Judge me for what I am now

I'm Sito Jaxa. I'm a Bajoran Starfleet officer on Enterprise. Despite what they thought I lived. [ Indie Sito Jaxa RP blog from Star Trek.]

[sito-jaxa]

After quite a long hiatus and not being able to log in in back!

[sito-jaxa]

Like this for a starter from Sito cause why not.

[sito-jaxa]

thedoctornumber11​:

“No you don’t,” he told her, “One, if you belonged on this planet, you would have just asked what I meant as the people on this planet haven’t discovered alien life yet, and two, you are from Bajor, aren’t you?”  The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned her with it.  “It seems you may have also been doing some time travel.  What happened?”

“They may not have discovered alien life but they still have media about alien life.” She said with a sigh. “Yes I’m Bajoran, I have to try an attempt to blend in though, and it’s not easy to try and explain myself.” She told him, looking at him curiously at the mention of time travel. “I honestly don’t know what happened, about a week ago I was on a mission, my escape pod got shot at and then I found myself here. The in betweens are fuzzy at best nonexistent at worst.” Jaxa had lost a bit of memories that she just could put together. “The prophets must have saved me from the Cardassians.”

[sito-jaxa]

thedoctornumber11​:

Starter for sito-jaxa

((OOC: @sito-jaxa ))

The Doctor noticed the woman ahead of him and she looked different compared to everyone else around.  He pulled out his sonic screwdriver briefly for a quick scan and walked over.  “Excuse me, you don’t exactly look like you belong around here, or on this planet at all.  Are you a tourist like myself?”

Jaxa had been trying to keep a low profile. When her escape pod had been shot at she had somehow ended up somewhere else entirely. It seemed like an Earth that she knew but it wasn’t, things felt off for her. Turning to look at the man, cursing at herself for getting noticed she gave a halfhearted smile. “I....I don’t know what you’re talking about, of course I belong on this planet.” She spoke, though the distinctive ridges on her nose gave away the fact that she certainly didn’t belong. 

[sito-jaxa]

Okay so question that is almost purely based on speculation that I have been sitting on for a while since season 1 came out last year. Why on Lower Decks do they have vastly different uniforms on the Cerritos. When it first came out I thought it was the one Starfleet would have gone through after the DS9 Uniform but you see that one is still majorly used on every other ship. I would love to hear other opinions.

[sito-jaxa]

Guys I’m actually curious, should I start to watch Discovery? I mean I initially didn’t like it from the first couple episodes I saw. Mainly because they were so advanced with things in a time set before TOS, which doesn’t set a good taste in my mouth to retcon things like that.

[zenithspan-deactivated20220226]

sito-jaxa​

Jaxa was astounded to hear what the Vulcan was saying to her. It wasn’t something that she expected to hear.

“My course of action is completely logical. I can’t change what I did at the Academy. When I was selected to be in Nova Squadron I was ecstatic. Me an orphan, with not many ties to the Federation before I joined selected for the second most prestigious Squadron in the Academy, the most prestigious flight team. And my third year I blew it, actions that left a fellow cadet, my friend, dead. Afterwards we tried covering it up after our commander talked us into it. Once I graduated Captain Picard picked me to be on the enterprise to get a fair shot. Afterwards I had a choice of whether I wanted to partake in the undercover mission, and for it I suffered five years in a Cardassian prison. I didn’t sign up to be Intelligence. I don’t want to have the possibility to have that happen again.”

She listened as Clark stood up for her as the lounge got quiet. All the Junior officers both on her side and against her wanting to hear what was happening. She had only known him for a few weeks and he was already a close friend, probably the closest she had on the Wishbone. Upon hearing his responses to Clark she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Ensign you are out of line and if you so much for a moment think that I will stand for you spreading disinformation on a senior ranking officer you are mistaken. You are dismissed now, p'tahk.” She sneered at Vanik as he got up and walked away.

Jaxa sat down where Vanik had just been after Clark’s friends prevented him from doing anything to Vanik, something Jaxa herself didn’t know if she would have stopped if it had gone further. She looked over to Clark, both hope and worry in her eyes.

“Don’t worry Clark, the Captain and First officer already know about my file, and so does Starfleet intelligence, I don’t think it’ll affect my chances of getting out of this spot, just maybe me staying on this ship. But for a Vulcan he sure is a Qovpatlh.”

Vanik would keep in mind the exact words (or as he would put in his report– ‘the closest possible approximation given their emotional states’) that Jaxa and Clark had spoken. His supporters kept their distance, moving onto other topics in the meantime.

Clark on the other hand was just nodding along at first, before perking up. He was astonished to hear someone speaking Klingonese, and so comfortably. Although the information was readily available for anyone to study, the most Clark knew of others to pursue Klingon was for academy requirements, brushing up before diplomacy– and rare was the person who studied it for fun. But even rarer would the real reason Jaxa knew. Clark was about to be pleasantly surprised.

“Jaxa, where did you learn that? Your accent is almost flawless.”

His surprise settled down somewhat as he put one last thought towards Vanik. 

“He is. Or rather, he can be: Vanik has helped me at times, and we’ve gotten along where others misunderstood him, and vice versa. I can only hope that by the end of this he’ll realize his mistake… After we finish up here, let’s talk to the Captain before anyone goes to their ready room first with some crazy ideas.”

Once Jaxa got to talking about her own upbringing, Clark would share his own with her.

“I don’t know much about my biological parents except that they personally sought out my caretakers before moving along to wherever they are now. If I had to guess by the high bar they set for me, I’d wager they were caught trying to arrange a genetic engineering treatment that never panned out. So instead I was put into the care of a Vulcan tutor, and later a Klingon Defense Force veteran who taught me to be assertive… and insisted on a lot of exercise to stay fit. They saw to my well-being and helped me in joining Starfleet when I decided to attend the academy.”

[sito-jaxa]

Jaxa watched as Vanik walked away, she was irritated at the Vulcan and rightfully so. She gave a sigh as all the others seemed to go about their normal business. When she got asked how she knew Klingonese.

"Well as you might know the Bajoran people were subjugated by the Cardassians, my parents were killed by them and I became an orphan. I eventually got adopted, my adopted father was a Starfleet officer, my adopted mother on the other hand was a Klingon woman. From early on she taught me how to read and speak Klingonese. She got me somewhat interested in Klingon culture. I speak fluent Klingon as a second language, though as for knowing the culture some things I'm still learning. Back on the Enterprise Commander Worf was surprised to know I knew Klingonese himself."

After telling of her childhood upbringing she listened to his own. Unlike her he didn't know his real parents. She did find it truly intriguing hearing that he was brought up by too opposite sides of the spectrum. Vulcans who hid their emotions and didn't act upon them, and Klingons who almost seemed to act solely on emotion sometimes, though it was much more than that of one were to really dig deep. Jaxa figured that Clark must have some pretty good self control most of the time.

[sito-jaxa]

Okay everyone my new Verse page is up, please go check it out if you want to. The more verses I make, they will be added to the list and I’ll make an announcement as well.

[sito-jaxa]

Should I make a Star Wars Verse for Sito?

[sito-jaxa]

zenithspan​:

sito-jaxa​

Jaxa was overjoyed to know that even though he didn’t hear the whole story, at least form her, that he still felt she deserved a second chance. It was something that she never thought that she would get, even when she was on the Enterprise.

As the days went by Jaxa was welcomed more and more into Engineering, and she actually enjoyed it. It definitely brought back memories of enjoying her second year Engineering class. Not only was she enjoying it, but it also was helping her mentally recover from everything that she had been through, her mind started drifting less to the prison she had been in, even when she had free time. As the days went on Jaxa soon realized that there was one person who didn’t seem to be warming up to her presence and that was Vanik.

Soon though her mind was brought to the fact that more and more junior officers were distancing themselves from her and becoming colder to her. At first she didn’t know why until she heard the murmurs about Nova Squadron, about herself. She was the only one from Nova Squadron to have actually become an officer and so really the only one for people to shame. Jaxa soon found out who was sowing the seeds of distrust, Vanik.

She knew that if this didn’t get under control it could jeopardize everything that she was striving to accomplish, something that would make it to where she had no choice but to go with Starfleet Intelligence. Eventually Jaxa knew she had to confront Vanik about his sabotage to her chances of staying aboard the Wishbone. So she sought him out and found him with Clark in the Junior officers’ lounger. Filled with the anger of a Klingon she stored over to the table. 

“Vanik, what you are doing is completely unacceptable. I don’t know what it is you have against me, or what I did to you but spreading rumors about me, about my past is not acceptable. My past doesn’t define who I am and I’ve grown past Nova Squadron and so has most of Starfleet until you started this crusade against me. So please enlighten me on why you want to bring up my past Vanik?”

The Vulcan let off a little sound. Clark looked over with some shock: Having been tutored and raised somewhat by a Vulcan himself, he was astounded by the idea that Vanik was the one responsible. But even he had to admit, it wasn’t impossible.

“Because your course was overwhelmingly illogical.” said Vanik, bitterness dancing on the edges of his otherwise controlled tone. “Many of us in our academy days have only pondered on reaching the level you achieved. I will admit, bowing to a leader seems like the easiest thing to do. However afterwards you have been allowed on the esteemed Enterprise, and selected for priority missions. What does it say that even in your shame, you can reach such heights? The rest of us– especially on a modest ship such as the Wishbone, have put in their time in. Even those who conspired to make you look better.”

“That’s not fair, Vanik.” retorted Clark. “You don’t know what she’s been through after the academy. She isn’t merely being given accolades– it’s an excessive penance.”

“I do not imagine Raut, that you will reap similar rewards of rank and reassignment for helping her.”

“This is not the way. Your sense of ethics is compromised.”

“Counterpoint: Perhaps you never had any. In you I thought I could count a sort of kindred spirit, for you understand my ways, and practice some yourself. I see now you as well reveal yourself as the sort of delinquency that undermines what Starfleet stands for.”

Shocked by the turn of events, Clark stood up from his seat and looked like he was about to go a little Klingon himself. His other caretaker had been exactly that, including lessons in combat. Only a couple of Clark’s friends prevented him lashing out– allowing Vanik to walk away calmly. Clark was released back into his seat, looking more openly frustrated, even muttering a curse under his breath:

“ghuy-’CHA!”

They had to figure out how to dispel Vanik’s foolishness and paranoia-mongering. It was impacting everyone for the worse, even those on Jaxa’s side who opposed it.

Jaxa was astounded to hear what the Vulcan was saying to her. It wasn’t something that she expected to hear.

“My course of action is completely logical. I can’t change what I did at the Academy. When I was selected to be in Nova Squadron I was ecstatic. Me an orphan, with not many ties to the Federation before I joined selected for the second most prestigious Squadron in the Academy, the most prestigious flight team. And my third year I blew it, actions that left a fellow cadet, my friend, dead. Afterwards we tried covering it up after our commander talked us into it. Once I graduated Captain Picard picked me to be on the enterprise to get a fair shot. Afterwards I had a choice of whether I wanted to partake in the undercover mission, and for it I suffered five years in a Cardassian prison. I didn’t sign up to be Intelligence. I don’t want to have the possibility to have that happen again.”

She listened as Clark stood up for her as the lounge got quiet. All the Junior officers both on her side and against her wanting to hear what was happening. She had only known him for a few weeks and he was already a close friend, probably the closest she had on the Wishbone. Upon hearing his responses to Clark she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Ensign you are out of line and if you so much for a moment think that I will stand for you spreading disinformation on a senior ranking officer you are mistaken. You are dismissed now, p'tahk.” She sneered at Vanik as he got up and walked away.

Jaxa sat down where Vanik had just been after Clark’s friends prevented him from doing anything to Vanik, something Jaxa herself didn’t know if she would have stopped if it had gone further. She looked over to Clark, both hope and worry in her eyes.

“Don’t worry Clark, the Captain and First officer already know about my file, and so does Starfleet intelligence, I don’t think it’ll affect my chances of getting out of this spot, just maybe me staying on this ship. But for a Vulcan he sure is a Qovpatlh.”

[sito-jaxa]

zenithspan​:

sito-jaxa​

Jaxa had to think hard and long about what she was about to do. That being said she knew she had to do it, Clark was right this was more than being in Starfleet she was absolutely not cut out for undercover work and she was okay with that. So ultimately she decided to agree with helping out as an “Acting officer.”

“I mean technically I was never told that I’m not allowed to help out with stuff, and I was cleared from med bay so I guess I could always use that as an excuse. And yeah I plan to, I just know that security really isn’t an option to me here right now and who knows maybe I’ll like engineering. Go ahead and start making the plans.

She had to stop and think for a moment. She didn’t want it to look bad on her after she had just finally made friends again. her last two years at the Academy were terrible because nobody wanted to be around her  and for good reason.

“You know what maybe we should just wait for a later time for me to tell you. I did some things that I wasn’t proud of, things that I should have been expelled for. I was young and gullible to our squadron commander. That’s all I feel like sharing right now, maybe a little later I can tell you the story.”

“I see. As for the rest, say it when you feel ready. Maybe not all of us feel the same amount of regret you do… but you’ve been through so much. I think you ought to have your second chances, and we’ll all do our best to make sure you get one that sticks.”

Clark headed back towards the barracks to start gathering up those he trusted, especially anyone who might have worked in or close to engineering. Not too difficult since Clark himself was an engineer. But although he was able to find more friends who were glad to help, it seemed one person he thought he could count on was not on their side: Vanik.

Although Vanik exercised self-control by his outward behavior and tone, he would never admit he felt some inward jealousy that Starfleet regarded Jaxa so highly, and she was turning them down as far as he could tell. So while Jaxa was readily welcomed into engineering to aid in the work and offer some leadership to Clark’s eager friends, Vanik was skulking about. Anyone who spoke to him would be subjected to a burst of nostalgia for their days preparing at the academy back on Earth. Reminders of ideals like honesty as well– but in Vanik’s hands, he twisted it into something far more demanding. Followed almost immediately by his naming Nova Squadron among the shames of Starfleet that they had to move on from.

Soon, there was a mixture of opinions on the ship. Those for whom the wound of Nova Squadron’s deceit and carelessness had been reopened, causing them to shun Jaxa. Others still stood by her: Not only because she’d served on the Enterprise on an important mission or because the admiral had their eye on her, but she had proven herself to them a capable officer and friend. 

But even among friends, there would always be a couple of people who felt some doubts because they didn’t have the whole story.  And those Vanik had swayed were more concerned with absolutes and notions of unfairness suggested to them. The possibility that they would protest against Jaxa was growing, and it was becoming more openly noticeable each day, side-by-side with the support that Jaxa received from Clark and his helper crewmates. If some sort of petition against her fell through, the captains’ argument would struggle, even with the negotiating prowess that Picard possessed…

Jaxa was overjoyed to know that even though he didn’t hear the whole story, at least form her, that he still felt she deserved a second chance. It was something that she never thought that she would get, even when she was on the Enterprise.

As the days went by Jaxa was welcomed more and more into Engineering, and she actually enjoyed it. It definitely brought back memories of enjoying her second year Engineering class. Not only was she enjoying it, but it also was helping her mentally recover from everything that she had been through, her mind started drifting less to the prison she had been in, even when she had free time. As the days went on Jaxa soon realized that there was one person who didn’t seem to be warming up to her presence and that was Vanik.

Soon though her mind was brought to the fact that more and more junior officers were distancing themselves from her and becoming colder to her. At first she didn’t know why until she heard the murmurs about Nova Squadron, about herself. She was the only one from Nova Squadron to have actually become an officer and so really the only one for people to shame. Jaxa soon found out who was sowing the seeds of distrust, Vanik.

She knew that if this didn’t get under control it could jeopardize everything that she was striving to accomplish, something that would make it to where she had no choice but to go with Starfleet Intelligence. Eventually Jaxa knew she had to confront Vanik about his sabotage to her chances of staying aboard the Wishbone. So she sought him out and found him with Clark in the Junior officers’ lounger. Filled with the anger of a Klingon she stored over to the table. 

“Vanik, what you are doing is completely unacceptable. I don’t know what it is you have against me, or what I did to you but spreading rumors about me, about my past is not acceptable. My past doesn’t define who I am and I’ve grown past Nova Squadron and so has most of Starfleet until you started this crusade against me. So please enlighten me on why you want to bring up my past Vanik?”

[zenithspan-deactivated20220226]

sito-jaxa​

Jaxa followed him until they got to  a lesser traveled corridor. She looked at him with a bit of confusion until he mentioned his plan. She didn’t know how to react to it. Her morals told her that it could help but it could also hurt if anyone caught wind of it.

“I don’t know. I feel kinda wrong about it. It doesn’t feel as wrong as what happened in the Academy but still. Wouldn’t making me an active member require the Captain’s approval. Plus I’m a security officer through and through. That’s what I wanted to be when I got into Starfleet. That’ll be kinda hard to keep secret.”

She thought about it for a minute before coming to the realization. 

“I could help you out in Engineering. Back in my second ear at the Academy they projected that I could make it to Chief Engineer. I know that it would actually be something worth while. Also I’m sure you keep hearing my time at the Academy being brought up, and I doubt that it’s something that was discussed too much so if you’d like to hear it, I’d be willing to tell you. I feel that if you guys are to truly accept me then you need to know everything.”

“I know, it’s not exactly sticking to procedures and protocols. But we’re talking about your life here: Not just reclaiming direction for yourself, but also your safety. You’ve done more than enough for the Federation on your last mission with the Enterprise.”

Clark perked up when Jaxa talked about her potential for engineering. It got him to thinking: That was absolutely a way in to getting Jaxa out of trouble.

“You could always go back into security after things cool down. Trust me when I say dilithium crystal check-ups for a little while are more palpable than being thrown back into the wartime frying pan… If that’s what you want to do, I’ll start talking to people I trust with this.”

Before Clark could move away to get back to his crewmates, he glanced back at Jaxa.

“It’s your story to tell. If you feel you’re ready– that you can trust me with this, I’ll hear you out. And I’ll see what I can do to make sure the others don’t overreact.”

[sito-jaxa]

Jaxa had to think hard and long about what she was about to do. That being said she knew she had to do it, Clark was right this was more than being in Starfleet she was absolutely not cut out for undercover work and she was okay with that. So ultimately she decided to agree with helping out as an “Acting officer.”

“I mean technically I was never told that I’m not allowed to help out with stuff, and I was cleared from med bay so I guess I could always use that as an excuse. And yeah I plan to, I just know that security really isn’t an option to me here right now and who knows maybe I’ll like engineering. Go ahead and start making the plans.

She had to stop and think for a moment. She didn’t want it to look bad on her after she had just finally made friends again. her last two years at the Academy were terrible because nobody wanted to be around her  and for good reason.

“You know what maybe we should just wait for a later time for me to tell you. I did some things that I wasn’t proud of, things that I should have been expelled for. I was young and gullible to our squadron commander. That’s all I feel like sharing right now, maybe a little later I can tell you the story.”

[sito-jaxa]

zenithspan​:

sito-jaxa​

“Someone with skills would be someone else Sir. Captain Picard chose me for the mission partly because of my character and partly because I was one of few Bajorans on the Enterprise. I sorely lack qualifications for undercover work of any kind. I honestly doubt I would’ve even been able to be good at Ops if I had gotten it.” 

Jaxa was going to try and fight being moved to undercover work of any type, even if that meant manning a listening post. She liked being in Starfleet Security, she liked being a security officer and getting to know the people aboard the ships. If her math was right that meant they had a little over a month for her to recover and get to Earth, something that would probably not be enough time for her to figure out how to get out of this situation without resigning from Starfleet entirely. 

After the Admiral signed off and she was left with just the captain she looked at them with noticeable concern in her eyes. Listening to what the captain had to say she nodded along. 

“Thank you that means a lot to me, that someone actually wants to help me. I should be fairly good on the physical recovery, it’s just the psychological effects, but I knew what I was getting into when I volunteered for the mission to begin with. If anyone can argue with Starfleet it’ll be Captain Picard, that is if he doesn’t try to get me back aboard the Enterprise, though I guess I technically still fall under his command.”

With those closing statements and being passed the hollow pip signifying her promotion she stepped out of the ready room and looked to Clark as the door behind her slid shut, opening up her hand to show him the small pip in her palm

“A lot happened in such a little amount of time. I got promoted. I have until we make it back to Earth to recover before Starfleet Intelligence wants me to work with them. I wasn’t really given a choice about that. I don’t know what I can do though, I’m not meant for working with intelligence, I literally go on one covert mission and that was just playing dress up for me I had little part to play.”

“Promoted?! I see… Here, c’mon.”

Clark didn’t actually know which way he was headed until he found a spot with little foot-traffic– one where they could speak without too many prying eyes. Not that Clark didn’t trust the Wishbone crew– everyone on the ship got along very well. But he couldn’t take a chance that someone might off-handedly mention his idea. Not out of malice– even just interest could betray them if anyone mentioned it while the captain was trying to negotiate with Starfleet. 

“Why don’t we put that new pip on your collar to good use? We could make you an acting member of the Wishbone crew. Any area you’d like to work, you could. I know being a lieutenant junior grade isn’t too high, but I could tell the other ensigns to assist you with whatever you’re working on. Between that practical experience and their positive testimonials, you could help the captains’ argument with that sort of evidence. Show Starfleet you’re better suited elsewhere.” 

Clark was about to use his combadge to get a meeting going in a trusted friend’s quarters with others they could count on. But before he did, he waited to hear what Jaxa thought of the plan.

“It’s for you though– and you do still hold rank over us. Just tell me how you want to proceed and I’ll get everyone together to put it to action.”

Jaxa followed him until they got to  a lesser traveled corridor. She looked at him with a bit of confusion until he mentioned his plan. She didn’t know how to react to it. Her morals told her that it could help but it could also hurt if anyone caught wind of it.

“I don’t know. I feel kinda wrong about it. It doesn’t feel as wrong as what happened in the Academy but still. Wouldn’t making me an active member require the Captain’s approval. Plus I’m a security officer through and through. That’s what I wanted to be when I got into Starfleet. That’ll be kinda hard to keep secret.”

She thought about it for a minute before coming to the realization. 

“I could help you out in Engineering. Back in my second ear at the Academy they projected that I could make it to Chief Engineer. I know that it would actually be something worth while. Also I’m sure you keep hearing my time at the Academy being brought up, and I doubt that it’s something that was discussed too much so if you’d like to hear it, I’d be willing to tell you. I feel that if you guys are to truly accept me then you need to know everything.”

[sito-jaxa]

zenithspan​:

sito-jaxa​

As Jaxa stood there at the position of attention, listening to the admiral. She was shocked by what she heard, a follow up to her last mission. She had already told Starfleet Security that for the most part the Cardassians or the Dominion didn’t know she was a Starfleet officer and when they did she didn’t have any useful information for them. “Sir, with all do respect I don’t have any other information to give about the mission I was only selected for a small part anyway, and I’d hardly call that a success.” She spoke before she had heard the request for Clark to leave.

The next part had to be a joke, she was being promoted, but at the cost of being ripped from another ship, that despite being new to had already settled into. Hearing the Captain start to defend her made her feel a bit of joy on the inside, it seemed like he was willing to give her a fair shot, just as Captain Picard had, but Starfleet Security wanted her to be some sort of operative for them, which didn’t necessarily sit right with Jaxa.

“Sir, I’m not some secret operative. I’m just another Bajoran Starfleet officer. There are probably so many more people capable of doing what needs to be done. I have a pretty terrible track record, my time at the Academy with Nova Squadron, yes that was my own doing. I’ve atoned for that, and I’ve just spent fie whole years of my life in a prison in Cardassia Prime, only after the war was over did Starfleet manage to rescue me. I’m nowhere near to being what you need me to be Sir. I had friends on the Enterprise, I made friends here already, you have to understand that I’m not ready to just pack up and go.”

As she spoke, anyone could tell she was passionate about her stance. Jaxa knew that she really didn’t have a say in the matter though. It would be hard for Starfleet to change their mind once a decision was made and as stated this was a fully staffed ship she was only on as a patient, she never should have expected to stay on board. She looked towards the Captain then back to the admiral, awaiting their response.

“Don’t let fiction fool you, Lieutenant: What the Federation needs here is not a mercenary for dirty work, nor some sort of suave braggadocio. What we’re asking for is someone who has taken the time to acquaint themselves competently with a variety of skills, who has the will to put them to good use.”

The admiral gestured for the security specialist to relax.

“Like we said. This won’t be right away: You’ll have time to recuperate– not as much as I wish we could afford you, but until we see you face-to-face you’ve got every day till then to collect yourself. In part… my associate here isn’t completely wrong: You won’t have to go in guns blazing. We just need someone to maintain listening posts, do some light undercover work… crossing behind enemy lines will not be on the table right away. But if circumstances are dire enough we need people we can count on. Think on it during your time on the Wishbone.”

The Captain of the Wishbone looked flummoxed. They had never dealt with something like this– but that did not mean they weren’t prepared to try and say something. After all: If captaining a research and medical-focused vessel did wonders for anything, it was for sympathy. This captain actually took the time to stand up, setting their daydreams aside for a moment to put a hand on Jaxa’s shoulder. Gently.

“I realize they’ve given you a promotion, Jaxa. But you are not currently under my command: If it helps, I won’t call you ensign or lieutenant if you’re uncomfortable. Ideally recovery should take as long as it needs, and you have the full support of my ship and its counseling services while you’re with us. I’ll try to talk to Starfleet some more, maybe reach out to others like Picard to see if we can reason with them about your assignment. But they do have their hands full… It’ll be difficult to convince them of anything else while they’re so hellbent on getting results out of ongoing troubles.”

With a nod, Jaxa was free to go. Clark awaited on the other side– the concentration on his duties shifting back towards concern for a new friend.

“What happened, Jaxa? I couldn’t catch all of it– but it sounds like Starfleet intelligence was really grilling you for something.”

“Someone with skills would be someone else Sir. Captain Picard chose me for the mission partly because of my character and partly because I was one of few Bajorans on the Enterprise. I sorely lack qualifications for undercover work of any kind. I honestly doubt I would’ve even been able to be good at Ops if I had gotten it.” 

Jaxa was going to try and fight being moved to undercover work of any type, even if that meant manning a listening post. She liked being in Starfleet Security, she liked being a security officer and getting to know the people aboard the ships. If her math was right that meant they had a little over a month for her to recover and get to Earth, something that would probably not be enough time for her to figure out how to get out of this situation without resigning from Starfleet entirely. 

After the Admiral signed off and she was left with just the captain she looked at them with noticeable concern in her eyes. Listening to what the captain had to say she nodded along. 

“Thank you that means a lot to me, that someone actually wants to help me. I should be fairly good on the physical recovery, it’s just the psychological effects, but I knew what I was getting into when I volunteered for the mission to begin with. If anyone can argue with Starfleet it’ll be Captain Picard, that is if he doesn’t try to get me back aboard the Enterprise, though I guess I technically still fall under his command.”

With those closing statements and being passed the hollow pip signifying her promotion she stepped out of the ready room and looked to Clark as the door behind her slid shut, opening up her hand to show him the small pip in her palm

“A lot happened in such a little amount of time. I got promoted. I have until we make it back to Earth to recover before Starfleet Intelligence wants me to work with them. I wasn’t really given a choice about that. I don’t know what I can do though, I’m not meant for working with intelligence, I literally go on one covert mission and that was just playing dress up for me I had little part to play.”

[sito-jaxa]

zenithspan​:

sito-jaxa​

“Not necessarily means a lot to me, just to finally have something that isn’t low quality prison food.” She admitted, eating more of the food. The young Bajoran woman gave him a smile.

It absolutely warmed her heart hearing that more people wanted to hear her stories and about her time on the Enterprise. She’d mostly leave it to that as she figured that nobody wanted to hear of her Academy experience. She did notice a few people in the back who scoffed at her and she vaguely recognized them from her Academy class. Noticing people who disagreed with her even being in Starfleet made her want to clam up, but the overwhelming warm welcome changed her mind. 

Jaxa was in the middle of telling the group another story from being on the Enterprise when her combadge chirped up. “This is Ensign Sito Jaxa. Aye sir I will report immediately.” She promptly replied after being told the message. Before she could ask for an escort there Clark responded that he would take her there. It somewhat comforted her, someone who she had already somewhat gotten to know.

Jaxa was glad that she wasn’t getting in trouble but it did pique her interest that she was needed to meet with the Captain and someone from Starfleet Command. She had so many possibilities running through her head.

“Yeah I guess we shouldn’t keep Starfleet Command waiting, maybe they’re calling to tell me that I got the Operations position on the Enterprise, it’s only fie years too late for that.” She chuckled, knowing that with her gone, Sam had gotten that position, the one that he deserved. Before going to the ready room  she had to stop by her room and she changed from her civilian clothes into the new Starfleet uniform that had been given to her. Of course it was different than the one that she was used to but she liked this one more, finally affixing the combadge to her chest she walked out after only a few minutes. “I figure that I have to be at least presentable to the Captain.” Jaxa admitted as they made their way to their final destination. Stepping into the ready Room She looked towards the Captain. “Ensign Sito reporting as ordered.” She spoke, standing at attention.

The Captain was absent-mindedly reading through some books of theirs, while the admiral and starfleet security advisor calling were waiting attentively. 

“Ah! Come in. We’ve been waiting to welcome you En–”

But before the captain could finish, the Admiral had spoken up first.

“Sito Jaxa, thank you for coming. I hope you’re in better health: Starfleet is eager to receive you in-person at the Wishbone’s earliest convenience to follow-up on your last mission. But most importantly, we have decided that… Hang on. Can you tell that Ensign over there to please step out?–”

Clark was still in the doorway. The Captain of the Wishbone was a lenient, dreamy-minded sort. Able to command the crew well, but as long as everyone kept up with their duties in a reasonable amount of time, the captain would not bother them. It was an acceptable method given the research efforts were allowed a great deal of time and resources to do what they needed– especially after the burden of a terrifying first contact was handled by brave ships like the Enterprise. 

“–Anyways. From hereon out, you’re to be designated as Lieutenant Jr. Grade for your exceptional valor in the line of duty. We’ll be needing your insights as well as your skills going forward. I understand you’ve been through an ordeal at the academy, and rest assured: In time, you’ll be able to leave that all behind once you’re been reassigned.”

“Reassigned? But she’s just gotten back on her feet.” said the captain. “I have no qualms about a promotion or celebrations, but there’s no telling–”

“Captain–” the security officer spoke. “With all due respect, Sito may have arrived to your vessel and its considerable facilities as a patient, but she’s needed for more than just to lounge around or volunteer on a fully staffed, plenty capable research vessel. She can have all the time she needs to get her bearings, but once she has the Federation will need efficient operatives for our most sensitive missions. The Cardassians, let alone others are only just getting started, Captain.”

With that, the Admiral and security specialist turned their attention back on Jaxa to await her response. On the outside behind the doors, Clark could hear some of what was going on. He had to hide his surprise, trying to hear more before being asked over to help with something on the bridge controls that was malfunctioning slightly.

As Jaxa stood there at the position of attention, listening to the admiral. She was shocked by what she heard, a follow up to her last mission. She had already told Starfleet Security that for the most part the Cardassians or the Dominion didn’t know she was a Starfleet officer and when they did she didn’t have any useful information for them. “Sir, with all do respect I don’t have any other information to give about the mission I was only selected for a small part anyway, and I’d hardly call that a success.” She spoke before she had heard the request for Clark to leave.

The next part had to be a joke, she was being promoted, but at the cost of being ripped from another ship, that despite being new to had already settled into. Hearing the Captain start to defend her made her feel a bit of joy on the inside, it seemed like he was willing to give her a fair shot, just as Captain Picard had, but Starfleet Security wanted her to be some sort of operative for them, which didn’t necessarily sit right with Jaxa.

“Sir, I’m not some secret operative. I’m just another Bajoran Starfleet officer. There are probably so many more people capable of doing what needs to be done. I have a pretty terrible track record, my time at the Academy with Nova Squadron, yes that was my own doing. I’ve atoned for that, and I’ve just spent fie whole years of my life in a prison in Cardassia Prime, only after the war was over did Starfleet manage to rescue me. I’m nowhere near to being what you need me to be Sir. I had friends on the Enterprise, I made friends here already, you have to understand that I’m not ready to just pack up and go.”

As she spoke, anyone could tell she was passionate about her stance. Jaxa knew that she really didn’t have a say in the matter though. It would be hard for Starfleet to change their mind once a decision was made and as stated this was a fully staffed ship she was only on as a patient, she never should have expected to stay on board. She looked towards the Captain then back to the admiral, awaiting their response.

[sito-jaxa]

zenithspan​:

sito-jaxa​

She truly respected Clark seeing as he didn’t push her boundaries on finding out what had happened, the three different times she had to do it for official reports, she broke down into a crying mess each time, it would be a significant amount of time for the psychological wounds to be healed.

As they described the game to her she found interest. “That sounds pretty neat, back on the Enterprise I mainly played poker with my friends, we’d always have poker night every Wednesday after shift. It helped that we all were on the same shift.” As Jaxa spoke a smile formed on her lips as she remembered the fond memories of her friends. “That or we’d spend the night at Ten Forward, drinking and discussing what the senior officers were doing. Right before my mission it the big discussion between us was crew evaluations. both my friend and I were up against each other to get the position of Ops officer.” She didn’t know why but Jaxa just felt right that she could open up to someone, try and start her life back up from where it left off. 

“If there’s one thing I’m good at is multi tasking, so I’m assuming that you can both repair and sabotage at the same time. or say have a boarding team take the bridge to try and slow down the opposing ship while ensuring that your ship is on red alert for any possible attacks that could come from the other side.” She suggested, knowing that it might’ve been too obvious of an approach for either to think of, they were using Vulcan logic which to her knowledge would sometimes overshadow the obvious. She didn’t necessarily have the intent to play at the current moment but it did pique her interest in the game for sure.

“Oh you’d be surprised, it seemed like every other week we had something going on with the Enterprise. She’s the flagship of the Federation and with that a lot of missions and a lot of strange occurrences. There also seemed to be a lot of visits from a Q entity, he had an interest in Captain Picard, so I’m sure something like that happened on the Enterprise at some point.” She spoke. It seemed at the current moment she had forgotten her troubles as she was making friends. It seemed so easy to get back into a somewhat new life. Soon she got her food as they continued their discussion. Immediately after she took her first bite tears formed in her eyes. “This is so good, I haven’t had anything like this in so long!” she broke down before wiping her eyes with a napkin. “I’m sorry you both must think I’m an emotional wreck right now, crying over some food.”

“It’s okay. Eating’s one of the most important affirmations of life, and meals are a great way to share culture with others. I can figure that dish means a lot to you.” 

It wasn’t just Clark– or even Vanik who showed a controlled modicum of interest: Those closest to their table were actually paying attention to Jaxa’s stories with interest. Some further off might have scoffed if one had sharp ears. But for the most part, the bunch Clark was tagged along with were starting to warm up as well. 

“Here, Sito can take my turn.” said another engineer. “I gotta get back on duty. But I’d love to hear more when you’re free and feeling up to it?”

“Yeah, me too!” someone else chimed in. 

Just before Vanik or Clark could say something as well, there was a call on Jaxa’s combadge. 

“Helm to Sito Jaxa. Do you read?” spoke one of the communications officers. “Report to the Captain’s ready room. If you require an escort, we’ll arrange.”

Clark tapped his own badge.

“Raut here, I’ll walk with her. What’s the captain want, exactly?”

“Captain says it’s private. No need for concern: She’s not in any trouble. But we do need her to be here soon. Starfleet command will be on vid-call once she’s arrived.”

Clark glanced up at Jaxa.

“Shall we? Captain’s a fair one… But if they’ve got an admiral or someone from Federation security on the line, that’s got to mean something big.”

“Not necessarily means a lot to me, just to finally have something that isn’t low quality prison food.” She admitted, eating more of the food. The young Bajoran woman gave him a smile.

It absolutely warmed her heart hearing that more people wanted to hear her stories and about her time on the Enterprise. She’d mostly leave it to that as she figured that nobody wanted to hear of her Academy experience. She did notice a few people in the back who scoffed at her and she vaguely recognized them from her Academy class. Noticing people who disagreed with her even being in Starfleet made her want to clam up, but the overwhelming warm welcome changed her mind. 

Jaxa was in the middle of telling the group another story from being on the Enterprise when her combadge chirped up. “This is Ensign Sito Jaxa. Aye sir I will report immediately.” She promptly replied after being told the message. Before she could ask for an escort there Clark responded that he would take her there. It somewhat comforted her, someone who she had already somewhat gotten to know.

Jaxa was glad that she wasn’t getting in trouble but it did pique her interest that she was needed to meet with the Captain and someone from Starfleet Command. She had so many possibilities running through her head.

“Yeah I guess we shouldn’t keep Starfleet Command waiting, maybe they’re calling to tell me that I got the Operations position on the Enterprise, it’s only fie years too late for that.” She chuckled, knowing that with her gone, Sam had gotten that position, the one that he deserved. Before going to the ready room  she had to stop by her room and she changed from her civilian clothes into the new Starfleet uniform that had been given to her. Of course it was different than the one that she was used to but she liked this one more, finally affixing the combadge to her chest she walked out after only a few minutes. “I figure that I have to be at least presentable to the Captain.” Jaxa admitted as they made their way to their final destination. Stepping into the ready Room She looked towards the Captain. “Ensign Sito reporting as ordered.” She spoke, standing at attention.

[zenithspan-deactivated20220226]

sito-jaxa​

“Nice to meet you, and thanks for the welcome.” She spoke quietly, shaking his hand before sitting down at the table. It would be a lie if Sito said she didn’t notice the some of the others staring and murmuring. She tried to push it to the back of her mind. The others had to be curious, a Bajoran Starfleet officer who spent the last five years in a Cardassian prison because of a botched covert mission, what was there not to talk about or the fact that she had a record from Nova Squadron where she helped to try and cover up the death of a cadet because they were doing illegal maneuvers that would haunt her for her entire career. 

Sito did in fact take the time to order something. A typical Bajoran dish she always enjoyed and an iced Raktajino. “I’m still acclimating to being around so many people. In the prison they mainly kept us separated, at one point I had a cell mate but…..” Sito trailed off, closing her eyes trying not to relive the memories of having to kill her own cellmate, soon she decided to get back on topic about the food and everything.

“Doc said I should be able to get off of the sickbay diet. I’m just trying to prove that I’m still fit for duty, but I’m told it’s a long road to recovery but everyone is hopeful, including myself. So care to tell me about this game?” She asked, a genuine smile forming on her face. She liked this ensign, she could tell he didn’t treat her like a victim or someone who was careless and reckless instead as someone who wanted to be a friend.

“Then go wild. Live it up.”

Clark just offered a nod when Jaxa trailed off. He could only imagine what captivity was like, and gestured that she didn’t have to continue on that track if she didn’t feel up to it. That and he understood her to be of similar ranking– more in mindset than just the markings that denoted rank. And as wondrous as Starfleet could be, it could also be very intimidating when one was still starting out.

“As I’ve been able to discern, the game uses some abstract artistic visuals to depict a virtual ship, racing against a rival player’s ship to get to a finish line destination. Both travel at roughly the same speed, so the real focus is making sure your ship is in working order. In our last couple rounds, Vanik and I discovered you can attempt to sabotage rival ships.”

“And you may respond with repairs or a covert counterstrike, if you’re quick enough.” added Vanik. “But if you cannot multitask, you will be quickly subsumed. I focused too intensely upon maintaining the warp core to realize Clark had subtly removed optimal replicator items that would have given my in-game crew statistical bonuses.”

“And Vanik disabled half my virtual ship’s waste extraction units just before that.” deadpanned Clark, in an attempt at humor. “I’ll bet nothing like that happened on the Enterprise?”

[sito-jaxa]

She truly respected Clark seeing as he didn’t push her boundaries on finding out what had happened, the three different times she had to do it for official reports, she broke down into a crying mess each time, it would be a significant amount of time for the psychological wounds to be healed.

As they described the game to her she found interest. “That sounds pretty neat, back on the Enterprise I mainly played poker with my friends, we’d always have poker night every Wednesday after shift. It helped that we all were on the same shift.” As Jaxa spoke a smile formed on her lips as she remembered the fond memories of her friends. “That or we’d spend the night at Ten Forward, drinking and discussing what the senior officers were doing. Right before my mission it the big discussion between us was crew evaluations. both my friend and I were up against each other to get the position of Ops officer.” She didn’t know why but Jaxa just felt right that she could open up to someone, try and start her life back up from where it left off. 

“If there’s one thing I’m good at is multi tasking, so I’m assuming that you can both repair and sabotage at the same time. or say have a boarding team take the bridge to try and slow down the opposing ship while ensuring that your ship is on red alert for any possible attacks that could come from the other side.” She suggested, knowing that it might’ve been too obvious of an approach for either to think of, they were using Vulcan logic which to her knowledge would sometimes overshadow the obvious. She didn’t necessarily have the intent to play at the current moment but it did pique her interest in the game for sure.

“Oh you’d be surprised, it seemed like every other week we had something going on with the Enterprise. She’s the flagship of the Federation and with that a lot of missions and a lot of strange occurrences. There also seemed to be a lot of visits from a Q entity, he had an interest in Captain Picard, so I’m sure something like that happened on the Enterprise at some point.” She spoke. It seemed at the current moment she had forgotten her troubles as she was making friends. It seemed so easy to get back into a somewhat new life. Soon she got her food as they continued their discussion. Immediately after she took her first bite tears formed in her eyes. “This is so good, I haven’t had anything like this in so long!” she broke down before wiping her eyes with a napkin. “I’m sorry you both must think I’m an emotional wreck right now, crying over some food.”