[Galaxy] [New-Darwin] 2158.03.07 || Joint Log || Batenburg/Morotai

[Suzanna Batenburg]

// New Darwin - Quarters \\

After a hectic day Kareem had been glad to get back to the refuge of his
quarters. With so many extra people on New Darwin he was feeling the
pressure of being in charge. Security was becoming more and more of an
issue and he was going to meet Sam later to discuss the state of things,
and hopefully get some reassurance. After a slightly broken nights sleep
he was up again with another busy day ahead. He washed away the
tiredness in a warm shower, filled is empty stomach with a bowl of corn
flakes and a cup of earl grey tea. Both of them Earth foods, he had
developed a liking for corn flakes with sugar and milk on top, the way
the sugar stuck glued by milk to each tasty flake appealed to his
- Hide quoted text -
tastes.

Dressing in a fresh uniform he sorted his hair out in the mirror and
tried to look smart. He was off to meet Admiral Batenburg for her first
tour of the colony. He was proud of how far they'd come, but being
around the Admiral made him feel they should have gotten further.
Something to do perhaps with her air of authority. In some ways she was
a school inspector coming to give them all a grade for attitude,
application and effort. Shrugging off the strange analogies in his mind
he stepped outside to the waiting buggy. Crewman Davis was back as his
main driver.

"Morning Nicky" he acknowledged the driver. "I hope you won't mind me
referring to you as 'crewman' as procedures state when I am around the
Admiral. Want her to think we do things properly here." he smiled.

"No sir, no problems with that. I'll just concentrate on keeping the
speed down and truck straight" she smiled back. Kareem wondered if
someone had been speaking to her about her driving again.

"Don't listen to them Crewman. Your driving has been fine. But a softer
journey would be appreciated by the Admiral I'm sure. We'll have our
reputations tarnished forever if we hit a bump in the road and she falls
out" Kareem said, half joking, half serious.

The buggy roared as the ignition was switched and he took his seat at
the back.
"VIP suite 2" he ordered their course. "Then were going for a long drive
around" he added as they started on their way.

// VIP Suites \\

They arrived in good time. Behind the two-story building Lake McKenzie
stretched a few miles into fog-coated hills in the distance. There was a
- Hide quoted text -
breeze blowing across the water which gave the air a fresh and moist
taste. Kareem waited outside for the Admiral to appear. First came a
security guard through the front door. He was eying the surrounding area
with suspicion. Or perhaps that was just his natural expression, Kareem
mused.

Suzanna was ready and dressed in her uniform, she'd shared a breakfast
with Thomas and part of her didn't want to get out and go to work, but
stay here, with Thomas. But she knew she had no choice. Setting good
examples and all that. Besides of that, she knew she'd seem him again as
soon as work was over. For the time she was on New Darwin, she'd vowed
to spend as much time with him as possible.

"Good morning, Sir. I trust you slept well" Kareem asked.

"Good morning, Commander." Suzanna replied and smiled as she stepped
out. "These are excellent quarters you have here... and the view is
magnificent." Side-stepping the question, and hoping she'd be able to
hide any yawns. Some sleep had been had, and it hadn't been the quality
of the bed that had prevented more sleep. "What is the plan exactly for
the tour? I'm eager to see what New Darwin is like."

"I thought we could start out at the hills where we are converting the
old caves into a docking bay, and then make our way back through the
colony. We can finish up at the command center." Kareem explained.
"Unless you had a preference for which way to go, sir?"

"Non at all, Commander. I'll leave you to lead the way on this." Suzanna
said as they walked to the buggy.

They both settled into the buggy and it sped off along an off-road route
toward the hills. The good weather of the last few days continued and
the warm sun shining down would normally have made Kareem feel sleepy.
But with his prestigious guest present his mind was electrified and kept
fully alert. They eventually arrived at the caves.

Suzanna held on as they sped through the country side and enjoyed the
scenery. It almost gave her a vacation feeling. As if she was sight
seeing, and it all helped to make her feel relaxed, and that was a good
thing.

"Lieutenant Haydon and Lieutenant Walker's teams have been working hard
with this for many weeks now. As you can see the inner walls will be
strengthened and there will be a number of smaller entrances. Finally a
landing platform outside leading onto the main entrance." Kareem
explained pointing up to the large outcropping. "There is still much to
be done here though, but the landing pad provides us with good backup"
he added.

"I can see that has been a lot of work already, and good progress has
been made." Suzanna nodded and asked a few more questions which Morotai
answered.

They continued past the processing plant and landing pads again and
through the crew accommodation. "We've managed to salvage some of the
machinery left behind by the Klingon's, the processing plant means we
can make a lot of things here without needing to import" Kareem
explained.

"Very useful, Commander. It is important that New Darwin is as
independent as possible. We'll support where possible, but if you can do
without when push to comes to shove, so much the better." Suzanna said

Eventually after a tour of some of the farming fields and methods they
were using they arrived in the main center. Kareem showed the Admiral
around their storage facilities, sensor station and command center.
"What do you think of the command center Sir? It has totally transformed
operations here. Sensors in orbit provide us with long-range data on
ships in this region. Communications with Earth is improved. We no
longer have to rely on the ESS Valiant" he said proudly.

"I'm very impressed with what you all have achieved, Commander." Suzanna
said and she meant every word. Everything she'd seen this morning showed
not only Starfleet's drive and hard work, but also that of the
Daliwakans. It gave her hope.

After a few more buildings and a first hand explanation of the Daliwakan
fungus crisis provided by Lieutenant Blokpoel at the science labs, they
arrived at the welcome centre.

"I've arranged for some lunch to be served here in the restaurant area.
You will get chance to meet Jonas Gresham and Kaeidi Arawah. They are
both prominent Daliwakans and members of the original Daliwakan council.
They've both been instrumental in organising the 230 Daliwakans who
chose to stay here" he explained. He was a little apprehensive about the
Admiral meeting Jonas, who could be quite abrupt.

"I look forward to meeting them, Commander. I want to commend them on
what they and the other Daliwakans have achieved here together with
Starfleet." Suzanna responded as she climbed out of the buggy. She
followed Morotai into the town hall restaurant area.

// Welcome Centre - Restaurant \\

Kaeidi and Jonas were already there talking amongst themselves as Kareem
walked in. Jonas had pushed the boat out and was dressed in a dark suite
with white shirt and tie. Kaeidi had also gone for a smart, business-
like dress code. A dark skirt and light blue shirt with a small jacket.
It was more like a business meeting than a dinner. But with the other
two in Starfleet uniforms it fitted the nature of the occasion.

"Admiral, this is Jonas Gresham. He is in charge of the mining
operations and organising the more industrial parts of the colony."
Kareem introduced Jonas as him and Kaeidi both stood to greet the
Admiral.

Suzanna smiled warmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Commander Morotai
showed me around so far, and I've been very impressed with all I've seen
so far."

"Honoured to meet you ma'am. It is good to finally meet the person who
is behind the decisions made by Starfleet. My friends and I owe
Starfleet a large debt for our freedom and your care for us. This era
for us is incomparable to that of the Klingon's." Jonas shook the
Admiral's hand and offered a small bow. Jonas still liked to emphasise
his somewhat traditional view of Daliwakans being the locals and
Starfleet being the visitors.

"The honour is mine," Suzanna replied and shook Jonas' hand.

"Kaiedi Arawah whom I consider our farming and housing expert" Kareem
smiled. "She is multi-talented and trustworthy. I've known both her and
Jonas for years, through the underground networks during the Klingon's
reign" he explained.

"Pleasure to meet you," Suzanna said and shook Kaiedi's hand.

Kaiedi shook the Admirals hand. "Kareem speaks highly of you and your
colleagues from Earth. I echo Jonas' sentiments, we can not thank you
enough for giving us this unique opportunity to make a life again" she
smiled politely. Kareem could tell she was a bit nervous, unlike her,
but she was doing a good job of hiding it.

The four of them sat down and food was served and during the meal,
visions of the future were exchanged. Suzanna used it as an opportunity
to learn more about the Daliwakans as well. When desert was served, she
stood up, a glass in her hand. "This is a human tradition, a toast. To
the future of New Darwin, may it be as bright as the start of it has
already proven it to be. Starfleet and Humans are here as friends, as
co-workers, and we can learn so much from each other. I hope that this
joint venture will serve as an example of how two different species can
work and live together in peace and prosperity." With that said, she
raised her glass, "To New Darwin."

"To New Darwin and our continued partnership" Kareem agreed and
raised his glass to the toast. This meeting with the Admiral had gone
well and she shared a similar vision for the colony. Jonas was obviously
surprised by her encouragement and support. Perhaps he, like most
Daliwakans here, was surprised at being trusted.

Next, she put her glass down. "There is one other thing I would like to
do, while I am here in person. Originally, we assigned Captain Julie
McKenzie as the Commanding Officer of the Starfleet facility here, with
Lieutenant Commander Morotai as her XO. They made a good team, and it is
unfortunate that Captain McKenzie is injured and will not be back any
time soon. During this time, Lieutenant Commander Morotai has proven his
leadership skills, stepping into Captain McKenzie's boots. I'd like to
make that appointment official." Suzanna paused and turned to Kareem.
"I'm hereby confirming you as Commanding Officer of New Darwin Colony,
and promoting you to the rank of Commander, with all rights, privileges
and hard work that come with it."

Kareem stood up. "I'd be honoured to accept the new role and the rank
that comes with it Sir. Since Julie has been out of action I have
faced a number of personal challenges... challenges in my duties. I am
sure there is many more to come. But with your support and the backing
of my friends and colleagues" he nodded to Jonas and Kaeidi. "I hope I
can lead New Darwin into the next era. Thank you sir for giving me
this opportunity" he smiled. Inside he felt pride for what he had
achieved but, under that armour he still carried his own doubts and
fears. He felt better equipped now than ever before to face up to
them.

After dinner the four of them went for a walk around the nearby
grounds. Flowers had been arranged by Admiral Batenburg and
ceremonially laid at the memorial and centre-piece of the park. They
all stood there as Jonas spoke a few words in true Daliwakans spirit
out loud to the memories of the past and to the future ahead of them.

RAdm Suzanna Batenburg
Fleet Commander
Starfleet: The First Era
"Everything fits, otherwise we will make it fit."
http://www.firstera.net

Cmdr Kareem Morotai
Commanding Officer
New Darwin Colony
http://www.new-darwin.firstera.net