Casual Chat - Anna

Posted on Fri Oct 2nd, 2026 @ 10:58am by Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson & Lieutenant Anna Esquivias

Mission: Season 6 - Episode 8- The Price of Home
Location: Commodore's Ready Room, Deck 1, USS Elysium
1042 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

The Commodore was by the viewport when Esquivas entered, hands loosely clasped behind her back. She turned with a relaxed expression.

“Lieutenant—thanks for coming.”

Anna came to attention. "Of course, Commodore."

She nodded toward the sitting area.

“Grab a seat—tea or coffee?”

Anna relaxed her posture and took a seat as indicated. She folded her hands neatly in her lap. "Coffee, please, ma'am."

“I just wanted a quick check-in. Ops tends to carry a lot quietly.” She passed the cup across and settled opposite. “How’s it all feeling right now? Anything starting to stretch a bit too thin?”

"Only where it stretched thin for all of us, ma'am," Anna admitted. "Elysium's been through a lot recently. I would like to coordinate with engineering better. Our responsibilities tend to overlap somewhat when sh...under high pressure situations."

"You were going to say "when Shit goes down" right?" Phoenix smiled. "I understand that. I used to sit in that very chair. We do have a new Chief Engineer, I am sure she will be more than open to working with your team."

"Hits the fan, I was going to say," Anna admitted. "I'll reach out, ma'am. Get coordinated before the emergency hits this time."

"I am sure both teams would appreciate that. And you? How are you handling everything?"

"Well, this last encounter was not pleasant," Anna said in an enormous understatement. "But, on the whole, I'd say I'm doing well, ma'am."

"And you are making sure you are taking the breaks when needed? And your team as well?"

"I'm making sure my team is, ma'am," Anna said. "I could maybe do a better job of it myself."

"good. Breaks are important. And Operations gets the brunt. Your department does the unseen work." Phoenix said.

"Thank you, ma'am," Anna said. "We're all trying to serve as best we can."

"i want you to know I see that. It may not always seem like it. But your team is seen." Phoenix looked at Anna closely. "It comes to me Lieutenant that while I see you, I do not know much about you."

"I'm from Earth," Anna said, "but my mother was Ardanan. She had both Troglyte and Stratos ancestors. It's not what it was like in the 23rd century. My mother shared Ardanan art and music with me as well as the history. My father was human. I joined Starfleet to learn all I could about other cultures. Maybe help build peace in the galaxy...I mean...the Milky Way."

"Well this ship has plenty of different cultures, I am sure you will get your fill of them. I know very little of your mother's culture, It sounds interesting."

"I think so, ma'am, though it has a troubled history," Anna said. "Ardana is home to the floating city of Stratos, a marvel of engineering to this day and certainly at the time is was put up. The city was dedicated to art and philosophy and contemplation of beauty. But, in the past, most of my mother's people were denied the opportunity to enjoy these things, even as they toiled to make them possible, mostly mining zenite, our planet's most valuable natural resource, but also all other jobs requiring manual labor and working as servants in the city above. The elite justified this by saying the people below, who they called Troglytes, weren't intellectually fit to enjoy these things, but a Starship captain named Kirk proved that they were just suffering from too much zenite exposure. A simple filtration mask solved any real problem. Stratos-city resisted at first, because it had never really been about that, but change did come and my mother was born into a world where life's burdens and it's beauties were shared by all."

"That sounds like a paradise, I am glad your family live in such a place." Phoenix said. "So why starfleet?"

"I wanted to explore other cultures and serve the Federation," Anna said. "I wanted to get out here." She paused and frowned. "I wasn't imagining quite this far, ma'am, to be honest."

"I don't think any of us were." Phoenix said with a smile. "I didn't expect a second trip past the galaxies barrier for sure."

"Second?" Anna asked curiously.

"Yes. This is my second time in a different Galaxy. The last time was Andromeda. Not fun but a shorter time." Phoenix said. "I was a Lieutenant when it happened. Came back as a Lt Commander and got command of Elysium shortly after."

"I hadn't heard about that," Anna admitted. "How did it happen, if you don't mind my asking?"

"We were on an escort mission. The escort ships were fake and rigged. The explosion sent us to Andromeda. One had a Romulan Warp Core in it. We were there for about 6 months. The Admiral who was the commanding officer, eventually worked out an agreement with a race to send us home staying behind himself."

"A Romulan warp core?" Anna asked curiously. "That is not technology too far beyond our own, ma'am. If an accident in an explosion managed to send you so far, I wonder is our scientist and engineers might be able to replicate it. Then we could explore other galaxies with intention and return home under our own power."

"We could." Phoenix agreed. "But the only Romulan warp core that we had available is... well in particles as you know. The other one had several hundred metric tons of other explosives and such. It was meant to destroy the Elysium because of the Admiral."

"Was it the Romulans behind the plot?' Anna asked.

"No they were not. It was a shadow group within Starfleet. They have been delt with." Phoenix assured her.

She frowned. "I'm glad they were dealt with but troubling such a group should have advanced so far. Still, when we get home and have access to more scientists and engineers and researchers, perhaps we might replicate the feet intentionally, for exploration."

"You are positive we will get home." Phoenix asked curiously. "That is optimistic."

"I didn't say I was positive," Anna said, "but I guess I do expect to eventually."

Phoenix nodded. "Well pray to whoever you pray to that we do. I am rather over this galaxy."