"Captain Chisulo!"
Tedros turned to see the source of the call as he purposefully strode off the boarding ramp to the USS Detector. He found an eager young marine approaching him, leading forward with a padd in his hand.
"Welcome back, Captain." The young soldier greeted him. "We were all glad to hear your mission was a success."
Tedros nodded, "In some respects, yes. But the fact still remains that an entire colony's population was eradicated. The victory is bittersweet."
The young officer lost a bit of the jubilance in his visage, remanded by Chisulo's stark remarks. As a fallback, the marine handed the Tactical Advisor the padd in his hands. "This is a summary of the starbase's tactical reports from during your absence. It details the upgrades to the torpedo launchers and phaser turrets and the latest simulation results."
"Thank you." Chisulo said as he took the padd and glanced over the results.
"I'm also to inform you to report to Captain Trent Rodgers immediately upon arrival."
"Captain Rodgers?" Chisulo asked, puzzled. "Where is the Commodore, and Pont Brillant?"
"The Commodore is away on mission." The marine replied. "And Captain Rodgers is the new XO."
Chisulo only nodded. High level officers never stayed in one position long during times of war. Chisulo's experiences during the Dominion War told him that. "Thank you, Lieutenant."
[Captain Rodgers' Office, SB 234: Unity]
Trent looked through the contents of the lone box on his desk. Most of the items in the box were new since just about everything in his old ready room on the Lancelot was destroyed with the ship. He pulled out a book that had been a gift from his former XO. It was a collection of Bajoran short stories, written during the time of the Cardassian occupation. As Trent skimmed through the pages, he could only make out a word here or there, but that was about it.
"Sir."
Still holding the book in his left hand with its pages open. Trent looked toward the door to see Lieutenant Bannister.
"Yes, lieutenant."
"Captain Chisulo is here as requested," the marine lieutenant said.
"Good. Send him in."
Bannister nodded before turning sharply and exiting the room.
Tedros Chisulo entered as the door slid aside. He stopped five paces before his new superior and snapped a quick salute. "Greetings, Captain Rodgers. You wished to see me?"
Trent put the book down on his desk.
"Yes, captain. Please have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?"
"No." Chisulo responded. "But thank you."
Trent moved the box off his desk and sat it on the deck beside his desk. He remained standing.
"I read the report that Commodore Guzman forwarded to me before he departed. Good job on retaking V'Tar II."
"Thank you, sir." Chisulo nodded.
"It was disappointing to hear how our fighters and bombers were outclassed," Trent said. "Hopefully, our renewed Lancer production will be able to make up for that."
Trent finally took a seat.
"I suppose the good news is you were able to take out two of their Thalaron cruisers. Unfortunately, according to the logs, there are at least still two more of those cruisers out there. We need to figure out some way to detect them before they get anywhere near a Federation or allied planet, or we'll have to settle for further victories like that in the V'Tar system ... victories we can not afford."
"I also found it interesting that sea life seems to not be affected by this weapon," Trent said. "Maybe there's a way we can use that to our advantage, though I can't imagine how."
"Short of submerging all of our cities, I am at a loss at well." Chisulo replied. "Perhaps Science would have better luck."
Trent stood and walked to Chisulo's side of the desk.
"Well, captain, I know you probably have a few things to take care of. So I won't take anymore of your time," Trent offered his hand. "I was just wanting to meet with you and get a feel for how the mission went. Is there anything you feel needs to be added?"
"Not at this time, Captain." Chisulo said. "But sir, I have held your position before. I you need any assistance settling in, I would be more than happy to provide it."
"Very good. It was good to meet you," Trent said.
