The Legacy of the Gladiator

Posted on Sat Oct 28th, 2023 @ 8:40pm by Captain David Hawkins & Commander Raiden Kosugi & Lieutenant Commander Timia Svidi & Lieutenant Obav th’Villos & Captain Vanora Steele (Pallas)

Mission: The Goddess
Location: POST MISSION
3620 words - 7.2 OF Standard Post Measure

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The mission was over. The fleet was now disbanded, and secondary salvage and clean up task force was already dealing with the aftermath of the battle and returning the rescued back to their respective family's once they were cleared by Starfleet Medical. The crew of the Gladiator and her small group of personal were on their respective ships to allow their medical teams to take care of their people. All except for the Resolute as their crew were now on the Gladiator under their care. Now they found themselves at warp, travelling back to Memphis Island with the Starlight and the Starfleet Intelligence Ship Liranarix. At cruising warp speed, it was to take a couple days, a couple hours at transwarp. But they were not in any hurry to get to their final destination. They were victorious, but at this moment in time, why did it feel like they were licking their own wounds. Even though they had ended the work of the Unholy Trinity, once again and saved many of those that had been captured...

The turbolift came to a halt and there before Captain Hawkins was Lieutenant Commander Kosugi in the corridor almost seemingly awaiting his arrival. For a moment, David blinked for a moment at him before stepping out and started down the hall to the Gladiator's Cantina. As they walked, the Captain unzipped his leather command coat.

"You seem excited for the fact that we are going to the bar together. Almost, stalky like."

Raiden snorted slightly. "The last time we were in the bar together was never. So problem with that? I am rather curious as to just what else you are getting me into." giving slight smirk.

"You were standing out in the hallway at the turbolift in which I stepped out. Stalky," the captain remarked as he rounded the final corner till they walked by a group of crew members.

"So you say sir." Raiden commented. "You are making me sound like a school girl waiting for her crush to appear. And my having been here just like I was waiting for you, I just arrived moments before you did."

They all nodded to the two ranking officers before continuing on. Hawkins made it a point to make sure that all crew knew this section of the ship was ranks aside. Unless under yellow or red alert, they were to treat this as a neutral location. Only ship's security were to help patrol it and had final say, otherwise. Meaning, even David and his command staff were of no specialty, except held accountable to buying the crew drinks for first round from time to time.

David stopped just before the entrance of the cantina, He pulled Raiden off to the side and sighed. "Alright, so I can't let you go in there until we address the issue we have."

Raiden quirked up an eyebrow, wondering just what Hawkins had to say. The man seemed to be pulling out surprises one after another. "Okay Captain, what is the issue?" the dark haired XO giving a keen glance at his CO.

"You are out of uniform, and quite honestly, I am not much of a person to really throw around forced gathering to announce things when its all about that person, not about me. SO that being said. As your Commanding Officer, and your years of success, I have the authority and power... mostly cause I do what I want, I here by promote you to the rank of Full Commander," the captain drug out as he pulled a small box from his cargo pocket while giving the young officer a moment.

And a moment Raiden did need. This was not something he was expecting and it hit him right between the eyes. "S-s-sir? Are you sure? I don't think that I did anything to warrant this raise in r-" Raiden stopped abruptly noticing the expression in David's eyes. "Thank you sir." shaking his head in disbelief.

The former marine shrugged as he handed his first officer the box. "Sue me... Now fix your uniform."

Raiden took the box and replaced the pip for being a lieutenant commander to a full commander. He was feeling a bit dumbfounded, however Raiden had a huge smile. Boy will his family be surprised.

The two walked into the bar area and found their group. It was Mercia, ch'Koro and Vanora, who had already beat them there, with their respective executive officers as well. Even with all that had gone on, he was happy to see his old crew once again. But age had started to take its toll as well.

"Sorry, I had to send one more final report to command. They won't expect your reports for a bit," David explained as he waved for a couple rounds for he and Raiden.

"You're getting rusty, Captain. Back in the day, I'm pretty sure you'd have been the first and last one here, cleaning the bar out of their top and bottom shelves," the dark-haired Elasian poked fun at Hawkins. Her Intelligence Gray jacket hung open as she spun around in her chair, seeming to let the momentum carry her flying out but skipping out with the grace of a dancer, slowing to a full stop in front of David with a full grin showing off her pearly whites as she embraced her old CO in a big hug. "I guess none of us could stay away from the Gladiator," she chuckled.

There were no words to express how much he had missed them, Vanora being no different. But she was constantly hidden in the shadows in continued missions. He couldn't even remember the last time he had seen her. So when he held her in his arms, he made sure that his hug was tight and meaningful.

"You have no doubt how this all helps seeing you all back together under my roof," David smirked as he looked around the group. "Especially after the loss we just took on."

The Elasian woman squeezed David tighter for just a moment. "Par for the course these days, I'm afraid," Vanora grimaced as she slowly let go of her old captain and joined him at looking around at the group of her old friends. "To be honest, I kept worrying over the years that I'd get the call that we'd lost one of you. I'm very glad I never did. You do all have a tendency to end up in the worst possible situations."

Raiden had accepted the drink and had taken a sip of it as he listened to the banter of the Captain's former crew. He smiled at the greeting the Elasian woman gave to Hawkins and also seeing the warm embraces exchanged. He could tell there was a strong bond with them all. And it certainly gave him even more of an insight of Hawkins. For the moment he was very happy to watch and observe. He also reached up his hand just to feel the new pips on his collar. Hopefully this wasn't a dream.

"We haven't met," Vanora smiled at the new Commander. "Captain Vanora Samsoe Steele. It's always my honor to meet someone I have have fought alongside, and always my pleasure when they are still alive." Vanora crossed an arm over her chest with a closed fist and a slight bow of the head in a salute of respect, then extended her hand to shake in the fashion common among many humans and standard among Starfleet.

Raiden returned her gesture that of the arm over the chest with closed fist, giving a nod of his own. He then took her hand and gave a firm shake. "Pleasure to meet you as well, Captain Steele, Commander Raiden Kosugi." he released her hand then smiled. "It was amazing seeing your ship in action."

"What ship?" David questioned from behind them as he waved a bar tender for a couple rounds. "Last I knew, she and her crew don't exists?"

"Cloak and dagger is a lot less fun than getting bloody," Khelev spoke up, a slight growl to his tone. He set down a bottle of rum on the bar, it was a brand made on Memphis Island. As his attention turned to Vanora, his antenna turned inward towards one another. He couldn't help but look her up and down. "It's been a while Vanora. Now, open the rum Captain. Tonight we drink."

"David understands," the Elasian laughed. "And we get plenty bloody, thank you very much, Khelev. That's why they call it 'cloak and dagger' and not just 'cloak,'" she smiled sweetly at her old flame. "And you know you can't just say 'Captain' around all this brass without confusion. Or at least without enough bottles for each of us. Here, I'll do it. Glasses, Nanuk," Vanora said to the Reman woman next to her, before noticing that her XO already had several empty shot glasses in front of her. "Clean glasses," she clarified with a laugh.

"Stabbing someone in the back with a dagger isn't my style. Ripping their arm off and beating them to death with it is a lot more fun and bloody," Khelev was dead panned and his antenna only twitched slightly. He looked at Vanora, feeling like that was a lifetime ago. "As long as it's empty by the end I don't care who opens it. I doubt you'd be surprised that I have two more bottles just in case they're needed."

Vanora laughed freely at Khelev's bravado, enjoying the fact that he was both completely capable of what he said and unlikely to do so at this particular moment. "Right then, I think we've torn off sufficient arms for now, so let's focus on emptying the bottles" She thanks her XO as the Reman brought two large handfuls of shot glasses, and Vanora began pouring rum for everyone as Nanuk handed out the filled glasses.

A bit of a quiet smile from Raiden, as he lifted his glass to his lips. They were quite the tightly connected bunch. "It sounds to me like a bit more of history taking place." raising his glass towards those there. Raiden then drained his glass and got another. His elbow upon the edge of the bar.

"You're in it with the rest of us now, Raiden," Vanora smiled. "Despite his gruff exterior, David does have the habit of bringing the best out of all of us. Either that, or he just manages to put us in the worst possible situations so that those of us who survive have no choice but to be the best," she winked.

Raiden gave a wink back and grinned. "I think he's just starting with me, and I've got this feeling that things are going to become even more interesting in the near future." taking a drink he then said, "And I thank you for the welcome, Vanora." she was a beauty, he can't deny that fact.

"Interesting usually means stupid," Khelev said gruffly, before taking a drink and letting out a slight sigh. "It's most certainly the latter, there is no way you'll convince me David knows what he's doing."

"He tends to fly by the seat of his pants much like a pilot tends to do." Raiden commented, then his eyes were drawn towards someone there who had been quieter than he had been.

"Who is the lady there?" nodding towards the dark haired woman ( Mercia) "She's got quite the piercing gaze there."

"Not the only piercing thing about Captain Mercia Kavi. And I'm saying that as the one who's covered in knives," the Elasian laughed. Vanora was, in fact, wearing a number of sheathed knives strapped both under her jacket and around her hips and thighs. "That's the old you, I suppose you could say. David's Number One when I was here. Also got us into a lot of trouble, some of us more so than others, eh Khelev?" she winked at the blue warrior.

Raiden's eyes traveled over Vanora as to the knives, that she carried. Couldn't help but still notice the beauty. He cracked a smile as he also looked back towards Mercia. "Well both of you are better looking than I am." giving a grin. His eyes traveled over to where David was, "Looks like I've got a lot of catching up to do." he quipped. "Then again I am just an average sort of guy, rather tame in comparison. Very tame and very boring." having a rather serious expression on his face but there was a twinkle in his eyes.

"I think he decided to have me as his XO 'cause I am the perfect foil for whatever he has planned. Very straitlaced, that is what I am." Raiden added.

"That's why I told Obav to take your place. He's chaotic and fits here," Khelev's antenna lashed at the air for a moment before he nodded to the seat next to him and gave Mercia the first hint of a smile since he'd walked in. "And yes, she continually causes me trouble."

Raiden gave a slight smirk then laughed. "Good decision." he giving a nod of respect to Khelev. He turned his attention back to Hawkins and remarked, "So Captain going to say something besides letting me do all the chatter?" Raiden still wasn't comfortable enough to call Hawkins by his first name.

Mercia finally glanced up from her tablet, now focused on the group, "So sorry, Captains duties never end." she said as she pulled an ear bud from her ear and turned it off with the tablet. "Where is my drink damn it?" she demanded. "Did I hear something about causing Khelev trouble? That is a special hobby of mine." she smirked at him. She glanced at David, "Its good to see you too Davy." she said.

"Choosing far more gentle XO's now are we?" she teased as she looked at Raiden.

"In my defense..." David replied as he finally got a couple empty glasses and a large bottle filled with a dark caramel collared liquid. He sat the glasses out in the center and passed them around, first to Mercia then to his XO. "... he is really good with swords and quick in the dark. Never had a ninja as my executive officer."

Raiden chuckled smiling warmly at Mercia accepting the glass from Hawkins, and almost dropped it. "I see you've been doing your homework, Captain." then he lifted the glass toward Mercia, then to the others, "To us on this most interesting occasion." giving a wink towards Mercia, then took a drink.

After pouring all the glasses half full of the whiskey and passing them out. He joined the executive officer in agreement. "What can I say, I have always wanted my very own ninja on my crew."

"You don't say." Raiden commented before he took a drink.

"I can respect someone with a martial tradition," Vanora said as she threw back her whiskey in a single gulp, before taking a moment to pause, looking at Khelev and Mercia. "Wait, who do I think I'm talking to?" she began laughing. "Hawkins likes to surround himself with fighters, that's for certain. You'll also want to be careful about making a habit of toasts to 'interesting occasions' around here, there are so many of those you're liable to end up with the worst headache of your life and half a day of memories missing, looking out from the wrong side of a brig."

Raiden looked over towards Hawkins, gave a bit of a smirk, turned his attention back to Vanora and the rest. "There have already been interesting occasions, just not to that extent. I'll keep a mindful look at matters now." He paused then said musingly, " And Hawkins likes to be surrounded by fighters." He drained his glass and set it down for another. "I can very well see that." he gazed at the glass for a moment or two, then raised his eyes. "Vanora, Mercia and Khelev, I don't know if I'll be seeing you after this, but I am glad to have met you all. It definitely gives me more perspective as per the Captain here." Raiden flashing another smile.

"Oh its not time for gushy feelings. Its the occasion of relaxing, and hearing about what all we have been up to since we all separated as a crew. I won't lie, I hate how we all have been busy and it took one of our oldest threats to bring us back together. How is Memphis Island and how are things being under cover?" David asked as he looked around the group before him.

"I am a bit curious as to what has been happening as well." Raiden commented. "Also, I take it Vanora has her own ship, what about you Khelev." Raiden looking at the andorian. "And also you Mercia. Do you have your own ship?"

"Oh, you know, saving the Quadrant, saving the Federation. Same old," Vanora answered David and Raiden's questions first, laughing. "Sadly, my job limits my ability to share too many war stories, but you can probably guess from my ride and the company I'm keeping," she nodded at her Reman XO, "where I've been spending some of my time, at least. Anyway, I'll just say you should all really get yourself a cloak. They're a lot of fun," she smirked wryly.

Mercia leaned back in her chair, "I do more of a desk job these days, Which is annoying as hell. I'm a woman of action." she mused, complaining. "I can take the Captains seat on any ship I need to, but Admiral Grayson generally keeps me close by. With my insane twin needing medical care and having a toddler daughter, it would be hard to always be on the go." she shrugged, "Sacrifices for things that matter more than a thrilling life." she took a drink, and made a face. "I still miss it. This was the most fun I've had in several years."

"It's been a while since I've left the island. Running the engineering teams for the whole island keeps me far too busy. If any of you need work done, come see me, Khelev took a drink from his glass, and sighed softly. "Maybe it's time I take command of my own ship."

"Yikes. Never thought I'd see the pair of you grounded." Vanora laughed. She leaned over and hugged Mercia. "You only miss it because you don't have to deal with it every day anymore. I am really happy to see you settled. You deserve it." She looked over at Khelev. "You both do."

Raiden finished off his drink, took another look around at those gathered. "Well before I leave this lovely reunion, I do have one more question, any advice where being Captain Hawkin's XO is concerned. I will probably need all the tips I can get." a look of amusement in his eyes, however he was a little bit serious in his questioning as well.

Khelev's antenna turned inwards in amusement at the question, he considered a couple of different answers before he just looked over at the man. "Good luck, as the human saying goes. You're going to need it."

"Well, I do appreciate that. Maybe he needs the luck as well with me.." Raiden giving out a laugh. He looked over to Vanora and Mercia. "I take it that you share the same sentiments as Khelev here?" he was carefully avoiding looking at David at this time.

"I was going to go with 'you're going to need a lot of knives,' maybe." Vanora made a noise akin to a laugh but her face stayed deadpan serious. "Really, though. I wouldn't stay to close to him unarmed. You never know when someone trying to kill him or his crew is going to pop out from the next corner."

"Rule number nine, never go anywhere without a knife or knives." Raiden responded, "i can tell you definitely abide by that rule." giving a nod towards Vanora as well as Mercia. Raiden always made certain to carry a knife or two with him, his just were not noticeable.

"Occasionally, a show of readiness is enough to get a would-be assailant to back down. Not usually, though," Vanora shrugged. "It's more of a cultural thing for me, though I've had enough chances to use them. Especially around this guy," she laughed as she nudged David.

"Knives," Khelev let out a scoff. "A kal'hris and the ability to rip off a man's arm and beat him to death with it are far superior. It also tends to strike a little fear into those that challenge along with their friend."

Raiden had noticed the blades that Andorians used and they certainly had a factor that would cause a person to pause. "What you say is true. I've known a few who have had a second thought or two when facing an Andorian and their blade and ire. Therefore when it comes to being on Hawkins' team up, best to be prepared or try to be prepared for anything." flashing a grin. "And on that note, I'll bid you all adieu. I've got some things to do." he turned to David. "Thank you for including me in on this." and turned back to the others. "A pleasure in meeting all of you." With that, Raiden gave a slight bow and then left the Canteen.

David nodded to his Executive Officer before looking around his old command staff. He took a long pause before he rose his glass. "Let's continue this evening, shall we? To the Legacy of the Gladiator."

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