Join Me
Posted on Sun Jul 19th, 2026 @ 9:36pm by Captain Connor Nolan & Commander Erris Sudis
2,310 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission:
Preamble
Location: Verath (Southern Hemisphere), Bajor,
The shuttle journey from Deep Space Nine had been entirely uneventful. As it dropped from impulse and into the planet’s orbit, Nolan flicked the controls from autopilot to manual. He ran a quick scan to determine his flight path and tipped the shuttle toward the atmosphere.
Bajor, as ever, was beautiful. The green-blue marble was reminiscent of Earth: vast, lush continents surrounded by even larger oceans of electric-blue water. The vibrant hues of the planet were broken up only by the sandy-toned equatorial deserts that ringed the world.
As the shuttle continued its descent, the communications system chirped with an incoming message.
“Shuttle Three Seven, this is Bajoran Flight Control. Adjust your heading mark four six. You’ve been cleared for sub-atmospheric flight.”
“Acknowledged, Bajoran Flight Control. Coming to heading mark four six and throttling back for surface transit.” Nolan spoke as he tapped the console, sliding the touch-sensitive throttle control back to its minimum setting.
“Safe flight, Three Seven,” the controller responded before closing the channel.
Ahead, through the cockpit windows, Nolan could see a vast weather system churning with torrential rain. This region of Bajor’s ecosystem was one of the few known for its naturally tropical climate.
As the shuttle reached the edge of the storm front, heavy globules of water splattered across the canopy in uneven bursts. Almost instantly, the onboard computer projected an augmented-reality overlay across the cockpit glass, replacing the diminishing visual range with sensor telemetry and navigational markers as the shuttle pushed deeper into the downpour.
Nolan pushed the shuttle downward, breaking through the cloud level and toward an area of the planet surface that look idyllic and unaffected by the rainstorm. He set an arching decent towards his destination, a small rural settlement in the middle of the lush countryside.
The Sudis' family home was on the outskirts of Verath. The Sudis' home was modest, made of abodo-style brick with an open feel. There are several other buildings outside of the main house attached by covered walkways featuring a garden, Perin's metalweaving workshop, and Anara's shrine, where, when she wasn't at the temple in Verath, she could counsel and provide pastoral care.
Their adoptive son Erris sat cross-legged in the garden with his elbows on his knees while he meditated and sought guidance from the Prophets. His adoptive mother Anara had taught him early in life that he could seek their guidance anywhere. He used this tool he developed at a young age throughout his lifetime in Starfleet.
His father Perin, watched on from the raised patio of his workshop as he held a small pipe in one of his hands while he brought it to his lips. He looked up and saw a Starfleet shuttlecraft fly overhead. Erris remained deep in meditation while Perin rose to his feet and dusted off his knees.
Anara had foresight that a man from Starfleet would arrive and stood near the clearing of the most logical area where it would land safely. They were here to see Erris. Erris may not have been her biological son, but she knew that the war had changed him not for the worst but had deepened his faith.
The shuttle glided down into a small, well-kept field just south of the property. As it settled onto the grass, the downdraft from its atmospheric engines flattened the surrounding vegetation in rippling waves before the engines wound down into silence.
Within moment, the hatch at the year of the shuttle popped with a hiss as it began to fold outwards and towards the ground, creating an access ramp. Nolan jogged down it and cross the remainder of the field towards a female figure, who he presumed was there to meet him.
"Goodday!" he shouted as he approached, "I'm sorry to interrupt your day and turn up unannounced."
Anara met the Starfleet Officer halfway from the shuttlecraft and shook her head in disagreement, "The Prophets expected your arrival, Nolan Connor."
"Uh, well, I hope they won't have spoiled the surprise, Ma'am. And please, just call me Connor." he ignored the fact that the woman who greeted him already knew his name. "Is this the homestead of Sudis?"
They walked back through a break in the field's perimeter towards the main building of the house. The wind had now picked up a little, blowing with a sustained breeze in their general direction of travel. Nolan looked back over his shoulder towards the shuttle and noticed that the rainstorm he'd flown through moments earlier was now bearing down on the village.
"Yes, the Sudis' are this way, I can lead you there." A poncho covered Anara's religious garments while a smile came across her aging face. "What business does Nolan Connor have with the Sudis'?"
Sudis Perin brushed off his knees, the dust had now turned into thin mud due to the torrential downpour. The kava plants would flourish with this rain. He was not a farmer, but he did study the farmer's almanac to speak with the locals of Verath down at the hamlet's sole tavern.
"I'll go prepare some tea and coffee for our expected guest," he said outloud to himself while he made his way to the door to their home.
"Sudis Erris, second in command, first in the prophets’ plan — what am I?" The voice said in his head.
"Executive Officer," he responded while his eyes opened. His trousers were soaked and muddied by rain and earth. The rainwater glistened against his chest, revealing various scars and injuries he had sustained in his lifetime. His legs shifted, and he rose to his feet.
"I'm just here to see an old ... friend, to catch up." He answered as they made their way through the paths back to the dwelling. Their conversation continued with idle chat about how Nolan knew Erris and their brief time together at a previous posting.
"I promise not to take up too much of your time," he assured his chaperone of his intention to be as quick as possible. They made their way into the inner sanctums of the property.
"Of course," Anara offered the captain a smile and gestured down the brick pedestrian path into the Sudis' family compound, "Follow the brick path. Sudis Erris awaits."
Erris had made his way from the garden to the brick pathway that led to the main entrance of their home. He spotted the familiar face of Connor Nolan as he made his way and waved to his colleague. Erris stepped off the front porch and made his way to meet the Captain halfway, "Connor Nolan. The fourth pip weighs heavily upon you."
Nolan unconsciously reached up to his collar and twiddle the new shiny fourth pip. He was still getting used to it, and without knowing Erris had nailed his current mental state almost immediately. The fourth pip did feel like a weight around him. It was an accolade that Nolan was not sure he had entirely earned, yet alone to then be placed in Command of Galaxy Class ship. As his hand dropped back to his side, he gave Erris his best possible smile.
"How are you keeping Sudz?" he asked jovially, "You're sounding a bit more Vulcan than I remember."
"I think you've paid me the fairest compliment with that comment since our pupil days at the Academy," Erris continued, "yet you continue to call me by that juvenile nickname that 'stuck' during our Academy days."
"Well, I have a proposition for you." Nolan said, "... actually, thats not entirely accurate. I wouldn't say it's a proposition."
"As much as I love our continuous banter I've never been one for small talk," Erris turned around and headed into the open doorframe into his childhood home, "please join my family and I over tea."
Erris led him into the family room where his father had kneeled down on his tea at a redwood-adjacent coffee table with his metal-weaving. One of his father's earliest pieces when he relocated to Verath, "This is my father Perin."
The robed woman that met Connor at his shuttlecraft walked down the joining corridor opposite of them.
"The two of you have already been acquainted but this is my mother but something tells me she didn't properly introduce herself," Erris commented. "She's a cleric and has cryptic ways of dealing with things."
"It runs in the family," Nolan retorted as he followed Erris into the family room.
Anara threw her son a towel, "Greetings and welcome to our home, Captain of Starfleet. There's much the two of you need to discuss. Perin, join me in the kitchen."
Erris caught the towel his mother threw towards him and began to dry the rain off his torso and then wrapped it around his muddied trousers and sat down. His hand gestured to the pillow that his father had sat in. A spot for guests. The cushion itself was made of the finest Bajoran velvets and silks. It had been repaired over time by his metal weaver father.
Erris waited for Connor to join him before saying another word.
"Shall I cut to the chase, or should I ease you into my proposition? Rip the band aid off, " he mimed the action against his arm, "or ...uhh.." he couldn't think of another idiom, "you get the picture. Your call friend."
Nolan genuinely wondered how Erris would take the news that he was about to be recalled to active service. From what Nolan had read in his service record implied that Sudis Erris had not fought his demotion back to Commander and had actually requested to be on the inactive list. The Captain couldn't really tell how much of what was in his soon to be Executive Officer's file was accurate or written to spare the man embarrassment.
Sudis remained silent and reserved. He already knew his answer and had foresight that's why his oldest friend had came to visit him. The first visitor he ever had to his home he shared with his adoptive parents on Bajor.
"Well?" Nolan asked.
Sudis nodded his head in agreement, "Yes, I'll be your Number One."
"Wait, what?" Nolan looked genuinely shocked at the response, "Uh, first, how did you know already? and second... what, no resistance?"
"You'll receive no resistance from me," Sudis rose a finger upward with a smirk across his facial features. "Besides, this is more fun." His finger dropped back down onto his knee while he continued. "During my meditation in the garden the prophets spoke to me that I should accept this posting. You'll need me on the other side of the Celestial Temple."
"I had a whole spiel, a lecture on how you really need to be out there exploring the galaxy, not hiding away. I even had the 'you're being recalled' ultimatium planned." Nolan let out a slightly annoyed sigh, "and here all I had to do was turn up and the let the Prophets do their thing."
"I've been given Command of the USS Venture - " Nolan paused to measure a reaction from his new Executive Officer, " - I know, I was shocked too. But apparently, suitable Captain's are thin on the ground right now. We're being tasked with fronting the Federation's presence on the other side of the wormhole."
"You're selling yourself short." Sudis stated before continuing further, "As someone who previously sat in the same chair chair, I am not envious of you in the slightest."
“I’ll be glad of your advice and counsel. But I also need someone I can trust to disagree with me. That’s why I want you, and not Emmie.”
The admission felt faintly disloyal.
Emmie Radi had served beside Nolan throughout the war. In combat, they had learned to read each other so precisely that words often became unnecessary. A glance across a bridge, a pause over an order, the slightest change in tone—each could tell what the other was thinking. Under pressure, they operated less like two officers than parts of the same nervous system.
She was courageous, experienced and probably the person Nolan trusted most. His closest confidante. His best friend. Perhaps something more than that, though he rarely allowed himself to name it. That was exactly why he could not make her his executive officer.
An XO had to challenge the captain without hesitation and judge every decision on its merits. Emmie knew him too well, and he cared for her too deeply. Sooner or later, one of them would be asked to choose between duty and the other—and Nolan could not be certain either of them would remain objective when it mattered.
"I know, and I will." Sudis had no familiarity about Nolan's second choice for the Venture's XO. He nodded knowing that his friend had made a tough choice. He had been in similar position when he handpicked his crew for the Threshold, "Radi Emmie is fortunate that you made the hard choice, Connor."
"Hmmmm..." Nolan mused in response, taking a few seconds to think before continuing. His recent 'visit' from Radi, while enrolee to the Venture had only reinforced his choice. "Well, I'm sure you'll meet her in the future and understand why. Anyway, back to you my friend."
Nolan rose from his seated position and flatten his uniform tunic with a tug at its edges. "The Venture is docked at Deep Space Nine. I'd like you to report for duty in 48 hours. Is that manageable Commander?"
"He will be there tonight," Anara interjected herself into their conversation from the other room. Anara walked into the room with Perin following behind. "The three of us know that Erris here doesn't like to linger."
Connor nodded to Anara's response, "Erris?" he asked, "If so, I'll send a shuttle for you at 1900hrs."
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