Exchange Officers

Posted on Mon Sep 11th, 2023 @ 10:27pm by Lieutenant Siatan Grator Taxftu' & Captain Charlotte Rhodes & Lieutenant Commander Mur'trah Gator

1,139 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 1S: Shore Leave
Location: USS Defiant, Captain's Ready Room

As Mur'trah finished putting on his new Starfleet uniform, he looked over at his wife. [[Are you ready to report in, my love?]]

Nodding Siatan pulled her hair into a twist at her nape and adjusted the blue uniform. [[Their uniforms are... not as constricting as I thought they would be but these.. boots...]] she motioned with dislike at the healed boots.[[So not me]]

Turning as he tied his long hair up as well, Mur'trah took a moment to consider the high-heeled boots. Shrugging slightly, he grinned lopsidedly at his wife. [[I don't know, they do make your butt look very nice.]]

Siatan rolled her eyes and grabbed the PADDS that held their orders. [[Come we are late]], it was one of her pet hates, being late.

A short time later, they arrived at the ready room and Mur'trah reached up to press the chime.

The Captain's voice issued from inside the Ready Room. "Enter."

Siatan looked at her husband and they opened the door, then entered the room. "Captain Rhodes," Siatan said politely. "Apologies for interrupting your day."

Mur'trah dipped his head respectfully to their new commanding officer as his wife spoke.

Captain Rhodes had been seated behind her desk, half heartedly reviewing some work orders for the cargo bay overhaul. Her expression visibly brightened as the pair entered, offering a much needed change of pace.

"No apologies needed at all. In fact, I quite welcome the interruption," Rhodes said, bowing her own head in reply. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. I hope your journey here was easy enough?"

Saitan nodded and took a seat. Her federation Standard was not goo but she replied "Yes, it was a good,.. voyage."

Once his wife was seated, Mur'trah sat down in the empty chair next to her. Looking over at Charlotte, he dipped his head again. "Thank you again for the opportunity to serve under your command, [[Calsaun]]."

"I was more than happy to have you. I've always supported Starfleet's exchange program but have never actually had the opportunity to host any," Charlotte said, relaxing a little in her chair. "Both of your credentials are quite impressive though. I think we'll be learning just as much from you as you will from us."

"Thank you [[Calsaun]]," Mur'trah replied with a dip of his head. "We have both served our world honorably for many years. When our Ambassador stated that this program would further the protection of our home, my wife and I volunteered right away. While you will be the first offworlder that we will be serving under, we will follow your orders without question."

“I appreciate that. I do, however, want to make sure I’m not putting any undo stress on you with said orders. Are there any sensitivities, cultural barriers, or the like that I should be aware of?” Charlotte phrased the question as best she could. The last thing she wanted was to unintentionally order someone to commit some heinous act in their culture.

Siatan considered the question carefully. 'We are Pescatarians Captain. We do not consume what humans call dairy products, it will make us very ill, and we ask that our need for hydration be considered in regards to what you call away missions."

"I imagine we shouldn't have an issue accommodating your pescatarian needs. We have a lot of crew ranging from vegan to fully meat based diets, synthetic of course. I imagine it will be acceptable if it is synthesized rather than live? We don't have a fishery aboard," the Captain asked.

Mur'trah nodded as he spoke. "Yes, Ma'am. We too consume synthetic food while aboard our ships. Provided we are permitted to grow a few specific items in our quarters, which cannot be synthesized, which we require for our dietary needs?"

Charlotte nodded. "I'll make sure Engineering gets the necessary materials set up in your quarters. You mentioned hydration though. Can you elaborate on that?"

"As we come from a world mostly covered by water," Mur'trah began, our species evolved to being able to live in water, and at nearly every depth. While my wife's clan lives closer to the surface of our oceans, my clan lives near the seafloor. Because of our evolution, we can only be away from water for a short time. To help with this fact, our scientists came up with our hydrosuits, which we wear underneath our duty uniforms." He lifted the side of his shirt to show the suit he wore underneath.

"Fascinating. I'll see to it that the quartermaster gets in contact with you both. We'll make sure the necessary provisions are taken on ship, but I'll make sure our shuttles are appropriately provisioned too," Charlotte said as she took a look at the suit. "Out of curiosity, is damage to that undersuit potentially hazardous?"

Mur'trah shook his head as he replied. "Not to others, unless they have allergies to salt water." He glanced to his wife, then back to Charlotte as he continued. "The real danger would be to us. Without our suits, or a suitable water source, we will not survive very long."

"Well let's just avoid that situation then," Rhodes said. "Overall though, more than happy to make sure we're accommodating your needs. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Your expectations Captain for those under your command? So we do not confuse things?"Siatan asked politely.

It was a good question, and always one Charlotte found a bit challenging to answer. "You'll probably find that I am not the most formal Captain. My expectations don't center around things like formality and ceremony. I find those to be useful in conveying respect when appropriate, but they shouldn't be the be all end all within a ship's own operation. At least not to me. My expectations rather center around doing the most good we can. I expect those under my command to value the lives and wellbeing of their fellow officers, both aboard Defiant and throughout the fleet. Commitment to those who serve with you is important to me. We also have a duty to the galactic community as a whole. Our actions should always account for the impacts they will have on the galaxy."

Mur'trah nodded in agreement. "A logical and noble attitude, Calsaun. One that my wife and I share." He glanced over at Siatan, then back to Charlotte. "Then, if I may, if there is nothing else, we will go report to our respective department heads and finish our inprocessing onto your ship, Ma'am?"

"Yes, I'll leave you to it," Captain Rhodes said with a nod. "If ay any point you need anything though, don't hesitate to reach out."

Siatan stood and saluted the Captain. "Thank you Captain. "

Mur'trah stood as well. He then followed his wife's example and saluted their new Captain.

Together they left the office.

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