Cr:01.08 – A short walk, passing several dining establishments, later, Calyssa noticed Alyxx seated at a small table in the front of a small restaurant. She smiled as she joined her former first officer who had now made it into the command ranks herself. “Hello, Alyxx. Good to see you.” Calyssa smiled. “It is good to see you too, Calyssa.” The older Trill officer replied. “So how is the life of a Starfleet Captain?” Calyssa ordered some fresh tea, intending to learn everything about Alyxx’ latest experiences as a Starship captain.

Alyxx Darkka was surprised and grateful to see Calyssa Aelyn, knowing how busy she’d be getting the new Callisto into fully operational and functioning Starship worthy of her name, as well as acting as nursemaid to her entourage; that thought made her smile.
“I could ask you, how is your nurse-maiding?”
“Alyxx?” puzzled by the change in subject matter and the Trill’s tone, whilst sipping her tea.
“Your entourage of high rankers!” she quipped.
“Oh, them!” her tone a little sour. “Well enough, I suppose,” she admitted. “So how are you finding your Captaincy?” bringing the subject back round to her first question of her former XO.
“Well enough, I suppose,” she responded using the exact same tone as Calyssa had used a moment ago. Aelyn looked exasperated at the older female a moment and then they grinned at each other followed a moment later by their hearty laughter.
“Oh!” brushing at her tears. “I needed that,” Calyssa acknowledged.
“Me too!” wiping at her own tears. “To answer your question, Calyssa,” she sighed pulling her emotions back into place. “I’m still awaiting the arrival of my new XO. So I haven’t been anywhere just yet. He could have come with you, but with all the extra security you had to deal with and the like, I suspect he had to find an alternative method of getting here; which will take some time as Callisto was the only ship in the Alpha Quadrant fitted with Chozo jump gate techs.”
“I’d forgotten. You’re right of course. I had enough to deal with, without an extra passenger. The President had already thrown that spanner at me!”
“Your idioms are getting as bad as mine, Calyssa,” she quipped with a smile.
“That’s having you as an Executive Officer for all those years!” she grinned back. They lapsed into silence and contemplated all that had happened over the last few months. “I’ve missed you at times.”
“Nice to know I’ve been missed,” Alyxx sighed and then called for some more Talakrian tea. “There are times when I find myself waiting for someone to call me for this or that,” pouring out the refined alien tea into their respective mugs, savouring the taste and smell of the dark green brew.
“It takes a little getting use to, I’ll admit,” Aelyn said quietly, eying her friend over her tea mug. “Why did you choose Whyte?”
“You mean, why did I choose a ‘Right Charlie’ over ‘Handy’ Anderson?” using the two male’s known nicknames. “Because Anderson has a one track mind when it comes to women; any woman, even those that outrank him,” she said her tone hard. “I’m surprised that Fleet Admiral Alynna Necheyev didn’t bust him back down to Crewman and beyond, right there and then.”
“Admiral Necheyev? How does she fit in?”
“I asked if she would do the interviews, whilst I watched. She was more than happy to do so,” mentally reliving some of that day. “There had been some unsubstantiated rumours about Anderson and even Whyte that she thought we could verify if she did the interviews. Thus we used a double mirror. It was quite revealing especially in the case of Anderson.”
“How so?” Calyssa asked intrigued.
“The man barely gave the Admiral the respect her rank should have engendered; that at one point she left the room fuming and threatening to bust him down so far and hard that he wouldn’t bounce back. It was what happened to the female Lieutenant left with Anderson and even what he said on another occasion to Ayala. It was perfectly clear that the rumours and reports about the man were spot on,” she paused to drink her tea as if fortifying herself for what was to come – Calyssa thought. “To put it into a nutshell; as far as Anderson was concerned there was only one place for a woman and that was in a bed, preferably his.”
“But his records clearly shows that he would have been a good XO!?” she said puzzled.
“Necheyev believes he doctored those records to wipe out all the reports of complaints from fellow female officers and his treatment of them, whatever their rank or position, even those of his commanding officers – male or female. He’ll be investigated further by the disciplinary board before any new assignment is given to him.” The two women sat in contemplative silence at this startling revelation.
“That must have shaken the Admiral and you!” Calyssa Aelyn said quietly.
“I had my suspicions about that man; but yes it did,” she sighed. “I have my principles, Calyssa and I stick to them. Anderson used women for his own pleasure and flouted the very basic of Starfleet’s guiding principles of how to treat each other and in up holding our First Duty to the truth; I think it’s on that very proviso that he’ll be cashiered out of Starfleet; especially if Fleet Admiral Alynna Necheyev has anything to do with it.”
“I’m sure she will,” the Human/Bajoran female said softly. “And the rest of your crew? They are quite a mixed bunch!” having taken a brief moment to look-up who was on her friends crew.
“You mean Misfits!” Darkka grinned. “I just put out a general call for any persons who did not feel at ‘home’ to join the ‘adventure’. I was really surprised by the results and they’re not all former Maquis/Voyager crew either,” pausing in quiet reflection. “Some come from very staunch Starfleet backgrounds,” she added softly.
“I did notice all your former science crew have joined you,” she said with a resigned smile.
“Your vessel doesn’t quite fit the bill as a fully fledged science vessel, Calyssa!”
“Maybe not. Like to have a look around sometime?” she offered.
“I’d love too,” she smiled. “But I think you’ll have to finish with your nurse-maiding first,” chuckling at her fellow Captain’s sour grimace, that turned slowly into a gentle smile.

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