A New Arrival

Posted on Mon Mar 17th, 2025 @ 8:33pm by Captain Violet Bluegarden & Lieutenant Commander Dr. Dallas "D.C" Coleman Wyatt

1,099 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: 84 Years Young
Location: Algonquin Station
Timeline: Day One

The surly Doctor known to the fleet as Dr. D.C. Wyatt, shuffled off the shuttle on Algonquin station, duffle in hand, cigeratte in his mouth. Taking out his lighter, he lights it up, pulling in a drag before blowing out smoke before he heads up towards the OPS deck to meet with his new commanding officer.

The ship he was to be a part of, hadn’t arrived according to the board but the CO, a Captain Bluegarden had taken an office in the stations command deck. That’s was his destination.

In her temporary office, Violet sighed. She had reviewed many candidates for the remaining open positions, and none of them screamed exceptional. Violet understood that they were now in a time of war, and good officers would be hard to come by, but she didn't expect it to be this hard...

It had been suggested to her, but Violet was not about to cut corners with senior staff. If the chief helmsman was shit, for instance, they would likely pick lower deckers at worse skill levels. That would be how the ship would get flown into an asteroid or lord forbid they wind up behind enemy lines because the helmsman didn't read up on battle maps.

When the buzzer to her temporary office rang, Violet was almost relieved to hear it. Setting her PADD down, she rose and faced the door:

"Enter:" She called out.

As the door slid open, the guff older doctor enters. He was tall, still a good six foot, but he was aged. Gray hair, grayer trimmed beard and the smell of cigarette smoke and aged whisky lingered on him. It wasn’t an offensive smell by any account, more of a smell of a rugged man who’d seen much in his life.

“Ma’am, Doctor Dallas Coleman Wyatt. Reportin’ for duty.” He greeted in a drawl, one that would place him from being from Cestus III or descended from people from America’s Deep South.

It was an accent not too far from Violet's own: Herself hailing from central Florida. The smell also caught the attention of Violet's nostrils, and her eyes quickly scanned his hands and mouth for any signs of lit tobacco. Fortunately for the doctor, Violet found no such contraband on his person upon preliminary inspection.

"Doctor Wyatt:" Violet nodded, extending a hand for the doctor. "Welcome to the team: Good to have a fellow vet who knows the spoonheads all too well on board with us."

"Thank ya, Ma'am." He gave a gruff reply.

"I will admit, that the Spoonheads really pulled the wool over our eyes. Talkin' peace while holding a knife behind their backs. These...Dominion...Are the rumor true, that they're some tough sumbitches?"

"If they weren't, Starfleet wouldn't be reactivating mothballed starships." Violet sighed. "Unfortunately, it seems like our worst fears have been confirmed: The Dominion has turned Cardassia into a staging ground to launch a full scale invasion of the Alpha Quadrant."

The doctor’s face went serious, grim.

“God help us all.” He says softly before he stiffens up again.

“What sort of situation are we working with in terms of equipment and facilities?” He asked matter of factly.

"Well, we ain't got much;" Violet admitted. "The vessels that Project Phoenix is looking to bring back at newest are decommissioned Ambassador class ships, but our ship specifically is an Excelsior class, literally from last century. She's been sat idle in a reserve fleet for most of the century, and Starfleet wants to make sure she ain't gonna fall apart when we put tractor beams on her. That's why they've given me a 215-item checklist that must be completed before the ship can be towed."

The elder doctor’s eyes went wide in shock.

“215 items before we can get her out and going? Yard Dogs no help?”

"The yard's said they're gonna allocate some engineers to help until I can secure a more permanent Engineering compliment, but so far, I've heard nothing from them." Violet said.

"Right. Where do you need this old warhorse then? I doubt the sickbay is in good workin' order after all these years."

"And whatever's left, you can bet for sure is at least half a century outdated." Violet remarked as she picked up her PADD. "I've been subdividing this list up by department: In about a week, we'll be heading out to the ship to begin going through it. What I want you to do in the meantime is go through the section of items I've marked as related to medical, and familiarize yourself with what it is you're looking for. That way, when we make our way out there, we can hit the ground running, and get this list knocked out in record time so we can get her into the yard to be modernized. You have a PADD on you, by any chance?"

D.C handed over his PADD, pulling it from his pack.

"Shouldn't be too much trouble to get the sickbay up and runnin'."

He said, pulling out his pack of smokes, and offered one up to the new Captain.

Violet put up a hand to decline.

"Commander; it ain't my business to decide what you do on your own time." She said. "However, you should consider this temporary office my ready room for the time being, and not only is smoking tobacco an old fashioned way of slowly killing yourself, but it is an inappropriate thing to do while on duty. So, consider this your first and only warning: If I catch you with one of them smokes hangin' out of your mouth again, you ain't gonna be on my ship anymore. Do I make myself clear?"

As she spoke, maintaining eye contact with the doctor, Violet's hands made quick work of uploading the information he would need to his PADD, including the location of his temporary quarters.

"Yes, Ma'am" was all the reply he would give.

Having been distracted by the doctor's... Less than preferable habit, Violet sat back down.

"Now, where was I again?" She asked.

"Ma'am?" The doctor asks.

"Ah, yes;" Violet remembered, resuming the task of transferring the data. "That should get you started. If there are supplies you think might be missing, reach out to myself or Commander Tiae, and we'll make a note to get replacements ordered ASAP."

"Yes, Ma'am" D.C nods as he stands to leave.

"Dismissed, I suppose." Violet muttered.

Posting by

Captain Violet Bluegarden
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Commander Dr. Dallas Coleman "DC" Wyatt
Chief Medical Officer

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