One XO to Another.

Posted on Sat Jul 4th, 2026 @ 10:09am by Commander Daynah Ral & Commander Rhupert Tyree

2,675 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Operation Kakori
Location: Bridge, USS Valiant
Timeline: Same time as Movie Night

Neil slipped out of the bunk, cleaned up and left Jayna sleeping. He was still agitated over the Cure's close call and his not being part of the mission on the station. He wasn't used to being in the rear with the gear and it grated. Rommie was still polling information from the Valiant and indicated that the escort's XO was manning the bridge while the free crew members were gathering for a movie.

Not in a mind to be social himself, Neil did stop by the mess hall to grab mugs of Betezoid blend coffee that was freshly brewed in the barrel like urns. Begging off from joining the movie goers, he carried the liveried mugs with the Valiants crest up to the bridge hatch and looked in.

"Permission to enter the bridge," Neil asked politely looking into the small, efficient command center.

"Granted Colonel. Welcome to the Valiant." Daynah said with her trademark ethereal smile. She turned the seat to see the newcomer. "We should have you back to Empok Nor within a day or two. Looks like a relative clean getaway as the saying goes."

Nodding Neil offered her the coffee by way of a hello and said, "I see the crew is setting up a movie. I'm not in the mood for socializing just now and I am bridge qualified, if not specifically rated for this design. I can still stand a bridge watch if you'd like to join them in the mess hall."

Daynah smiled, her smile said that she was grateful for the company. "I am not in a social mood either. Besides someone has to have the Bridge. Take the Tactical station if you please." She knew he would be suited for the position. She also knew that this mission took its toll on him, just as much as it took its toll on her.

Nodding with acceptance, Neil moved to first secure his mug of coffee then told the crewman manning the tac station to go watch the movie. Taking the seat he began familiarizing himself with the console rather than reconfiguring it to his own preferences and said, "Take some getting used to. Being an Exec of a ship that's about as far as you conceived yourself of being on. A marine? Still kinda sounds like a joke. I understand you're a scientist at heart...and here you are." Turning then to look at Dayna he smiled and said, "Sorry. I'm not one for beating around issues so if you'd rather not, just tell me to stow my yap."

Daynah smiled and let out a soft laugh. The feeling that she gave off with her look and laugh was more of someone reacting to both the present and an experience from the past. "You remind me of a boyfriend I once had. He was Starfleet as well. Straight to the point, you both must be cut from the same cloth. But, you are right. I feel like a fish out of water aboard this ship. Everyone else on the crew seems to have taken to all of this with relative ease. Some, even seem to enjoy it. But for me it is like the wind, the very emotions of life have been removed. I imagine your assignment is due to the need for someone to make sure us scientists don't get ourselves killed."

Neil busied himself with adjusting the seat. He was only willing to accommodate the crew's pre-sets to a certain point. Then he pushed back, testing the height and chair's orientation before turning to Daynah and said, "Part of it was Tyler is more comfortable with people he knows. And the Corp and Fleet wanted to test out the theory of integrating the two. Big learning curve for me, given I was a Gunnery Sergeant when I came aboard Pioneer not long ago."

Tapping the console as he sipped at his coffee, Neil mused, "An Escort vessel, even with the Intel tag attached, does seem an odd berth for a scientist. But command slots are what they are. Is that what drew you here, Commander? Shine here could get you a shiny Explorer or science vessel of your own in a few years might be worth the price. And Intel is important work. Keeps lots of people alive."

"Also, gets a massive amount of people killed." Daynah replied without missing a beat. Her voice and demeanor shifted to something darker; a touch of resentment mixed with anger in her voice. All at once she caught herself and looked around the Bridge. She was thankful that it was just the two of them for the time being. "I am sorry. We were at the Battle of Betazed during the Dominion War. It actually led to our death. The battle didn't cause our death, the failures of Starfleet and Federation Intelligence did." Her voice sounded quieter, diminished somehow. As if she spoke through a breathy filter.

The silence that followed Daynah's comment was more for her to quiet the memories in her head. When she spoke again it was a return to her normal speaking voice, although there was no humor in it. "I was the XO of this vessel before it was assigned to Intel. When the ship was reassigned, I was offered a transfer. I remained because Rhu asked me to. Well, that, and someone has to be the conscious to the unconscionable. I just don't comprehend how you do it. I mean how anyone like you and Rhu does it. How do you live with yourself knowing that you made a life or death decision for millions of people."

Turning in the chair, Neil gave that question the consideration that was due before responding. "By my view, it was the hubris of the Federation that caused most of the deaths. The Federation, like many instances in history, didn't learn from the confrontations with the Borg. That cost us a lot of senior Captains and a lot of ships of the line. Then they started getting ready to fight the last war, which isn't exactly new to history either. When the Gamma quadrant was opened up, it was Pandora's box. I nearly died in that war and more than once since, wished I had."

Picking his mug back up, he sipped and said, "As to that last question, it's because someone has to do it. And who would you trust more to make that call. And then there's the idea that if you're tapped to be in our positions, it's not by accident. We can only make the best decisions that we can and try and save as many as we can. Others, less talented, won't save nearly as many people."

Grinning, he said "Rhu's a intel guy, but a fighter pilot by training. He can fight this ship but he needed an XO to balance him. Be smarter than he is when he's being dumb or not seeing all the pieces on the board. He's a tunnel vision kinda guy I think. Or can be."

Daynah laughed, she didn't mean to, but it just poured out of her. "You think correct. You know the same can be said for the Commodore. I mean I don't know him too well, but I did talk to him briefly at Empok Nor. He is a dreamer, like most Starfleet Officers, like myself. He wants to believe that everyone has something good within them. People like us need a realest. We need someone who can look us in the eyes and tell us, that some people just are not good. The Commodore is lucky that you were assigned to him. You can give him that, and you have the capability to dream with him. Alaryc was not so lucky, a lot of Captains are not so lucky." She sipped her drink and relaxed her posture in her chair. It seemed for the first time in quite some time Daynah was relaxed.

"Not exactly the berth I saw myself in," Neil said matter-of-factly. "But it grows on you and you into the role. Before the Valiant, what was your career goal? Where did Daynah want to take the Ral symbiont to? Truthfully, I don't know a lot about Trill...just that many struggle to define themselves with and maybe despite the hosts?"

"You know well. Joined Trill have a hard time figuring out who they are. I mean we have five people in there, six if you count Daynah, and seven if you count Ral's own consciousness. But, I would not have it any other way. I am overjoyed to be Daynah Ral. Before the joining I didn't have much direction. I was eighteen and all I had wanted was to be joined. It's funny because if you could separate Ral and I. You would find that Ral would love the Valiant and its mission, and Daynah would seek to be posted aboard a ship like the Pioneer. I guess that is one of the reasons that I stay here. I am charged with giving Ral new experiences and this is certainly something he has never done before. Right after the joining we were a barkeep at Starbase 118, and content to do that. But, life has a funny way of taking you places, so here we are." Daynah paused to sip her drink and she tilted her head with a slight smile. "So, marriage? I mean no offense but you Marines never struck me as the family types."

"Never worry about offending me, Dayna," Neil said, letting familiariarity enter their conversation and the sanctity of the bridge. "Marines have, or should have, much too thick skin. As to marriage, I used to be the first to say that if the the Corps had wanted me to have a wife, they'd have issued me one." He decided that if she wanted to change subjects, that was fine. He'd noted that the Valiant's XO had seemed wired tighter than an eight day clock when they'd come aboard.

Smiling slightly and mostly to himself, he continued, "But it's one of those things that sneak up on you, which is alright. Taking the XO spot on Pioneer opened that door easier for me. It's a stable posting and Mrs. Tremble is a particularly unique person." He hadn't referred to Jayna that way before and he decided it was still something to get used to, though it did have a good ring to it.

"Company grade officers and enlisted aren't generally encouraged, depending on the posting just because they tend to move often and resources for dependants aren't a major priority for Corp resources. Not to mention putting those dependants out in those fire zones is a risk." He let that sit for a few beats and said, "For me personally, well..." then he shrugged, feeling a loss of words and chuckled. "My father, who is probably the worst source of advice on marriage in the entire universe told me once that Marriage was like a deck of cards. In the beginning, you start with two hearts and a diamond. And in the end, you wish for a club and a spade. Hopefully, he was just joking, but it doesn't seem that scary so far."

Glancing at Dayna, he said "Valiant is a small ship. What about you? Married? And if yes, any tips? I imagine one of your hosts likely walked the marital trail."

"I have never been married. But Ral has on numerous occasions. Norah Ral a widower at the time of the joining would tell you that your spouse fills the gaps that you are missing. Together like a jigsaw puzzle you create a beautiful tapestry. I tend to hope he is right. All of them want me to be married, but that is perhaps the one thing that I control. Haven't met him yet." For the first time since boarding the Valiant Daynah found herself relaxing, becoming truly herself again. She did not know what it was about Tremble, perhaps it was the shared concept that they were both proverbial fish out of water. But, she secretly thanked him for it. "Sorry, for going back and forth. But, the thought just occurred to me. An officer, XO of a starship, I am willing to bet that is not where you expected to be when you joined the Corps."

"Oh, honestly I didn't think I'd still be alive by this point. I doubted I'd ever shoot for officer and here I am. And there's more than a few officers in the fleet and corp who dislike me for it: I think one old Commander referred to me as jumped up, but I've had my own trials through it. Got hooked on stims for a while when the Cure was spooling up training in the battle suits. Then I lost a leg at the Commodores barbeque when one of his long-horned bovines gored me and walked all over me. It's definitely had its moments. Truth be told, I was pretty happy as a Gunnery Sergeant."

Daynah smiled broadly, so broadly in fact that her teeth showed. Her high cheekbones rounded out, this was a smile with her whole face. A smile she had not had in many lifetimes. "Thank you for that. I needed the smile. You don't get to be XO of an Intelligence vessel without knowing a cover story when you hear it. Not sure the particulars of the mission, but I am sure it was one hell of a day." She raised her had politely to indicate he did not have to tell her any particulars. "No need to clarify. I am sure that bull made for some excellent eating."

"Would you trade back? If you could." Daynah leaned forward as she asked the question. This answer was something she wanted to hear. It was similar to something that she had mulled over especially recently. The idea of trading in all of this to simply be a scientist.

"Nope," Neil said immediately, without hesitation. "Stupid as it sounds, I like being in the hot seat. And I get a lot of toys to play with." This last, he said as he ghosted a wink at Dayna. "You realize Rhu is fast tracking you for a command of your own, yeah?"

"Yeah I gathered that. Funny thing is I don't want a command. At least no time soon. Despite evidence to the contrary I like it here. I don't like the work, but the people, the people are everything. So I would not leave either, just don't tell anyone." Daynah put her finger to her lips as if to say hush.

Chuckling, Neil looked over the station he was sitting in, ran a systems test just to be doing something then turned back, "Secret's safe with me. And yeah. People make the command. That's why I keep avoiding promotions. My own next stop is probably a regimental command, which would mean off the Pioneer. And the corp isn't likely to let me turn it down too many times before they say "Fine" and take their ball home."

He sobered then and said, "We'll all be getting different looks at that data we pulled from the station. Do me a favor though. The Ashen Hand, some sort of pirate-terrorist group took hostages off of a few places. Two of them I know...Brigadier Francis N.M.I. Sobel and his wife Tempest. Haven't heard anything about them. If you get anything you can share, let me know. They're good people."

"You got it. I will see what I can dig up. Keep a comm channel on the Pioneer open for me." Daynah smiled and rotated the center chair back so she could face the viewscreen. "Full tactical scans if you please Mr Mira." Daynah said with a knowing smirk.

---

A Cross Sim Post By

Lieutenant Colonel Cornelius Tremble
Executive Officer
Battalion Commander
USS Pioneer
written by R. Tyree.

Commander Daynah Ral
Executive Officer
Science Officer
USS Valiant

 

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