Meet and Greet

[STSF Seiben 0]

"Meet and Greet"

Stardate 10805.31

 

ST. CROIX, VIRGIN ISLANDS

 

Trying not thinking about his upcoming mission, Seiben relaxed with a drink in hand, seated under a parsol by the ocean. Trying not to think was the key word here.

 

Despite the natural beauty of his surroundings and the fact that he was with his loving family for the first time in months, Seiben couldn't really help but to think about it.

 

They had quite a big task ahead of them, finding out what happened to the previous support team and having to deal with the Klingons. He hadn't really dealt with them before, and when he did, it usually didn't end to well. So it was given that he was understandably a bit nervous of leading the mission to Quo'noS.

 

 

Seiben stared into the far horizon. He blinked, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. A shuttle approached from the West, coming in fast. It flew over Seiben and his parasol, and landed a few meters inland.

 

Seiben strained his eyes at the small craft as it got bigger and bigger, getting near his home. "Who's that? Nobody knew I was here" he muttered softly to himself.

 

A tall, brown-haired man popped the hatch on the craft and stepped out, blinking his eyes in the bright sunlight.

Seiben walked over to the shuttle and saw the unknown man disembark. "Hello there. Uhh.. can I help you?" he said tentatively.

 

The brown-haired man turned around to face Rolf. "Ah! Captain Seiben. A pleasure to meet you. I'm Haskins."

Seiben extended a hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Haskins."

 

Haskins looked around, as if he was looking for something, or someone. "So, Captain. When do we get under way?"

"Under way?" asked Seiben clulelessly. "I'm not sure I follow. If you mean the Klingon mission, then I guess as soon as the ships are restocked"

 

 

Haskins looked at Rolf for a bit, almost having to look down at him, being a good few inches taller than he. "Ah, I take it Starfleet hasn't told you exactly who you'd be getting as far as Intelligence on this mission."

 

The Captain shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I imagined they haven't decided on who to go? I take it you're the one from Starfleet Intelligence who'll be accompanying us?"

 

"You assume correctly Captain." He looked around again, a seemingly automatic thing for the tall man. He fumbled around in a small case he carried, and produced an order sheet. "Ah, orders from Admiral Billings. Just the usual tour of active duty assignment, yada yada. Some more formalities."

 

Seiben took the orders from Haskins and looked them over. "I see" he smiled. "Well, welcome aboard. Is there anything you need from Spacedock before we go, or any other questions you may have?" he asked.

 

Haskins smirked. "I'm ready to go when the fleet is Captain." He paused for a beat. " I just wanted to make sure we were clear on a few things Captain. I respect your rank and authority on board the Challenger. I will not step into anything that has to do with the running of your ship, or the fleet."

 

 

 

"However, when it comes to dealing with sensitive information, and other certain aspects of our mission, Im afraid I will need to "pull rank" and make sure the best needs of Starfleet Intelligence, and the Federation in part, are served." He raised an eyebrow and watched for the impending reaction.

 

 

Seiben raises a brow, not to keen of anyone pulling rank on him. "I guess that'll have to be tackled when it comes, eh? But we'll do our best to accomadate any orders or requests you or Intelligence will have" he replied finally.

 

 

The tall man smirked, and nodded. "That's good to hear Captain."Seiben shrugged. "Like I said, I'll try to comply as best I can. Hopefully, we won't have too many troubles with this mission, though that'll probably not be the case"

 

Haskins showed no emotion, but just nodded. "Hopefully, Captain." He of course, knew better, and knew more than this Captain could even imagine in his daydreams. "So.." Seiben trailed, "what brings you all the way to the Virgin Islands?"

 

"I thought I would come and visit you personally Captain. And besides, I've never been."He smirked. "I can see why you like it here."Seiben smiled. "It's definitely a great place to relax and recharge your batteries before a strenuous mission. I've always liked the natural beauty and warm climate this place has to offer"

 

 

Haskins nodded. "For me, it's the rolling countryside of England..." He trails off, clearly not wanting to go there in this discussion."

 

"Yeah, it's nice over there too. But I find that rains too much over there" he said, leaving it at that. He moved on and changed the subject. "Want anything to drink?" he asked politely.

 

Haskins pondered this. "I'd best be off Captain. I have a few hundred more pages of notes to go over before we embark on our mission." He looked at Rolf, knowingly.

 

"Alright, then Mr. Hastings. I still have a few things to go over myself. I guess I'll see you onboard the Challenger in a few days then. We'll report to Spacedock at 1500 for debrief, then depart after that"

 

Seiben sipped on his drink. "I assume that's fine? Unless you have any other questions or issues you'd like to ask me?"

 

The tall man smirked. "It's perfectly fine by me Captain." He again shook hands with Seiben, and turned to enter his shuttle, stopping just at the door. "Oh, Captain?"

 

Seiben turned around to face Hastings again. "Yes?..." "The name is Haskins....try to remember that?" He smirked, and closed the shuttle door.