Another Chapter

Posted on Wed Jul 12th, 2023 @ 4:24pm by Lieutenant JG Matthew Cowley & Captain Elena Navarra & Admiral Rosalyn Nechayev
Edited on on Wed Jul 12th, 2023 @ 4:24pm

1,219 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Rescue
Location: Captain's Ready Room. SB109
Timeline: MD 1, 1800

Continued from "With a Little Help"

Captain Navarra sat behind her desk, wondering what the Admiral wanted now. So far, every time the Admiral had called, she asked for something either unconventional or absurd. Not that Navarra minded the unconventional, but the Admiral was something of a conundrum.

"Thank you, Admiral," Navarra said as she stared at the image on the screen. "Ensign Cowley is my most trusted ally here. What can I do for you today? Any more officers who need to be expelled from one of the greatest organizations ever created?" she asked with a light half-heartedness in her voice.

Cowley winced. He was getting used to someone who was willing to be so real with a superior officer, but there were a lot of things he didn't understand about Captain Navarra and, apparently, there were also things about Starfleet, undercurrents he wasn't used to dealing with in his past as a cadet and an ensign. For a while, he was going to have to be very careful. Listen more, talk less.

Rosalyn took the captain's snarkiness in stride. "Funny you should ask that," she said, "but no, not exactly."

"So, what can I do for you today, Admiral?" Elena asked as she felt there was something coming, no matter what she was told.

"A lot, if you're willing. I have a ship with a competent First Officer, and a talented engineer. It needs a captain for sensitive missions involving ... intelligence and espionage. Thought I'd get your input on who that might be."

Navarra's eyes widened and she instantly looked over to Cowley. She quickly gained her composure and sat quietly for a moment. "What's the ship, Admiral? More so, how sensitive of a mission are we talking? Mind sharing a few details, so I can better assess the question?"

"It's one of those 'if you have to ask, you don't need to know' kind of situations," Nechayev answered, mocking the captain a little bit. "Of course, I know you, and you always have to ask."

Already forgetting his recent decision to say nothing, but listen closely, the ensign opened his mouth ... and then immediately shut it again. However, not before the admiral noticed.

"You have something to say, Ensign Cowley?" she asked.

He glanced at Navarra, raising an eyebrow. She shook her head slightly.

"No, Ma'am," he answered. "You weren't asking my advice."

"Captain, I know you just got to Starbase 109, but I am going to need you to uproot yourself once again. Standby, I am going to encrypt this communique." The admiral pressed a few buttons on the console on her end, and a quick encryption message appeared and disappeared from the screen.

"Since you are reading your ensign in," the admiral said with tiny bit of sarcasm in her voice, "I need a vessel out there that can act as a intermediary support for Nomad when they need it, or when I need it. Of course, there would be some stipulations on how that contact would be made, but we can handle those details later. On the other side of things, I need Samurai back out there and in action. Things are heating up everywhere, and I need a ship that I can depend on and I know is run by a more-than-competent captain. I need you to be that captain."

Nechayev paused. She realized she had said a lot, and wanted it all to sink in for a moment.

Navarra stood from behind her desk and walked closer to the wall-sized view screen. If she were honest with herself, this was a gift horse. The captain's chair on Samurai had called out to her. She knew she wanted this, but she needed a few things herself to make it work.

"You said you already have a first officer in mind, but I would like to choose my own," Elena said. She looked over at Cowley and nodded her head. He instantly knew what she meant, pulled up a personnel file on his PADD and sent it over the encrypted communique.

Nechayev could be seen reading over something on the screen. A furrowed looked came across her face, and then she looked up to her screen.

"This will take some doing. Commander McKenna just received her first posting as Commander aboard USS Durham. Captain Edwards will not be happy about a late switch, but I think I could make it work. In return, you must take Commander Perry with you as well. He has rebuilt Samurai from the nacelles up. He is also still in charge of the experimental technology aboard that ship and must maintain it. How does that sound?"

Elena felt a fluttering in her heart. This was exactly what she wanted. She looked over to Cowley and could immediately read his body language.

"One more thing, Admiral," Elena said. "I need one more crucial person to make this work."

Nechayev secretly liked this about Navarra, although she would never tell her. She loved how Navarra used the situation to gain what she wanted also, the mark of a true negotiator.

"And who is this crucial person, Captain?" Nechayev asked with a small smile.

"I need Lieutenant Jr. Grade Matthew Cowley for this to work ma'am."

Cowley let out a small breath. He wasn't going to be left behind, nor was he to remain an ensign. Early promotion would look good on his personnel record, but it was more than that to him. It was the captain's recognition of his usefulness that was important. Her opinion of him had made a difference in his service, and knowing that he was reading situations correctly had reinforced his confidence.

Surprised, the admiral looked at Matthew and was trying to figure out what made this ensign so important to Navarra. "And may I ask why Cowley is so important that he needs to be added to this assignment?"

Navarra took a moment to explain. "Matthew has proven himself to be an invaluable asset. He is forward-thinking and self-thinking. He needs only to hear instruction, and then finds ways to make something happen. He is also read in on the crew of Nomad and could coordinate certain functions of the mission if I am detained with other matters."

Nechayev considered Elena's reasoning and tried her best to poke holes in it. If she were honest, she did like the idea of one more person being able to be a correspondent for the Nomad crew. "And what position would this young Lieutenant Jr. Grade hold aboard Samurai?"

"He would still be my Yeoman, but he would also hold the position of Special Projects Coordinator." Navarra hoped that title would fly. She hadn't expected the admiral to ask that question and came up with something fast.

Nechayev sat back in her chair, placing her hands together under her nose. Again, she had to admit that Navarra was good. Also, it confirmed her decision to put the woman on Samurai.

"Well, congratulations, Lieutenant Jr. Grade Cowley," Admiral Nechayev offered. "Your promotion orders, along with your change of assignment, will be incoming. Navarra, prepare to make Samurai ready. Commander Perry will be notified as well. Crew assignments will arrive in your inbox soon. I suggest when they come in, you take time to learn your new senior officers."

 

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