"It'd better be good," Peterson remarks, though whether it's a warning to one of them or Khristyana herself is unclear. He looks up, though, as the docking sequence finishes and the Trill shuttle door opens.
Abruptly, V'Lonn straightens his shoulders and walks over to offer help out of said shuttle to its occupants. "Welcome to the USS Aurora."
"Thank you," comes the muffled voice from behind the first two people to step off, likely the guest they were warned was of high importance. But...
V'Lonn'd suspicions are quickly confirmed when a teenaged girl steps out of the shuttle. She takes his offered help down and addresses Captain Peterson. "I'm Phoebe Ruax, captain. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for having me aboard."
She immediately reaches out to shake his hand, which he does accept the offer of, slightly shocked. "The pleasure is mine. Ruax, I think I recognize that name..."
"Captain Verad Ruax, had a distinguished Starfleet career and a bright future as an admiral, however fell ill after exploration of a strange planet and eventually died from a disease later named in his honor," Phoebe nods. "That was from before the Federation knew about symbionts."
"I see. In any case, as my chief of security said, welcome aboard. I'm Captain James Peterson, and the rest is most of my senior staff. Chief engineer, Rowan Kirk. Chief medical officer, Ray Chapel. You met V'Lonn, like I said chief of security, and my chief science officer couldn't make it and sent Lieutenant Crystal Smith in her place." Peterson introduces, per procedure, which makes Phoebe's eyes sparkle.
"I wasn't a fan of the official, formal introductions either. What excuse did your first officer use?"
He looks mildly entertained. "Wanting to keep someone in command on the bridge in case we ran into the Kaylon."
"The Kaylon? Out here? My first officer used to just claim he was sick to his stomach." Phoebe chuckles. "So much simpler, and so much less paperwork."
Peterson nods, glancing to the shuttle and pausing in confusion. "Did your parents step out first?"
"Oh, no, I'm a ward of Trill," Phoebe explains quickly with a laugh. "Sorry for the confusion, you just met my handlers. As the youngest joined Trill in history, it's important to the commission that my balance with the symbiont is monitored to ensure our health."
