The New Orleans-class USS Colorado Springs dropped out of warp and approached Sheo II.  The green and blue planet grew large on the viewscreen as The Springs closed in on the planet and slid into a standard orbit.

“Station keeping Mr. Y’Trel,” Captain Denise Richardson said from the center seat.  She was a petite blonde in her mid-thirties.  Not the youngest captain in the fleet, but she was certainly a rising star even if her ship was more than five decades old.

The Xindi-Primate at the helm responded,  “Station keeping, aye.”

Richardson stood and extended a hand to Commander Ethan Talon, “Well Mr. Talon, welcome home.”

Ethan stood and accepted the hand, “Thank you ma’am, and thank you for the ride.”

Captain Richardson laughed,  a high, but pleasant sound, “I was going your way any way.”

“Nonetheless,  I am much obliged.” Settling his duffle on his shoulders he placed his black cowboy hat on his head.  Like something from an old west movie, he tipped the front brim of his hat slightly,  “Ma’am.”

Several minutes later Ethan was standing next to a very large crate taller than him located in cargo bay two. He patted the side after reading the glowing display on the side.

“No issues whatsoever Commander,” the cargo bay attendant greeted.  “I have made regular checks and not so much as a power surge.”

Ethan smiled, “Thank you for your diligence Crewman.”

“You are welcome sir.”

He handed him a PADD, “You think you can beam me down to these coordinates?”

The crewman looked at the PADD, the device making several trills and beeps as he l looked it over.  “That shouldn’t be a problem but that’s over two kilometers from the outpost.  Are you sure you want that location?”

“I am,” Ethan responded.  “It’s a mountain overlooking the Outpost and holds the high ground.  I want to get a visual on the lay of the land.  I can look at maps all day long, but you don’t understand what the terrain is like until you are in it.  I don’t know if that knowledge will come in handy, but as they say ‘knowledge is power’.”

The crewman looked at Ethan with a strange look and shrugged, “They say there’s dangerous animals down there.”

“I read the briefing,” Ethan replied.  “That’s why I brought an elephant gun.”

The crewman blinked twice at the Commander like he had just stripped naked and started singing show tunes.  “A what?”

“A very large gun used to kill elephants way back in the day.  I don’t want to have to use it, but as they say, ‘better safe than sorry’.”

“Yes sir. Of course sir. I assume you want your luggage beamed directly to the Outpost?”

“Naw, that comes with me,” Ethan replied as he interacted with the display pad on the crate.  “Okay, we got five minutes.”

Giving up being surprised by the commander the Crewman simply shrugged and went to the transporter control station and a moment later he had beamed the crate to the transporter pad and then beamed it down to the planet.  

With the crate gone Ethan shouldered his heavy bag and stepped onto the pad himself, “Energize.”

Sheo III…

The beam down site sat on the edge of a rocky outcropping on the side of an unnamed mountain.  Below a river cut through the jungle and dropped abruptly in a waterfall that fell several hundred meters to the bottom.  Jungle wasn’t Ethan’s preference.  Too hot.  Too humid, and way too much rain, but he had to admit it was beautiful in its own right.

Turning to the crate Ethan twisted the locking mechanism on the corners and the four sides fell away to reveal a stasis pod with a buckskin colored horse tucked away inside.  Opening the pod he cleared away the obstructions and carefully stacked the bits and pieces.  After several minutes the horse started to stir and with an ungainly lunge he was on his feet with a snort of nostrils and a shake of his massive head.  

“Woah there buddy,” Ethan said cautiously and approached the gelding and grabbed the lead rope. “How are you feeling?” The horse’s ears perked forward at the familiar voice and it took in Ethan’s scent.  Smiling, Ethan ran a hand down his white/yellow neck.  “Well Jake, how did you like your first trip through space?  Don’t remember it? Good.”

Ethan lead the horse to a patch of green grass and picketed him to recover and graze.  Meanwhile Ethan pulled out his saddle, and other gear.  Tagging the stasis chamber he sent it back the Colorado Springs and with a hand phaser he vaporized the crate.

After an hour and a cold lunch he saddled Jake and shoved the enormous elephant gun into the scabbard.  He checked the girth one last time and stepped into the stirrup and swung into the western style saddle.  With a click of the tongue and a soft tap of boot heel to the ribs they headed off down a game trail. 

They were quickly swallowed by the jungle and it was almost chilly in the shadow of the canopy, but the trail was good as it wound its way around trees and other obstacles. Twice Ethan dismounted and used his phaser to cut through fallen trees. 

Fording the river where the water came to his boots they climbed the bank on the other side and pushed through the brush and entered  an opening in the jungle with Outpost Houtman sitting in the center. A parameter fence encircled the encampment. He followed the fence to a gate where he was greeted by a red haired security officer.

“Bloody hell!” The woman exclaimed. “What are you doing you bloody bampot?”

Leaning on the saddle horn he pushed his hat back and squinted up at the at the blue dwarf that served as this planet’s sun, “Just taking the scenic route.”

“Ye could have been killed,” she exclaimed.  “There are wild beasties.”

Ethan shrugged and patted the rifle hanging from his saddle with the butt pointing forward for easy removal,  “We all gotta die sometime, but I came prepared just in case. You must be Lieutenant Donovan.”

The woman nodded, “Aye, I am, and you must be Commander Talon.”

He tipped his hat to her, “Yes ma’am.”

“I have to be honest… this is not the entrance I was expecting from my CO.”

Ethan shrugged with a wry grin, “Ordinarily I wouldn’t either, but being on a planet it presented an opportunity to bring Jake with me, and I was itching for a ride. I haven’t ridden since leaving Terra Alpha.”

Kat shook her head and opened the gate to let him in. 

Ethan rode inside the outpost. The perimeter fence would be perfect for keeping the horse until a stables could be built. There was plenty of grass and Ethan could supplement with grain from the replicator.  Gathering up the reins he slid down and extended a hand, “Pleasure to meet you Ms. Donovan.”

Kat was amused, “Thank you sir.  This is going to be an interesting assignment to be sure.”

It had been a long trip to the outpost with two ship transfers and a long range shuttle. Somewhere between it all Seo Adrea had found a friend in a young ensign that was nervous about her first post. At first they had spoken quietly in little pep talks and Academy highlights. Then there was a great show of pictures on a PaDD detailing the ensign’s travels all over Earth. Somewhere around 0300 the blonde had started to lean and yawn, then quietly fell asleep on Adrea’s shoulder.

The doctor hadn’t moved her, just gently shifted her shoulder to where the woman wouldn’t wake up with a crick in her neck. She turned her head towards the viewport window and watched the stars blaze by silently, guessing at how many inhabited worlds they passed on their way to the outpost. There was only one other overhead light on in the cabin that belonged to to an older man lost in a book, so it was just her and her thoughts and the velvet glide of the engines.This was a new start looming before her. A new world. A place to put down roots perhaps and see what grows. The idea was a little daunting, but leaving a comfort zone was always frightening. Healing hurt, and she was still very much healing from the damage that she’d unwittingly done to herself in her grief. The outpost was exactly the kind of place that she needed to continue working on herself. Learning how to live again. To breathe and taste the moment.

There were people to meet that she’d mend and stitch while she worked on her own heart. Maybe there’d be shared interests and she could talk to them like she had as a child: free of all of the weight of her experiences holding her words captive in her throat. The woman on her shoulder didn’t know the gift that she’d given her by sitting there and sharing her story. It opened a door by being so open that Adrea could reflect off of her and be open, too.

Seo sighed and swept a lock of the ensign’s hair out of her face before taking a deep breath and centering herself. This was an adventure waiting for her. This was a chance that she’d almost blown. Houtman was the first time in a very long time that she could see a future instead of just the next day.

She was ready to make this work.

Ethan sat on a pile of logs. He was wearing a heather grey t-shirt with the UFP logo over the left breast in navy blue and “Starfleet” printed in bold san serif letters on the back across the shoulders. His black cowboy hat was pushed back, and his hands were covered in a pair of well worn leather gloves. Hanging from a nearby post was his standard duty jacket 

“Mornin’,” Ethan greeted over a cup of coffee.  “Gonna be a hot one.”

“Greetings, Sir,” Lieutenant T’Rai said with a curt nod.

“As you may or may not have heard I am Ethan Talon, your new commander. I have perused through Commander Ga’s reports, but I want to hear the situation from all of you directly.  Commander Roberts you want to start?”

Roberts looked at the new Commander, still not sure how to process the past few weeks. She stood up and cleared her throat as she walked to the screen. “We have determined a spot for the base to set and are working on its preliminary construction. We still have many facilities that need built and lot’s of work to be done. If you look at your PADD, Sir. I have provided all the vital information for you to look over.”

Ethan picked up the PADD but, didn’t look it over. “I think having our medical staff working in tents has to be rectified sooner than later. The rest of the settlement is a little too temporary for my tastes. What do we need to do to make this happen?” He asked shaking the PADD in front of him to illustrate the point.

Roberts nodded “The biggest thing is to expedite the work, but we only have so many workers and that is causing some of our issues in the matter, but I will look and see what can be done.”

“That’s aways the rub isn’t it?  I’ll see about getting us some help. How about you Mr. Drasa?”

Saro was dying a little from the heat, even for a Cardassian. The stubborn man refused to take off his jacket, opting instead to suffer with his jacket on instead of daring to reveal the slightest hint of a feminine figure, “We are going as well as we can in this heat. Making it rather unbearable to do some work at times. Even for me.”

“Understood,” Ethan replied not actually understanding and giving Drasa a suspicious look. “Work in shifts, keep hydrated,  and those more vulnerable to the heat let’s try to keep them inside.” He made a mental note to speak with the man privately.  Something was bothering him.

Saro met Ethan’s suspicious look with a steely expression of his own. He clenched his jaw, feeling anger swell up for absolutely no reason other than the look he received. He replied cordially, “I understand, sir. I will make a push for my engineers to get things rolling faster.”

“We need basic and permanent facilities Mr. Drasa, and we need them yesterday. As my Chief Engineer it’s a problem that our medical staff is treating our people in a tent, and the science team is crammed into the command center. We need barracks, and security offices too. I want a planned time-line by the end of the day.  If you need something I’ll pull some strings to make it happen. I have connections to the ASDB, the 414th Engineering Fleet, and several civilian contractors including AlphaTek, and Hamilton Aerospace.   We’ll make this happen.”

Saro’s annoyance only rose at Ethan’s tone. A terse smile crossed his face, his voice calm and level, “I understand, sir. I will get a timeline and structured plan to you promptly.” He pressed his lips tightly together in a thin smile, trying to appear friendly and polite despite his heated temper boiling under the surface.

“Thank you Mr. Drasa.” Ethan leaned forward and refilled his coffee cup from the thermos sitting next to his feet. Replacing the cap he returned it to the grass. “How are the geological surveys for our mining operations going Ms. T’Rai?”

“They are proceeding at an agreeable rate, but I am working to ensure that they proceed faster,” the Vulcan responded. “My Horta compatriot is naturally quite skilled at geological information gathering, and he is currently working with the science teams performing the task to expedite operations.”

“That’s good to hear,” Ethan replied.  “You will have whatever resources you deem necessary to complete this task.  Coordinate with the senior staff for any equipment and personnel you may need.”

Ethan turned to the doctor,  “Well Doctor Seo, I understand you’re new here as well?”

“Yes, sir. It was a long trip in, but well worth the wait,” the slight woman said in a very calm and measured tone. Despite the tiny curls plastered along her brow and neck with sweat, she didn’t seem to complain. After almost a year on Vulcan, she surely wasn’t going to complain about the heat. The humidity, now, was another story.

Nodding, “Well, a medical tent surely isn’t your preferred set up I assume.  We’re working on that. What else do you need or have to report on the medical department?”

Seo leaned forward enough to fold her hands in front of her atop the table before speaking again. “We’re running inventory currently, so I cannot give you a list just yet. I would, however, suggest that because of the heat, all work shifts outside should be monitored for signs of heat exhaustion and provided plenty of fluids with added electrolytes or dextrose depending on the race of the crew. Shifts would feasibly be no more than 2 hours without a 30 minute break to lower the risk of exposure and various UV or heat induced illness. Any dizziness, diarrhea, vomiting, double vision, chills or shaking should be reported immediately for treatment.”

“That sounds reasonable. If it gets too hot we can start our shift earlier and call it a day when it gets its hottest,” Ethan added.

“Department-wise we are still understaffed in relation to the expected crew count by 2 ¼ duty shifts worth of bodies, meaning we are all working double time for the foreseeable future.  Beyond that, we are making use of what we have available and improvising the rest,” the CMO stated with the the same impetus as one casually remarking on the weather. 

Ethan sighed, “Everyone is a little short handed at the moment,  but I don’t want you or your people to burn out.  Try to get away as much as possible.  Have on-call staff that can report at night,  but aren’t technically on duty.”

The CMO nodded formally and said no more.

“Mr. Fuller right?” Ethan started, “What does our incoming traffic look like the week? How is Flight Control Department as a whole?”

“Daniel,” he added with a nod to confirm, sparing a moment to take in the early morning breeze before taking a seat opposite the new CO, “Busy. We’ve got a steady stream of supplies coming in on top of our usual activity. All in all, we’re making good progress.”

Ethan glanced at his watch, “I assume the supplies the Colorado Springs brought have been offloaded and are secured?  When’s our next shipment due in?”

“Yes Sir, I signed off on them before I left. We have additional cargo arriving in three hours, Starfleet is pretty insistent that the outpost is operational as soon as possible.” Daniel confirmed, a hand shielding his eyes from sunlight that somehow managed to pierce the thick canopy above.

“What does our shuttle fleet look like Mr. Ryozo?” Ethan asked over his coffee.

Little surprised to be here and to be asked that question but he didn’t mind getting some free time. His eyes rolled up a bit, shifting back and forth from the upper right to directly up as he was mentally counting what he remembered in the list versus what he’s seen so far. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t leaving anything out and that the numbers were accurate. Once he was certain, he looked directly at the Commander. “We have about a various number of different types of Bees, with some Type 4s, 7s, and 9s,” Ryozo paused as he rechecked his mental notes real quick. “And a scout or a couple Argo’s I believe, as well as a Colony and Science type shuttles.”

“Eventually I would like to take on some exploration missions of this system and surrounding area.  As my Chief Pilot get me a wish list. I have a few connections that can make that happen.  Also I would like an evaluation of all the pilots under you and their capabilities. We’re a little too close for comfort to the Breen and I don’t fully trust the Ferengi so a few fighters for planetary defense might not be a bad idea.”

Ryozo made a mental note of it, ‘exploration’, ‘wish list’, ‘pilot evaluations’. “I’ll see what I can do, sir. I’ll bring it up to Lieutenant Fuller for review first before submitting.”

“I would appreciate that,” Ethan responded. “You two are our lifeline and the projection of Starfleet to this system and to a lessor extent the sector.   You represent my eyes, my supplies,  and are critical to our mission success.”

“Aye, sir!” Ryozo will certainly try to not let that go to his head. Key word, ‘try’.

“Hello Ethan,” Kat said with a sly smile.  “Been a long time lad.”

“Hello Kat,” Ethan replied with a nod of his head.

“Aye well enough of the bloody mushy stuff,” she said with a grin.  “The outpost is secured. The electric fence keeps the wee beasties at bay,  but I dinnae wanna tangle with them that’s for sure. As for other security concerns… none. It’s just us laddie, and we have all been well behaved lads and lasses.”

“Whelp… that will likely be short lived,” Ethan replied.  “Will you be ready when we do start taking on civilians? Miners and freighters are notoriously rowdy.”

“Aye we’ll be ready.”

“Good,” Ethan replied.  “Keep me posted. If you need anything and I mean anything ask.  Okay, folks that about wraps things up. I appreciate you all meeting me here instead of the command center. I got to be honest with you, I prefer the outdoors. Oh, it’s hotter than blazes around here, and these damned uniform jackets are too hot for this weather.  I’m authorizing field uniforms or you can work without the jacket.”

Saro frowned at that little tidbit of news, hoping to keep his uniform and jacket as is. He did not want to shed any layers. He would rather suffer the heat.

The horse’s left front hoof was between  Ethan’s chap covered legs as he flecked off chips of creamy sole into the dirt with a hoof knife.  Slipping the knife into the pocket on the chaps he drew out a hoof rasp and in long sweeping motions he filed the hoof flat and level.

Releasing the hoof he stretched his back. “Hello, Mr. Drasa,” he greeted.  “I reckon whatever is bothering you isn’t something you want publicly discussed and unfortunately the command center is anything but private.”

Saro watched for a long moment in curious fascination as he saw the man work on the creature’s foot. He heard tales of humans riding such creatures for centuries. It looked horribly uncomfortable to him. He didn’t quite understand it. The Cardassian lifted his brow ridges and inclined his head slightly once, “It is a very private affair indeed. It is not something I wished to be aired so…publicly.”

“Well, it’s just me an’ Jake, and I figure he isn’t gonna tell anyone on account that he’s a horse.” He rummaged around in a box sitting on the back of a anti-grav skiff and pulled out a horse shoe.  Taking it to the anvil he laid over the horn and gave it several heavy blows from the hammer.  At the back of the anvil he placed the heel of the shoe into the cams and bent them inward on both sides.  “Are you disfigured or something?  Is that why you continue to wear full uniform in this heat?”  Checking the level of the shoe on the flat top part of the anvil he struck it several times to work out the kinks.

Saro eyed the animal, as if suspicious of it. His brow ridges shot upwards and his eyes widened at Ethan’s very direct, and very blunt question. It took him a solid minute to process it.

Saro cleared his throat and folded his arms over his chest as he spoke, “I… Well, in my mind, yes, I suppose I view it that way. I am not actually, though.” He scowled and looked away, “I was born a daughter, a woman, sir. My body still resembles that. I am fully a man in the Federation, I am just… self conscious.” He loathed admitting that. He viewed it as weak.

Whatever it was that he was expecting that wasn’t it.  Hiding his surprise he test fitted the shoe to the hoof and returned to the anvil to make minor changes. Grabbing some nails from the skiff he lifted Jake’s hoof again holding it between his knees.  As he hammered and bent over each nail he thought about what to say.  With three nails in each side Ethan let the hoof down.

“Well, Mr. Drasa I can’t say I understand fully having never dealt with that. I do believe there are maculanization surgeries to correct that. The Doc can probably help you.  If you are not comfortable with that my sister is the Chief Medical Officer aboard the USS Mercy. She served with me  when I was in SFI, and she knows how to keep a secret.”

Saro watched with idle curiosity as Ethan fastened a piece of metal to the creature’s foot. He frowned and nodded slowly, “I need to make arrangements with medical. I held off in case I took a husband who wants kids. I am too old for that. I am married to my work. I have no preferences, as long as they know what they are doing.”

Ethan had the hoof propped up on the hoof stand as he used a pair of side cutters to clip off the nail ends and tossed them into the nearby tool box. “Well, I can’t speak for the Doc here.   Never needed their services,  but as for my sister,” he started. He reached for the nail clinchers and finished clinching the nail flush and tight into the hoof wall. “My sister on the other hand can practically perform surgery in the dirt with disruptor beams flying over her head.  Thankfully our ops usually didn’t end up going sideways like that, but when they did it was bad.” Ethan took up the rasp from the tool box and finished cleaning up the hoof around the shoe sending bits of hoof like shredded coconut falling around his feet.

Setting the hoof down again he stretched his back, “I’m missing my cousin now. David used to shoe most of the ranch horses. As for you Mr. Drasa, you are a man to me regardless of what you have going on under your shirt.  Doesn’t make a lick of difference to me. As far as kids… well there’s more than one way to have children.  My mom isn’t my mom.  Well, not biologically.   I was about eight or nine when she married my father.  Rebecca Talon has always been my mom. You want a family Mr. Drasa you make it happen. Screw the career. I don’t regret my kids or my wife.”

Saro nodded slowly as he listened. He emitted a sigh, “I will look into each doctor and reach out to the one I feel appropriate, sir…” 

He furrowed as he regarded Ethan’s words, “Thank you, sir… That… means a lot to me.” He admitted, “I worked hard to be perceived as such.” He sighed and shrugged helplessly, “It is… hard to explain sir. It is an old Cardassian mindset. Carry on the family. We are very family orientated.”

“You don’t need to,” Ethan responded as he moved to a back foot. “There are plenty of human cultures that feel that way about having a family.”  With the hind hoof forward propped on the hoof stand Ethan started filing the nails off the old shoe with an old rasp. “What’s important is to do what’s right for you.  Transitioning is step one.  What’s step two for you?”

Saro looked perplexed at the question, “I don’t really know, sir. I never fully made it past step one.”

Ethan chuckled as he peeled off the old shoe with a long handled tool and tossed it to the side while he cleaned up the sole and trimmed the frog with his hoof knife. “More to life than transitioning Mr. Drasa.  Don’t make that your only identity.”  He dished out the sole and with the nippers he clipped off the hoof wall and then took a rasp to level the hoof. “Well, Mr. Drasa keep that in mind. I’ll be seeing you.”