Exploration Fleet (Treasure and Appletree)

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea," Eamon nodded. "Later. When we're more established in space. These little things are useful, but their standard set up is pretty bare bones. It's your turf now, basically, as long as the captain approves, of course, so that means you have about as much free reign as I do in the engine room." He snorted softly. "Not that there's a lot to do right now, but it's the thought that counts, yeah?"

He stepped forward, idly glancing into the pod. "I enhanced the shield system. It's not a lot, but if other worlds are anything like the one I grew up on, new things scare people, and scared people are more likely to shoot than listen. This will buy you enough time to get out of whatever firefight you should find yourself in." He paused with a frown. "Except for literal fire. For some reason, this generation of pod really stinks at resisting fire. No idea why."
 
"Of course. We'll be in Zebek space for a while, so theres no rush." Contrary to his words, Kal was itching to try the pod out, even on the standard set up, but that would have to wait at least a few light years away from the base. Unless damaged in some way, only regulated and monitored main crafts were allowed anywhere near the space station and the planet it orbited. For now, a peek inside would have to do. He slid into the seat and watched as the controls flickered to life.

Kal glanced up from his inspection, to see Eamons face peeking over the side. His casual refrence to the planet Earth took Kal a little by surprise. He had thought the human had been integrated into Zebek society at a very young age. Had he remembered incorectly, or were the stories untrue? He knew it was quite a while ago, long before he had had first hand knowledge of the space station rumor mill.

"Did you spend much time on your home planet before coming here?" He tried to keep his tone one of light conversation, his eyes fixed on the notifications and alerts running on the few interfaces he could see with the pod still open. He took note of the adjusted shields with pleasure; that was something he had wanted to add anyway, then started up a basic systems check, more for the sake of having something to do and not seem as though he was interrogating the engineer than anything else. Acutally calibrating the pod would take more time and concentration than he wanted to invest right now.
 
Eamon knew what he was doing but decided to throw him a bone. He was under orders to try to get along, after all. He leaned a hip on the edge of the pod and watched Kal work. At least this fellow knew what he was doing. That would make it a little easier to deal with him, at least.

"If you compare lengths of time, I spent more than double the amount of time on Earth as I have here among the Zebek," Eamon told him. "The first thing I learned was that there's like twenty-five planets that call themselves 'Earth,' so I had to memorize the planetary zone reference number."
 
Kal attempted for a moment to do the calculation in his head, but gave up. Maths really wasn't his thing. The systems check finished and showed everything being in full working order, to no surprise. Any other checks would need the pod to close, but he didn't want to interupt their conversation. Sitting back, he looked up at Eamon.

"I could never remember those stupid numbers. We had to learn so many during ambassador training. Must have been the first thing I forgot after graduating. What's it like on your Earth?"
Now, his inquiry was truly out of curiosity. He had never left the space area around Zelbenia before, and studying a planet and its inhabitants wasn't near the same thing as actually experiencing it.
 
Eamon shrugged, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. "Not nearly as unified as Zelbenia. Instead of one governing body - sort of, I know the Zelbenian system is a lot more complicated - there are multiple factions, many of them waring for one reason or another. Most are just petty squabbles that will be forgotten in a couple of centuries or less. Otherwise, it's a planet. Wet water, dry earth, beautiful landscapes, that sort of thing. Perhaps someday you'll see it, though that's one of the planets with a no-contact order."
 
"Thats rather unlikely then, unless your race is anywhere close to reaching a level of space exploration that would lead to a meeting of our peoples. Has humanity even managed to leave their atmosphere yet?" The question came out sounding more condecending than he had meant it. He was only expressing his regret at this fact and truly didn't know.
Being a no contact planet meant that it had not been one he had been required to know much about during training. Allied or contacted races had been considered more important, seeing as the chance of encountering them was so much higher. Knowledge of other places was handled on more of a need to know basis, sent to each ambassador to read up on as the situation called for. Kal wouldn't see files on humanities Earth unless their ship happened to be sent into a closer sector.
 
"Gee, thank you for that vote of confidence in my race," Eamon said dryly. "Yes, we have managed to do a limited amount of space exploration. We've visited our moon a few times and a couple of planets beyond, which led to the Zebek taking a look at them in the first place, but humanity wasn't ready for that level of awesomeness like your absolutely stellar race." He shifted his weight off the fender of the pod and started walking away.

"Take your time poking about in the pod, just be careful not to accidentally start it up," he warned as he headed for the door. He paused in the doorway and glanced back. "Oh, sorry, don't let the human tell you what to do. I'm sure you've read all the manuals and know all you need to. Later." He disappeared through the door.

Eamon shoved his hands into his pockets and scowled as he walked toward the engine room. Oh, he knew he was overreacting a bit. Kal hadn't meant anything bad, but Eamon was so used to the condescension and patronizing tolerance of the other Zebek he'd gotten used to treating every conversation like a fight. It didn't help that he had more hands-on knowledge of these ships than anyone else in his class or even above him, yet because they had more access to the materials and the book knowledge, they thought they knew better. He couldn't help smirking a little as he remembered one time when he'd switched the controls on a practice pod just before one of the biggest offenders had taken the test. Now that had been a good prank and worth the punishment!
 
Kal could only blink and watch Eamons abrupt departure, feeling rather confused. What had happened? They had been having a perfectly normal conversation, hadn't they? Had he said something wrong? He would have to appologise if this was the case. But he wanted to get his first overview of the pod done first.

Instead of worrying about it further, hepushed it to the back of his mind and concentrated on the tasks at hand. Disecting the humans behaviour was something he could do whenever he wanted; they would be stuck together for the forseeable future. And as the engineer had said, he didn't want to accidentally start the pod up. The pod slid closed over his head as he started up several new checks and simulations.

------------------

Ahara shifted her duffle bag more securely onto her shoulder to free her hand enough for identification. The panel she placed it on flashed briefly, then the doors to the gangplank slid open. It was empty, thank goodness. No forced small talk or getting to know each other. She had seen the crews medical files, that was all she needed to know.

She marched straight through the small hallway and into the decontamination chamber. The last deep breath she took before the doors closed and the process began smelled of antiseptic and other sterilising agents. It had been too long since she had smelled something like it. When the process was complete, she took another deep breath, as though to pull the last taces of the purifying qualities of the chamber air inside herself before venturing onwards.
Hopefully she could get up to the quarters and situated before having to meet anyone.
 
Eamon spotted the female Zebek ahead of him in the hallway. "Oi!" he called out. "You must be the medic. If you were trying to be fashionably late, you should have waited another hour or so. Not that little things like departing the spaceport on time matter, you know." He marched up to her, not at all fazed by the height difference. He'd gotten used to that by now. He looked her up and down. She looked like someone who'd been hoping not to talk to anyone. He could relate. "The captain is waiting for you up on the bridge, and yes, you do need to go see him. Then your room is whichever one is left up there. The medic's wing is somewhere up there, too. Not sure, I haven't gone looking for it, but the captain will know. Welcome aboard and all that."

He turned and went to the doorway to start the process of disconnecting the ship from the gangplank and shutting down the decontamination chamber. The process mostly involved a lot of button poking on the keypad next to the door, something that made him feel a bit like a prat, but whatever. He wondered if the Zebek would huff or walk away without a word or sound.
 
With an internal sigh, Ahara turned to face whichever crewmate had had the misfortune of meeting her before she wished it. One glance was enough for her to tell who she was dealing with. If the short stature wasn't enough, the almost unnaturally pale skin shouted it for everyone to see. Alien. So this was the human. She eyed him much like he did her, though with less malice and more annoyed curiosity. Against her creed as it was to wish him, or anyone else, ill, she was rather looking forward to having a human under her medical care.

His words however, did almost manage to make her reconsider this benign notion towards him. The hand still gripping her bag clenched tightly as she offered him a steely smile and replied in a sweet tone, "Why thank you very much for the kind welcome. And such wise commandments for an old maid like me to follow. I would never have thought of them myself. I shall of course do exactly as you suggest, little bean."
With that, she spun on her heel and marched away.

She did a quick sweep of the galley, no more than to tell that it was just like any other ships galley she had been in, though a little smaller than she had become accustomed to in recent memory. In the hallway beyond, she barely glanced at the marked doors, picked an unmarked one at random and threw her bag inside. Without even bothering to register her signature, she marched back outside and towards the bridge. Having not managed to make a quiet entry, she might as well get the rest of the formalities over with.

Unlike Kalukans earlier, Ahara's entry into the captains presense was not on silent feet. Also, she did not deign to introduce herself. She merely marched in, planted herself a few steps from the door, crossed her arms and waited to be acknowledged.
 
Eamon glanced after the medic with a confused frown. "Little bean?" he muttered to himself in confusion. That was a new one. And he couldn't remember the last time he'd been addressed so harshly by a civilian, but it was nice that at least she was open about it. He'd grown accustomed to the gentleness and placid nature of the majority of the Zebek natives, and he really didn't mind it, but he hated when certain members used the expected politeness to hide some major rudeness and insults behind a thin veil. Oh well, as long as he didn't get his head bumped or accidentally chop off a finger or anything, he shouldn't have to deal with her ever. He turned back to his work and finished coding in the proper sequence.



Frayne heard Ahara coming before she arrived and quietly watched her in the reflection in part of the control panel. Ah, so here was the other problematic crewmember. A human, a green captain, a scout who also worked as an ambassador, and a medic with severe attitude issues. Apparently, she hadn't been required to go to counseling for those. That part surprised him. What did not surprise him was the fact that only one of the crew of four was not a guarantee problem. This was going to be a long flight.

He finished what he was working on, his jointed fingers flicking over the panel like butterflies. When he finished, he flicked his hand, raising a holographic screen that had Ahara's picture and file displayed. "An excellent medic, seasoned flier, and a reasonable cook," he remarked out loud, almost as if talking to himself, his tone calm and perfectly regulated. "However... I see there are several reprimands on file here, and from the wording here, I imagine more than one unofficial rebuke. The issue became so extreme that she was removed from active duty and reassigned. That is most unfortunate. Once that time of black spot mars the record, it is difficult to overcome. Still, this is a new craft and a new crew, therefore new opportunities." He paused for a moment and made a tiny note at the bottom of the file, indicating she had been registered as having arrived and presented herself to her new captain.

"I am glad to see you have arrived, Ahara daughter of Marun," Frayne said, turning to face her. "As much as I dislike beginning our new relationship with a rebuke, I must ask that in the future you are on time. I am certain I do not need to tell a medic how important timeliness can be." He folded his hands behind his back, his expression calm and reserved. "With that out of the way, I welcome you to your new craft. I was rather pleased to see a crewmember with such seniority join the crew and look forward to whatever guidance you may have to offer. We shall be disembarking in a matter of moments now, but I expect you will have enough time to stow your things in your room. Do you have any questions?"
 
Ahara let the captain talk, knowing full well he was aware of her presence. What did he think to accomplish by reading the file she unfortunately knew best aloud to her? As soon as he reached the more recently added section, she started employing the age old tactic, used by teenagers everywhere, 'in one ear, out the other'. She really didn’t need to hear this, especially not from a greenling like himself. Perhaps in time, he would come to understand, when his captaincy put him before near impossible decisions, but for now, his lectures would fall on deaf ears.

When he was done, she gave him a frosty smile,
"Ships rarely depart the second everyone is aboard. I'm sure you had plenty to do to keep you sufficiently occupied in my absence. My things are already stored, and as to questions, I haven’t any, except may I be excused?”
 
Frayne stood silent, watching her for a moment. His expression didn't waver, he didn't twitch, nothing to give away any emotion but calm. "Medic Ahara, you may be more experienced, and this may be my first posting, but I am still your captain. When you stand before me, I expect a certain level of respect to my rank, if not to me personally. If you wish to continue to disrespect me, please at least do the courtesy of doing so behind my back, not to my face. Otherwise, I shall follow proper procedure and have you officially reprimanded, which will go on your file. I am sure you have been warned of this before, but I will remind you again: two more reprimands, and you will be removed from all space travel, and depending on the severity of said reprimands, you are in danger of losing your license to practice medicine. This craft and this green captain are your last chance, so I would suggest you at least go through the motions no matter your feelings toward me if you wish to keep your post. Fake it for long enough and you will be transferred to a better posting. You may be excused to your quarters once you have saluted properly."

He hated this. Really, really hated this, but what was he supposed to do? She was showing more attitude than Eamon right now! He hadn't thought it possible. Eamon was at least smart enough to know when to fake respect to avoid a lecture, yet here she was all but baiting him in three sentences. He knew acutely that he was green. He knew that starting off the trip like this was not optimal. He also knew that being green and with no personal respect from the crew, that meant he had to push hard for the rank respect. Hopefully, personal respect would come later.
 
Ahara felt her insides grow colder than a block of ice. To come at her with the threat of a reprimand within 5 minutes of her being aboard; that was beyond low. And disrespect of rank! What a laugh. Rank was nothing more than a word stapled to whoever fulfilled a set of meaningless conditions. Anyone could achieve that. She would give respect to the person behind the rank, and so far her new captain was not showing qualities she could give such respect to.

She was hard pressed to even unclench her jaw enough to get out the few words, “As you wish. Captain.”
With that she gave the most proper salute she had ever given in her life and left.

Only once in the safety of her quarters could she even begin the attempt to loosen the tension that was all but turning her to stone. She leaned against her door and tried simply to breathe and calm her racing mind. When that did little to help, she stumbled over to her bag and started unpacking.

Only when she had tossed the empty bag in a corner and was surrounded by its contents did she start to feel marginally better. Seated on the floor, she trailed her fingers over each of her treasures, the fruits of her two months spent back at home, avoiding her family and everyone else.

----

Kal felt more than heard the faint rumbling traces that signaled their imminent departure. Quickly he ended his current simulation and exited the pod, wishing to see their embarkment from the arguably second best vantage point; the bridge.
 
Frayne watched Ahara go. "It is so delightful to make new friends," he sighed quietly to himself. "It leaves one with a warm, fuzzy feeling."

He turned back to the control panel. He'd expected this job to be difficult and to have to prove he could do his job, but Ahara felt different. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something he said, no, it was the way she had said it, niggled at him. It was almost as if she didn't feel he was an actual authority figure. Was it because he was green? Or was it something else? It was no secret that his father was an admiral on the Flight Council. Perhaps she, like many others, assumed that he'd been handed his position thanks to his father pulling strings. He did not blame them for the assumption, but that was far from the truth. Not that it was anyone's business nor should it matter, but at least he knew the truth. That was all that mattered.

He checked the time. One minute and twenty-three seconds before take-off. Ahara had certainly left it late. If she had missed the deadline, they would have had to cancel the flight for today and leave it for the next cycle. That would have been a black spot on a brand new record for certain. But she hadn't, and it was pointless to dwell on the past. He flicked a few switches and laid his hand on the pad for start-up authorization. The engines hummed to life, the entire craft giving a shiver as it came to life. He smiled, the sensation sending a chill down his spine.

Reaching over, he keyed on the intercom. "All crew, please report to the bridge. I repeat, all crew, please report to the bridge. Over."

~~

Down in the engine room, Eamon ran keen eyes over the moving parts of the engine. It was so smooth and sleek, not at all like the clunkier engines of Earth, but even these beauties could break down, especially when some designers put form over function. This one looked good, though, and he nodded in satisfaction. This should be fine for now.

"All crew, please report to the bridge. I repeat, all crew, please report to the bridge. Over."

He looked up instinctively then realized the futility of the motion. At least no one else had seen it. He grabbed a rag and wiped off his slick hands before walking over to the ladder leading up to the hallway. He stepped up and stretched before heading for the bridge. This should be good!

Eamon reached the bridge first and saluted Frayne. It was a bit of a weak salute, but it was hard to focus on the captain when the sun shield was up, revealing the great, wide universe before them. "Nice!"
 
Kal heard the order just as he was leaving the pods hangar. He entered the hallway just a few steps behind Eamon, but didn’t see the need to call attention to himself or hurry to catch up. They would all be congregating at the bridge in a moment anyway.

Much like Eamon, his attention was caught by the view presenting itself before them, but he still managed a quiet greeting of “Captain.” before turning fully to the spectacle. He found the engineers words to be quite the understatement. ‘Nice’ did not begin to capture this. He wondered if the start of every journey would feel this way. Or would it fade with time and routine? Was there a way of capturing such a moment in more than just cloudy memory?

----

Ahara almost crushed one of her treasures hearing the intercom message. Why had the greenling even let her go, if he wanted her back at his side only moments later? And for what precisely? To lord his rank over her and the rest of the crew? Wonderful. Just what she needed.

Still, he had been quite clear in his expectations and the consequences, should they not be followed, so she had no other choice. However, there had been no exact time stated over the intercom, so she saw no reason to hurry. Not that she had much to plausibly keep her.

With a groan, she rose from the floor and stepped carefully over the soothing ring she had built around herself. Slowly, she meticulously checked to make sure that nothing would topple over while she was absent, then took her time registering her signature to the room.

With that task complete, she had no more excuses, so stepped out of her little sanctuary and made the short trip back to the bridge. Unlike her two crew mates, she did not find herself entranced by the view, but instead remained just inside the doorway and watched their esteemed captain, ready to jump into a salute the moment he should glance her way.
 
Frayne made certain everything was set then turned to his crew. Ahara's tardiness did not escape him, but he did not call her out on it this time. Let her play her little games. He wouldn't let it spoil this moment. "I hope you will forgive me the theatrics, but I wish to welcome you all to the UZN Mackinaw."

Eamon drew himself up smartly and saluted the captain. "Sir!"

Frayne smiled and saluted them. "At ease. Now, the first flight of the Mackinaw May she sail true and pure through the skies!" Turning back to the consul, he touched a button, and four chairs folded down from the walls, giving the crewmen a place to sit if they so chose. He remained at the controls and guided the craft out of port, slowly steering it into the open and empty blackness of the universe. The craft hummed softly as it responded to his light touch, easily gliding around the other crafts and following the navigation path. It took only a few seconds to reach free space, and he opened the throttle.

The craft leaped forward eagerly, and he allowed a trace of a smile to glance across his face as the stars blurred and blinked before them in a dramatic display. The engines purred, running as smoothly as he could wish, driving them out into the freedom of the universe! As free as one could be in a craft with an automatic pilot that could be used to recall it to the nearest station, that is, but that was still pretty free. Plus, he had a sneaking suspicion the recall system would not be working for long if Eamon could find it. For now, he put all thoughts of his problematic crew, his new-found responsibilities, and all the other weights hanging about his shoulders out of his mind and took a moment to simply enjoy the view.
 
Both Kal and Ahara followed Eamons example. Kals salute was almost in sync with the engineer, Aharas a few moments behind, though with rather less alacrity than her two crew mates. The moment their captain gave the word, she collapsed into the chair provided and wallowed there for a moment, before straightening her posture and fixing her gaze resolutely on the blackness outside, wishing only to escape.

Kal was slower to relax, partly due to too much formal training and partly (mostly) due to excitement. When he finally did manage to tear his eyes from the view and turned to discreetly appraise their final crew member, he was faced with the rather stern looking woman with a back as straight as his great aunts.

It was a little daunting, but he quietly took a seat next to her and asked, “Does a mission start always feel like this?”
In his peripheral vision he thought he saw her eyes flick towards him for a moment then away again, but got only a noncommittal ‘Hmm’ in response. Still watching the stars streak past outside, he cast around for something else to say to get the medic out of her shell a little.
 
Eamon stayed glued to the view before him. This was so amazing! Yes, he had actually been out before, but he still never got tired of the rush of the initial jump! Ah, this was so much better than his destiny would have been had he stayed on Earth. Flying through the actual stars and fixing all the bizarre mechanics! So much more fun.

Frayne adjusted a few controls and monitored the system for a few minutes before setting it on autopilot. There was no need to keep it on manual the whole way to their destination. Speaking of their destination...

He turned to the two crew members who had chosen to sit, leaving Eamon to stand alone at the glass. "Now that the theatrics are out of the way, it is time to discuss our first assignment," he announced. "The observation post 'Jepison' is running low on medical supplies, due to a rash of viruses that swept through the craft a couple of times before it was stamped out. Our mission is to deliver the supplies to the Jepison without alerting the planet they are observing to our presence. It is a simple task, but an important one, and the Council will be observing how well we conduct ourselves for this first mission no matter how small it may seem to us, and indeed, every mission must be handled with great care and dedication no matter how simple or complex it may appear to us. Are their any questions?"
 
Kal rose to his feet when Frayne approached them, rather glad for the interruption. He had a feeling the medic at his side wouldn’t have become much more talkative even if he had started singing opera. The woman in question remained seated, rigid posture making her seem almost unable to get up at all, like a very realistic statue.

When Frayne finished with his briefing, both opened their mouth to reply simultaneously, realised the other wanted to speak and broke off. Quickly, Kal said “Please,” deferring to the medics experience and indicating she should speak first. She in turn gave a curt nod and got fluidly to her feet, proving his theory of temporary petrification false.

“I would like to see the shipment.” Much as Ahara didn’t trust this greenling captain and wouldn’t mind making his life just a little harder, she didn’t want others to suffer for it. And as their esteemed captain had so unnecessarily pointed out earlier, she had enough tarnishes on her record without another mission going south.
Loading crews were not always the most cautious or considerate while handling any form of cargo and depending on what medical supplies the Jepison Station needed, those might be delicate and in need of more appropriate care while transporting.
 
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