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Team Medea

Summary:

Kaitlin Reid has been transferred to the USS Medea. The mission the ship is on and the passenger who has agreed to help them explore a new area of space, one that has an ancient legacy.

Chapter 1: Pilot

Chapter Text

It was the worst day to be posted to a starship in the year, Kaitlin thought.

 

Remembrance Day.

 

She looked down at her pin.  The ship she repped on her chest was the USS Tempest, where her great-great uncle was an officer, forty years ago.  

However, there were no shortage of Reids in Starfleet.

 

She’d made her lieutenant’s stripes last month, and her commanding officer on the USS Kyiv had approved her transfer thereafter.  It was supposed to be a step up in her career as an officer.

So why did she feel like she was being punished?

 

The USS Medea was a puny little Haas-class ship that Kaitlin found herself on.  The crew, including her, only added up to maybe a dozen.  

 

And she was being greeted by a great big dog.

 

“Lieutenant Reid?”

 

In Command gold, with their hand extended toward her, was a large, barrel-chested Cainian who looked for all the world like an anthropomorphic Rottweiler.  

“Yes?” she replied.  Cainian, she reminded herself.  The people from the planet Cain had officially joined the Federation recently, and this individual was most likely one of the first Cainians in Starfleet.  Maybe don’t refer to them as big dogs, she chastised herself.

“I’m Lieutenant Ag’ta.  Welcome aboard the Medea.  I’ll take you to the captain for your official onboarding.”

They walked down the length of the main corridor of the ship.  After a few minutes of silence, Kaitlin had to fill the space with…something.

“So…I don’t think I’ve seen any other Cainans serve in Starfleet,” she remarked.

“My graduating class had five Cainian graduates,” Ag’ta replied.  “We were the first,” He turned to her and smiled.  “Not the last, I assure you.”

Kaitlin nodded.  “Cool.”  

“I mean, we got accepted into the Academy years before Cain officially joined, so there were lots of expectations.  It’s kind of liberating, really,” Ag’ta chuckled.

“Oh?” Kaitlin asked.  “How so?”

“Yeah, I mean…back home there were lots of…” He seemed to struggle for the right words.  “…Social obligations I found myself in, and I don’t have to deal with any of that in Starfleet.  It’s…nice.”

Kaitlin was still a little confused, but didn’t press. There was no time; he had taken her to the Captain’s quarters.

Here you are, Lieutenant,” Agta told her and smiled.  “I’ll be seeing you soon,” he said, as he walked back into the corridor.

She tapped the page.

“Come in!” 

She walked through the doorway into a spacious living space.  The captain was at a desk near the front-facing windows, tapping at his terminal.  

“Lieutenant Reid, please sit down.” He seemed cheerful, but preoccupied, as if he was performing three tasks as well as welcoming her.  His dark,curly hair was cut short on the sides, but seemed to pile up on top.  He had a stocky build, but with broad shoulders.  

 

“I’m Captain Martin Feldman,” the captain said.  “Allow me to welcome you aboard the USS Medea.” He stood up, and extended his arm across the desk.  Kaitlin took it.  

“I’m sure you’re wondering why your former CO had you transfer to this little tub,” Feldman said, sitting back down.  

“I am more than a little curious, sir,” Kaitlin replied, nodding in agreement. 

“I requested for you specifically,” Feldman told her.  “You came highly recommended by Captain Forrester on the Kyiv, and…Mister Grey.”

 

Ah.

 

Kaitlin nodded, and ran a hand through her hair.  “I see.”

“No nepotism going on here, don’t worry,” Feldman assured her.  “It’s just the nature of our mission, is all.  You see, we’re about to head out on the edge of our territories in the Beta Quadrant, close to the Neutral Zone.”

She cocked her head to the side.  “Which one?”

“Both of them, actually,” Feldman explained, and brought up a display on the desk.  It was a star map, with several systems denoted.  

“The Federation meets both the Romulan and Klingon borders here in an area of space currently known as the Triangle.”  The area,  indeed triangular in shape, was highlighted on the map.  

“Historically, this area is also the heart of was once known as the Númenorean Empire,” Feldman explained further.  “Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the Númenoreans had a stellar empire that spanned half the quadrant.  We’re only just starting to uncover their influence on dozens and dozens of civilizations in our own backyard.”

Kaitlin looked at the map, at the system highlighted.

 

Anor II.

 

“The Federation has recently reached an agreement with the R’ongovians, which allows us to travel through this corridor of space,” Feldman explained.  “The way is opened for exploring the remnants of what the Númenoreans left behind.”

“Um,” Kaitlin spoke up, pointing at the marked system.  “What’s over here?”

“Hmm,” Feldman murmured.  “That’s one of the planets that is possibly the seat of the Empire itself.  Anor II, called Arda.”

“Is that our destination?” Kaitlin asked.

“That is a very good question, and the answer is…we don’t know.  Yet.” Feldman pushed a button, zooming into the system, which revealed a single G-type star and 12 planets.  

“Yet?” Kaitlin repeated.

“There’s plenty of space around it, and maybe if we’re lucky we can get special access to the system.  See, the planet seems to have an uneven level of technological development, which means that General Order One would seem to be in effect. More caution and protocols and…” Feldman smirked.  “More bullshit to be honest, pardon my language.”

“So,” Kaitlin said, “Back to my question, sir.  Why me?”

Feldman paused, took a look outside the window.  “Mister Grey has a feeling about you.  That and your very good Starfleet record, which is enough for me, to be honest.  But he feels that you are the right officer for this ship, and this mission.  That’s as good enough a reason I can give you.”

Kaitlin nodded.  “All right.  She paused and found her boldness.  “Captain…why you?”

Feldman chuckled.  “That’s a good question, Lieutenant.”  He stood up and moved toward his cabin’s door.  “Let’s just say I have my reasons.  The rest will come as you need.”

Kaitlin nodded as he opened the door for her.  “Fair enough.  

“You’ll report to Commander Corell tomorrow. With as limited a complement as we have, most hands are on deck most days.  Mostly bridge duties, but who knows. Whoever we need.  You’ve already met Rott, and you and Maurice should be working closely together.  Until then. Get some rest.  Your full briefing will begin then.  Good night, Kaitlin.”

She found herself on the other side of the door, wandering toward her assigned quarters.  

Who was Rott? She suddenly thought.  Lt. Ag’ta?  And Maurice?  

 

Well, soon enough for that.  Time to settle in.

 

 

The Medea had comfortable quarters, and the first thing Kait put on the table by her cot was a photo of herself and her two younger brothers, Ashford and Bradley.  Ash, like herself, was aspiring to Starfleet, while Brad aimed for a more academic career.  

Kaitlin was the one who wanted to fly from the beginning.  The one who wanted to be lifted higher, to run further, to explore the place over the next hill, the woods too dark for Brad or Ash to venture into.  Too fearless not to join Starfleet, John, her father, used to say.  

She always knew her family was a little quirky, simply from the family tree alone.  

 

After all, not every family had a historical building named after them.  

 

The clock said 1800.  She decided to go to the lounge area, a small space near the forward section, to stretch her legs.  It was gonna be hard to stay still on this little ship, she realized.  Jogging laps around the outer corridor might be a bit tricky.

The lounge was empty, except for two other off-duty officers.  

One of them was Ag’ta.  The other one was a lean man with piercing eyes, who gave her a glance the moment she walked in, then darted back toward the Cainian.

“Um,” she began.  “Hi.”

“Ah!” Ag’ta said, and glanced in her direction.  “Lt. Reid, hello!”

“I don’t really do hanging out in my cabin, so I thought I’d wander,” Kaitlin explained.

“No, no, please—can we get you a drink?” Ag’ta offered.

“I’ll take an Italian soda,” Kaitlin replied.  “Cherry flavor?”

“Coming right up,” the other officer replied, moving toward the food slot.  

“Didn’t catch your name?” Kaitlin said, walking up to Ag’ta.

“I’d have thought you’d recognized me, chere,” the officer shot back with a slightly drawled patois.  “The Complex Reunion of ’48?”

“Um,” Kaitlin’s mind blanked.  The Complex was positively stuffed with people in attendance at that reunion.  “I’m sorry, please remind me.”

“Reid-LeBeau.  The other side of the family.  Shame on you!” He mock-chided her.

Then finally, it clicked.  Her uncle Gene introduced her, she remembered, and the name Captain Feldman dropped.  “Of course.  You’re Maurice?”

“Tha’s me.” Maurice handed the glass of soda to her.  

“Well!” she smiled.  “Small galaxy.  “Kaitlin Reid!”

As he was about to fire off a retort, the doors opened once more, revealing a very unsure looking young man with a badge marking him as a Starfleet cadet, in command gold.  He had a bit of a aquiline nose, a cleft chin, and hair that looked like no comb could tame it.  

“Dammit,” he cursed quietly.  “Still not auxillary control.” 

“Are you lost, Cadet?” Ag’ta spoke up.

“Trying to find Aux Control,” the cadet replied, not quite meeting the Cainian’s gaze.  A pregnant pause occurred while Ag’ta bored his eyes into the cadet, until the young man added, “Sir.”

Ag’ta nodded his leave at the other two as he walked toward the door.  “Follow me, Mister…?”

“Riley, sir.  Cadet Riley, just checked in for my rotation.  The officer in charge of my orientation thought it would be amusing if I didn’t get a full directory on my PADD.”

“Now, now, I’m sure I can get you sure-footed in no time.  After all, you’re here to learn as well as serve.  This way.” 

And with that, Rott Ag’ta and Cadet Riley left.

“Twelve crew and one cadet?” Kaitlin asked, still looking at the now-closed door.

Maurice looked at her gaze and smiled.  “Might be wise to leave the young man to his education, Cuz.”

Kaitlin scoffed.  “No crime in looking.  He just looked like a deer caught in bright lights, is all.”

“He’s working with me in engineering for a few weeks.  Don’t let his demeanor fool you,” he turned to her, deadly serious.  “He’s a survivor.”

She looked at him, sighed.  “Well, you know.  Survivors run in our families, don’t they?”  She thought for a moment.  “Anybody else you want to introduce me to?”

Maurice considered.  “When was your last service physical?”

 

 

A quick walk down the hallway led the two to a small, utilitarian Medical Bay, where a stocky little woman in a white nurse’s uniform was testing various pieces of equipment.  She had a fluffy cloud of blonde hair, turned away from them.

Maurice spoke up.  “Mavis, chere, how’s it goin’?”

She turned to face them, and Kaitlin got a look at her features.  Her nose was prominent, as were her eyebrows and mutton-chip sideburns.  Her eyes were horizontally slit, but a brilliant shade of blue, shining with intelligence and just a little bit of mischief.

“Just checking out these hypos for the fiftieth time before we launch to keep from going crazy from boredom,” the nurse named Mavis replied.

“Lieutenant Kaitlin Reid, meet Nurse Mavis Stone,” Maurice gestured toward her.  Kaitlin took her handshake and found the petite woman had one hell of a grip. Not…quite…human, she squared away.

“Mavis here is part of an exchange program we have going on,” Maurice went on to explain.

“The Stanford Morehouse epigenetic project, to be exact,” Nurse Stone clarified.  “In addition to providing RN duties, I’m also helping the Project add more genomes to the database.  Lots of those in the Triangle.”

“Of course,” Kaitlin mused.  “There’s more than one way to explore the galaxy, I suppose.”

“I’m not too shabby with a hypospray either, in case you were worried about your healthcare,” Mavis added.

Kaitlin stifled a laugh. “Good to know,” she replied.  “Where’s the doctor, anyway?”

 

“Unless you’re dying, leave my nurse alone,” a gruff voice called out from another corner of the compact Medical bay.  A short, squat, bulldog-looking human turned toward them and glowered.  “Some of us still have to work before we launch, Mister LeBeau.”

“Kaitlin, that’s Dr. Thaddeus Wright,” Maurice said, as he moved her toward the exit.

“We’ll be properly introduced at your formal exam,” Dr. Wright told her.  “Now shoo.”

 

Attention crew,” a voice called over the comms.  Ship will launch from space dock in four hours.  Repeat, ship will launch in space dock in four hours.

“Well, either you do another lap around the main corridor, or you take a little nap before launch.  You’re on helm duty, by the way, so,” and Maurice shrugged.

She sighed and shrugged.  “Not much for naps,” she told him.  “Let’s go to the bridge and get that pre-launch locked down.”

 

The bridge was two decks above the main deck, in a circular chamber much smaller than the Kyiv’s.  

Captain Feldman was in the center seat.  He turned to see Kaitlin and Maurice step onto the bridge.  

“Couldn’t stay away?” Feldman teased.  “Well, I can’t say as I can blame you.  If you want to join Cadet Riley at the Helm, be my guest.”  

She sat down beside him, as he continued his pre-launch.  “So did you ever find Auxillary control?” She asked him.

“It turns out,” Riley replied, “That there is no specific Auxillary Control on Haas-class ships.”

Kait grimaced.  “Yikes.”

He waved off her sentiment.  “Mister Ag’ta assures me that it was all in good fun.”

At the sound of Captain Feldman clearing his throat, Kait began her own pre-flight checking.  “I mean, I just stepped on board myself, so if it makes you feel any better, I’m sure it could have easily been me.”  She turned to him and extended her hand.  “Lt. Kaitlin Reid,” She introduced herself.

“Kevin Riley, Cadet Second Class,” he took her hand and shook.  “If you don’t mind my asking, are you from the same Reid family as from the Complex?”

“Yes,” Kait replied, nodding.  

“My, um, folks actually met on the tour of the Complex,” Riley said.  “Before they moved to Tarsus IV.”

Kaitlin frowned for a second and didn’t say anything for an awkward amount of seconds.  “Oh,” was all she could muster.  “Are they—?”

“No,” Riley tersely replied.  “No, they’re not.”

Now Kaitlin knew what Maurice meant.

“Open mouth, insert foot,” Kaitlin sighed.  

“Ahh, don’t worry about it, Lieutenant,” Riley assured her.  “That was many years and therapy sessions ago.”

Kaitlin chuckled, and continued to work the checklist on her console, as red areas became green on her screens.  “That’s a very mature attitude, Cadet.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

 

Captain Feldman turned to Rott’s station.  “Are all hands aboard, Mr. Ag’ta?”

“The final passenger is boarding now,” Rott reported.  “He’s en route to the bridge.”

 

Which, Kaitlin calculated, would take about five minutes, give or take. 

 

“This passenger is the lynchpin of our mission, Lieutenant Reid,” Feldman said to her.  

The turbolift door opened, and for a moment, Kaitlin thought a light source was shining from inside the cab.

A man stepped out, and all eyes turned to him.  

 

Kaitlin’s first, knee-jerk reaction surprised even her.

 

That is the most beautiful person I have ever seen in my life, she thought.

 

His hair was gold.  Not blond, but almost shimmering gold.  His attire seemed a combination of humble and opulent, with gold thread embroidered onto a simply-designed tunic, with a high collar over his throat.  He wore leather boots laced up to his mid-calf, and simple slacks held with, again, a intricate buckle.

His eyes seemed the color of a clear, cloudless sky, and they gazed at Captain Feldman with serenity.

 

“Captain,” he said to Feldman in acknowledgement.

“Mister Glorfindel, in person at last,” Feldman said getting out of his chair, extending his hand to the guest.  Glorfindel, for his part took the hand gingerly.  

He looked around the bridge.  “For such a humble ship, it still seems quite hale,” Glorfindel said in approval.  “Just like all the Earth ships I’ve found myself on, all these many years.”

Feldman nodded and gestured to Kaitlin.  “Mister Glorfindel, I’d like you to meet our newest member of my crew, Lieutenant Kaitlin Reid?”

The passenger turned his gaze on Kaitlin, and she froze.  His ice-blue eyes were piercing.  The ambient sounds of the bridge seemed to go away as he looked down toward her and smiled faintly.  

“The Reid family again.  Are you descended from Adam or Joshua?” He asked her.

“I-I’m sorry?” She stammered.  What a first impression, she thought, chastising herself.  

“It was about a hundred years ago,” Glorfindel explained.  “I was in association with an Adam and a Joshua Reid…Perhaps your ancestors?”

Then it clicked.  It would have been Adam II around that time.  “A-Adam,” she replied.

“Good.   I’m hoping good fortune continues to reside in your blood.”  He then turned to Rott.  “And a Cainian!  It was the hope of Ay’uffi Gup’ta that your kind would find peace and explore the stars.”

Rott grinned and nodded.  “Yes sir.”

Glorfindel turned to Feldman.  “And the others?” 

Feldman nodded.  “Everything’s been set up with yours and Mr. Grey’s recommendations.  We’re ready to launch and to brief the crew at your leisure.”

Glorfindel turned to the screen.  “It’s been a hundred of your years since I was able to leave and see the greater world how it truly is.  Whether they know it or not, my kind have become…diminished.  Knowing and understanding the truth of our history will only better ourselves.  If not for us, but for the descendants of old ship-farers of old and all peoples of Arda.”

Kaitlin didn’t understand what he was talking about.  She suspected she wasn’t supposed to.  Not yet.  

That was all right, though.  She loved to solve a mystery.

 Rott went over to the Navigator console, and told Riley “I’ll take over the Nav, Cadet. Go ahead and shadow Mr. Corell at Ops.”  As Riley got up, he sat down next to Kaitlin, and reported to the captain, “Course plotted for Pharazon VII, captain.” 

 

“Navigate us out of the solar system, Lt. Reid,” Captain Feldman told Kaitlin.  “The proceed on course at warp 6.”

Kaitlin set the controls for full impulse, nodding. “Aye-aye, Captain.”

 

Feldman grinned.  Lemir geyn,” he said.

Kaitlin turned toward him for confirmation, though she suspected what the phrase meant.

He nodded, and gestured toward the screen.  “Let’s go.”