Pathfinding [3/4]

Posted on Mon Jul 6th, 2026 @ 6:07am by Captain Jaro & Lieutenant Harinarayani Khatri

862 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: The Fissure
Location: Deck 10 - Astrometrics
Timeline: 12 hours before arrival in the Orellia system

It would have taken more willpower than even Raya possessed to resist the urge to raise an eyebrow. On the face of it, the premise wasn't very surprising. Starfleet had made it very clear that this entire enterprise was far more than an isolated venture just to 'take a peek'. Expansion, dressed up as exploration, had a swathe of meritorious excuses that eventually all culminated in a pretty simple understanding; the Federation was better served by a proactive approach rather than sitting around waiting for the Delta Quadrant to take fresh interest. What did strike her as bold was allowing an unknown representative to have any kind of access to on-board processes beyond the comforts normally afforded to guests. Not just an officer exchange, but a senior officer exchange. Raya frowned as the dots slowly started to connect.

"Isn't that a little...ambitious?"

Her father would have chastised her gall and Raya herself felt a little guilty for being presumptuous enough to offer an opinion but ambassadorial duties were wildly different to being grandfathered in to the second-most authorative position on board. Though she might have denied it, a twinge of resentment further soured the pilot to the proposal. What was the point, after all, of years of study and training and service if someone with no knowledge of Starfleet protocol or idealogy was about to be put in charge of command decisions?

Jaro’s smile did not falter, nor did his expression betray even a hint of offense at her bluntness. Instead, his brow arched with a look of profound understanding. As a Denobulan, he found the concept of territorialism fascinating, but as a Starfleet captain operating on the bleeding edge of known space, he knew that rigid thinking was their greatest liability.

"Ambitious? Highly. I’d even call it risky." Jaro agreed, stepping closer to the console and watching a soft-gold moon of Orellia rotate on the periphery of the display. "But we are thousands of lightyears from the nearest Starfleet reinforcements, Lieutenant. We are a tiny expeditionary force attempting to carve out a peaceful existence in a sector where we are very much the uninvited guests. If the Federation and the values we so proudly preach are to be taken seriously here, we cannot afford to put up walls. Quite the contrary. We must be willing to open our doors, especially when it is uncomfortable."

"Consider the alternative. The Kodaaj possess a comparatively massive navy. If they wished to sweep us aside and claim Vanguard Station by force, they could do so by the end of the week. We’d put up a fight, sure, but the numbers are sobering. Yet, they are talking to us. They are negotiating. And if we want to build a future of mutual trust rather than suspicious standoff, we must be brave enough to offer real, meaningful partnership. That means letting them see how we operate, and learning how they do the same."

A subtle, reassuring grin returned to his face as he tapped his fingers lightly against his uniform belt.

"And do not worry, the arrangement is entirely symmetrical. Commander Litt is already packing his bags; he will be departing to serve as Executive Officer aboard one of their premier vessels. As for why the Amazônia was chosen to host their counterpart? Well, we are an aging explorer—not a heavily armed tactical cruiser. We represent Starfleet’s curiosity, not its weapons. I believe we are uniquely suited to teach them who we are."

To her credit, Khatri withheld an immediate response in order to give the Captain's reasoning its due scrutiny. There was, of course, the usual elegance of diplomatic justification, she was very used to listening to that. One might almost have labelled it a typical dinner table tactic within her parents' house, though Raya was left wondering if her father would really have approved of Jaro's decision. That she might come close to agreeing with the Admiral would normally have been sobering enough to make Raya rethink her stance but, in this instance, the Denobulan had peppered his explanation with enough red flags for her to suspect he was as much trying to convince himself that he'd done the right thing as her.

"There's considerable difference between a cultural envoy and an executive officer," she pointed out, a little unnecessarily in terms of identifying the obvious glaring risk but Raya's primary intent was simply to let Jaro know she saw the complication for what it was. "The crew have barely learned each other's names, I can't imagine it will be easy for them to follow the orders of someone who may not even know how to phrase them correctly." For pity's sake, the access codes alone are a security risk we shouldn't be expected to just accept. "I also don't know if packaging this as a preference to hostile takeover is going to earn any confidence."

For a moment, the brunette seemed almost amused or, at the very least, sympathetic.

"I almost feel sorry for them."

[TBC]

Captain Jaro
Captain
USS Amazonia

Lieutenant Harinarayani Khatri
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Amazônia

 

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