Welcome to Faltan Station

Posted on Sun Jul 9th, 2023 @ 6:24pm by Commander M'Mira & Lieutenant Feeva Drylo

1,162 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Mission 4 - Like a Thunderbolt
Location: Shuttlebay
Timeline: MD05 1200

M'Mira was a one Caitian welcoming committee. She looked down her list and saw that the new Chief Science Officer was coming on this particular shuttle. But what was more interesting to M'Mira was that Feeva was actually shorter than her according to her manifest. This was a curiosity for the Caitian, and she was very much looking forward to meeting this Vissian. Slinking between people and craning her neck in nearly impossible positions, she searched for Lieutenant Drylo.

Feeva Drylo was a diminutive woman, small in size and stature. Painfully thin, though she ate a LOT, and only about 4'5'' tall, she looked like the child of an officer, instead of the newly minted CSO. Vissians were smaller than most of the humanoid races ANYWAY, and Fee was an outlier on that scale.

So being pushed around a bit as the others stepped off the transport shuttle wasn't a new thing, but it was still annoying. The small woman had learned to wait until the others off-boarded before she found her bag and left the shuttle herself. She made her way down the corridor, and then spotted someone waiting. A Caitian woman. She lowered her head a bit, but tried to project her voice as she spoke. "Dr. Feeva Drylo. I am the new Chief Science Officer." Her voice was still low, but a few octaves above a whisper. She didn't do well with people in general, and especially NOT new people.

Being Caitian, M'Mira had no problem hearing Feeva. She looked down at Feeva and gave the doctor a toothy smile. "Welcome to Faltan Station, Dr. Drylo. We arrre happy to have you herrre. Yourrr serrrvices arrre going to be sorrrely needed. Did you hearrr anything about ourrr unique cirrrcumstances? Oh, and how rrrude of me.... I'm Commanderrr M'Mirrra. I am the former CO of the Base and Station. I'm now the 2XO and I am herrre to help you."

Fee shook hear head. "I have not. I was told that I was being transferred on the Admiral's orders, and I had a day to pack and install my Assistant into my job before I left. It was very sudden, and very hush-hush. I was told that my particular skill set was best suited for this installation," she explained. "It is nice to meet you, Ma'am. I appreciate the warm welcome. It's a long trip from DS16." She sighed. She needed a walk. A stiff drink. Sleep. Dinner. Not necessarily at once.

"Yes, well, indeed, you arrre verrry needed. Faltan Base was attacked by an unknown, what I suspect was, biological weapon. Do not botherrr watching the FNS rrreporrrt on it. The rrreporrrterrr is too interrrested in herrr rrratings."

Fee paused a moment. She hadn't asked, and it was a bit strange that this woman would bring it up. "Ok! Good to know. I operate on logic, so the facts will weigh out," she said. "If the reporter is not a scientist or doctor, her opinion will not sway me," Fee said, confidently. The Vissians were an advanced race in many ways-the mastery of logic and reason was one. Plus, Fee's own natural intellect told her this. "A biological weapon? Tell me more," she said, as they began to leave the Transport corridor.

"I wish I could tell you morrre than I will," M'Mira told the diminutive woman. "An individual beamed into the peace meeting and his body starrrted with sores and boils and then he exploded. Wherever his rrremains landed, if they touched someone, then that perrrson would become similarrrly afflicted and the cycle would repeat. Quite disturrrbing."

Fee blinked. WHAT? "Disturbing, indeed," she said. What else was she supposed to say to that?! "But FASCINATING," she said. "Shall I see the labs now? Or...how do you do onboarding here?" Some places operated differently, after all.

"Due to ourrr staff shorrrtage frrrom the attack, I'm doing the onboarding rrright now. It is just until we can get the apprrroprrriate amount of staff rrrunning this station."

Feeva nodded. "I understand; back on my old posting, the XO or first officer did a lot of it. But I think it was more because he didn't trust others to do it properly," she said. "If I can help you, let me know. I don't suppose I see the Quartermaster first, do I? Anyway, you have me name, here's my ID crystal," she said, handing the tiny thing to the Caitian. "What else do you need from me?"

"Wellllllll...." M'Mira smirked with a toothy grin. "You could find me an approprrriate husband," she joked. Taking the crystal and checking out everything, she nodded and said, "Everrrything appears to be in order now. Is therrre anything that you need or want to know about your posting?"

Feeva smiled at the joke. "Vissians, unfortunately, can't reproduce outside of our race, but if you don't mind being childless, I know a guy," she said. It was a long, complicated story about enzymes and congenitors, and she didn't have time at the moment to explain. "My first question is: where the hell am I? I got sent here on twelve hours' notice. What is happening?!"

"You will either hearrr about that frrrom our new CO tomorrrrrrow orrr frrrom yourrr Chief," M'Mira explained. "And I have to have kittens someday. My motherrr would be shamed if I did not."

Feeva nodded her understanding. "Of course, ma'am, I shall wait for a CO to inform me, then," she said. "You sound like me father; all he wants is grandchildren, though he will be sad to hear that I currently find exactly ZERO Vissian men attractive, so until science comes up with a way to fix the compatibility issues, I am afraid he's stuck with a furry grandchild. He's got me dog, Jacques, with him now." Fee was the type of nervous person to overshare unimportant things about herself in an effort to appear more confident than she was. Hopefully, this Caitian would give her grace, but Feeva was also ready for ridicule-as most of her life went, after all.

The moment that M'Mira heard the word, "dog," she involuntarily hissed. There was nothing more useless in the universe than a dog. She thought she was done with them when Refalian left. "Well, I imagine that he is sorely disappointed, then," the Caitian informed Feeva with her tail swinging down with a rapid swoosh.

Feeva simply shrugged. "I am sure, in time, he'll get over it," she said. "There's still hope; I can always adopt, right?" She said. "Or find a Vissian who isn't completely hideous. A few of us have left Vissia, after all." She made a face. "Hey!! Jacques is a good boy, and is guarding Daddy," she said. "Are we quite finished here?"

Recoiling from the dog, M'Mira's tail stood straight on end. It took every bit of her restraint to inform Feeva, "Yes, we'rrre done, before the Caitian rushed off to greet someone else.

 

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