1x05 - Goodbye Starbase 23

Posted on Fri Mar 13th, 2026 @ 8:37pm by Lt Commander Vannon Dacour & Lieutenant Thea Goldfrapp

2,606 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: The Forgotten Outpost
Location: Starbase 23
Timeline: 2401-09-05, 18:15

Summary: After finishing her shift at Starbase 23, Dr. Tabitha Vale is pulled back for one last urgent case in the brig, where she treats an intoxicated and injured man before finally retiring from her assignment. She is then met by Lieutenant Commander Vannon Dacour and Lieutenant Thea Goldfrapp, her new colleagues who have arrived to take her to her next assignment. After a brief, chaotic encounter on the docking ring, the three board their runabout, the Yiridi, all equally uncertain about their mysterious new mission but ready to leave the disorder of Starbase 23 behind.

= Starbase 23 - Medical Offices =

Tabitha switched off her screen with a flourish that left her right hand in the air. She smiled as the logo disappeared into blackness and leaned back in her chair, causing it to creak ominously as it always did.

Finished, she thought happily, turning and tilting her head so she could reach the band that kept her hair in place during working hours. She tugged at it, frowning momentarily until it freed a cascade of thick brown hair curling in waves to settle either side of her face, over her shoulders and across her back.

Rarely had she felt so pleased to meet the end of a shift, and the thought of there being no more to come brought a smile to her face as she leaned back further and looked up at the cracked and stained ceiling.

Her peace was shattered by the three-toned, ear-piercing bleep of her pager.

Too late, she thought, sitting upright to answer it.

“Vale,” she said briskly as she pushed the connect button, “and I’m very sorry, but I no longer work here.”

“Urgent case, Lieutenant. Someone in custody in the Brig needs attention immediately.”

“Well… as I’ve explained—”

“He’s been there for a while, Lieutenant.” A pause on both sides. “He’s in a bad way, apparently.”

Tabitha closed her eyes, knowing she was going to see the patient regardless of what she said.

“How long is ‘a while’?” she asked.

“A little over twelve hours.”

“What?!” Tabitha sat bolt upright, her eyes wide open. “Twelve hours? As in hours, not minutes?”

“‘Fraid so,” replied the voice. “Lieutenant Hask’s orders.”

Tabitha sighed. “I’m on my way.”

= Starbase 23 - Brig, Holding Cell 7A =

The Brig was exactly as she remembered it—dim, cold, and smelling faintly of recycled air and regret. The ensign at the security desk jumped to his feet when she entered, his expression a mix of relief and guilt.

“I’m here to see the patient?” Tabitha informed him.

“Err… yes, Lieutenant. He’s right there—” He rounded the desk eagerly, leading the way across the short distance.

Tabitha followed, her medkit in her right hand, watching as he fumbled with the forcefield controls. It fizzled out on the third attempt.

“Thank you,” she said, stepping inside—and stopped at the sight of her patient.

Drunk, she thought. Only intoxication results in something like this.

Tabitha set her case on the end of the bench and opened it. “My name is Vale. What happened exactly?”

The man on the bench—clothes rumpled, eye swollen, reeking of something a lot stronger than synthale—blinked up at her with bleary confusion. He started to speak, but his words slurred into incoherence.

“I see. Just sit back for me, that’s fine.” She slowly took readings, confirming her first thought.

Glancing toward the ensign, she asked, “Was anyone else brought to the Brig?” A fight took at least two, after all.

He shook his head.

“I can show you the security footage,” the ensign offered, gesturing at the desk.

“In a moment. I need to treat him first… thank you.”

Her tricorder showed no signs of concussion, which seemed odd given the battering he’d taken. She treated the swollen eye and the bruises, including his hand, which had apparently dealt as good as it got.

“How much did you drink?” she asked.

He mumbled something about a “Trill-inspired” drink and a Klingon.

“That wasn’t very wise, was it?” she asked. “Drinking an unknown amount of something you don’t know?” She gave a short shake of her head.

The ensign chimed in, muttering about “previous incidents,” but Tabitha ignored him.

“I’m here to treat a patient,” she replied. “Not to make judgments on people’s behavior.” She turned back to the man on the bench. “How does that feel?” she asked, indicating his blackened eye.

He grunted something that might have been gratitude.

“Good. Right… well…” She looked at the ensign. “I’d like the Lieutenant to stay here for the night, just to rest until his… condition eases. That’s okay with you?”

She turned back to the man—a trader of some sort who’d clearly made poor choices, but that wasn’t her problem. Not after today.

“Is that clear? You rest for a while. Someone will come and check on you in the morning, okay?”

He started to protest, but she’d already loaded a hypospray.

“Agreed?” she asked, giving a slight smile.

He sighed and nodded.

Her smile grew. “Good. Now… I’m going to give you a slight sedative, just to relax you. I want you to sleep soundly for a few hours and wake up fresh as a daisy, okay?”

It took less than a minute.

“Right. Someone will check on you in the morning… and more blankets, please,” she added to the ensign. “I bid you both goodnight.”

She fastened her case, pushed her hair back, and headed toward the door, retired at last.

= Runabout Yiridi - Approaching Starbase 23 =

The runabout glided along its approach vector, stars streaking past as Starbase 23 resolved from a glimmer into a hulking lattice of aging modules and flickering docking lights. The station clung to orbit around Arunae II like a relic that had stubbornly refused to be forgotten, its patchwork hull plating and jury-rigged systems a testament to decades of makeshift repairs.

Inside the cockpit, Lieutenant Commander Vannon Dacour adjusted their trajectory with practiced ease, his dark eyes scanning the telemetry feed.

"Do you remember the time we tried docking with a power relay sticking out the bottom of the nacelle?" he asked, the corner of his mouth curling into a mischievous grin.

Behind him, Lieutenant Thea Goldfrapp didn't look up from her console. "You mean the time you insisted we could 'thread the gap' through an asteroid field and clipped an experimental beacon instead?"

"Solar winds," Vannon countered smoothly. "Micrometeoroids. Cosmic sabotage."

"Mmm." Thea's tone was drier than a Vulcan desert. "And the beacon's log entry about 'reckless piloting' was... a fabrication?"

"Biased instrumentation. Romulan tech never could handle Federation ingenuity."

That earned a quiet snort from Thea, though a slight smile formed on her lips. A beat passed before she spoke again. "Feels strange. Heading into something new without the Moonraker."

"Careful, someone might accuse you of being sentimental," Vannon teased, but his fingers stilled briefly on the controls as his tone became earnest. "But yes… it does. That ship was home longer than I expected." After serving nine years on the USS Moonraker, starting over was harder than he would want to admit.

Thea exhaled, tapping a command into her console. "Still don't even know what we're walking into. Langford's appointment was official two days ago, but half the command structure's still in flux."

"You, me, and a medical officer from this charming station," Vannon replied, eyeing the chaotic traffic signals as they neared final approach. "Lieutenant Vale. Her husband was on the Horus, I believe."

He didn't elaborate. He didn't need to. Thea's shoulders tightened almost imperceptibly at the name; yet another casualty of Frontier Day.

"I read her file," she said after a moment. "Lost her husband in the attack. Jacobs vouched for her."

Vannon nodded once. "That's good enough for me." He paused for a moment, then frowned. "When were you in touch with Jacobs? Actually, nevermind," he added on second thought. Knowing Thea, she'd already run background checks on every person who might possibly be on their upcoming assignment and could recite their database entries from memory.

= Starbase 23 - Docking Ring C, Berth 9 =

The docking clamps engaged with a heavy thunk, followed by the whir of atmospheric equalization. As the hatch slid open, the station's signature scent announced itself immediately: burnt coffee, recycled air from the last century, and the faint metallic tang of overtaxed plasma conduits. The overhead lights flickered twice before steadying.

Vannon grimaced. "Smells like a Ferengi bargain bin and an overworked warp core had a child."

Thea smirked, stepping onto the deck. "Welcome to Serenity."

The nickname was bitterly ironic. Around them, the docking ring thrummed with barely-contained chaos: vendors hawking questionable goods, engineers arguing over clearance codes, a harried Bolian medic chasing a rogue medical drone that recited legal statutes as it fled.

Vannon was still coming to terms with his surroundings when Thea said, "There she is." He looked in the same direction and there, amidst the disorder, stood Tabitha Vale.

She had been standing there for a while watching with interest a small grey haired man with piercing blue eyes selling reasonably pretty necklaces, rings and bracelets.

He was setting up a foldable bench as she arrived, covered it with a pale blue cloth then set out an assortment of jewellery.

His method of sale consisted mainly of asking any of the appealing,beautiful, lovely, charming, graceful or pretty young women who passed by (and all fell into one of these categories) if they would like to try on a ring, necklace, bracelet because he couldn't help but notice that he had something that was perfect for them. About 75% slowed to look his way which more or less sealed their fate because then his flattery was in full flow and almost all bought something.

Sales were even faster if there was a partner involved for they could hardly disagree that the young lady was ‘not’ appealing, beautiful, lovely, charming, graceful or pretty and mention of romance worked like magic.

Without a partner present the prices of the jewellery was, so he told the customers, slashed to production costs because he would be more than satisfied to know such an appealing,beautiful, lovely,charming.graceful or pretty young woman wore one of his creations.

A partner paid the full asking price and occasionally could be encouraged into purchasing a matching ring.

His latest customer was walking away when he suddenly began to sweep his goods into the battered case from which they had come and following his line of sight, Tabitha saw a frowning Security Officer striding towards him.

This will be interesting, she thought when she heard her own name spoken.

Vannon approached first, his voice warm but measured. "Lieutenant Vale? Commander Vannon Dacour," he introduced himself, offering a polite smile and extending a hand in greeting. "This is Lieutenant Thea Goldfrapp. We're your ride to Starbase 417."

She smiled at the pair, shaking the offered hand and offering her own to Thea.

“Commander…Lieutenant…a pleasure to meet you,” she said, pleased to see them both, recognizing them from the StarFleet Personnel database.

Vannon's grip was firm but not overbearing as he shook Tabitha's hand. "The pleasure's ours," he said, his dark eyes scanning the chaotic docking ring-slash-trade promenade with mild fascination. "Though I'll admit, this isn't quite what I expected from a place called 'Serenity.'"

The jewelry vendor's eyes darted between Vannon's command-red uniform and Thea's no-nonsense posture as his wares disappeared into their case with increased speed.

"Ah! Officers!" he called out, his voice suddenly an octave higher. "My permits are absolutely in order, I assure you! Just packing up early for... inventory purposes!" He fumbled with a necklace that slipped through his fingers, sending fake emerald beads scattering across the deck plating.

Thea blinked. "We're not—"

But the man was already backing away, nearly tripping over his own foldable bench. "No need for inspections today, honored protectors of Federation commerce! I was just leaving!" With a final nervous bow, he vanished into the crowd, leaving behind a single silver bracelet glinting on the deck.

Vannon stared after him, then looked down at his own uniform. "Do I look like security to you?"

"Worse... Command," Thea replied dryly.

Tabitha couldn't help but chuckle. “He was doing so well too.” she told them staring into the throng “it was a learning curve for me.” She smiled at them as she turned back.

Vannon bent to pick up the abandoned bracelet, turning it over in his fingers. He offered it to Tabitha. "Souvenir of your last day here?"

She looked at the shining piece then at the figure in front of her.

“It might well turn my wrist green.” she said, tilted her head a little as though considering the chances then thanked him.

"We've got clearance for departure whenever you're ready," Thea said, gesturing toward the series of docking ports behind them beyond which was their waiting runabout. "Any luggage we need to arrange for?"

“It should already be there… thank you.” Tabitha replied. "I checked the schedules and ports so had it sent down. It's 15C.” she added realizing they probably already knew that.

Vannon followed her gaze toward docking port 15C, where two substantial travel cases stood neatly stacked beside a cargo loader. "Ah, excellent thinking," he said with an approving nod. "Always better to let automated systems handle the heavy lifting."

Thea was already tapping commands into her padd. "I'll have the loader bring them aboard to Berth 9." She glanced up at Tabitha with a hint of curiosity. "You travel prepared, Lieutenant. I appreciate that."

Tabitha tilted her head a little as she replied. "Thank you. I prefer to be organised than not."

"Either you're very thorough, or you know something we don't about our destination." He glanced meaningfully at Thea. "Our orders have been remarkably light on details."

"Not everyone's style is flying by the seat of their pants," Thea quipped at Vannon with a slight smile.

“Unfortunately I know very little.” Tabitha replied “ In fact I was hoping you would fill in the yawning gaps.” She smiled a little. “I heard rumours that it's …” she paused for a moment”... near as nothing to derelict. Not that that's really likely but I thought it might be wise to take a few things, after all, nothing will be wasted long term.”

Thea's expression remained neutral as she finished the transport command. "Starfleet enjoys its mysteries. We know we're headed to Starbase 417 first. Beyond that, we're as informed as you are." She gestured toward the runabout's open hatch at Berth 9. "Shall we? The Yiridi should be considerably more... predictable than this place."

Vannon chuckled, offering Tabitha an easy shrug. "At least we know the runabout's replicator works. Mostly." He motioned toward the hatch where warm light and the quiet hum of a waiting ship offered a stark contrast to the chaos of Starbase 23.

She moved forward towards the ramp but paused at the entrance to take a last look back. Her eyes scanned the scene of what could only be termed as mayhem. She realized that in a way she would miss the place, the noise, the smell, the commotion and turmoil but… well, not that much and with a smile turned back to enter the runabout, her fingers clutching the silver bracelet Vannon had given her.

= END =

 

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