No Rest For The Wicked
Posted on Sat Jun 4, 2022 @ 10:09pm by Captain Larisna Koralova
Mission: Special Mission - "Crossing The Line"
Larisna was about to call it a night at last, her reports were filed, everything was in order, and she felt like she could sleep the whole night. This wasn’t always the case, the past often made sleep difficult or impossible and she’d just come to accept insomnia as a fact of life for the past two decades. But it also was this ship, this crew. They wanted to explore, just like her. The ghosts of war didn’t haunt here, and she had more good nights than bad for a while now.
Having finished her nightly ritual of a sonic shower and a glass of milk, she looked once more around her quarters, a habit that she wasn’t sure where it came from. Clad in the black workout clothes that were issued to all crew, both because the loose fitting clothes were comfortable to sleep in and handy if she did end up needing to burn off some energy quickly from a sudden jolt, Larisna slid under the covers of her bed.
“Computer, lights and polarize viewports.” Larisna said. With a chime, the lights shut off and the viewports facing a rather vibrant nebula the Hornet was studying turned dark, allowing almost no light in. A little tossing and turning to get comfortable, and the Captain was ready to slip off into sleep. And at that moment, there was a chime that earned a frown.
=A= Bridge to Captain. =A= The watch officer on duty said.
=A= Go ahead. =A= Larsina replied after nearly making a sarcastic comment.
=A= Captain, there’s a priority message for you from Starfleet Command. =A= The officer replied.
“Of course there is…does it look like we’re the Enterprise?” She grumbled as she slid out of bed. The joke was often that the USS Enterprise was often “the only ship in range” during a crisis, usually because Starfleet wouldn’t give it to anyone else. It was something that dated easily back to Pike, if not Robert April.
=A= One minute, patch it to my personal terminal. Koralova out. =A= Larisna replied, “Computer, lights.”
The lights came back on and she grabbed her commbadge off the nightstand and headed over to her desk. She set the badge next to her terminal and thumbed the activation button to bring up the display. A single holographic video screen opened at eye level.
“Authorization Koralova Nine Four Nu Juliet.” Larisna said, deciding that she was in uniform enough given the time. It was regulation, a black shirt that in silver on the front said “HORNET” and had the Starfleet arrowhead on the back at the neck.
After a moment, the screen flickered to show Captain Dominic Dalgaard. “Larisna.” He greeted, putting on a rather unconvincing smile. “I hope this isn’t a bad time?”
“Not at all. Just was about to call it a night, but I’m no stranger to all-nighters either, sir. How can I be of assistance?” Larisna replied, keeping her tone and expression neutral.
Dominic pulled up a PADD. “There seems to be some Tzenkethi activity at Deep Space K-17. Captain Kaz reported a convoy en route to the station a few hours ago, and his latest update mentions a coup. Apparently the Autarch, or former Autarch, is on the station now.”
Larisna paused for a moment, finally swiping over another screen next to the main one, her eyes skimming through the data. Then she finally let out a slow breath, turning her attention back to the transmission.
“A coup in Tzenkethi space…that’s unusual to say the least.” Larisna said, “So. That’s already set the tone. Where do we fit in?”
“We think a bit more of a presence in the area could be worth it.” Dom smiled slightly, hopeful. “We’re calling in a handful of ships,the USS Cardinal is already heading to the station for a stopover before heading out further. But they're just a Raven class ship and wouldn’t be the greatest help if things devolve.”
“I agree.” Larisna replied with a nod. “The Hornet can be there in about four to six hours. But, and forgive me if this is a bit out of line, but I seem to recall the Tzenkethi border was more known for where careers went to wither and die. Particularly with the border stations. It seems to me that a devolving situation would be worse than usual…”
“That was our assessment as well.” Dominic said, folding his hands in front of him. “I look forward to your report back on the situation once you arrive.”
“Understood. I’ll report in once we’ve got a better view of the situation. Good evening, sir.” Larisna said with a nod and ended the transmission.
“So much for a good night’s rest.” She said to herself and picked up her commbadge from the desk.
=A= Captain to Bridge. =A= Larisna said.
=A= Yes, Captain? =A= The watch officer replied.
=A= Set course for Deep Space K-17, maximum warp. And set wake up calls for the senior staff an hour before our arrival. =A= She ordered.
=A= Aye, Captain. Changing course now. =A=
With that, she began calling up all the available information on the Tzenkethi. It’d be a long flight but not long enough.
Captain Larisna Koralova
-CO, USS Hornet
Captain Dominic Dalgaard
-TFCO, Task Force 56
