Just a guy, his cat, and some new orders

Posted on Fri May 3rd, 2024 @ 4:55am by Lieutenant Cassian Maritz

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: USS Halberd
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 0000

ON:


Captain Nash was thorough with his enquiry as to why the mission went askew and they ended up losing five crew. It should've been an easy in and out mission: rescue the civilians and Starfleet personnel who had been held hostage by a rogue Romulan faction. He had wanted to discuss this as soon as they came back on board.

Everyone was tired, everyone was sombre as they filed into the Briefing Room, and they all knew that it was going to be a long one.

Cassian wasn't feeling too fatigued yet since he got back on board, but he knew that it would hit him as soon as he reached his quarters. He made his way into the Briefing Room and took the seat two to the right of where the Captain sat and sipped the coffee that he knew would do absolutely nothing between now and when he got back to his quarters. He also felt like he had failed on his part with the mission, and would take whatever consequences came his way.

[An hour and a half later]

Once the debriefing was over, everyone shuffled back out of the Briefing Room looking and feeling a lot worse for wear. Captain Nash had asked Cassian to stay back so they could discuss the mission a bit further in detail, and Cassian knew that this "discussion" would be more than just that: it'd be the repercussions of his actions on the mission.

"Maritz, thank you for staying back." Captain Nash said with a nod of thanks to his acting Security Chief. "I know you're keen to get back to your quarters, but I thought it would be better to have this conversation now rather than later." He leant back in the chair and scrolled on the padd on the table for a moment before looking at Cassian again, "And don't worry, I'm going to be having a chat with 1st Lieutenant Rhodes after this as well."

"That's all good, Sir." The Captain motioned for them both to take another seat to which Cassian took. Instantly he was worried.

[Twenty minutes later]

"You're dismissed, Lieutenant." Captain Nash said with a smile.

"Blue!" Cassian called out when he walked into his quarters a few moments later with a sigh of relief now he knew that his actions on the away mission weren't something he was going to be reprimanded about. Instead, he'd been told that he was being transferred to a new ship. As the new Chief Security/Tactical Officer, which is the position he'd been chasing for a while now.

There was no response from Blue so he called out again, "Blue Chai, where are you?"

The responding guttural meow that belonged to Blue Chai came from somewhere in between the pillows on Cassian's bed and he mentally kicked himself for not going to look for her there first. Blue Chai, most often just called Blue or Chai, was a female Oriental Shorthair cat who had a silky cream point and white coat, jade green eyes, large ears and a sleek, lanky body. She was a gift from his parents just before after he graduated the academy and had been with him for several years now.

"Hey babe," Cassian walked over and picked her up, letting her snuggle into him as he walked around to the other side of his bed and started to get changed. Some would say she was too affectionate, but he would argue that Blue was better than a girlfriend or wife in more ways than one. No shade thrown towards his ex-wife Tia at all or anything. "Oh, I missed you." He snuggled her back and kissed her on the top of her head and she closed her eyes slowly and continued purring.

After Blue eventually let him put her down, Cassian had a long hot shower to wash away the last of the mission and get rid of the stubble that had started forming on his face. Unlike his brother Jason, Cassian couldn't pull off the whole bearded look. Once he'd done this, he felt the fatigue start to really kick in and he realised he couldn't be bothered going to the Mess Hall for some food, so he decided on replicator food for both of them. Blue would dine on only the finest chicken slices in gravy, and Cassian would dine on something easy like two roast meat sandwiches with gravy, and salt and pepper on multigrain bread.

Walking over to his comfy little lounge with his food and the transfer orders, Cassian flopped into it, let out a massive, tired sigh and tilted his head back before bringing it back to upright position and started eating the sandwich while looking at what his new orders said:



From: Captain Jackson Nash, Commanding Officer USS Halberd
To: Captain Björn Kodak, Commanding Officer USS Sojourner
Stardate and time: 298749.73, 0900hrs

Captain Kodak,

I hereby release the following officer into your command, effective from stardate and time 298747.00, 0900hrs:

Name: Cassian R. Maritz
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Chief Security Officer

At 0900hrs, Lieutenant Maritz will board the shuttle provided and proceed to start the journey to the Pathfinder Station, with the trip taking approximately 5-7 days. All personal belongings, including his feline companion, will be on this shuttle also.

General Comments:

• Lieutenant Maritz has been instrumental in his brief time as Acting Chief Security Officer by implementing many training policies and procedures that have an impact not only on that department, but the Halberd as a whole.
• His knowledge and fast thinking is an asset when it comes to improvising and enacting plans on the go, resulting time and time again in away missions being proven a success.
• Lieutenant Maritz is not one to let personal feelings get in the way of success, but I have noticed that he absolutely excels when given a new challenge. This will be an asset for you and your crew.
• He has already been briefed on the current mission status for the USS Sojourner and advised to make his own preparations, and he will also have a copy of these transfer orders too.
• Overall, I cannot fault Lieutenant Maritz for his work ethic, let alone his personal ethics that he abides by. He is highly respected by his department and the rest of the crew.

I have the utmost faith that Lieutenant Maritz will be a fine addition to your crew, and we here on the USS Halberd wish him, and you, all the best.

Regards,

Capt. Jackson Nash
USS Halberd


Cassian read and reread the transfer orders as he ate and finished the sandwiches, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and putting the plate to the side so that Blue could come up and sit on his lap. "Good girl, did you enjoy dinner?" he stroked her from the top of her head to the tip of her tail and she arched her back into it while purring loudly. She blinked slowly at him to show her affection and meowed again and started making biscuits on him with her claws.

He shifted both of them around to lie on the lounge with his feet dangling over the edge and Blue now laying on his chest, and then he continued to pat her as he sighed an exhausted sigh. "Looks like it's just you and me and another adventure babe, you ready for this?" Another meow in response and Cassian simply laughed at it, "Yeah, I know ya are. You're the ultimate adventure buddy! Now if I could only train you on a harness, then we'll be sussed!"

It didn't take long for the food to digest and both of them to fall asleep. Cassian was just grateful that he remembered to get an alarm set so he could pack up his things before he shipped out in the morning; not that there was much to take with him anyway.

[The next morning - 0900hrs]

Cassian stood in the shuttle bay with a bag of his things on one shoulder and Blue Chai in her cat carrier in the other hand. He watched as the doors opened and some people started to get off and others were getting on.

Once it was his turn, he showed the transfer orders to the NCO in charge and stepped on board, noting how spacious it actually was. Blue meowed a couple of times, but he gave her reassurance, stowed his bag and then took a seat and looked around at the assortment of people. From what he could see, there was a Cardassian hybrid, a few humans and at least three Klingons, so he just put Blue on his lap and pulled out a book, hoping to ride out the trip in silence.


OFF