Zara's First Day

Posted on Sun Mar 19th, 2023 @ 10:08am by Lieutenant Commander Rin & Ensign Zara Qiri

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Intelligence Blister, Rin's Office
Timeline: Before Current Mission
1564 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Ensign Zara Qiri marched from one end of her quarters to the other, trying to shake off the butterflies and nervousness. She'd completed her first personal log on the new assignment, fighting against every instinct not to be open and honest with it. If she'd left a journal with all the things she really felt for her once-captor to find, it would not have ended well for her. Zara's instincts were to keep her secrets to herself, and it was not something that could simply be turned off. All she could do was practice at candor and openness, as encouraged by more than one counselor during her rehabilitation into 'normal' life.

The Ensign tapped her PADD off and set it on the desk in her quarters, her hand resting on it momentarily as if she’d forgotten something and set it down too soon. She hadn’t. Her orders were simple enough: she was to report for duty soon.

Walking over to the viewport, the dimpling of her cheek gave the vaguest hint of a smile. Stars, thousands of them. No skyscrapers or trees or pedestrians. She rested her blue hands on her waist, and let out a long exhale, unwinding like a coil. A spacer belonged on a starship. Her feet were firmly planted, though; she’d have to see soon enough about logging some zero gravity time.

Zara glanced over to the other occupant of her bunk, a sad looking creature laying sideways by the pillow staring at her with its permanently stern expression. “Hmm,” she commented. The young woman swept over to the bed, picked the plush doll up, and sat him upright. He was not thankful, of course. Mugato rarely were. Tapping the horn on top of his head, she pressed the display panel next to the bunk, lowering the privacy screen and putting him out of sight. In his place, a dark, distorted reflection of Zara stared back at her from the glass-like black surface. She noted an errant strand of hair had gone rogue, and quickly fixed it before exiting her quarters.

It was with practiced effortlessness that she made her presence smaller as she glided down the corridor to the turbolift, barely catching the attention of officers as they walked by. Some eyes did turn her way, but she did not reciprocate, and conversations were averted. She timed her use of the turbolift well, enjoying the solitude for a few spare moments before its doors opened to reveal Deck 1A. Everyone here was all business, so the only ones who paid her any heed were the security officers stationed at the junction leading to the Intelligence Blister.

The Efrosian NCO to her right raised a feathery eyebrow as she approached. “You’re a new face.”

She stopped before them and provided a curt, professional smile. “Ensign Qiri. First day.”

“Welcome to Elysium,” he said with a matching smile. The other non-com nodded in her direction, and they stepped aside. Beyond them were two curved sets of stairs, one to each side. She shifted to the left and descended down the flight and onto the deck, filled with monitors and duty stations, a number of personnel wearing their Intel grey going about their work.

A human man looked up from her station and nodded in Zara’s direction. “Ensign? The Chief will see you in her office.” He gestured to the far side of the blister.

“Thank you.” Zara crossed the datahub and pressed the panel next to the door. It slid open, and she disappeared into the room beyond.

With the sound of the door chime, Rin had turned away from an array of monitors to face the newcomer. She was average height and trim, with dark chin length hair. Two metal implants sat above and below her left eye. She motioned Zara toward a chair and sat down her in own.

"Ensign Qiri? I'm Lt. Rin. Have a seat."

"Yes, sir," the young woman replied by rote. "Reporting for duty." Zara noted the Borg implants silently as she followed Rin's cue and sat opposite her. She'd read what was available about her new chief in her file - a prepared officer was an unsurprised officer - but reading a clinical history was not the same as seeing it. Her father had served on the Endeavour, which had engaged the Borg at the Battle of Sector 001. It was not something he ever talked about.

She raised her chin and proffered a curt smile, hearing his refrain and keeping herself centered on the moment in front of her.

"I see you are our latest infiltration specialist," Rin continued. without actually looking at anything. "What would you say are your best qualities for those operations? What scenarios do you work best in?"

This was an easy question to answer. Ensign Qiri had been reciting this precise list for the better part of the year while she was stuck in San Francisco working as an analyst. Not that that also wasn't important work, but it was not where she was most useful.

Sitting up and squaring her shoulders, she promptly replied. "I have proficiency in stealth, situational awareness, manual and electronic larceny, dexterity and flexibility, armed and unarmed combat, and an affinity to read body language and facial expressions."

Zara paused briefly to consider the second question. "While I am prepared for a fight, the ideal scenario is to avoid one either by circumventing the threat or neutralizing it first. This served me well against larger, stronger opponents, in cadet training as well as... before."

"What if there is no obvious opponent? It's not just about fighting," Rin corrected. "Do you prefer to feign your way into a place, or break in? Alone or part of a team? Electronic targets, physical targets, or something else? Are you better at extracting items or destroying them? No need to answer each of those questions, just offered as examples to clarify the question."

"I prefer to avoid contact, generally. To be long gone before anyone's the wiser." She shrugged a little. "Whichever means gets the job done. I know I'm not exactly used to working with others, if you have any concerns there, but I know what working for Starfleet means, and I'm committed to learning and improving my craft, and sharing what ever I might have to offer with my associates." No, that wasn't the right word. That was the old word, for her old life. She shook her head unconsciously. "My fellow officers," she corrected.

"That a terribly rehearsed answer," Rin replied. "I want an idea what are good missions to put you on and what are not, beyond what I can simply read in your file. There is also the question of assignments when you are not in the field, which the majority of the time you will not be. What did you work on in San Francisco?"

"Yes, well..." So eager to leave that behind her, Ensign Qiri had hoped for something more exciting by taking this assignment. Of course, she knew intellectually that there would never be an end to the detail-oriented analysis work. And answers that had worked well enough for Lieutenant Boyd back at HQ were clearly not what her new chief were looking for. "I decrypted Orion Syndicate comms traffic. Mostly. Identification and interpretation of key words, pattern analysis, predictive algorithms." She flattened her expression with a slight swallow, trying to hide her lack of enthusiasm, though it was probably too late for that if Lieutenant Rin had already keyed in on the fact that she'd been practicing this meeting in the mirror first.

"That is the sort of thing we do a lot of, and an expert in the Orion Syndicate is valuable." Rin sat back in her chair, considering the woman across the table. "I do not understand how so many people come out of Intel training thinking they're going to be James Bond. You'll have your chance. But that is not the bread and butter of the Intel department."

"Of course," a little chagrin slipped into Qiri's voice. She'd been caged planetside as an analyst for so long that just the change in scenery would be an improvement on her mood. She was just going to make extra sure she proved herself. If her mom were here, she'd have made a joke about how Zara was more of a Jason Bourne. Or maybe she wouldn't have, movie buff or not; she'd been devastated when she learned what those years were like for Zara. Not that her daughter was going to be making a joke with her superior officer. Especially on the first day. "You will get my best work, sir, no matter the assignment."

A hint of a smile crossed Rin's lips. "Good to hear. Do you have any questions for me?"

Zara leaned forward and clasped her hands lightly together. She glanced once more briefly at the metal crescent that framed her left eye, then just forced herself to make normal eye contact. "None yet, but I am sure I'll discover some. At this point, I'm hoping to familiarize myself with the operations of the department, and I'm eager to start."

"Door's open when you discover them," Rin acknowledged as she stood. "Now, let's give you a tour of the Blister."