Meeting with the Admiral

Posted on Fri Dec 30th, 2022 @ 10:52pm by Commodore Wilkan Targaryen & Captain Ken Jamison & Commander Jessica (JJ) Barnes-Jamison

1,304 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Short Treks
Location: Deep Space 12
Timeline: 2431-01-18, 09:00

Once the Valhalla had completed the docking with the station, JJ followed Ken out of the docking ramp, and into the corridor of the station.

"We made fairly good time considering we could only manage warp 4. Hopefully repairs won't take too long."

Ken walked alongside his wife. "Yep, not bad, not bad at all. Just hope the admiral is as good as his word in moving us to the head of the line for repairs and giving the crew at least a few hours of shore leave on the station."

Admiral Willian Targaryen stood on the Mezzanine overlooking the Grand Concourse of Deep Space 12, having spotted Captain Jamison and Commander Jamison having recently arrived aboard the station. Just outside the colossal windows built into the bulkhead their starship, the USS Valhalla, was docked and undergoing repairs. He smiled at the sight of the United States Class starship as in hung in the drydock not too far away. The Valhalla was part of a specialized refit for the Galacxy Class that was initiated at the dawn of the 2400s. Dubbed the Galaxy Dreadnought, the ship could be outfitted with any number of specialized mission pods depending upon what was needed of it. In theory. Reality was that, for most of the ships, the specialized pods never worked and only the secondary nacelle was successful. Valhalla was not such a ship.

"Captain and Commander Jamison," Willian said after having tapped his communicator, "I'm on the Mezzanine."

Walking with JJ, Ken heard the Admiral's message. "Understood Admiral. Commander Barnes and are headed there now." Ken replied. Clossing the channel he glanced at JJ. "Now, it begins." He mused as they headed for the Mezzanine and the admiral.

(JJ)

Admiral Targaryen watched as the duo arrived on the Mezzanine level and smiled, politely, to the two as they approached. "Thank you both for coming so quickly," he greeted. "I'm sorry to have pulled you from other assignments, but I needed your ship here."

"You said you had a mission for us Admiral. So, here we are." Ken answered, "Now, the obvious question is what's the mission and why do you need the Valhalla?"

"To the point, Captain, I like that, but you may not," Willian answered as he crossed his arms. "Starfleet is reassigning the Starship Soval to oversee Starfleet operations in the Gamma Quadrant. Effective immediately Admiral J'Nea will be overseeing our relations with the Dominion and investigations into the Kam'Jahtae offensive against the Dominion." He glanced at the massive United States Subtype of the Galaxy Class that hovered outside the window, "Valhalla is being reassigned here, to Deep Space 12, to assist with colonial operations."

Ken exchanged a glance with JJ as the Admiral laid out the change in operational plans for the Valhalla. "Colonial Operations? What exactly is that, Admiral? Is sounds like we're going to babysit a bunch of colonists." Ken questioned not sure if he liked this change in plans for the Valhalla and her crew.

"The Valhalla will be assigned to the Maelstrom, the Sector which this station occupies, to work on exploration and defense of the region. While the Federation has been operating here off and on since the 2370s our understanding of the region is still relatively minor. You may also be surprised to learn that my first assignment as a Captain was here in the Maelstrom, so I take this appointment very seriously."

Ken was silent as the Admiral laid out the Valhalla's new orders of defense and exploration. "We take all our assignments seriously Admiral and we'll take this one seriously." he added.

"No doubt," the Admiral said reassuringly. "The Maelstrom is one of the most unique Sectors in known space. Ambient radiation is three times the normal limits for the rest of the galaxy, which makes colonization of this region very difficult. Despite this, the Romulans setup a couple colonies here during the Romulan Relocation Effort of the late 24th Century, as did the Klingons and the Cardassians. Then you have our proximity to the Vayt Sector and Coppelius that adds to the station's importance."


"With all the different races in such close proximity, it is like something out of Earth's Old West period with the station and the Valhalla serving as the law in the area and to keep the peace." Ken observed. "A challenging job to be sure but we can handle it." He looked at the admiral you mentioned ambient dadiation being three times the norm. Is the station or Valhalla in any danger?"

"No more than usual," the Admiral answered. "While the stars give off three times the radiation, so far Starfleet has seen little to no impact upon operational effectiveness."

JJ perked up a bit when the old west was mentioned. Her mothers side of the family had ties to the mirror universe, an adventure she was glad to be done with for now. But her father, a side from being a Starfleet scientist, maintained their family ranch in Montana. It had been in her family’s hands for centuries. JJ loved that era. Of course this wasn’t going to be Earth’s old west.

She smiled a bit. “Look out there’s a new Sheriff in town and his name is Captain Jamison.”

Ken chuckled at JJ's statement. "Don't know about that JJ. I do know, going to do my best to maintain the peace but I can't do it myself. Going to rely on you and crew to pull this off."

"Valhalla will, of course, commit to more routine exploratory assignments as well," Willian informed. "There are still many mysteries in this region."

"But of course." Ken repeated with a wink and smile at JJ. "Can't wait to investigate some of them."

Willian nodded, "We can discuss those more in depth once repairs are made to your ship. My engineering teams have already been deployed to repair the Valhalla. We have some crew transfers for you as well."

"Speaking of repairs, how long is the estimate to complete the repairs on the Valhalla?" Ken questioned.

"Our engineers are still calculating that," Willian answered. "I'm sure that it won't take too long, but feel free to enjoy shore leave here on the station. It's come a long way since the 2390s and our Concourse has a lot to offer. We also have a courier ship that travels from here to the Core weekly so if crew want to head to Earth, Andor, or Tellar that's also available."

Ken listened as the Admiral spoke of all the station had to offer. "I think at least for now we'll confine ourselves to exploring the station and seeing what there is to see. I know JJ would like to take a look at the Concourse and the shops there."

"We have a lot of options available. The Grand Concourse is up here, but there are also other establishments in the Draegos Memorial Park in the Habitat Module. We even have a Quarks if you're interested," Willian said with a smile.

Ken looked over to JJ, "A Quarks? Now that is something. We may to go there and check it out JJ, of course after you've done some shopping." He teased a bright smile on his face.

"I'm sure that you'll enjoy your time here on the station. There are a lot of options available for entertainment while your ship is repaired." The Admiral checked his datapad, "If you'll excuse me, though, I have a staff briefing I must prepare for. Was there anything else?"

Ken shook his head and smiled, "I don't believe so Admiral thank you for coming down her to see us and move us to the head of the line in regard to repairs. If we should happen to think of anything you can be sure we will let you know."

 

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