared in a slim-fitted, dark red gown with full-length sleeves of sheer fabric dotted with lace patterns. Daeren mentally shook his head. He remembered being a woman who would have killed to have been able to fit into a dress of that size.

"Shall we?" Daeren said with a smile and offered Miadze his arm. Laughing softly, she slid her arm inside the crook of his elbow and walked smoothly beside him. "Good thing I'm not in heels tonight," she said.

"Trust me, heels are much overrated," Daeren said as they reached the turbolift and made their way to the bridge.

T'Vala took time to dress in one of her formal Vulcan robes. She felt the evening required it as it was a formal reception, even if it was proceeded by a tour of the ship. "Ready?" she said, turning to Tessa.

"Are you sure I have to come, too?" her assistant asked.

"Yes. I want your opinion of the ship, the crew, and the other ambassadors."

"Why? You're far better at it than I am," Tessa said.

"Practice."

Tessa sighed. "Very well."

She followed the Vulcan reluctantly.

The two walked onto the bridge as directed, but the others either hadn't arrived or had gone somewhere else. "Greetings, Commander," the Vulcan said to the first officer.

Behind them, the turbolift doors hissed open again, and Daeren and Miadze joined T'Vala and Tessa.

T'Vala bowed to the two arrivals. "It is good to see you again."

Daeren and Miadze bowed to T'Vala in return. "A pleasure to see you, too, Ambassador T'Vala, Miss Valeri," Daeren replied.

The Betazoid beauty Zara Sai, back in her dress uniform, exited the far turbo lift, sighed, and relaxed a little on seeing that the group of dignitaries had not started the ship's tour just yet. "Excuse me, Ambassadors, if you will follow me to the observation lounge we can get the tour started." She motioned politely for them to follow her through a door at the aft portion of the Bridge.

Daeren and Miadze walked with Ambassador T'Vala and her liaison to the doorway that Counselor Sai indicated.

Tessa stayed in the back, preferring to let T'Vala talk to the other Ambassadors. As far as she was concerned, she was a glorified secretary and would rather sit out this little shindig, but if T'Vala thought she could get anything out of a boring reception, well, she'd at least try. She might even find something of interest on the ship tour.

Zara tapped the door chime and waited for an answer.

"Come." came the voice from inside the room and the door hissed open.

Zara entered followed by the group of Ambassadors and their guests. "Captain, the Ambassadors are ready for their tour of the ship."

Zed gave a brief smile, "Thank you, counselor." Zed stood from her chair as the group entered the observation lounge. "I trust you all had some time to settle in."

"We did, Captain," Daeren said. "Thank you and your crew for your hospitality."

Zed nodded with a smile that was genuine. She was indeed glad they were able to relax somewhat before the tour and reception that would take up most of the evening. Tomorrow they would more than likely be conducting research on the peace talks/trade agreement. "I am pleased. I guess we can start the tour here then, in the Observation lounge. On deck one, you will find the Captain's Ready Room, the Bridge, the Briefing Room, and the Observation lounge. There are decks above this deck, A-D, however, they are located in the aft pod which contains Flight Operations for all the auxiliary craft and fighters. They also contain living quarters for those Officers and the aft torpedo launcher." Zed paused for a moment, "The Akira class heavy cruiser can be adapted for various roles by changing out the aft pod. Scientific, exploratory, diplomatic, or defensive. Currently, the Thunder Child is set up for more defensive and offensive with the pod set up for flight control for fighters. Speaking of fighters, we have 40 Kaneda class space superiority fighters and various other support craft. In essence, the Thunder Child is a heavy cruiser and a carrier all rolled into one." Zed paused for any questions that the Ambassadors might have.

"If I recall correctly, Thunder Child has an extensive history, dating back to the Dominion War," Daeren said. "This ship saw action against the Borg, didn't it?"

Zed nodded, "You are correct. Captain Matsuda and the Thunder Child saw many battles during the Dominion War and were involved with battling the Borg in Sector 001. Since then, Captain Matsuda has retired from Starfleet."

"Do you expect trouble?" T'Vala asked. "Is there any connection between Ambassador Lena's disappearance and the peace talks?"

Daeren too listened to hear how Captain Zed would answer that.

Zed was a bit amused by the change in subject, after all the question was completely out of the blue. "At this point in time I have no knowledge if the two situations are connected and until I hear otherwise we should assume that they are not and no, I do not expect trouble, however, if trouble does find us I would like to think that we are well prepared for it."

It was a fair enough answer and a cautious one, Daeren thought. Still, if he recalled correctly, Commander Lena had traveled to the talks in a shuttlecraft, while he and T'Vala were being sent out in an Akira-class starship--which was essentially a maneuverable battle cruiser. Clearly, someone suspected something.

T'Vala inclined her head in response. The captain's comment about the ship's fighter power gave her the feeling that they may very well find trouble. However, she would take the answer at face value.

 

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