Joint Back Log, XO and CTAC, Cmdr th'Zarath & Ens Rhys, "Introductions"

Posted on 241403.20 @ 12:33pm by Lieutenant Thelin th'Zarath & Ensign Thee Rhys

Mission: Where no man has gone before.
Location: Executive Officer's Office

As his shuttle approached the gleaming white monster before him, Ensign Thee Liet Rhys couldn't help but marvel at it's sheer size. He offered a silent prayer of thanks to the creator deity of his people before lumbering over to the young, non-descript pilot. The young Bajoran was seemingly awestruck as well. With a shake of his snout, Rhys clucked in amusement.

"Starfleet's engineering prowess never ceases to amaze. That one's a predator, no doubt," he said, gesturing the hulking ship, still suspended in drydock. Despite his own prowess, Rhys still couldn't believe his luck. Not only was on an active assignment, but on the Enterprise, no less! He had gone from being the runt of his hatch-mates on his homeworld to a fully functional senior officer on a starship...and a heavily armed one at that.

The rest of the flight proceeded smoothly, and when the shuttle docked Rhys wasted no time heading towards the office of new XO, Commander Thelin th'Zarath, ignoring the stares of surprised humanoids. Knowing that punctuality was an asset and that he wanted to get to work as soon as possible, Rhys had memorized the ship layout on route, so he knew where he was going. Upon reaching the Commander's office, he pressed the door chime. When it opened, he walked in, clasping his clawed hands behind his back in as best an approximation of standing at attention as his reptilian body would allow. At close to seven feet tall, with a four foot prehensile tail dragging behind him, he made quite a sight wherever he went.

"Commander, Ensign Thee Rhys, reporting for duty, sir."

A rather shocked, young Trill was sat at the desk before the large reptilian, a smile still plastered across her face as he coughed, "Unfortunately, I am not quite the person you are looking for," the assistant replied with a gesture towards the clear walls of the private area, the door open with an Andorian standing in the doorway, his antennae flattened out slightly.

"That's ok Katzi, I'm free for our guest," Thelin replied with a bright smile, "Mr Rhys, please join me,"

Rhys looked quizzically at the Trill, and then to the Commander, and then back to the Trill.

"Oh my...please forgive me. It appears I was a bit too enthusiastic. My sincerest apologies."

He bowed gallantly and turned back to his new XO, gauging him for the first time. His smile appeared genuine, which Rhys found to be a plus. He approached the Commander slowly, still struggling to remain at attention.

"Thank you, sir. I had previously attempted to familiarize myself with the layout of the ship. But I had no idea that there was a desk there. Ah, here we are. As I stated before, Ensign Rhys, reporting for duty, sir."

"At ease Ensign," the Andorian replied, the smile remaining on his face as he took a couple of steps backwards, gesturing inside his private office, "It came as quite a shock to me too, I wasn't expecting to have an assistant, but perhaps that comes with the territory of being assigned to the most prestigious name in the fleet."

Rhys nodded and relaxed back to his natural posture, stretching his back forward to ease the tension that had built up in his muscles, in full understanding of what the Andorian was talking about. The Pahkwathanh was basically glowing with pride at being assigned to a ship named Enterprise. It was a worthy honor, and it was one that his hatch-mates back home would respect. "Indeed, Commander. I am somewhat proud of my forthcoming assignment as well."

"I have to admit, this is the first time I've met one of your race, even in my time as a diplomat." Thelin continued as he retook his seat.

Rhys nodded again, none too surprised. "That is not surprising, sir. My species has limited exposure in Starfleet. I believe much of that has to do with the fact that we resemble an ancient Human land-animal that died out millenia ago, but has left a somewhat terrifying mark on their collective psyche. I've already noticed that many of the human crew seem to be...shall we say, in awe of me." He clucked his toungue against his cheek, an action which the universal translator would construe as laughter.

"The Pahkwathanh who are in service are mainly in the medical sciences, with a few scattered about in Security and Tactical. But more and more of us are leaving our homeworld to explore the stars. So I'm sure it won't be too long until you meet another one of my species."

"In my culture too, there are tales of large reptilian creatures, some survived in some form, but never truly gained sentience as your people have," Thelin replied with a knowing nod as his antennae narrowed towards the Ensign.

Rhys nodded knowingly. "Fascinating...strangely, we have no such tales of large mammals among my people."

"And as for your assignment," the Andorian continued, slipping a padd out from the pile on his desk as he did so, "I trust you've already had time to look over certain parts of our specifications, that should mean you know about the new weapons systems being field tested on the Enterprise."

"Indeed I have. The concept of a phased disruptor is fascinating...I look forward to studying their tactical usefulness. Everything looks good "on paper," but as we all know, things rarely go as they do on paper. Personally, I'm concerned about the overall power drain and the time it takes to restore full power, but I anticipate that I can find a way to work around those issues once I co-ordinate with the Engineering and Operations teams."

"You should find that our Chief Operations Officer is already working on making them ready for use, she came to see me much earlier and I set her about them until you arrived," Thelin replied with a nod that caused his antennae to shake slightly, "This will be the true test of the technology, it has been tested, but never field tested on an active Starship."

"Indeed, Commander. I'm most anxious to get a look at them and put them through their paces. I find the prospect quite exciting."

"You'll certainly have your hands full, that is true," the Andorian replied as he stood, his assistant making herself known behind the reptilian Tactical Officer, "It would seem I've got an appointment to keep, but I will be expecting your initial reports on my desk once you've had time to settle in."

"Of course, Commander."

(End Log.)

Commander Thelin th'Zarath
Executive Officer

&

Ensign Thee Rhys
Chief Tactical Officer

USS Enterprise