The Vashon Backstory - Part 2

Posted on Wed Mar 31, 2021 @ 7:50pm by Master Warrant Officer Angus Chaplin & Chief Petty Officer Ebony Bowman & Chief Petty Officer Steven Bryd & Petty Officer 1st Class Sienna Lin
Edited on on Wed Mar 31, 2021 @ 8:47pm

Mission: Birds of a Feather
Location: Starbase 10
Timeline: Several Days Prior to Part 1

Tapping the padd against his, Angus walked the bustling Starbase 10 for the last time before the Vashon’s departure after repair and resupply. The ship was headed out for month long deployment patrolling one of the middle region patrol routes. Reports had been much the same the past few months, minimal smuggling in the area but concerns of covert crossings and infiltration by Romulan Free State operatives with several tachyon detection nodes going dark. It wasn’t uncommon, they were either destroyed or stolen and sold on the black market, replaced in due course by an Engineering Frigate and the cycle would repeat. All in all, Angus felt like this was going to be another eventless rotation.

As was custom for the Senior Crew of the Vashon, would meet in the promenade of Starbase 10 a bar called “Galaxies Edge” for a chat and a ‘final meal’ before a month of rations and archaic replicators. With there being a small change to the crew, a new First Officer, it would also serve as a chance to meet and greet.

A Wallace class corvette was small, 2 decks & 18 crew. There were not the modern comforts of other escort like craft. They existed to have weapons on the border, ensure the Federation was safe. They operated small crews and had no scientific resources on board. The crew bunked up with the exclusion of 2 single cabins, taken by the CO and XO. Due to the small, close quarters nature, the comradery was critically important. Angus valued the meal for moral and his own sanity. Beyond the middle of his career, his greatest fear was returning to a regular sort of duty. The new patrol craft coming had much larger crews and were far more equipped than the ships he had been serving on for over a decade. It was unlikely that he’d find himself commanding one of the newer Aquarius class ships and the days of the Wallace Class craft were numbered. Standing in his usual spot, Chief Petty Officer Steven ‘Charge’ Bryd.

Charge saw his Skipper and gave the obligatory nod; walking over to meet the Warrant Officer half way. As the pair got closer, Angus tossed the padd at his Chief Engineer who caught it against his chest. “Nothing much exciting,” Angus said as the pair walked towards the bar, “new XO, midlands route, much the same old.”

“New XO hey? That’ll be weird. So what’s his deal?” Steven said, searching the padd for the profile of the new First Officer.

“She,” Angus emphasized, “is new, freshly promoted. First time in command, but very promising. Background is security I believe.”

Steven looked over with a smutty grin. Angus shook his head and tapped his comm badge.

=/\= “Chaplin to USS Vashon” =/\=

=/\= “Swain here” =/\= The voice back from the Vashon’s bridge responded.

=/\= “We’re having the last supper, come join us.” =/\= Angus replied.

=/\= “Give me 10, Swain out” =/\=

“Swain is on her way,” Angus said, but was interrupted before he could continue.

=/\= “Chief Petty Officer Bowman to Master Warrant Officer Chaplin” =/\=

=/\= “Chief your timing is impeccable, meet us at the ‘Galaxies Edge’ Bar in 10.” =/\=

=/\= “Sir?” =/\=

=/\= “Chaplin out.” =/\=

“Out of context that’s going to seem really weird,” Bryd noted as the pair continued their walk.