Through the Eyes of the Crew

Posted on Sat 21st Feb, 2026 @ 1:05am by Lieutenant Damion Ildaran & Captain Gordon Francis & Commander Geraldine "Geri" Severide & Commander Mindo

1,767 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: [TIE-IN] IBEX - In the Beginning...
Location: IBEX
Timeline: Immediately after (Redacted)

The most important thing a captain can do is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew. --Captain D. Michael Abrashoff

It was real.

A small part of Damion had half-convinced himself that, at some point, Captain Francis or Commander Severide would surely tell him, "Nah, we were just messing with you. We had a bet going as to how long we could make you believe we were really going to just hand you a starship. Let's head back to Orchids & Jazz and have a good laugh over a few beers!"

But they kept not doing that, and neither were the type to jerk someone's chain--which meant that this gleaming, black Saladin-class starship cradled in docking clamps before him was truly going to be his.

For a deep cover operative, it was a terrifying--and terrifyingly exciting--prospect.

I wouldn't call it IBEX; I'd call it SWAN, Damion thought as his mouth went dry from shock. Suddenly, it was hard to breathe. My God, it's beautiful.

He had to stop himself from shaking. The enormity of the responsibility the ship represented floored him. It wasn't just the ship; it was the crew, a crew that had had an experienced captain until a short while ago. He hoped they wouldn't be disappointed with what they were getting in his place.

A crew, Damion thought, not simply assets. A crew has to function more like a solid family. A crew is a team with a shared purpose. A crew is a sacred trust. Can I possibly live up to that?

"It's a magnificent ship," was all he said aloud.

Geri smiled, it was always charming to see someone at the start of what would be an amazing adventure. Equally as cute as it was endearing, she kept the vibe going. "I haven't seen it since before the paint job. Theseus be damned; this is a new ship."

Standing next to them, Captain Francis let out a whistle. Even he had to admit, "She's a fine breed, that's for sure. Mr. Ildaran, I think I envy you."

Commander Mindo had been quietly admiring the Ibex for quite some time while he waited to meet up with the rest of the lot. Without his hover boots, he went mostly unnoticed. "I want to get inside her," he finally remarked. "We all have clearance. What are we waiting for?"

"Permission to board," Damion said. He glanced at Captain Francis. As the highest-ranking officer among them, Francis would make the request.

From their commbadges a voice emerged,

=/\= Captain Alexander Richardson to the crew at our loading bay... Welcome. we don't really have protocol for this; it's the opposite of how we usually operate. I'll lower the ramp, but I need to speak to Damion alone. The rest of you... if you're here, then Gordon er... Captain Francis must approve. As he wishes, so may it be.

The small struts of the Engineering Hull somehow held the ship in a resting pose, and a small loading bay door slid open at the very bottom of the rounded hull. A black hull plate slid behind another and the lower half of the hull plate split off to form the ramp.

Alex continued, "I've updated your biometrics so IBEX recognizes you as one of their own. Look around, we all need to reacquaint ourselves; much of it's new. Give notice to who you need to, you will disappear from the station the moment you step inside. Damion, let's chat, and for the rest... we will talk to you soon!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Damion Ildaran vanished.

There was a startled and shocked silence, broken by Mindo saying, "Huh. Should we be worried about being deleted from existence too?"

"He's in the White Room," Francis cut in.

Mindo nodded. "That explains everything."

Out of the descended Ramp came four familiar bots, the Exo-Comp Quad came flying at high speeds, Nessy generating the young Human male that was her chosen avatar today.

The four bots clustered right behind the hologram version Nessy projected, "We thank you CaptainGordonFrancis for our home and work. We have expanded our operational tolerances willingly for 15 work cycles and the progress has come to 97%!"

At the top of the Ramp came a Cardassian, of average build but with an air of casual threatening he seemed to naturally exude. He stayed within the bounds of the vessel, but at his side and half the height was a female Ferengi.

Suddenly within their immediate vicinity near the ExoComp Avatar, "Reggie" appeared.

"Please state the nature of your visit. This ship is private property and not subject to searches-"

"Shut up Reggie!" A voice with a slight southern drawl announced that Duke had somehow snuck into the docking bay without anyone knowing. Geri jumped a bit at the sudden booming voice behind her and nearly reacted to go for her sidearm.

Reggie looked to Duke with disdain as the man walked up to the group, unaware of the IBEX transporter capability.

Makoto had also accepted her recall signal and was now watching from a hidden vantage as Duke did his job to take all the attention on himself. The teleporter operated on a Gorn method and was totally undetectable without precise scans.

The Terran held a hand out to the nearest person, a floating Fesarian. "Hiya, M'names Duke, and we don't let Reggie do the talking anymore. Pleased to meet you."

Mindo shook his hand. "I'm Mindo," he said. "Are those modified Exo-Comps?"

Duke looked to the Quad and their puppet avatar. "Like Four kids in a trenchcoat eh? They are new to me Mindo, looks like we have a new crew forming, Im guessin thats why yall are here?"

Mindo nodded. "I'm more of an occasional volunteer. My position on the station prevents me from having any permanent spot, but I'll tag along when needed. I've already been given full security clearance. What position do you have here?"

Yuma moved from her hidden position to announce her presence as well, gaining a few startled glances.

Duke replied to Mindo, "In a way its a cross between Engineering, Security and OPS, those are fascinating levitation boots by the way, your design?

"Yep," Mindo said, proud of his work. The boots looked more like braces going from just below the knee down to the ankle. "They're silent propulsion, worked to my own specifications. I use them mainly to keep me at normal face level, so they only let me go up a few feet. They're mainly so I can look someone in the face when I talk to them. I can glide and hover well, but I can't actually fly with them."

Grazia called from the ramp, "Shall we come down?

Francis grinned. "I think we're waiting on you!"

Yuma Mokkai joined the group standing near Duke, "The bay is ours, seems well secured."

Geri chuckled, "Thanks, only been lying my face off for two weeks now over it."

Yuma took the jibe as a serious matter, "Yes, that is an issue. We will need to find a way to make a truth. Perhaps a home configuration and permanent lease for the berth under assumed names?"

Grazia had descended the Ramp, leaving Kolor behind, "Already in progress dear. We will launch and return in a different form each time ideally. This Landing Pad will be a corporate lease and rated for many vessels."

She eyeballed Captain Francis, "I researched you. We should talk. I am Grazia, the brains of the operation." She left his gaze and pointed, "You met Duke, there's Yuma, or as we call her on missions, 'Makoto.'"

Pointing to Kolor, she bluntly explained, "If you see Kolor outside of the ship, run very fast, it is about to explode. Otherwise, that is as far as he goes."

Francis gave his best smile. "It's good to see such dedication in a crew member," he said, looking at Kolor, then back to Grazia. "A Ferengi with brains is nothing new, but being researched by one... well, yes, I believe we should talk."

Francis looked around at the new crew. "Please feel free to make use of this station. You are all honored guests here. We've arranged individual quarters for you all under different names, so we can maintain anonymity for the Ibex and her crew. Also, and this would be my favorite part, you've all been given a generous stipend of credits to use however you see fit."

Grazia actually flinched, "Captain Francis that is most generous but we tend to stay on board. I won't speak for the others but Kolor and I rarely leave. As for the credits we want for nothing, and can't be seen in the public venues. creating account and ledgers creates a paper trail. I thank you but we must all turn that down-"

Yuma interrupted, "I'll stay on the station. Just link me in the quantumporter, whats the difference?"

Duke shook his head, "I've been looking over my shoulder for a lifetime, I can upgrade your sensors to detect trouble at a distance, give us time to react... I think I'll give it a try. Thank you Captain Francis."

Geri pressed forward, "We are all specialists in your system, right? Can we come aboard?"

Grazia pursed her lips, knowing this was likely how the program died. "Yes, Reggie confirmed all of you. Come on then."

As the new crew of the noble Ibex ascended into the ramp of the ship, one by one they winked off the stations bio-boards. A special program kept this from raising alarms and placed random computer interactions from their offices. In the digital landscape of how synthetic intelligence views the world, Starbase 109 was a Christmas Tree of lights and swirling dancing programs, miniature intelligence living machine lives. Within this digital island the prominence of Alidade was smaller but brighter than the base itself, a miniature star aloft in the Thunderchild. Within the workings of the Starbase individual points of brilliance raced to and fro, the exo comps cast light.

The IBEX was a cold spot, and void in the data. To anyone looking, Docking Bay Two was always loaded, always under work, never available. Records of entry and exit were given appropriate approximations of what it should be, with immediate flags to Intelligence.

Which is why Entaaro spit his tea all over the counter as Commander Severide entered a room under maintenance, flagged for "Caution," suddenly disappeared from the station life signs chart.

-END-

 

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