Unexpected Transfer (Part 1)

Posted on Thu May 28th, 2026 @ 2:57am by Commander Darius Cross & Captain Kaede Kayano

1,667 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Back Into Action
Location: Ready Room

aaaON:

Jodrol picked up the photo from his desk and looked at it. A picture of him, his XO, and a few other members of the crew in cowboy outfits. An odd picture to some, but he understood the reason for it. It was after a long mission and he granted the crew some much needed shore leave. Knowing the Captain didn't have much to do, they invited him to take part in a little fun on the holodeck. Jodrol was reluctant, but once he saw the setting and heard the premise, he found himself enjoying it as much as anyone else. Maybe even more so. His only regret, not having joined them sooner. He knew they were doing this for a while now, but he never wanted to get in their way. Feeling it would be less enjoyable for them, since he was the Captain. However, he learned that day, he was always welcomed to join. The only thing that stopped him... was him.

As he placed the photo into the Starfleet issued container, he took a moment to look around. Jodrol let out a sigh as he picked up another one of his belongings to put it into the box along with the others. He was leaving the ship, deciding to retire from Starfleet so he can enjoy the rest of his time as a joined Trill in peace. Most of his previous hosts have died before their symbiote were passed on to the next. Jodrol wanted to spend his final day in peace and not fighting to stay alive.

The chime from the door broke his train of thought. The Trill looked to the door and said "Enter." Before placing another object into the Starfleet container.

The doors opened and in walked a small petite woman. Her hazel eyes and chocolate brown hair shone in the light. Her uniform was pristine and perfectly tailored to her. On her collar were four silver pips and the comm badge on her chest seemed to reflect the twinkles from the rooms lights.

"Captain Nor." Kaede said with a smile as the door closed behind her. She looked around the room, a wave of nostalgia flooded her. She spent many hours in this exact room and the memories were starting to come back. Some of those memories were happy and full of joy, others still hurt and tugged on her heart.

The man looked up from his container to Kaede. A slight smirk formed on his face before it quickly vanished. He stopped what he was doing and walked around his desk towards her, his hands behind his back, as he stood there in his civilian clothes. "Aren't you a little small for a Starfleet Captain?" He asked, harking back to the first time they met, where he jokingly asked her the same question.

Kaede smiled. "You would think that in fourteen years that I may have gained an inch or two, but alas that was just wishful thinking." She replied. She placed a hand flat on the wall. "Hows the old girl faring these days?"

Jodrol leaned against his desk, smiling back, as he answered. "I managed to prove to Starfleet Command that she can go through more than one mission with needed to be towed back for repairs." He chuckled before asking with a raised brow. "What's with the uniform, Kayano? Aren't you supposed to be spending the remainder of your days on a peaceful planet with your husband?"

"That was the original plan yes." Kaede replied. "Wait, was that a 'dig' at me?!" She didn't give him chance to answer as she shook off his first comment. "Anyways. Long story short, Starfleet needs me back. They came to me, I can't go into details, but what I can say is, only I can do this." She explained to him as she removed her hand from the wall. "So here I am. Starfleet is giving me the Yamato back."

She reached into a pocket and pulled out a single isolinear chip. She held it out to Jodrol. "Official reinstatement and transfer orders from Starfleet Command." She told him.

Jodrol let out a deep sigh. As he took the chip from her hand, he looked at her oddly, unsure of how to react. She was putting him in a position he didn't want to be in. The Trill walked around his old desk and slipped in the chip, bringing up the data onto the monitor he kept on it. He went through the orders, not bothering to check its authenticity, before remove the chip. As he placed it on the desk, he looked up to Kaede, placing his hands on his hips as he spoke. "You and Starfleet Command have put me in a bad position, Kaede. I already made my intentions known to hand off Command to my Executive Officer, Commander Cross. He's earned it. Showed me time and time again he's got what it takes for that chair. Not to mention, he's become a great friend. The crew have already pre-emptively celebrated his promotion. Now, you come here, telling me you've got orders from Command and it's something only you can do. Oh... by the way... the Yamato, which was your old ship, is part of that need. Come on, Kaede. What the hell is this all about?"

Kaede didn't smile, nor did she frown. She simply remained expressionless. "Ambassador Kablam has gone missing." She said simply. "The Changelings are not happy about it. Even today the relationship between The Dominion and The Federation is fragile at best. They don't trust 'solids' as they call us. Starfleet Command want me to find him, before that fragile relationship breaks down and we find ourselves on the verge of another war."

"Plus. Kablam is a close friend. He was there for me more than once. I owe him." She added.

Jo placed his hands on his old desk as he put his head down. He let out another sigh, closing his eyes to think. Jodrol knew that the Federation, let alone the Alpha Quadrant, couldn't afford another Dominion War. Given everything they had lost and were trying to get back after the last one, they should do everything in their power to keep that from happening. He didn't know the Ambassador as well as Kaede did, but there were those out there he would probably be doing the same thing. Starfleet orders or not. Jodral was in a bad position, but he could see, so was Kaede.

Jo looked back up to Kaede, nodding his head slightly, as he continued. "I get it. Even though I'm hanging up the uniform, there are some people here I wouldn't hesitate to come back for, especially if they needed my help. I didn't mean to jump at you for it. You can understand how this throws a wrench in a few things. Especially when to comes to the career of my close friend."

"I know its hard." Her voice dropped to a softer more soothing tone. "I didn't specifically ask for the Yamato. Its just a co-incidence that its a ship that became available." She explained to him. She moved closer to the desk. "Unfortunately, its out of our control. I have a duty now to find Kablam and do what Starfleet does best. Preserve the peace."

"I however have no preferred crew. As you know its been a long time since I served in Starfleet. So, if any of your current crew want to stay aboard. I'd be happy to automatically take them." Kaede explained with a smile. "I promise to look after them."

Jodrol nodded his head before standing there quietly. He finally looked up at Kaede and asked. "Let's say you finish your mission. You find Kablam and deal with whatever it is that caused his disappearance. What then? You going to step away, since the job was done and mission is over, since there is nothing left to do? Or are you going to stick around and delay your retirement and family time some more?"

"Honestly. I don't know." Kaede replied. "I guess I will cross that bridge when I come to it."

"You say that now. But I know you, Kayano." Jodrol said as he held his hand out a bit. "You tell everyone that you stopped for your family, to recover from whatever it was that made you want to stop, but you never stopped thinking about this. It's in your blood. Just like its in mine. Just like it's in most of us who wear the uniform." He lowered his hand and took in a deep sigh. "Even when you were sitting at home, doing whatever it was you were trying to do to pass the time, a part of you longed for the seat. Otherwise, you would have never come back so quickly or even taken the Yamato back. You could have went on another ship or even trusted someone else to take the charge. Hell, you know I would have been more than happy to do it, but you choose to take the seat again. Giving it up, especially a second time, won't be so easy. You know it. I know it."

"You're probably right." Kaede replied with a smile. "But, I only asked for a ship to do this mission. I would have been content with any ship, but Starfleet gave me back the Yamato." she explained.

"Right." Jodrol chuckled slightly. "Because the Yamato, which was no where near Earth at the time, was the only ship available. What happened? Utopia Planetia Fleet Yards, whose job it is to work on ships and the space dock which is conveniently orbiting Earth, just happened to run out of ships?" He crossed his arms over his chest and added. "I wasn't joined yesterday, Kaede. You asked for the Yamato. Just admit it. There's no shame in it."

To be continued...

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