Away Team: Best Foot Forward Part II

Posted on Sat Aug 1st, 2026 @ 5:48pm by Commander Cornelius 'Kit' Hanlon & Lieutenant Commander Christopher Evans & Lieutenant Commander Daniel Masters & Lieutenant Azree Kar & Lieutenant Rosaleen O'Donnell & Lieutenant Dr. J.R McEntyre, M.D. F.F.C.S, F.C.E.P & Lieutenant B'Lakkam Slichez & Lieutenant JG Riaothren (Ren) ch'Shaorhs

1,697 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Behind the Curtain
Location: USS Fenrir Transporter room
Timeline: Day 1

Continued from Part 1

Commander Hanlon reached the last stretch of corridor and slowed a fraction, shoulders settling into the familiar line of someone about to be looked at as an example of Starfleet composure. Ahead, the doors to Transporter Room One waited, and he let out a soft breath as he stopped for a moment. Just taking a moment, PADD in his hand, messages sent out for them all to join him there. He took one last glance at the list of names before he looked up and walked in, smiling to the man at the transporter post. “Vansen.”

“Commander,” Vansen gave him a smile in return, brown hair tucked behind his ears, blue eyes watching. “I got the coordinates locked in, the Apsloens are expecting us within the half hour.”

“Good,” Kit nodded and moved to stand by the transporter pads, looking over at the crates. “Do you have the inventory list?”

“Yes, Sir,” Vansen moved over and showed him the PADD, giving a small smile. “Small gestures from the core planets. Meditation orb from Vulcan’s fragile, so I packed it securely with some scarves from Betazed…”

Kit looked at him with surprise before he chuckled. “Well, if I ever need to pack my quarters up, I’ll call you,” he said playfully before he signed off on it. “Very good, Vansen.” He watched him go back to his post, taking a slow breath.

The gifts would show the influence of the Federation. But the away team he had assembled? That was the miniature version of Fenrir and Starfleet he wanted the Apsloens to meet.

At the same moment, the Apsloens would be meeting the influential and cultural side of the Federation; they'd also be seeing the serious side. A grizzled security officer, geared up and ready to put himself between them and the rest of the team if anything untoward were to happen. "Commander," Daniel said in greeting to the XO.

Ren ch'Shaorhs, the Andorian assistant Chief Operations Officer, was next to arrive. His uniform looked as if it had just come out of a replicator, or at the very least, freshly pressed. He greeted a few people with a nod or a brief word of greeting before amking his way to the transporter pad.

Ren looked back at Kaelen, returning the smile. He didn't say anything to him; this wasn't the time for that. There were more pressing issues being dealt with. He'd wait til after the briefing to talk with him.

Evans had been working on some last minute scans which made him arrive just a few moments after the set arrival time. “I apologize for my tardiness. I was running a few scans” he gave a slight nod to a few of the crew there.

"You're not late," Hanlon said quickly to Evans, wanting to reassure him. Because he wasn't. His eyes went to the Chief Security Officer, giving Masters a small smile. He nodded to Ren, a small smile coming to him. It was good to see everyone in good spirits, despite the uncertainty of this Second Contact.

"Morning," Gabriel Stark greeted no one in particular as he joined the gathered crew. He was something of an away team veteran, despite being enlisted rather than an officer. He was also used to away teams becoming death gauntlets after about 15 minutes, so he'd checked his type 2 phaser at least three times, and had his type 1 in his boot for good measure.

Lovisa Montague moved in hurriedly, her dark eyes bright with curiosity. Her near black hair had been fixed firmly out the way with a crown braid, and there was a strap across her body that held a science kit, matched with a tricorder at her hip. She'd been a science officer for a few years, but being picked for an away team was sill a novelty to her. The excitement was palpable as she squeezed through the group to get to the far side. "Excuse me..."

B'Lakkam entered the transporter room with a mysterious looking smile. He had not been on the ship long and already he was on an away mission for a second contact. If he listened well enough, perhaps he could find someone that could assist with his personal quest. However, his Betelgeusian Slichez training warned, that it might be better to wait. If he was discovered now, on his first mission, trust would be broken. Perhaps it was better to just focus on the mission. If something developed, he would reevaluate.

His smile faded somewhat as he came to his alternate conclusion. There was still time to change it, but for now, the better conclusion was focus on the mission, figure out who these people were, make the observations, and report well to his Captain and Starfleet. Anything else would have to wait. He had been waiting for 23 years, what was another few days, weeks, or even months at this point?

Cheerily, B'Lakkam said, "Is everyone ready? Any nerves that we need to get out before we have to go down? If necessary, I have some wonderful breathing exercises that could assist."

Lovisa smiled at B'Lakkam's cheery words, shaking her hands out a little with the reminder to relax. The offer was reassuring in its own right, making her feel like it was okay to be nervous. Because she was. Excited, but also nervous. "Thanks...I'll try not to forget to breathe all together..." she laughed softly at herself.

"Not breathing is rather hazardous to your health," B'Lakkam retorted. "But I'll let the doctor chime in on that. I'm sure he's more of an expert on that subject than I am."

Lovisa laughed softly at the way he had put it, nodding lightly before glancing across to the Chief Medical Officer. "I'll do my best to keep breathing then," she assured with a gently teasing tone to both of them, the lighter small talk helping to settled her nerves.

"I do appreciate you accommodating my wishes to keep breathing," B'Lakkam answered Lieutenant. He lightly teased, "Imagine what it would do to my career and reputation if I had someone stop breathing on my first away team on the Fenrir." He showed his teeth as he barely refrained from laughing, as he playfully uttered, "Can't have that, now, can we?"

"Stark, I'll take the front," Daniel addressed the other security officer. "Keep an eye on our rear; there's a lot of us to keep an eye on so trust your instincts."

"Understood, I've got your back, Sir," Gabriel nodded firmly to his chief, his dark eyes sincere even if they glinted with anticipation. He might be known as something of a party boy, but when it came to work, he was focused and resilient. He'd be wherever Masters needed him.

Azree entered the transporter room shortly after in a bit of a haste. Her relief on the bridge was slightly late, and she had a few things she had to attend to before the away mission. Regardless, she made it to the part more or less on time. She nodded to everyone quietly and took her place.

J.R tugged his uniform tunic down to straighten out the wrinkles. He didn't really care much for the uniform, but first or second contact missions required a formality that made the service dress uniform a necessary evil. He stepped onto the transporter pad with a nod.

Rosaleen silently made her way into the Transporter Room, hoping that her tardiness would not be noticed, and immediately that she could not have been less accurate in her assessment. She met the look that Hanlon shot her way, and just smiled...what else could she do? "Sorry, Commander. I was...uhhh...tied up." The temperature shifted a bit upwards as she spoke, and her features actually flushed with a bit of color, something that was a rare sight.

"It's okay, Lieutenant," Kit said with a small smile, giving her a nod. "I knew you'd be here when I needed you." He watched the away team for a moment before he let out a breath that betrayed a push of nerves, even for a moment, before his body relaxed. This was nothing new. And they were all experienced. "Okay, so we have some gifts to bring down with us, the classic diplomatic exchanges of goods to showcase our arts," he said and motioned to the cases. "We may end up being split up if we are shown around, but do under no circumstance wander off alone. Teams of two or ideally more." He smiled because he knew he was saying what they all already knew.

Lieutenant Commander Evans paid close attention to the Commander's words. Although they were standard procedures, there may be something that gets changed, or the Commanding Officer adds or takes something away. He had no questions for his superior; what he did have was his tricorder and phaser and the fire that burned inside for exploration.

"Alright," Kit nodded and moved onto the transporter pad, taking a deeper breath as the others joined. The first mission for the USS Fenrir felt like a bigger thing than he had thought it would be. And yes, he felt responsible. He had picked these people to go downt here, anything that went wrong...he pushed it aside. They were Starfleet. This what what the Federation stood for, and did. They all knew what to do, would fall back on both training and experience. His eyes went to Vansen for a moment before he looked ahead. "Energize."

OFF:

Lieutenant B'Lakkam Slichez
Chief Counselor
USS Fenrir

Commander Kit Hanlon
First Officer
USS Fenrir

Lt. Commander Christopher Evans
Chief Operations Officer
USS Fenrir

Lt(jg) Riaothren Ch' shaorhs
Asst, Operations Officer
USS Fenrir

Lieutenant Azree Kar
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Fenrir

Lieutenant JG Lovisa Montague
Science Officer
USS Fenrir
[PNPC Blake]

Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Stark
Security Officer
USS Fenrir
[PNPC Blake]

Dr J. R. McEntyre
Chief Medical Officer
USS Fenrir

Lieutenant Rosaleen O'Donnell
Chief Engineer
USS Fenrir

Lieutenant Commander Daniel Masters
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Fenrir

Petty Officer 3rd Class Constantin Vansen
Operations
USS Fenrir
[PNPC Hanlon]

 

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