First Report

Posted on Oct 30, 2015 @ 10:56am by Aleksey Nikitin
Edited on on Oct 30, 2015 @ 10:56am

Mission: Civil War

"FIRST REPORT"

(Continued from "Idiots")

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Gentle readers, it has been some time since last I metaphorically put pen to paper. A great many things have happened in the Federation since, as you no doubt are acutely aware. A great many things have happened to this humble reporter as well; but that is a story for another time. For now, know that I've managed to find myself on the front lines of the fight on-board the now infamous USS Phoenix as the true Federation gathers to oppose the military takeover by Edgerton and his misguided followers, the Neo-Essentialists. The USS Phoenix has gained status as a renegade, a wanted ship full of criminals and desperadoes on a mission to destroy the very fabric of the Federation, and was used as a partial justification for the imposition of martial law. As an official embedded journalist upon the USS Phoenix I am in a unique position to uncover the facts and the fiction behind Edgerton’s propaganda.

I have not yet been able to officially interview the crew however I feel that perhaps it might be best for you, my readers, to get to know them organically; to form an initial impression, and then begin to know them more intimately through my interviews. To that end, I would like to give you my impressions of the command staff, as well as key bits of information from their service files.

I will start with Captain Michael Kane, a native of Earth, born and raised in Ireland. He’s a rather handsome man despite a golden prosthetic eye that lends his gaze a cold, calculating air. He wraps himself in a cloak of command, but seems disconnected from his crew as though his authority has made him somehow otherworldly. Despite this, the crew seems to respect him, and several seem to be on friendly enough terms with him, even though from my observations of their interactions with him the overtures are rather one-sided. From all accounts from several of the crewmen, he is regarded as a pragmatic idealist, devoted to the Federation, and willing to sacrifice his life for his ideals and expects the same of others.

His Executive Officer is one Lieutenant Commander Aerdan Jos, an Andorian. A quiet man, he is perhaps more isolated than Captain Kane, though it appears this may be by choice. He seems to be an enigma, withdrawn, quiet, but likewise manages to be liked by the crew. He and Kane seem to work well together, at the very least their goals seem aligned enough that when they walk the halls it is in an easy silence that one would normally only see in old friends. Speaking of friends, Aerdan Jos has an unlikely friend in the form of Cade Foster, the CMO, who, if I am quite frank dear readers, is a rather unlikable man with a bedside manner a Klingon doctor would regard as unnecessarily hostile and harsh. The less said of Cade Foster, the better.

Third in command is the Chief Engineering Officer, Commander Jake Crichton, the husband of former Secretary of Starfleet Xana Bonviva. It’s easy to see why a woman of her caliber was drawn to him; Blue-eyed, chiseled jaw, trim and good-looking, Jake Crichton is a charming man with an easy laugh and an even easier going nature. He’s whip smart, and the Engineering department seems to universally adore him. In addition to all this, he is a devoted father and can often be seen walking around the ship with his children.

Next comes the beautiful and enigmatic Lieutenant Eve Dalziel, the ship’s counselor. Exotic, with piercing grey eyes and long dark hair she’s everyone’s go-to girl for problems both big and small. I seldom see her in the hall when she isn’t deep in conversation with another member of the crew, though this doesn’t seem to extend to the command staff, who seem to actively avoid her, though this is probably more to her skills as a counselor, rather than how her colleagues feel about her.

Chief among the avoiders of the beautiful Miss Dalziel is the Marine Commanding Officer, Major Kassandra Thytos. A loud, rough woman from the colony world of Sherman’s Planet, Major Thytos speaks with a thick, twangy accent rife with missing consonants and laden with profanity. Her unrefined bearing and speech is not softened by her appearance; despite being small in stature with deep blue eyes that should be strikingly lovely, Major Thytos is well on the way to battle-axe status. What she lacks in class she makes up in an easy-going attitude, a rather engaging smile, and the ability to make the men and women under her feel special.

The final member of the Command Staff is a newcomer from Limbo, the enormous, intimidating James Barton. In many ways James Barton seems to complement the rather impetuous and brash MCO, well spoken, deliberate, he seems to take his job very seriously. James Barton recently joined the crew on LIMBO, though everyone seems very vague on what precisely he did there. It seems that he was offered a spot on the Command Staff after assisting in saving the ship after a group of refugees from LIMBO attempted a coup. Definitely a man with hidden depths and a past that will bear more scrutiny.

Finally, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the mysterious Miss Chen. A tall, skeletal woman of Vulcan descent covered in heavy tattoos, she seems dangerous. People avoid her, though why they won’t exactly say, and she seems to be everywhere on the ship, even areas that civilians are normally excluded from. When she isn’t wandering the ship, she can be periodically found in the Vulgar Tribble, hunched over a web of computer components doing god knows what. She keeps to herself, with the exception of occasional encounters with Captain Kane. Oddly this woman no one seems to trust seems to be a confidante of the Captain, or perhaps it is the other way around. Regardless, I suspect that the relationship between herself and the Captain is less professional and decorous than the Captain would be comfortable admitting, and I find myself intrigued.

Again, these are only my initial observations, and I will be conducting interviews with all of them, starting with Captain Kane tomorrow.

-Aleksey Nikitin

- WRITTEN BY ALIX FOWLER