The Next Step

Posted on 29 Oct 2025 @ 4:57pm by Lieutenant JG Dezran Taalen & Captain Bane Plase

1,790 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Shakedown
Location: Shuttle Bay/Turbolift
Timeline: Current

ON:

The shuttle ramp lowered with a long drone, resting with a light thud and echo on the Shuttle Bay deck. Pack slung over his broad shoulder, Dez let out an elongated sigh as he waited for the overcrowded transport to empty. The Bay was teeming with activity, crews shuttling cargo containers around on anti-grav lifts—personnel disembarking support craft at several locations. Dez couldn't help but feel like one of the cattle being herded to pasture.

After descending the ramp, he took only a moment to look around. It was ironic, he thought, that this place seemed so familiar, yet so foreign. He'd served on several ships in his 20-year career—this being his third posting on a Nebula class Starship. Each of them was unique. Cosmetically, they seemed similar, but the very feeling of their deckplates—the hum of the power conduits—each was different enough to be their own.

The young officers from his transport seemed enamored with the surroundings, taking their time to soak in their new posting. Dez rolled his eyes, skirting around the lingering group, the Shuttle Bay's oversized cargo doors in his sights.

He stopped short, a crewman guiding an anti-grav lift across his path. He nearly lost his balance trying to avoid a collision.

"Whoa, easy there!" Dez said out of reflex.

"Apologies, Lieutenant," said the officer, a Bolian that seemed desperately young for starship work. "Can I direct you somewhere? I see you've just disembarked transport," said the Bolian.

Dez began to move in the direction of the doors again. "Not unless they've moved Engineering," he said.

The Crewman's response was drowned out by the sound of the doors opening to the corridor beyond. Dez wasted no time, his long strides carrying him through the ship. Everything seemed crisp and unused. He remembered seeing that an overhaul had just been completed. He felt like he should be excited about the possibilities of a newly refitted ship, but the Engineer in him—always the pessimist—couldn't help but think about the potential for integration issues. A problem for the Chief, I guess, he thought to himself as he walked through the open turbolift doors.

"Deck 24," he said abruptly, nodding to the single occupant. Turning, he settled in and exhaled slowly, the hum of the turbolift filling the silence. He could feel the presence of the other officer, though perfectly comfortable with the discomfiture of the silence. Looking at the man out of his periphery, he then noticed the four gleaming pips on his collar.

Dez cursed silently to himself. Hell-of-a way to meet the new boss, he thought. Steeling himself, he let a breath escape, long and slow. His eyes looked at the Captain sideways, just barely catching his gaze before returning his focus to the front of the turbolift again.

"Captain," he said with a nod of recognition.

~About time,~ Bane thought. "Lost in the awe and complexity of your new ship, Lieutenant?" The tone was friendly and welcoming. Bane himself was on his way to Engineering. After being impressed with the Bridge and his Ready Room, the next most important place to him to check out was Main Engineering. Plus, he wanted to see how Lieutenant Ahmad was doing, and what she had planned for the brief warp jump to the Vega Epsilon sector.

Dez smirked. "To state the obvious, Captain...Lt. Taalen reporting for duty." His posture was far from formal. He hadn't gotten that impression from the Captain. He nodded his head toward the pack on his shoulder. "Just arrived. Thought Engineering a prudent first stop. Guess this is a chance meeting. Saves me a trip," he said. Dez shifted his weight, flashing his eyes toward the CO only briefly. This was the part where they decided what kind of dynamic they would have. He was accustomed to a terse Commanding Officer, more concerned with polished records and order compliance. He knew nothing about this man. His hopes were high that they could have a smooth start. He needed something—anything that wasn't a struggle. His life had been full of too many abrasive encounters. So far, this had promise, he thought.

"Ah," Bane exclaimed, unclasping his hand from behind his back and holding them wide. "Welcome to the Cygnus then, Lieutenant. Very glad to have you aboard. Forgive me," the Captain said, a frown appearing on his face, his arms dropping to his sides, "We have had many a new face come aboard today, and I fear I have not yet memorized the new duty roster. Mr. Taalen, I assume you reporting to Lieutenant Ahmad. What is to be your new role aboard ship?"

Dez let the moment linger. He was not good at these meet and greets and it was becoming more apparent by the nanosecond. Turning, he faced the Captain and steeled himself. Slowly—deliberately— he shifted his posture to adopt a more pleasing demeanor. At least, the best approximation he was capable of.

"Understandable, Sir. Apologies. I'm reporting in as your new Assistant Chief Engineering Officer. Dezran Taalen's the name. But Dez'll do just fine, if you're so inclined." He extended his hand for a formal handshake. That seemed to be the commonly accepted gesture in his past experiences which were numerous. With any luck, this one would stick, he thought.

Captain Bane took the proferred hand and shook it. "Welcome aboard, Dez. Very glad to have you here. I'm Captain Bane. Sometimes people call me Captain Plase, but please don't. Plase is my given name. Bajoran," he said as way of explanation. He drove the point home by pointing at the ridges on the bridge of his nose.

Dez observed the gesture, having identified the Captain as Bajoran already. He appreciated the candor, nonetheless. Turning back to face the door, he clasped his hands behind his back, content to ride the following moments in silence. For a reason that escaped him, he then found himself offering more idle conversation—an action that he found himself disappointed in. He had a reputation of being brutish and unapproachable. What had gotten into him, he couldn't say.

"So, Captain Bane. This ship of yours is brand new, eh? How are ya findin' that so far?" Dez asked casually. He grumbled to himself as soon as the words escaped his lips.

Captain Bane turned his head slightly toward Taalen, one corner of his mouth curving into a wry smile. The soft hum of the turbolift filled the pause that followed, underscoring the Captain’s measured response. When he finally spoke, his voice carried that distinct timbre of calm authority that only came from long command experience—deep, textured, and laced with something more personal than protocol.

“Brand new?” Bane repeated, his tone half amused, half reflective. “No, Lieutenant. The Cygnus has more ghosts in her hull than most ships have bulkheads.” He shifted his stance slightly, clasping his hands behind his back again as his gaze drifted upward, past the deck plating, almost as though he could see through it to the stars beyond. “She’s over thirty years old now. A Nebula-class born in the age when Starfleet was still chasing the frontier like it was the wild west. She’s seen it all. Border skirmishes, science expeditions, first contacts that could’ve gone either way. And then…”

He paused, long enough for the silence to carry weight. “Then came the derelict freighter with isolinium as part of her cargo. We decided to bring the isolinium aboard for safe-keeping and tow the freighter back here. While at warp, we attempted to gain further access to the freighters computer, which set off it's self destruct program. The explosion took us by surprise, ripping off our starboard nacelle, hull breaches all along Decks 15 through 20, and the entire mission pod sheared clean off. Sixty percent of the crew lost. Good people. Friends. Officers who made this ship what she was. When we were rescued and towed back here, the Cygnus was barely a ship. More a collection of memories held together by will power and determination.”

Bane’s eyes lowered again, focusing squarely on Dez. “So no, she’s not new. She’s reborn. Every system and relay you’ll touch down in Engineering carries the mark of something old that refused to die. Starfleet can refit a hull and polish a deckplate, but the soul of a ship that doesn’t come from a replicator or industrial engineering. It comes from people like you. From how we put her back together, and how we keep her flying.”

He let out a quiet breath that might have been half sigh, half fondness. “You’ll hear the hum under your boots soon enough, Lieutenant Taalen. You’ll feel the subtle vibration through the deck when she’s at warp, slightly uneven, like a heartbeat with an old scar. That’s the Cygnus. She’s stubborn, proud, and more than a little temperamental.”

Then, Bane’s tone softened, gaining a faint glimmer of humor. “If you can keep her running smoother than she runs her engineers ragged, I’ll consider that a miracle worthy of the Prophets themselves.”

The turbolift slowed, and Bane turned toward the door, his expression shifting into the steady calm of command once again. “But make no mistake, Lieutenant. This ship may have been rebuilt, but she remembers. And so do I. Let’s make sure the next chapter written in her log is one worth the name, Cygnus.”

He gestured toward the corridor beyond as the doors parted with a hiss. “Shall we see what kind of new technology and powerful new systems your new kingdom has in store?”

Dez looked back at the Captain. He seemed to be a thoughtful, contemplative type. The way he spoke of the Cygnus—it was like he spoke of an old friend—maybe even a girlfriend that he couldn't seem to get over. Dez wasn't one for attachments to people, but bonding with a starship? That was something he could understand and relate to. He took one long stride out of the turbolift, getting his bearings in the corridor beyond. The air still smelled stiff and foreign, but he felt something more after hearing the Captain's comments. There was history, that much he could tell. He turned to the Captain one more time.

"Thanks, Captain. For the welcome. I'll treat her right, don't you worry none," Dez said with a glimmer. He took off down the corridor, anxious to get to Engineering at long last.


:OFF:


Lt. JG Dezran Taalen
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Cygnus

&

Captain Bane Plase
Commanding Officer
USS Cygnus

 

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