Meeting The Commanding Officer

Posted on 04 Jul 2026 @ 12:52am by 1st Lieutenant S'earr & Captain Jasmine Somers FCapt

1,745 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: S04 Episode 02 The Hackers Backdoor (Incidentals)
Location: Various
Timeline: Current

[ON]

To most officers arriving aboard for the first time, the Tomcat was impressive.

To 1st Lieutenant S’earr, it looked ready for a fight.

The towering Caitian moved through the corridor with deliberate calm, his broad shoulders forcing more than one crewman to flatten themselves politely against the bulkhead as he passed. At seven and a half feet tall, S’earr naturally dominated whatever space he occupied, and the stark contrast of his white fur marked by sharp black stripes only made him more difficult to ignore.

Not that he particularly cared.

The duffel bag he’d carried aboard only moments earlier now rested abandoned in his assigned quarters, still half-unpacked beside the small bed. There would be time for settling in later.

First impressions mattered. Especially with a new commanding officer. His tail flicked once behind him as the turbolift came to a smooth stop.

“Bridge,” the computer announced.

The doors slid open.

- Bridge -

Immediately, the controlled energy of the Tomcat’s bridge wrapped around him, officers moving between stations, tactical updates crossing displays, the low ambient hum of a combat-ready vessel never truly at rest.

Jasmine had not long finished with K'Muss when she exited her Ready Room. She looked up to see a towering white-furred Caitian; she involuntarily swallowed oO damn, a fine specimen of a male Oo she thought, "Lieutenant S'earr, I presume?" She asked.

It was easy to pick out the Captain; he recognised her face from reading up on her as well as the rest of the senior staff. Knowledge is power, and having some understanding of a person makes for smoother first encounters. "Ma'am." S'earr bowed his head as a tradition to females. "I am."

"If you will join me in my Ready room", she said, returning to the room she was about to leave.

S'earr followed her into the Ready Room, keeping a respectful distance in doing so.

- Ready Room -

She pulled over a chair, it was one of those that could have its back removed, which she did and placed it in front of her desk. "Apologies, Lieutenant, while a Caitian was expected, we were not ready for one as tall or well built as you, but this backless seat will hopefully do in the short term", she said, indicating the hastily adjusted seat that was now essentially a stool as she sat behind her desk.

"If I may, I'd prefer to stand. I have often encountered issues with furniture in light of what I am. An ill-fitting first impression if to break the chair in our first meeting." It was easy to guess that he'd racked up an impressive list of damaged or broken furniture during his years of service, from others overestimating the capabilities of furniture. There were other reasons for his request, but now was not the time to voice them.

Sitting back and looking up at him, "as you wish", she said, logging his arrival on the Tomcat, "So you are my new RCO, same as MCO, just a different acronym, I assume you were told a little of your department by Commander Smithson during your orientation, she also put in the notes that for scent reasons Caitian's cannot come into contact with other species otherwise your biological needs would imprint upon that person, is that correct as I understand it?" She asked.

"Almost," S'earr spoke. "Males from my caste can be affected by the scent of females. Given that we are predators, our sense of smell is considerable. We are not permitted to touch a female without permission; if touched by one, it can cause chemical complications, as her scent is upon me and needs to be removed. Which is, in part, why I declined the seat, as you had touched it. If in a room with several females, I will stand apart from them."

"Fair dinkum, but I would speak with engineering to sort out stronger furniture to replace the items in your quarters. Also, we have a standing agreement with the leadership on Galen IV, and we can use their wildlands and forests for military exercises. You will find that you may be doing a lot of exercises on Galen IV, the last time the Rifles were used was in retaking some outposts and bases back in the Hydaransz System from Pirates, a fraction of the Rifles are used, normally a ship of this size would not have so many, but I like to hear busy sounds and I have always been of the mind, that it is better to have someting and not use it, than not have it and finding you need it" she paused.

"Right, the CMO is 1st Lt Gavin Ross, a bright and very talented doctor. He has been helping me greatly on medical grounds; you will need to report to him for your medical check-up," She added.

"Understood, ma'am," S'earr responded, absorbing the information provided to him.

"Now I suspect that when you were given your orientation, you were given the chance to ask questions, which was optional. I need to know my RCO is not afraid to ask questions, as you will be the overall Commander of 467 Riflemen; only twelve of that number will have duties apart from the main body.

"Ma'am, I am the single most dangerous individual on board this ship. A factor I am constantly aware of, believe me when I say that I am perfectly content to ask questions when I have one." Her comment angered him slightly, implying he had a fear of something when only just meeting him, bold...for a Human. It was not that at all, only that should S'earr speak, it was with reason, and that reason should be heeded.

Yet, it was the Captain, a female, whose mood levelled out quickly enough.

She studied him for a moment very closely "Excellent, welcome aboard the Tomcat, Lieutenant", she said and paused "There are many ways I could test new arrivals, sadly, a physical handshake was out; that is the first and last test from me. You will be billeted on Deck Five, which is one of the few Junior Officers' quarters decks. Your room has holo emitters, but you may have to have engineering replicate you a larger bed," she said.

"Understood, ma'am," S'earr answered, already ahead of the Captain on the need for larger and far stronger furniture for himself.

"Seek out Chief Warrant Officer K'Muss; he will be able to give you a quick brief on ship operations where the Rifles are concerned. Also, while Bravo Unit is not part of the main body, as they are my personal bodyguard, you will need to be at least acquainted with the unit, seek out Major S'arila Donovan; she is very tall and is not exactly human. I will let her expand on that. While she is a Major, she knows you are the RCO and will not overrule your commands should the Captain's Bodyguard and the main Rifles Regiment end up on a mission together. Also, take time to get to know your subordinates; a good portion are the same rank, but they will not go against you," the Captain said.

That little snippet of information was an interesting development, a bodyguard. "Ma'am, may I ask why you feel the need for a bodyguard on a Federation starship?" While S'earr was not abreast of recent missions of the ship, there had to be a unique situation that warranted such a force. He was not aware of any other vessel with such a unit serving in that capacity outside diplomatic envoys.

"Being a Fleet Captain, Lieutenant, like all ship commanders, I have sector codes and such for the Mira Sector. I have more than Captain Picard had, so the Bodyguard is there as we are out in an area of space with little Starfleet backup, and getting what I know is advantageous to the right information broker. Thankfully, to date, they have not been needed, but there is also a possibility that something bad could happen. In fact, it had to me, after I was captured, CinC cancelled all my clearences and codes for the Sector, have you any idea how tedious it is to memorise new codes and such?" she said.

"I will settle for the ship's armoury code, ma'am," S'earr answered. "Will there be anything else, ma'am?" He then asked.

"Your clearences will give you access to the Armoury in the Rifles section of this ship; all other armouries fall under the Security Chief and the Command Staff", the Captain answered.

"Very good, ma'am," S'earr answered. "Will there be anything else?" S'earr was looking forward to getting started; truth be told, he was a marine, not a politician, and disliked formalities.

"Also, I just remembered, with hands so big, you will need altered versions of the TR116-B, Regenerative Phaser Rifle and hand Phaser" she said leaning forward she tapped something into the computer and a moment a later a strip of paper with a long alpha numeric code on, she took it from the printer and laid it on her desk an sat back, she was now aware of the physical touch issue, she pointed at it.

"That Lieutenant is for you, take it to the Quartermaster and it will authorise you to have said three weapons fabricated to the size that would seem normal size to you", the Captain said.

S'earr took the code, looked at it, then slid it up the cuff of his left wrist. "Thank you, ma'am." He was glad to be able to replicate weapons more his size; it had been the source of a few jokes to witness someone so large wield weapons too small. Being able to have fabricated weapons suited to his size and comfort would help greatly.

"No problem, now we are all but done here, have you any final questions you need to ask about this ship and your duties, etc.?" She asked.

"None, ma'am." S'earr would pick up or learn the rest with time.

*nodding* "Very well, Lieutenant, you are dismissed, and welcome to the Tomcat," she said with a smile

S'earr bowed in parting, then left the office.

[OFF]

 

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