New Horizons

Posted on Mon Apr 20th, 2015 @ 11:06am by Lieutenant JG Maryam Syed & Commander Jonathan Martin

1,315 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Deadly Diplomacy
Location: USS Calypso
Timeline: Arrival on the Calypso

The message on her PADD caused her to double take, blinking rapidly as she did so. Had she read that correctly? Were her eyes decieving her?"

" Chief, did you see this?" Johnny Smith called from his Ops console. Maryam turned around to see him waving a PADD with a message written on it. " I'm being transferred! What in the world...?"

" I'm being demoted!" Maryam looked tense. Her eyes were wide and her heart was racing with stress. She checked the message again and noticed the one that followed. " And...and I'm transferring, too. The USS Calypso." she told him, staring in surprise. " Assistant Chief of Ops, USS Calypso, immediate." Things fell into place quickly, and she sat back in mild relief and dismay.

" The Calypso? Yeah, I'm headed there too!" Johnny motioned to his PADD again and Maryam drank in the words with joy.

" Oh, that's fantastic!" She cheered, high-fiving him. " We're going to the same ship!...but wow, I just realized Johnny. I've never been on any other ship but this one. Now we're leaving." She thought, her heart stopping for a moment. That fear that she had had, of the end of the world once she left this boat, was gone. She wouldn't have to walk through dark memories everywhere she went. It would be a big ship; it would be something new. " We're leaving." Those next words came with pure relief.

* * *

Days later aboard the Calypso, Jonathan had just made his way onto the Galaxy class ship that would be his new home for the foreseeable future. He was able to marvel at the ship from the outside as the transport ship arrived and he was impressed at the size and presence it commanded, at least compared to a defiant class.

One thing he was looking forward once he came aboard was seeking out Maryam. They had served together on the Sunfire for years and it was nice to come into a new environment with some familiar faces, Maryam being one of them.

Already in uniform with his comm badge given to him once he stepped on the Calypso, he calmly touched his badge and asked where Lt. Syed was. The ship's computer directed him towards Ops which wasn't surprising to him she'd be there.

* * *

Maryam was taking yet another moment to marvel at the fact that she had left the Sunfire, was standing here - and was not dead. She had almost convinced herself that she the day she left the Sunfire would be the day she died - but she was here. When had she started to believe in fate? When had she started thinking that even trying to leave the Sunfire would mean her death?

It was oddly relaxing to be on this ship, this big vast universe that she couldn't yet believe she was a part of. She was used to the cramped, minimal living space of a Defiant-class, not this great whale of a ship where the Ops room felt like it was big enough for two Defiant-class ships to fit inside. It really was a universe of it's own; matters that lived beyond it could not touch her here. There were no memories here to grieve her. It was refreshing.

She wasn't sure she was ready to smile just yet... The last few months had exhausted her emotionally and the toll they had taken was clear in her tired eyes and weary voice. But she could sense that somehow, the race had been won, and she could rest. She had woken this morning and noticed that the boulder on her chest was no longer there...perhaps she could manage a small one. It felt unjust not to reward the world with a sign that she knew things would get better. She smiled briefly to herself, and amused at the thought of how she must have looked, began to grin to herself.

"Lieutenant Syed!" Jonathan shouted in the ops room slightly startling some of the officers who were focused on their job. Saying the title out loud was particularly weird as he was used to calling her lieutenant commander all those years. He walked up to her with a big smile that any person would feel when being reunited with a past officer they had worked with for many years.

Maryam turned around, alarmed. Who was that!? Ohh.... Commander Martin? How strange it was seeing him here - an old face amongst the new. She smiled wryly as he approached, eyeing his insignia. There was a tone of amusement as she spoke - his uniform had not changed one bit. " Hello sir. I see someone managed to keep their rank. As you can tell, I myself was...not so lucky." A dramatic sigh followed. Then, she grinned. " How are you doing? Isn't this ship gigantic!?"

"That's what happens when you run from Cardassian law," he joked. He looked at their surroundings with the loads of space they had between them, the ceiling, and walls. "Yes, this ship is quite impressive, especially if compared to our former ship. Believe it or not this is only the second time I've ever been on a Galaxy class ship. All my previous assignments were on defiants. It'll take some time to get use to having so much space. Everything going well thus far Lieutenant?"

Maryam felt a little indignant. " On your orders - sir." She muttered before she caught herself and hurriedly smiled. " But let's not think about such 'unpleasant matters.' Everything's going wonderfully though. It was worth being demoted. Are you enjoying it here? I know I am. It's so...different. The Sunfire feels like another world that is hopefully gone forever."

Jonathan felt her irritation and knew it was too soon to broach the Cardassian matter let alone joke about it. "I haven't had time to fully appreciate the ship yet, but I'm sure that'll change soon. Louis and Apollo will be joining us soon on the Calypso per my request. They're good officers and I figured some old faces would go a long way with you here."

Maryam smiled uncertainly. " Yeah, I...I guess they would." She nodded cheerfully. " Johnny got transferred along when I did, too - I'm really glad to have him here." In reality she could her feel her heart sinking and an automatic urge to suppress it. We can all have a fresh start here. Let's not be selfish. " Are they going to have their old jobs, or...?"

"Yeah, I saw Johnny's name on the manifest. They'll have their old positions, so hopefully that'll make their transition easier. I have to get going for a meeting, but if you need anything, let me know. I'm sure once Apollo and Louis get on board they'll seek you out as they will be happy to see you again." He smiled, "Lieutenant," he nodded before he left.

" All right, I will! It was good to see you sir. And ah, I'll be happy to see them too..." Maryam replied, waving half-heartedly as he departed. For the first time since arriving, she felt the old agitation return. She had been an idiot; of course her past would follow her here! A simple transfer didn't change anything! What was the point of anything? What was life!?

She knew it was wrong to blame her friends for their roles in all that had happened; it wasn't their fault. But it was so easy to tell herself that they were not real friends, not close confidantes, and that whatever relationship they had didn't matter in the face of her growing irritation. She had told herself this would be a fresh start and that the little voice telling her otherwise was a liar. Brows furrowing in irritation, she returned to her console and sat there, too distracted to do anything but stare at the screen.

 

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