Young Captains (Part 1)

Posted on Sun Mar 8th, 2026 @ 9:42pm by Captain Violet Bluegarden & Captain Mikoto Misaka

1,370 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Preparations

The cargo transfer was complete, and both the Ermiana and the Little Rock were about to set off. Both were headed in the same direction, but would take different courses so that the Little Rock wouldn't appear to be an escort vessel. However, before things were to be set in motion, Captain Misaka had sent Captain Bluegarden a personal message requesting an audience. Judging by the nature of the message, Violet suspected that it had little to do with the operation at hand, but was prepared in case it was mostly about official business.

Having recently authorized her transporter operator on the Little Rock to energize, Violet rematerialized on the Ermiana's transporter pad. As Violet's eyes readjusted from the blinding light of the transporter beam, she found herself standing in a transporter room similar to the one she had just left, if noticeably larger.

The transporter operator, chief petty Officer Reynolds smiled. "Welcome aboard the Ermiana Captain. I apologise for no greeting party, everyone is rather busy with the cargo loading." He smiled.

"I'd imagine so." Violet replied. "My crew is similarly busy- now that the weapons are offloaded, we're taking on a supply shipment to Bajor."

"Captain Misaka told me to let you know that she'll meet you in the ready room. Just off the main bridge sir," Reynolds said in response.

"I see." Violet nodded. "Are the turbolifts in about the same spot as a New Orleans class? Just a longer walk?"

"I'm not sure. But the computer can direct you." Reynolds smiled.

"I'm... Sure I can find it on my own." Violet replied. "Thanks, Chief."

As Violet suspected, the Galaxy class really was something of an upscaled New Orleans class. The turbolifts were in a similar spot to where they were found on Violet's own ship. The only difference was that the walk to get there was longer. For a younger officer like Violet, this was no big deal, but she couldn't see how older captains would fare with this much space to traverse.

The turbolift ride to the bridge was one taken largely in silence. With the nature of their message exchange, Violet had perhaps beamed over too hastily in a spark of hope that her meeting with Misaka would be anything more than a purely professional exchange: With the instructions to meet in the ready room, that hope was now dead, replaced by the professional demeanor that was worthy of one who carried a nickname such as "The Big Bruise."

Even though Violet had come a long way from being a lowly Lieutenant on the Kidd, she hadn't forgotten what she saw during the old Excelsior class ship's time in the Wolf system. The charred escape pods still bearing the name of the now-destroyed vessel they had once been attached to: USS Bellerophon. She also hadn't forgotten the face of the security Lieutenant around her age, on around the same place on the Starfleet ladder as her, and the untold horrors that laid behind her eyes.

Those moments they passed in the Kidd's corridors or in common spaces made Violet feel bad about her own position of safety and comfort. All the survivors that Violet saw on board the Kidd had this feeling that they should have been dead alongside their eleven thousand slaughtered comrades and shipmates, and that there was something of an underlying resentment towards their rescuers for taking them away from this place where they lost so much. But Lieutenant Misaka was different; because Violet saw much of herself in the other woman. The fact that one of her peers had been subjected to this hell while the worst she got was a few spoonheads had shaken Violet to her core, and she had returned to Florida on her Leave of Absence afterwards a changed woman.

When the personal message from now Captain Misaka had come through, perhaps in Violet's naivete, she had thought that, just how Violet had burned the mental image of the broken and scarred Misaka into her mind, that maybe, just maybe, Misaka had remembered her as well. However, Violet had now accepted that she was a fool for jumping to this line of thinking.

When the doors to the turbolift opened, Violet stepped out onto the Ermiana's bridge, she took a moment to take in the grandeur of the command center. Violet's own bridge was certainly well-appointed and nothing to scoff at, but if her bridge was the living room of a fairly well off middle class household, the Ermiana's bridge was the living room of their rich neighbors. There was just something significantly grander about one bridge over the other.

Perhaps out of muscle memory, Violet made her way down the starboard ramp, as that would be the route she would take to head to her own ready room. However, Violet realized her mistake, and quickly cut across the lower bridge between the command pit and the forward bridge stations to the port side, where Misaka's ready room was located. But not before stealing a glance at the Ermiana's three chair command pit... How nice it would be to actually sit in the center rather than to one side or the other...

At last arriving to the entrance of Misaka's ready room, Violet pressed the chime to the ready room, and waited to be let in. It was odd to not walk straight in, but this was someone else's vessel, and Violet would respect the fact that she was the visiting officer.

"Enter," Misaka's voice called simply through the door.

The doors swooshed open, and Violet stepped into the ready room. She approached the desk before stopping out of respect and clasping her hands behind her back.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?" Violet asked. Her tone flat and professional.

Misaka nodded. "Lets cut to the chase." She said simply. "We both know damn well this is a risky move. But Starfleet chooses to send one ship, my ship on this assignment. It sounded like you had strong opinions on the subject."

"I do." Violet nodded, remaining standing having not been offered a seat. "You mentioned the Maquis being among Starfleet's justification for having one ship doing this alone. Well, I have personal experience dealing with the Maquis, and I think my predecessor would agree when I say that a single, unescorted ship, especially one as prestigious as a Galaxy-class ship, would make the perfect target for a Maquis attack, and that's not even factoring in the propaganda potential for such a strike."

"I tend to agree. However, a Galaxy Class is not an easy target. Especially a newer one that's better armed." Misaka said. "Tell me, how long have you commanded The Little Rock?"

"Officially, this week marks four weeks since my command of Little Rock was formalized." Violet explained. "However, for another two weeks before that, I was the acting captain after Cot- Captain Hill- was taken by the Borg."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Misaka said simply. "The Borg are nothing but pure evil. Wolf Three Five Nine proved just that. Regardless..." she leant forward in her chair. "I wanted to give you a little advice face to face."

Wolf 359. There it was. However, Violet wasn't going to get her hopes up.

"I'll say:" Violet agreed. "I'll never forget what I saw in the Wolf system while the Kidd was running rescue and recovery efforts. The looks on the faces of the Bellerophon survivors alone are something that's burned into my memory for the rest of my life. Anyhow, what was the advice you wanted to give?"

"You should learn to keep your personal opinions about certain matters off the viewscreen in front of your crew, especially in front of other crews too." Misaka stated.

"Noted." Was Violet's one word reply. "Was that all, Captain?"

At this point, Violet was disgusted that she had come all this way just to get talked down to. She had been expecting disappointment already, but being disrespected like she was still a Lieutenant was a step too far.

To be continued...

Posting by

Captain Mikoto Misaka
Commanding Officer
USS Ermiana

Captain Violet Bluegarden
Commanding Officer
USS Little Rock

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