One of Us, Part of the Crew
Posted on Sun May 3rd, 2026 @ 5:34pm by Major Edmund Merrick & Sergeant Audie Fitch & Sergeant Kyle Walken & Lieutenant Mira Jayna & Warrant Officer Mercy Ryan & Sergeant Adélaïde Moreau & Sergeant Andrew Shy
Edited on on Sun May 3rd, 2026 @ 5:49pm
1,517 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
The Cure: Operation Kakori
Location: Mess Hall - Deck 2 - USS Valiant
Timeline: MD002 1400 hrs
The mess hall doors opened, and Edmund took a look around, giving a smile when he saw several members of the team inside.
"Greetings Cure, We've got a new arrival, meet Sergeant Kyle Walken." he announced with a bit of a smile.
"Welcome to the Cure, Sergeant." Mercy said. "I'm Warrant Officer Mercy Ryan, Sniper and gymnast."
"It's good to meet you Warrant Officer. Recon and off hand maintenance man." Walken replies.
Jayna walked in and nodded to the others. She had yet to meet the new sergeant, but she'd seen his personnel file.
"Walken." Audie stood and nodded to the newcomer. "Audie Fitch, Medic, good to have new crew aboard." She smiled. "We're all a bit odd here, but that's what makes us work!"
Adélaïde looked up from her tray at Edmund’s announcement, eyes settling briefly on the newcomer as she took him in. New posture. New boots. Still figuring out where to stand.
She offered a small, easy smile.
“Sergeant Moreau,” she said, inclining her head slightly in greeting. “Search and Rescue.”
She nudged the empty seat at her table lightly with her foot.
“Food’s better if you sit before it gets cold. And no one bites. Not on duty, anyway.”
There was the faintest hint of humour there, dry and understated.
“Welcome to the Cure.”
Andrew found his way into the Valiant's mess, took in the setup and picked up a tray from the abbreviated but present mess line. The steward that was manning the line smiled at him, the young blond man's face struck Andrew as having the eager innocence of a puppy. "Hello, Sergeant the Steward half drawled. "Chef has a Betezoid rabbit stew called Odifitz tonight. Succulent rabbit stewed in a tomato sauce with shallots cinnamon and a touch of vinegar. There's a good bit of various herbs in there and we're serving with a half loaf of village bread, freshly baked this morning.
Now the steward was beaming, "There's dipping sauces and yogurt over on the sideboard and there's ice water on the tables. Can I dish you up?"
Dumbfounded, Andrew could just hold out his tray and the steward expertly ladled the rich looking stew onto the tray, then placed a half-rund of bread onto his tray. "There you go, Sergeant," the young rating enthused. "Don't be shy asking for seconds. There's plenty. And for desert," the blonde steward moved a small dish with something that looked like dough balls in a syrup of some kind with spices and nuts. "I won't try to tell you the Betezoid name for them, but they are good. Enjoy."
Bemused, Andrew turned and headed for the tables that the Cure had claimed and moved to sit, jostling Adélaïde good naturedly as he passed to a free seat. Seeing the new face, he slid his tray onto his chosen spot and held out a hand to the newcomer. "Hey there. Andrew Shy, Tac systems operator, among other things." He figured his chevron could talk for itself.
Walken shakes his hand, "I'll have to take your word on the sweets. It's good to meet you all." He finally takes a seat.
Sliding into his seat, Andrew picked up a fork and said, "What gives with the chow? Seems kinda high toned for escort ship?"
Edmund had gotten himself a plate, taking a seat somewhere near. he took a few bites before he commented.
"Apparently they seem to have some gourmet cooks upon this ship. Fine cooked meals. Flavors just right." Edmund giving a chef's kiss.
"Apparently Valiant has a special relationship with Betazed." Mercy said. "They supply the ship with food in return."
Andrew tasted the rabbit and his eyebrows went up. "Beats the replicator. Any scuttlebutt on this mission?"
Adélaïde rocked slightly when Andrew bumped her shoulder, steadying her tray more out of habit than necessity.
“Subtle as ever,” she murmured, the corner of her mouth lifting as she nudged him back lightly with her elbow before he sat.
She’d already broken into the bread, using it to soak up the sauce with clear approval. “It’s actually good,” she said, glancing toward his tray. “Didn’t expect cinnamon to work with rabbit, but here we are.”
At the question about scuttlebutt, she shrugged.
“Nothing solid. Escort detail. Keep our heads up. Smile at the right people.” A small pause. “And assume someone will try something clever.”
She took another bite, unbothered.
“Which usually means we won’t be bored.”
Ignoring the elbow, Andrew watched then copied Adélaïde in tearing off a hunk of the bread and trying the sauce first. "Good sauce," he said around a mouthful. After swallowing, he speared a chunk of the meat and said, "Overwatch. Play nice. And wait for someone to try and kill us. Business as normal then. Meh. I prefer a stand up fight. Least it's not a bug hunt."
"Can do without those things ever again!" Audie grumbled, grinning. "And those dreams..." That had been pretty brutal, and she'd hate to imagine worse.
"I take it you had a rough few assignments before I was transferred in?" Walken as a bit curious about what they had gone through.
"Yes, giant insectoids controlled by a possibly trans-dimensional being, bent on Galactic domination." Mercy said. "Just another week in the Cure." She added taking a bite of her food.
"Joint effort between Starfleet Officers and The Cure." Edmund commented, "To help someone out." the tone of his voice having an edge to it.
As in, they weren't to talk any further about that mission, not on a ship run by intelligence.
Jayna turned sharply when she heard Mercy. That was a serious breach of confidentiality. She would be sure to tell Neil that one of the Marines was divulging classified information. Yes, they were mostly Pioneer crew that had recently seen action, and yes, the Valiant did classified assignments, but if she was so free with the information here, where else might she talk about it? She was glad Edmund deflected the conversation.
"Walken, what was your last mission like?" Edmund asked, moving the attention to the newest arrival.
"Quiet, recon ahead of the main force on some snow covered planet. To make things worse the op was meaningless. There was no contact with whatever the brass thought was out there. So I spend for then a few days freezing to death trying to find something that wasn't there. Still think my toes are recovering from the deep freeze." As Walken speaks he shivers like he was still thawing out.
Glancing across at Mercy, Andrew said off handily, "Not the training holo's for Xindi Incursion. I think actual ops, like the one with all the Feet and bad dreams."
"Oof that was quite the mission." Edmund chiming in, the mention of that bringing up memories he'd rather not remember.
"Well Walken glad you survived that and are somewhere a bit warmer." Edmund added.
Shy certainly did a good job of redirecting the conversation away from the Silence mission. That had to stay quiet otherwise all of them would face serious consequences.
Realising her mistake, Mercy added. "Yeah, those Xindi insectoids are tough buggers, it felt like a live mission to me."
"That's the idea," Jayna said, replying to Mercy's comment. "If it feels real, your reactions will be as well."
Edmund listened to the exchanges, then noticed the time.
"Alright Marines, get some rack time or relax, get your minds refreshed before we get into the mission. Or even enjoy the food that is available." Edmund giving a grin.
Merrick was impressed with the food they had on the Valiant, he was finding it interesting. Wasn't there someone on this ship? He wasn't certain.
Silently, Jayna slipped out of the mess and headed for her quarters. She had some interesting insights, but those were put aside until after the mission. Tonight was for relaxing with Neil and making sure she was in the right mindset.
A Joint Post By
Major Edmund Merrick
Company Commanding Officer Officer, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Warrant Officer Mercy Ryan
Sniper, Team 1, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Mira Jayna
Intelligence Officer, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Sergeant Audie Fitch
Corpsman Team 2, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Sergeant Adélaïde Moreau
SAR Specialist, Team 2, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Sergeant Andrew Shy
Tactical Systems Operator, Team 2, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Sergeant Kyle Walken
Platoon Sergeant Team 1, The Cure
USS Pioneer
RSS Feed