Reporting in.

Posted on Tue Jul 23rd, 2024 @ 12:28am by Lieutenant Commander Maxun Spello & Lieutenant JG Xalanth

1,806 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: What We Do With Second Chances
Location: USS Astrea, Maxun's office
Timeline: MD 11 / 1030 hours

Xalanth's reptilian face did bear what looked like a face as he stepped off the transporter padd. A new ship. Another chapter in his life. His freshly regenerated arm twitched slightly as he slung his bag over his shoulder and griped the small case containing his personnel phaser and fang blade.

Walking over to the nearby computers he typed in the location of the XO. he needed to report in as soon as possible. With his location found the red lizard headed for the turbolift. Time to start a new chapter.

Maxun was going over the latest personnel files of the new crew that had just been transferred over. He paused when he came to one that was quite interesting. A Dragonian! he thought to himself with amazement. He had heard of the species when he was still in Intel, but had yet met one in person. He was very interested in hearing what stories the young officer had.

Stepping up to the XO's office Xalanth made sure his uniform was spotless before stepping up to the door. As it slid open he stepped inside and stood to attention. " Lieutenant JG Xalanth reporting for duty sir."

Maxun smiled politely and gestured to the empty chair that was set up in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat. May I get you any refreshment?"

" A water will do fine sir." Xalanth said as he took the offered seat.

Maxun nodded as he moved over to the replicator. "Two chilled Altair waters." After the glasses materialized, he carried them over to his guest, handing him one. He then sat back down behind his desk. "So, Mister Xalanth...please forgive me if I'm mispronouncing your name, I am aware that my mammalian tongue and vocal cords are unable to recreate how your people speak."

" It's quite alright sir." the lizard said as he took the water. " I'm not going to get made at a species with another vocal cord not being able to pronounce my name correctly. "

Maxun grinned and dipped his head in thanks. "So, I see from your transfer orders that you are joining our security department. If I may ask, what do you hope to accomplish during your time with us?"

"Continuing my career sir and working towards getting a chief of security position of my own. That and looking after my family when i can get them transferred over here. " Xalnth replied honestly as he took a sip of water.

Maxun nodded as he replied, "Family is the most important thing to consider. How big is your family? I recall reading that you have multiple spouses and children. How many would you be looking to have with you here?" He made a dismissive gesture as he explained, "I'm not saying they all can't be here. I'm just inquiring at to how much living space you will be needing."

"Hopefully all of them when I can sir." the lizard replied. " I have four mates and seven children though Cemet and her mother are currently on a deep space exploration ship. The kids are currently with T'para and Leilani. Fulvia is currently off on some federation intel mission. I hope they're all okay."

Maxun nodded as he listened. "Well, if there is anything that I can do to help, please come see me." He paused a couple beats, then sat back in his chair. "So, Mister Xalanth, what can you tell me about yourself, or your species, that isn't in your personnel file?"

" My species?" Xalnth said taking a gulp of water before continuing. " Well I know a fair bit about all of my people but my clan is my area of knowledge. There are around seventeen different clans that roam the deep desert of my homeworld. There used to be twenty one but four of them didn't survive the Yor invasion. We travel on the clan's crawler gathering meat and other materials to trade with the city-states. "

Maxun nodded thoughtfully as he listened. "So, your people are nomads, moving about your world constantly?" He paused then asked, "How did they take your decision to leave and join Starfleet?"

" The federation killed me." Xalnth said with a sly smile. Seeing the look of confusion on his face he added. " My people's first contact was with a species of genocidal synths known as the Yor. They jumped in and started bombing our colonies and then the home world. We fought back and won but it was a hard war. We did manage to free the Yor organic starships who happily joined our republic. Well, I was on one of those ships on a border patrol when we first encountered the Federation. The lead federation ship opened fire before we could raise the shields. The first torpedo struck the weapons pod i was in. I still don't know what happened but I woke up in the morgue with a tag on my foot with my time of death recorded on it and a hole in my head. "

He paused as he took another drink. " My people have a legend of the walking dead. Creatures that return from the dead wearing another corpse. Stalking the land and stealing children to drag back into the deep desert. Let's just say many of my people still believe that myth. My clan couldn't trade as none of the cities would let them come near to trade. So i did the only thing i could. I left. I managed to get off-world and ended up doing some bounty hunting. On one of the jobs, i encountered Captain Arimel and his crew. He was impressed by my skills and offered to sponsor me for the academy. The rest as they say is history.

Mqxun nodded thoughtfully. "So...is it common for members of your species to rejuvenate like that?" It sounded like Xalanth's people healed in a similar way to El Aurians.

" No," Xlanth replied honestly. " My people do have a remarkable regenerative ability but I've never seen something like that. My first, T'para mind meddled with me and she thinks i never died exactly just very low-life signs that the medtechs may have missed. "

Maxun's brow furrowed as he asked, "T'para? I'm sorry, I don't recognize that word."

" T'para is one of my mates. My first and the Spirituality of our soul. Half Vulcan fell in love with her at first sight. " Xalanth explained the sound of his voice showing how pained he was at their separation.

Maxun nodded in understanding. "Well, then we will have to figure out how to get her, and the rest of your family here as quickly as possible. That's one of the things that I like about the Starfleet of today. When I first encountered Starfleet, over a hundred years ago, families were not allowed on starships. Now, with ships like Astrea, there is ample room for them." He leaned forward, placing elbows on his desk. "Give me some time to work on the problem at my end. You and your spouses start to get your transfer request paperwork in order, alright?"

" We already have the paperwork filled out sir. In fact, we already asked for the transfer when I got this position, but Starbase 403 claims they don't have enough personnel to let T'para and Lelani transfer. Part of me thinks someone in fleet command is trying to mess with me." The red lizard said shifting slightly in his seat.

Maxun frowned as he heard this. It was clear, by the darkening of his features, that this news angered him. Finally, in a calm, determined voice, he replied. "Don't worry, Xalanth. I will get to the bottom of this and get your family here!"

The security officer rubbed his head slightly as he responded. " Thank you, sir. I know I've made enemies in the fleet despite my best efforts."

This news made Maxun even angrier. As much as he wanted to deny it, the Starfleet of today, was not the Starfleet ge initially joined. There was a new feeling of discrimination now, since the end of the Dominion War. He had hoped it would fade as quickly as it was born. Unfortunately, it seemed as if it was here to stay.

In a voice that was calm and reassuring, he spoke to his junior officer. "Leave it with me. I will make sure that you are reunited with your family before the end of the year."

" Thank you, sir. " The lizard said with his voice showing the gratitude he felt. " Though Zola and Cemet may be a little longer to get back. Zola was assigned to one of the deep space exploration ships. She only found out she was pregnant after they passed the point of no return."

Maxun nodded, giving his junior officer a friendly grin. "Then I shall ensure you are able to stay in contact with them, while I work on getting the rest of your family here, with you."

" Thank you, sir. I contact them whenever I can, but it's hard trying to be a dad for a little girl several trillion miles away." Xalanth replied. " What about you sir do you have any family?"

A soft, polite smile crossed Maxun's face as he shook his head and replied. "Not yet. I haven't found the right woman yet."

" I'm sure you'll find someone sir. " Xalanth said with a smile.

Maxun continued to grin, thinking briefly about Chrys. He then shrugged as he replied. "We shall see, I'm still young, in regards to my species." He then looked back at the PADD container the new officer's personnel file. Looking back up into Xalanth's eyes, he nodded. "I think you'll do just fine here, Mister Xalanth." He stood up and moved around from behind his desk, offering his right hand.

" I'm glad to be here sir." Xalanth said taking the offered hand and giving it a firm shake.

Nodding as they shook hands, Maxun released his grip and said, "Welcome aboard the Astrea. Go ahead and take the rest of the day to get settled in, get you physical exam down in Sickbay, then go report in to your department chief. Tomorrow, you'll start on alpha shift, shadow your chief, to get a feel for how he runs things, then report to whichever shift he assigns you."

" Will do sir. I'll get out of your hair unless you need me for anything else." Responded the security officer.

Maxun shook his head and grinned. "Nope, that's all I've got. Carry on." He started to return to his desk, then added, "My door is always open, Mister Xalanth."

" Thank you sir." Xlanth said giving a salute as he turned and headed for the door.

Final tag


~OFF~

LtCMdr Maxun Spello
Executive Officer
USS Astrea

&

Lieutenant JG Xalanth
Assistant Chief Tactical Officer
USS Astrea

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