Home is where your heart is

Posted on Mon Jun 15th, 2020 @ 5:54pm by Commander Ichiko Gail & Captain Abigail Laurens

Mission: Into The Delta Triangle
Location: Captain's Ready Room

Abigail sat on the couch in her ready room, chai latte in hand, plate of ginger snaps on the table in front of them, her attention firmly fixed on her first officer. It seemed like since the return from shore leave and their departure, they had had very little time to actually sit down and talk, and she found herself missing her friends company.

"So what do you make of the new crew so far?" Abigail asked curiously.

Ichiko gave a slow sip of her tea, just enjoying the warmth, but enjoying the company of her friend almost as much. "They keep us away from our quiet chats. Such insubordination." she joked, a soft smile on her features. "They're a good crew. Eager, willing, and loyal. They're not without their quirks, but I understand that Starfleet teaches us to embrace our quirks."

"Some of them are clever. In the few chats I've had with them, I imagine some of them have picked up that even I have a ... a quirk." a pause, "But, none of them judge me or treat me any differently. I appreciate that about them."

"Well, I should hope they don't judge you or treat you any differently," Abigail said with a smile as she watched her friend. "Command would likely frown on me stuffing crew members out of airlocks or launching them in torpedo tubes," her smile became a smirk. "What do you think of this Kessik thing? As far as missions go, I mean, it doesn't appear to be overly dangerous or stressful."

"People are allowed to judge. I'm just relieved they don't." Ichiko offered with a soft smile. "But, I still appreciate your respect in regards to my condition. Your faith in me, and my faith in you, is a cherished memory." another sip of tea, "As for the Kessik concern, I'd very much like for this to be an easy objective. No disagreements, no firefights. We find our target, and they willingly approach us for aid in escaping their actual pursuers. Sadly, though, I'm expecting trouble." a pause, and her soft smile returned, "I'm always expecting trouble."

She uncrossed her legs, only to re-cross them to switch which leg was resting on which. "So, how was Shoreleave for you?"

Abigail took another sip of her chai, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "It was... nice," she finally replied, the tone of her voice becoming lighter, happier. "How about you? Did you get down time? Relax and enjoy?"

Ichiko gave a nod, "With just a skeleton crew on board, the ship is vast and quiet. I enjoyed a few walks around the ship, enjoying the silence. I was able to finish up the day to day with plenty of day left to enjoy, though I knew the moment both of us were off this ship, another catastrophe or another unscheduled training exercise would happen. So for the good of us all, I stayed on board. Don't worry, I found ways to relax. I was able to get a copy of some of the relaxation parlors from home through the Bureau of Selective Processing." a smirk. "A hot spring, a bath house, and a massage parlor that actually knows my anatomy."

"Oh, they all sound totally heavenly!" Abigail said with a grin. "I think I remember you telling me about the hot springs? I could be mistaken, my memory isn't as good as yours," she teased. "I caught up with an old friend... who departed as a little more than a friend. It was nice, for just a few days, to not be responsible and in charge, especially after fronting Command and facing Lockwood."

Ichiko offered a ghost of a smile in return, reserved as always. Though, there were cracks showing. "Oh? Someone I should be keeping an eye out for on the security sweeps?" she teased back, but then the mood turned slightly more serious. Ichiko reached across the gulf of the room between then, and placed her hand on Abigail's, over her chai. Just a gentle motion, if but for a moment, before she brought her hand back.

"You do not face him alone." she reminded. "He's insulted my people and threatened our sanctum."

"I haven't spoken to Command yet," Abigail said quietly, her voice becoming almost hesitant as she struggled to find the exact words she wanted. "When we're finished with Kessik, I'm contemplating asking to have the Astraea reassigned to the Delta Quadrant," she said quietly.

"The Delta Quadrant, as you know it, is a dangerous place. Distant, elusive, and filled with dangers to a fledgling presence of the Federation. You'd need some allies out there. Established chains of supplies and the means to contact command to stay abreast of the situation." a smirk crossed Ichiko's features.

"I ... may be able to help."

Abigail smiled slightly. "I'm counting on it. There is a growing Federation presence in the Delta Quadrant already and the Graviton Catapult makes it easier for transport back and forth. I've heard about some growing tensions already, and, well, I think I have grounds to ask for the transfer, especially given I potentially have stronger ties to our existing Delta Allies than most other ships."

"You know, if I were a vindictive admiral looking to block your transfer, I'd bottleneck you at the Catapult. Can't transfer to the Delta if you can't actually get there, right?" Ichiko opened. "Well, *I* didn't get here on your catapult. The Dalacari and the Ts'usugi have been working on, well, the best term for it is a megastructure. They call it the Pathstone Project. We call it the Darkstar Project. It's a station designed to generate a stable, artificial wormhole. Takes a month to charge up the capacitors, but the end result it the same. A stable location, easily defensible, on either side."

She took another sip of her tea, "And, if you need to get there, I could... take the burden of a favor or two, and see about getting the attention of a fleetmaster."

"And this is just one of the many reasons I adore you," Abigail said with a laugh. "What about you? Would you be okay with us being stationed back in the Delta Quadrant, at least for a while?"

"It's the duty of the Ship's Second to do such." Ichiko said with a smirk, "The adoration certainly helps. Though, if this happens, you'll be drastically removed from your home. Light from your home star isn't even visible out in my region of space. I'll be fine. Will you be alright with only seeing your home in images?" she asked, concerned.

Abigail smiled slightly. "Ichiko, this ship is my home," she said quietly. "I have built goodwill with the Ts'usugi government and by default other notable figures within the Delta Quadrant. It is an opportunity for us, as a ship, that I think is far too good to pass up."

"A philosophy I can get behind. Ts'usu is here." Ichiko mentioned with a smirk. "Wherever we go, we are home. I'll make the arrangements, and carry the burden of any favors incurred."

Knowing she had the support of her first officer gave Abigail a sense of relief, and also reassurance. She leaned back into the seat, feeling calmer already. "We just need to get through Kessik first, find Tejar and then we can move on."

Ichiko gave a soft smile, relaxing along with her friend and captain. "You know, if only it'd be so easy. We send in a team to start looking, then make a big show of the Astraea showing up, sending in obvious crew to look for them. They fail to find their target, so they withdraw and we supposedly leave the system. See if our departure gives Tejar false confidence."

"We still don't have any concrete evidence that he's even there," Abigail said with a shake of her head. "Kessik is a place of interest. We need to see if there's any pieces there that fit."

Ichiko paused, taking a sip of her tea, "Well, if he's there we'll find him. This crew doesn't exactly take No for an answer." a smirk, "There's something familiar about that, reminds me a bit of the navy back home. I like that. Now, in regards to the previous conversation, I'll see about getting you dossiers on the various threats and establishments of the Delta quadrant as soon as they become available. And, for the record, I don't think I'll ever get used to calling it the Delta quadrant."

"It makes it sound so far away. Which, to you it is, but I was born there so..." she smirked.

"Good, then when we get there, I fully expect you to give us the guided tour," Abigail said with a smile. "Show us the sights, introduce us to all the right people, and keep us out of trouble."

Ichiko gave a soft smile, "Sounds like a good time. I'll get started on making the arrangements." she commented. "If all goes well, we'll be able to share the experience of shore leave on a Dalacari holding. They're exceptionally accommodating to guests. I just, still don't feel comfortable around their drones alone."

Abigail laughed. "I'll keep that in mind." she said quietly before finishing her chai. "Well, I guess we better go start assembling the away teams. The sooner we get this over and done with, the sooner we can start making arrangements." She offered a smile to her First Officer, someone whom she had come to consider one of her dearest friends. "Do you want to make sure our shuttles and pilots are ready? I'll start wrangling the crew."

Ichiko responded with a smile of her own. A rare smile that actually reached her eyes. "Let's get this started." as she rose, she claimed Abigail's chai mug, and brought the drinkware over to the wall replicator to be dealt with. "By your lead, Shipmaster."