New Perspectives Pt. 2

Posted on Mon Dec 8th, 2025 @ 9:58am by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Commander Samantha Howard & Lieutenant JG Kate Kono & Lieutenant JG James Phoenix & Chief Petty Officer Aaron Geiger

3,487 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Wild Wild West
Location: Conference Room

Deanna and Jon led Barton out of the transporter room and gave him a brief tour of the ship as they made their way up to the bridge and the conference room to meet with the captain. She had to catch up initially as she spoke to Traci, giving her orders to inform Sam to come up to the conference room, along with whoever ran security on her away mission.

Arriving on the bridge the captain wasn't present. Ayana was currently at tactical, and Lt Ibarra was holding the fort as it were. Deanna looked around, "Where is the captain lieutenant?"

Ibarra stood up and looked back at Deanna. "The captain is in his ready room. He is looking over the latest sensor data I collected and also the latest information from Lt Regan. He said he would be with you in the conference room momentarily."

Deanna nodded. "I suppose we can get ourselves situated" she said, looking back at Jon and Barton.

"This way Mr. Barton." Jon spoke motioning with his finger for Barton to follow. "best get you settled before the captain arrives."

Phoenix entered the conference room a bit later with a small stack of reports in his hand. "Sirs" he nodded. He was representing security at this meeting as he had been the senior security officer on the planet and for the fact that Ayana was on the bridge. He had just come from his quarters, and before that the crashed ship, which was still in tow behind the Washington. He was out of breath from rushing to the meeting, but once he found his seat and settled in, his breathing relaxed.

Aaron took no time at all to shave and change into an immaculately pressed fresh uniform. A Chief's appearance in uniform was and must always be impeccable. As a recruit he had marveled at the speed of which his instructors would change to fresh uniforms between training revolutions, eventually mastering this skill himself. Making his way through the ship on his way to the conference room he passed by several crewmen that had begun to get to know him by now, greeting each in turn. Aaron stopped outside the door and leaned against the bulkhead, waiting for Lieutenant Kono. Over the course of the away mission, he had accepted her as one of his officers even if she wasn't in his chain of command, and he always looked out for their welfare.

In the conference room as the other officers gathered, Deanna did her best to split her attention between Barton and looking over the latest scans Ibarra had taken, as well as the information regarding the crashed ship they now had in tow. She didn't want to rush to conclusions, and certainly reports from Sam, Phoenix, and Lt Regan would add to all of this, but she was beginning to think that the crashed ship was one of the ships of the alien race that had brought the colonists here. Showa picture of it to Barton might get a reaction, but from what she had pulled from his mind unbeknownst to him already, it certainly seemed to match the vessel he had seen several years ago. It didn't answer the question of who the aliens were, nor give the reason why they had brought humans and livestock to the planet, but it was a clue they could delve into.

Barton was quiet, introspective. He knew that Deanna was an alien. She had told him as much. A telepathic alien that looked human, a rather beautiful woman at that, even if she wasn't human. The two men that were in the room with him at the moment were human, or at least they appeared to be. He knew Jon was human, no doubt about that, but this other guy, who seemed to be trying to catch his breath as he rushed in, he wasn't sure about him, but he certainly fit the bill of many a young man he had known in his years. Barton leaned over and whispered to Jon, "Who is the young guy who looks like he sprinted here from across town?"

Leaning toward Barton, Jon whispered back. "That is Lieutenant James Phoenix. He is a security officer aboard the ship."

Barton nodded with a sly smile, "He has the look of a lawman."

Sam strode in a few moments later, uniform rumpled from the away mission and subsequent medical emergency and a tired look in her eyes. She nodded towards Jon and the others before eyeing the newcomer curiously. She knew better than to ask the answers would come. She took her seat and waited for the captain to arrive.

Barton gazed at Sam. His eyes seemed fixed on her. Deanna leaned over to Sam, "Don't mind Mr. Barton. You happen to remind him of his wife. He hasn't been able to see her in nearly 3 months."

Kate had reluctantly taken a shower and changed into a new uniform. She managed to spray her hair into short black spikes again and throw on her strawberry cheesecake scented perfume all without seeing Ben, which was a good thing for now because she would break down into tears if she saw him. For now, the anger towards Bartons crew kept her steady - the only thing that kept her from falling apart was the thought of getting her hands on Pete, even if it was only a fantasy that kept her stability. She had been through a lot, even having fought evil in its truest form, survived monsters from another realm, been the sole survivor of a Starfleet ship of over a hundred people who died from various forms of unimaginable tortures, and she knew very well how to apply what she had experienced to Pete. Barton was almost a proxy of her hate. For now, the hate kept her together, and the uniform was all that was left to keep it contained. She turned the corner to see Aaron. For the first time, the teeth gritted scowl changed to a reluctant genuine smile when she saw her new friend; a much-needed reminder that things will be okay, eventually. She nodded to him and sighed.

"You waiting for me?" The question was wrapped in compliment like a much-needed juicy taco.

"Figured I'd meet you before heading in LT." Aaron stood and inspected her uniform briefly. Nodding he continued. "I'm not going to waste your time with condolences. Won't help, at this point it'll just piss you off ma'am." Aaron said with a cough, covering his mouth. "You've got a quick tactical mind. I see a lot of potential in you as an officer and leader. Just remember you're not alone." Aaron's mind quickly flashed to many a junior officer he met that didn't survive the war, what captains would they have become? Shaking his head briefly he continued with a smirk. "Now shall we see what the head shed wants to discuss?"

Kate nodded and gave Aaron a light hug before entering the briefing room together. She made sure to lock eyes onto Barton long enough for him to see her staring daggers into his face with no restraint. She grabbed a seat and sat down without looking away until she needed to actually glance down at a PADD to scroll through the topic itinerary.

Meanwhile Ashlynn stepped into the conference room with the astrometrics reports regarding the spatial anomaly and where it was located. She hadn't found much more besides that, minus minuscule details that were relevant, but not by much. She quietly nodded to everyone present and took a seat next to James, who she exchanged her own greeting with.

Before settling into his seat Aaron walked over to the viewer and began to key commands into the console. He turned to the table. "Commanders, Lieutenants, I've set up the viewer for anything you need to display for the rest of the meeting. Simply send the commands from your PADDs when you're ready." With a nod he made his way over to a chair at the end of the table facing the hatch leading to the corridor, watching for the captain's arrival.

Deanna nodded, "Appreciated Chief."

The doors opened once again and the man they all were waiting for entered. The Andorian strode in as per usual, curious to learn why this man from the colony had been brought up to his ship. Barton for his part sat next to Jon giving away nothing. If seeing the Andorian was causing him any issues, he wasn't showing it. "Seems we have a visitor. And it was an emergency beam up. Seems like that might the place to start."

"That was my doing" Deanna answered. "I wanted to avoid a situation that was growing desperate. And Mr. Barton here had information that I think would be beneficial here. He may prove of use."

Shran saw the intelligence aspect that Deanna was pitching. Once an intel officer, always an intel officer. "Very well, so let's hear the latest reports."

Kate placed the PADD on the desk, crossed her arms in front of her freshly replicated Starfleet uniform and just stayed quiet. She was along for the ride and all she had to show for it was a short lived friendship with a murdered dog and a sore ass from a slave locomotive one-horsepower animal that was now abandoned in a valley far from water. She hoped anyone else would talk because she had nothing worth saying other than the fact she was still thirsty and dehydrated.

"For our part, as you know, we went down to investigate the humans on the planet and to determine how they got there and if they had any knowledge of things beyond the period in which they currently stand" Deanna began. "What we learned was that this is indeed a colony of humans who were brought here against their will, but for what purpose remains somewhat of a mystery, as does who exactly it was. A safe assumption is that the derelict that Sam went to investigate may be of the race that brought the people here. They definitely were brought here to form a colony, possibly a functional slave colony, but it was abandoned apparently, almost immediately. What we can say with certainty is that these people have a somewhat arrested development which one might expect. They remain in a mid-nineteenth Earth level of technology and social development. They are a fairly pleasant group, they have gotten past many of the historical prejudices humans once had, but they will require time and assistance to properly catch them up to modern human standards."

Shran nodded. "And why have you brought this man up here?"

"Mr. Barton has leadership capabilities, and he is one of the few people on the planet that has knowledge of certain things that most have been made blind to" Deanna replied.

Barton decided this was a moment to chime in, "I don't know how you all do things, but I can tell you that things on our planet are pretty straightforward, except when it comes to things the government doesn't want people to know about. I think you'll find that most people on the planet are capable of handling whatever you through at them, but we will need time to handle everything you may throw at us."

"Mr. Barton and a judge Deanna and I met seem to be the best two people to lead the colony forward. They both have knowledge of the crashed ship. The judge knows of Earth and knows they came from there. I would give them both leadership roles in this process as it is going to take time for the colony to catch up as well as reassure the people of the colony that all is indeed well and moving forward is in their best interests," Jon added.

Kate's jaw clenched as she listened to everyone talk about giving this man a leadership role. Her eyes just stared at Barton as she sat rigid in her chair, feet firmly planted, body stiff, eyebrows raised. She focused on her breathing to keep herself from being too visibly obvious, but she still had the wherewithal to understand that it was probably too evident that she was ready to kill this man if given the chance. Still, she knew she wouldn't be given the chance, and it would be rude, so, she did all she could do - which was nothing. She only hoped that everyone in the room would be reasonable enough to just ignore she was there while she endured the inevitable outcome of the meeting. Kate would find a way to vent her feelings later just as long as everyone left her alone long enough. Still, she gave Barton a death stare that said all that needed to be said without a single word spoken.

"What about this government he speaks of? They will have to be dealt with as well. We're not here to start a coup or instigate a revolution" Shran replied.

"It may come to that though sir. These are humans, and while they may not be aware of it, they are all Federation citizens. Correcting issues, including those in place by the government it within your purview" Deanna noted.

"You mean you all can take over and correct things in a snap?" Barton questioned.

"That wouldn't be ideal" Shran noted. It will take at least a generation to get your people up to norms. We can't exactly just hand you five centuries of progress and expect you all to grasp it. I would guess that StarFleet and the Federation Council will both agree that you will need guidance and supervision."

"Based on the latest scan details, it appears that large deposits of cormaline exist on the northern continent. I'm certain StarFleet would want to set up mining facilities there as well. This is a perfect planet to start up multiple facilities, and a deep space base in orbit would be perfect for potential trade in the sector. We already have two other colonies in the sector, and with the mineral deposits here and on those other colonies, we could open up new trade routes with the Ferengi, Klingons, Orions, the Naverite Alliance, and a few others." Deanna replied, trying to tout the benefits.

"I'll be sure to pass along all of this to Command when I speak with them" Shran noted. "Chief, how much technological advancement do you think these people can handle for an initial starting point?"

"Sir, they're borderline electric revolution." Aaron replied matter-of-factly. "They have a solid grasp on replaceable parts, they've laid lines for a local version of telegraph, and they exhibit evidence of machine manufacturing. I think we could seamlessly distribute 1920's era schematics immediately and after some time they would also be able to handle further into the 20th century." This was the first time he had met the captain, however ships tended to take on the qualities of their Skipper after a while. The Chief's short time on board had highlighted the character of the crew, their dedication and professionalism, so that this meeting felt natural.

If Kate had any ideas, she wasn't interested in sharing. She liked some of the people on the planet, but she wasn't about to risk making the place any better if it meant facilitating the change through Barton as an influential figure. Kate was just glad she could keep her thoughts to herself and let the crew do the work. If nobody ever knew what was going on in her mind, the mission would be over sooner and they could break orbit from the planet that broke her heart. With distance, she could start to forget and move on. So she pretended to be attentive but she caught herself staring Barton down by accident throughout the course of the meeting. Kate pulled the PaDD up to her eyes in an effort to look busy while everyone talked. Perhaps this way, she could avoid scrutiny for her internal thoughts.

Ash was about to speak up with her own reports, and then stopped herself when she had a question. "Captain, where do we stand in relation to the prime directive in this scenario?"

Shran looked to Lt Regan, "We kept to the Prime Directive with the initial assessment, but as Deanna has noted, Mr. Barton here is aware of alien life, as is the government of the planet. As they are human, we have an obligation to assist them the same way we would if they were Vulcan, Andorian, Bajoran, or any other advanced race. While the Prime Directive is no longer in effect, we will still proceed slowly so as to not overwhelm the people."

"What of the ship and the...creatures we encountered upon it?" Sam asked after a moment, her attention had been on Barton and the way he kept looking at her.

"We are continuing to study all the information you gathered. Command wants us to rendezvous with the starship Churchill which will tow the vessel to a starbase for further analysis. We have 48 hours at this point before we leave, so anything we do to begin improving life on this planet has to be done in that time" Shran replied.

"What about the spatial anomaly sir? Are we going to explore that? Especially given everything that happened aboard the ship" Ash inquired.

"We will launch a class 4 probe to study the anomaly at a distance. The USS Curie is being dispatched to take a closer look at it after the ship it outfitted with additional security personnel. Command may allow us to take a look at it as well, but you are to continue to analyze it until we are out of range" Shran replied.

The Andorian looked back at Barton and Jon, "I think you will want to get a proper briefing done with Mr. Barton before returning him to the planet Jon. I'm sure Deanna will be able to assist with that. The two of you will need to figure out how to handle things further regarding the other person you wish to wrangle into this, that Haller fellow."

"Chief, I'll need you to take point from an engineering perspective regarding schematics and what not. I have Lt. O'Connor working on preparing mining facilities on the northern continent with Lt Phlox. Deanna can assist you as time permits" the Andorian ordered. "Lt Phoenix, coordinate security for any teams that are going down to the planet. I want transporter activity kept to an as needed basis, avoid any unnecessary drama on the planet." He then looked to Sam, "Assuming everything is alright in sickbay, I'd like for you to prepare whatever medical updates you think would be prudent for these people. Use your other human medical personnel to avoid creating any xenophobic panic."

Jon had been quiet long enough; it was time to speak up. "This all sounds good, but I have to speak up. No matter how slow we go or limit the influx of our technology, these people are going to go under severe culture shock. Knowing about aliens and then suddenly being confronted by aliens even human aliens are two vastly different things. I think we need social workers, counselors to stand ready with the influx of cases that are going to arise from this. I also believe at least initially we limit the technology the colony is exposed to, to medical and industrial."

"I agree with you Jon, and I think Command will send the needed staff to deal with such issues. We will simply do what we can to prepare these people, whoever get sent here to follow up will have the real job of advancing these people" Shran replied.

Kate made plans to replicate a fresh set of period specific clothes once she realized they were going back down. She closed her eyes a moment and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She looked practically dead in her chair, but she would push through it. She leaned forward in preoperative motion to keep moving once called upon.

"That's some pretty significant medical advancements, both from a technological and an educational perspective. I'll work on some development protocols" Sam sucked in a breath and realized the scope of the task and the limited timeframe.

"I don't expect you to advance them five centuries doctor. No way to even get them prepared technologically beyond industrial level medicine I would suspect without us advancing them other ways" Shran replied.

Deanna had been aware of a significant issue throughout the meeting, and she wanted to deal with it in a nonconfrontational way. "Captain, I'd like to request that only Jon and I beam down to the planet to speak with Haller."

Shran was aware of what Deanna was doing, though he wasn't certain why. "Very well. Let's get things moving. Dismissed."

 

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