Forming Alliances (Part 2)

Posted on Tue Feb 6th, 2024 @ 6:22am by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Commander Thomas Johnson & Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Major Chiyo Shimada & Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant JG Nezuko & Lieutenant Tatsuo Shimada
Edited on on Tue Feb 6th, 2024 @ 6:24am

1,300 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Starship Graveyard
Location: Conference Room, Deck 1, USS Tokyo
Timeline: After the away team returns from the Redemption

Previously on Star Trek Tokyo:

"Listen. We need your ship and its parts. You say this is a lawless world, which it is. So, if I decide to abandon my Starfleet morales and decide to take what I need from you for the 'good of my crew'. Then what will you do? Stand here and spout bullshit at me? Act like some sort of superhero?" she paused for a moment. "I'm going to make this very clear Mister. You will relinquish command of your vessel and your crew to me, and we will work together to get off this planet. Otherwise, I will consider you an enemy." she paused once again. "And as you stated, this is a lawless world and I will do anything to protect my crew. If that includes breaking a few of my beliefs... I can live with that."

"Captain:" Chiyo said sternly. "If you consider my fiancé an enemy, then I will turn the full fury of your marine detachment against you. Because I stand by family, and if that means committing treason, then so be it!"

"Is that a threat Major?" Taiga asked.

And now the continuation...

"It is, and I won't hesitate to follow through on it if you both won't stop being such bullheaded assholes!" Chiyo declared. "Honestly, the sheer amount of immaturity on display is dumbfounding! Surely, there has to be an agreement that can be reached that can be mutually beneficial to both parties: Digging in your heels isn't going to get us out of here! Like Tatsuo said, compromises need to be made! And both of you need to get your heads out of your asses and swallow your damn prides for once!"

Chiyo indicated Taiga. "Yes, The Redemption's crew are inevitably going to need to be reintegrated into our modern society. That's a simple fact that no amount of bullshitting is going to change." Chiyo then indicated Tatsuo. "But at the same time, the Redemption's crew have a structure that they've grown accustomed to, and perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to assimilate them like the fucking Borg!"

Taiga's demeanour changed as she relaxed back in her chair. She smiled, then let out a laugh. She laughed for a few seconds before turning her attention back to Tatsuo and Chiyo. "I can see that both of you are very loyal to each other and your crew." She glanced over at Chiyo. "Sort of..." she said with a look of disappointment.

She then rose to her feet and began to pace up and down the table. "You pass my test." She said simply. "I had no intention of forcing you to join us Mister Tatsuo. But I needed to know where your loyalties lie, how prepared you were to fight for what we originally agreed on. How you would fare in a 'Modern Starfleet'." she paused for a moment.

She turned and looked directly at Tatsuo. "You must understand that any good Commander must listen to his gut." she looked over at Chiyo "And any good officer or soldier must also not blindly follow orders without thinking." she then looked back at Tatsuo. "I apologize if I riled you up a little, but I wanted to see how far I could push you. How far you were willing to go to protect those under your command. I see now that you are more than willing to do whatever it takes, that I can respect."

She returned to her seat and sat back down. "So then. Shall we start talking about how we are going to get off this god damn rock?"

Nezuko audibly let out the breath she’d been holding. This had been tense, and could have gone either way. She had been preparing for a strike that would thankfully never come. She gestured apologetically to Chisato, who she was sitting next to. That exhalation wasn’t entirely captured by the rebreather and wouldn’t have been pleasant.

"If I'm being brutally honest, Lieutenant," Chisato admitted privately to Nezuko. "The more I learn about these guys, the more questions I have... and the less I like it."

"Theater of the absurd. . ." Lt. Yuvek muttered to himself as he continued to occupy the space along the far end of the Conference room. This entire spectacle had been nothing more than a "test" by The Captain to gauge the loyalty of a third-rate pirate.

"Lt? Something on your mind?" Thomas replied as he turned to the helmsman.

Lt. Yuvek was about to respond honestly to the inquiring voice, but saw it belonged to the Executive Officer.

"No, sir. I have nothing to add to the meeting." The Helmsman said to his superior officer.

Nezuko decided to take advantage of the fact that the XO understood her sign language. She was sitting on the same side of the table as him, next to him in fact, so she subtly got his attention and signed just for him down by her waist, out of view of others. Commander, I don’t know how much we can trust these people. If they doubt we can escape, even a little bit, I think they’ll try to take this ship over. No matter what this Tatsuo says or does.

Thomas got the message clear, and he shared her sentiments. Something about this whole situation didn't really sit well... it could be everything he had heard about previous rescues in similar circumstances. But it didn't sit well, even though it sounded as if it was going to work and they would all be heading home real soon. Very carefully, he signed back [Meet me in my office when we finish here]. His gaze never stopped gazing across the room as he did so.

"Lt Yuvek, as senior bridge officer any inquiries or concerns, is appreciated if it concerns the ship and potential safety of the crew."

"Perhaps it would be in Lieutenant Yuvek's best interests to be airing his concerns in a more private setting, Commander?" Chisato butted in before Jasad had the chance to speak up.

Regardless of whether or not they could trust Tatsuo at this time, the fact remained that they were at a very precarious stage of negotiations, which could have catastrophic repercussions if the Redemptioners elected to pull out of this entirely-- possibly even catastrophic if Chiyo had the Marines defecting to Tatsuo's cause.

He adamantly wanted to address the complete lack of trust he had in the Pirates; however, the Captain and mad eit clear that she trusted the Pirates and wished to proceed with her plan. Jasad did not want to undermine his Commander Officer's authority in front of the gathered group.

Lieutenant Yuvek looked over to the Chief Intelligence Officer briefly before returning his gaze to Commander Thomas. "I agree sir, it is a logistical issue with the dorsal anti-gravity adjusters. I can follow-up with you within your office after the meeting." The Cardassian said evasively.

Chisato flashed the Cardassian a wink as she settled back into her seat.

Taiga cleared her throat to take command back of the room. "So then Mister Shimada? Now that I know you're loyal to your crew. Are you prepared to help us?"

"Yes, ma'am." Tatsuo said.

"Right then," Taiga said as she rose to her feet. "We have work to do people." she said simply.

Posting by:

Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer
USS Tokyo

Commander Thomas Johnson
Executive Officer
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant Commander Chisato Nishikigi
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Tokyo

Major Chiyo Shimada
Marine Commander
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant JG Nezuko
Chief Operations Officer
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant Tatsuo Shimada
Acting Commanding Officer
USS Redemption

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