Recall

Posted on Wed Sep 27th, 2023 @ 12:18am by Captain Vanora Steele (Pallas) & Lieutenant JG Eira Cortez

Mission: Memphis Island
Location: USS Gladiator, Operations
Timeline: Sometime after "Cadet, Security, Ops and Marine"
2156 words - 4.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Captain Vanora Samsoe Stele had a soft spot for Operations. After all, it was where she had started and spent the first, formative years of her Starfleet career. So whenever she had the chance to meet and thank an Operations officer for their hard work of making the ship run, she did, even if they weren't the ones most likely to get the credit for saving the ship in the middle of some bizarre cosmic phenomena or Borg attack. Or perhaps *especially* because they weren't likely to get the credit that they definitely deserved.

It was an interesting change: at Operations, Vanora sometimes felt her department's work was unfairly unseen. Now in Intelligence, she and her colleagues did everything possible to ensure that what they did was unseen, unrecognized, and unknown.

The last thought brought her to her current task. As usual for those wearing Grey, it was one thing disguised as something else. For the subject of her visit, however, Vanora had no doubt that her uniform would put the woman on alert, and that her hidden intention would not stay secret for long. No big problem, of course. They were among friends now, and with the talents of the ghoul-sniffing Cadet Aarfa, Vanora was confident that any lingering Trinity sleeper agents would by now be revealed and safely in the brig behind Level 5 security measures.

The doors slid open with a whoosh and the Elasian woman methodically scanned the room, her eyes moving even as her head stayed fixed, face pointing harmlessly to the far side of the room to throw off any casual observer. It was wholly unnecessary here, but she had been trained well in the craft. Her light brown eyes stopped as they locked onto the yellow collared lieutenant, and she approached casually with a large smile as if surprised to spot an old friend. "Eira," she greeted the Ops Chief informally, neglecting the expected introductory pleasantries. "Congratulations are in order for a job well done."

Eira had been sitting at one of the Operations consoles, focused on getting her last reports done for the day. They'd been piling up because she had been putting them off for a while and she thought she'd better get them done.

At the mention of her name, she looked up and focused her mismatched gaze at the unfamiliar voice who'd said her name: Captain Steele. Standing up out of respect and nodded with a smile, "Captain Steele, thank you." Stepping out from behind the console, Eira met the other woman and studied her without making it obvious. An idea formed in her mind, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today?"

"Please," the captain said, "call me Vanora. The Elasians have a saying... admittedly, I can't recall it accurately right now, something about being sisters with those whom we've spilled blood. Or something like that. I'll be the first to admit I wasn't the best student in my household when it came to memorizing antiquated proverbs. Still, at ease; too much pomp and circumstance will go to my head."

She paused for a moment, taking in the lieutenant's poise. "I suppose you don't buy that I've made my way here to just congratulate you for running a tight ship?" she smiled, her eyes catching the overhead lights in a slight twinkle.

Eira shook her head, mostly at the fact that the Captain, sorry, Vanora, was just so casual about everything. "Absolutely not buying it one bit." She replied with a grin. "I wouldn't say I'm the one running it, but I appreciate the nod to it." She relaxed the posture a bit.

"It's much more than anyone will admit when it's time to hand out medals, that's for sure. But you're not the type that's in it for the public adulation or to climb your way to brass, are you, Eira? Always a top pupil and star athlete before Academy, but you didn't set yourself up for a fast track to Command as the profilers would've guessed, given your family and background. For some odd reason, you wanted to be in Intelligence." There was no question at the end of the statement, but Vanora stopped and looked at Lieutenant Cortez as if a very clear question had, in fact, been asked.

Eira arched an eyebrow in response: Vanora had done her research on Eira, which was intriguing. She nodded, "That's correct. I've never been one for wanting a command of my own, just a department, which I've already achieved. Intelligence is just where it feels natural for me to be." She shrugged.

"'Intelligence.'" One corner of Vanora's mouth turned almost imperceptibly upward. "You didn't say 'Operations.' So, the question is, what is more important to you, running your own department, or doing the work that feels, as you say, 'natural' to you? If you had to choose one. Purely hypothetically, of course."

Eira motioned for both of them to take a seat so it was a lot less formal between them. "I took the Operations helm here as there wasn't a necessity for an Intelligence department on the ship. To be honest, I enjoy the feel of running a department, but I also enjoy being one of the unseen with the work I do." She pushed a bit of hair back behind her ear. "Can I ask, there is clearly a reason behind your visit here today, and I am truly honoured, but what is it youre wanting from our conversation?"

Vanora joined the lieutenant and sat in the offered chair. "I truly believe that everything that happens, everywhere we end up, it is for a reason. For me, I'm not sure if you're aware, I started here, on the Gladiator. I was also Chief of Ops, years ago. And under the very same Captain, Hawkins. So, maybe not too much of a coincidence that both David and myself were drawn back into the orbit of this ship, reunited by an old enemy of both of ours. You, I am not sure what exactly caused you to end up in this particular posting, but given your record, what you went through four and five years ago, the losses you've seen, I imagine someone very wise in the Admiralty recognized that Hawkins ran the sort of ship you needed to have the time you needed."

"And I suppose that brings us to why I'm here. The question is, what did you need that time for, between your last Intel assignment and now. You have a particular skill set, Eira. It is enriched by what you've done here, built here. Well, not on this actual ship, of course, but with this posting and with this crew. I have a larger mission for which the final destruction of the Trinity--the cultists--was only a detour. I've been given leeway to pull in assets as needed. You saw my Warbird during the battle, the Liranarix? It's tiny. I'm not going to lie to you, I don't really have needs of an Ops Chief. But I do need someone who can sit in the dark for years at a time." The captain continued without pausing, adding what she considered might be an important caveat, given Eira's history. "Not alone, though. With Intelligence, you are aware, I can't promise anything, but I can give you my word that I will die before I leave one of my own stranded or alone."

That was a lot for Eira to process. More so in the sense that she had made enough noise and waves to attract the attention of a well respected Captain and make them want her on their crew. Either way, it saved Eira from asking that question, because it was already answered.

"Dealing with the death of one brother and being disowned from what little family I had by the other one, kind of takes its toll and really messed me up mentally." She flicked the same bit of hair back again, "That combined with underlying PTSD from the past, that kind of put me in a mindset where I needed to be in a safe place to lay low and recover mentally for a while. Captain Hawkins provided that for me."

"You mention about sitting in the dark for years at a time? Can you please elaborate on what you mean?"

Vanora knew what Eira had lost, and reading about the lieutenant's family had been impossible without thinking of her own. She gave a sad smile and leaned back slightly in her chair. "Not until you're signed on and read in. Sorry, you know how this works. What I can say is that we popped out for this reunion, but it's been six months since anyone on my ship has seen another Starfleet officer. Once our ship leaves here, it will be several multiples of that before we resurface again."

The Elasian turned her hands over, palms facing up, fingers relaxed. A symbol of openness, rare honesty for a spy. "I'm not David, and where I go is rarely safe. You've been through a lot, Eira, and I wouldn't make you this offer if I didn't think you could handle what we've got ahead of us. But as rough a journey as the Arcadia has had, this will be much closer to what you faced your last round in Gray. Infiltration, undercover work, beyond Federation borders or close to it.... Close to what you dealt with before, but not the same. You aren't who you were half a decade ago. You have new expertise, too. Those are skills we need for this job."

"You and I share a lot in common, including having lost more than most can understand. Some things we'll never get back, but some things we rebuild. My crew is my family now, just as my old crew here was when I served on the Gladiator. If you accept, you'll be family, too." It was likely not the clarity that Eira sought, but it was what Vanora could offer.

Eira nodded slowly, taking in the weight of what Vanora had just said. She understood there would be no turning back if she said yes to the offer, and that if she said no, an opportunity like this would never be given to her so freely again. The crew on the Gladiator had become her home, especially Raiden, but it's not like it was family: she had still always felt like the outsider looking in. She made up her mind on the spot, "Has Captain Hawkins been made aware of this offer? And would I need to have a debrief conversation with him before I left, or has that already been taken care of?"

The captain nodded. "David knows I'm talking to you, and that he doesn't have a choice in the matter. Frankly, you're the only one in this situation with a say in what happens next. If you decide to come with, there's no requirement that you debrief with him before you leave; that is also entirely up to you. For the record, the first time I left the Gladiator, I did it without saying goodbye to him--or anyone else, for that matter--and I very much regretted it. The second time was much better: that time I left through the front door, instead of beaming off the ship with a wanted terrorist," she chuckled. "I have another twenty hours or so before repairs are done and we're ready to ship off. You have that full time to give your decision, and have any conversations that you feel are warranted."

"To be honest, I don't need that time to think about an answer. It was always going to be a yes." Eira smiled a genuine smile that was rare for her. "In fact, I was actually going to ask about going with you when you left, so I guess it's a win-win situation for us all." She glazed over the fact the words wanted terrorist were mentioned, but she didn't care. "I don't have much in the way of belongings, so I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Vanora's eyes twinkled again. "When you're ready, head over to the Liranarix; we're at the station's Bay 2. Subcommander Nanuk is expecting you and will get you settled in. We'll do a mission briefing on the Bridge at 0900. Get through any 'goodbyes' before then; we'll be comms silent once we leave Memphis Island." The captain stood, signalling the end of the recruitment conversation, and held out her hand to the lieutenant in the human fashion. "Welcome back to the Gray, Eira. I'm beyond pleased that you're joining us."

"Thank you, Vanora." Eira stood and shook the other womans outstretched hand. Gray was a good look on Eira, and she decided she never wanted to change from it again. "I look forward to working with you."

OFF