Par For The Course
Posted on Mon May 22nd, 2023 @ 2:20am by Commander Irene Vincent "Rally" & Commander Louise De La Valliere
1,118 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Season 1, Episode 1: Wanted: A Few Brave Men
Location: Deep Space K-9-Commander Vincent's office, Deck 9
If there was one person that Commander Vincent was not looking forward to meeting, it was the commanding officer of her new garrison vessel.
On the one hand, the moment she learned that her station was being furnished with a Lancaster-Class cruiser, she should've been elated. Even with sixty years of technological hindsight since the program's initiation, Lancasters were notoriously tough little buggers, and were still to this day favored by select command circles over their Valley Forge and Constitution-Class contemporaries.
But when the reality of it sank in, she now had to reckon with the fact that Lancasters were also notorious amongst certain command circles for being crewed by some of the most aggressive commanding officers in Starfleet's history. One need look no further than the likes of Antonio Saxon, Rodina Duffy, or "Bouncing Betty" Hammerschmidt to get an idea of what you were dealing with: all of them trailblazing captains in their own right, but all of them assholes. Rally had yet to find an article on any of these Captains that didn't portray them in a deeply unfavorable light.
Sadly, it appeared that that the Commanding Officer they'd furnished her with gravitated more towards the rule, rather than the exception. A quick perusal of her personnel file yielded no less than nine separate write-ups, including seven instances where she had lashed out at another officer, and two reports of physical assault. At this point, Rally was wondering how someone with this short a fuse had ever been considered for a command position...
A young Commander stepped off the transporter pad. Ger long faded pink hair trailed behind her as she immediately made her way towards the station commander's office. She didn't look too pleased, in fact she looked annoyed if not frustrated.
The woman arrived outside the office and reached our for the chime.
Rally glanced up at the door. Speak of the devil... that's probably her.
"Enter..." she sighed.
Louise walked through the door. "Commander Vincent I presume?" She asked as she crossed her arms.
"That would be me," Rally answered, not taking kindly to the judgemental look this woman was giving her. "And I take it that you're the officer that they've graciously appointed to command our garrison vessel?"
"That would seem the case. They pulled that old ship out of mothballs for this assignment. I would have liked a Constitution Class, but instead they give me a fifty year old hulk with a barely functional warp drive!" Louise replied crossing her arms.
"I'm sorry, you seem to think I have control over what sort of ships Starfleet assigns to me?" Rally countered, her patience with this woman running thin in record time.
Oh, well; at least when she stepped out of line, Rally wouldn't feel too bad about tearing her a new asshole.
"No of course not" Louise said back simply with a sigh. "You'd just think that Starfleet would want something a little better in this sector than a half-derelict station and antique of a starship. Come on Commander, we practically have Klingons knocking on our shuttlebay doors here."
"Trust me, Commander, I'm well aware," Rally replied. "It's not my fault that we've pretty much gotten shafted with outdated equipment. I am doing everything in my power to ensure that our garrison vessel is ready to meet the Klingon Threat at a moment's notice, but until we've established a more dedicated supply network, there will be delays."
She shifted slightly in her chair.
"And besides, it's not like you're working with a dinky little Wasp-Class. Lancasters are still amongst some of the most durable, over-engineered Starships we've ever constructed; they can take a lot more punishment than you'd expect."
Just don't let it get to your head, Rally thought to herself.
Louise seemed to pout for a brief moment. "Still, I'm just frustrated with the entire situation. I wish they would take this sector more seriously!"
why did it feel like the two of them were on the same page, and yet still at odds with one another?
"The Station's Chief Engineer has already placed an order for a replacement warp core, which will be expected to arrive at least a day after the vessel itself gets here," Rally explained, neatly folding her hands together. "As soon as we acquire it, we'll begin the process of replacing the damaged components, but this still takes time, Commander. If you're still not satisfied, you can take it up a rung and speak with Commodore Foy, but I doubt you're going to get much further with him."
Louise huffed. "I've been I'm worse situations. I'll manage for now..."
"Well, if you don't have any further qualms, Commander, I'd suggest you get settled into your temporary quarters for the time being," Rally went on to explain. "We'll be sure to notify you when the garrison vessel arrives, so that you can inspect it at the first available opportunity. Other than that... do you have any other concerns, or will that be all?"
Louise sighed. "That should be all. Commander, I apologies if I came across as abrupt. My anger lies with Starfleet, not you."
That threw Rally for a loop; given what she'd heard about this officer, she'd half-expected her to storm off in a huff. Perhaps she wasn't as hopeless as Rally initially suspected...
"To be frank with you, Commander... you and I are in the same boat," she admitted. "I can't begin to tell you how many times I've had to debrief my senior staff because Starfleet's not filling them in before they ship them out here. At this point, I'm starting to feel like a broken record!"
She chuckled at that, if a bit nervously.
"What I mean to get at, Commander, is that you're hardly the first one to bring this to my attention- and I doubt you'll be the last. I will be available to provide you with further updates on your ship, should you request it."
Louise nodded simply.
Rally nodded. "Well, if that'll be all, Commander... you are hereby dismissed."
"Yes commander" Louise said as she turned and left the office, her long hair trailing behind her,
Posting by (In Order Of Appearance):
Commander Irene Vincent
Commanding Officer, Deep Space Station K-9
Commander Louise De La Valliere
Commanding Officer, USS Tigerfish (NCC-1509)
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