Act 3: The Tianlong

Posted on Monday March 23rd, 2026 @ 4:32am by Fleet Admiral Domingo Martinez & Lieutenant Commander Alexander Mitchell

1,248 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: VFY S1, E3: The Tianlong Incident
Location: Port Royale CO's Ready Room
Timeline: March 24, 2397, 0800 Hrs

He tugged again at the collar of his duty uniform, hoping to loosen it just a little but with no success. Xander hated the standard issue duty uniform. It was always too tight around the neck and he felt like it was trying to suffocate him. One of the perks of being a pilot was the ability to wear a flight suit most of the time he was one duty. However, he felt that his first meeting with the CO called for the less comfortable duty uniform.

Martinez' reputation had not exactly proceeded him, at least Xander had heard very little of the man and his service record was more of a dry recitation of his career history and achievements than an insight into the man himself. As a result Xander was flying blind on this one. He reached out and pressed the door chime.

"Enter." Domingo called out. He was looking out the window. He was noticing the new carrier parked outside. She was a beaut to look at, he slowly turned around and noticed that Commander Mitchell was heading for his desk. A by the book officer, Domingo said to himself. He stood behind his chair, but did not take a seat.

The pilot strode into the room, came to a stop before the CO's desk, snapped to attention and announced, "Lieutenant Commander Mitchell, reporting as ordered."

"What do you think of the Tianglong?" Domingo asked with a grin on his face. He waited to hear the response from his new CAG. Domingo liked the overall design of the vessel. He hoped the CAG did too. He would be spending a lot of time on the ship.

Still standing at attention, Xander was caught off guard by the question and it showed. "Um," he quickly recovered and took in the sight of the ship behind the CO. "It's a fine looking ship, sir."

"Glad to hear that Commander, you're going to spend a lot of time on her, as my CAG. Please have a seat commander and relax." Domingo said, as he walked over to the window, and then pointed at the USS Tianlong. "Starfleet just dropped her off at my doorstep. Was not really sure what to do with her. I am being promoted they feel we need a carrier, I need to know you can preform CAG duties here on the station and on the USS Tianlong?" Domingo asked as he waited for Commander Mitchell to respond.

Xander paused as he moved towards the seat. When he did finally finish taking a seat, he did so slowly. Splitting his CAG duties between the station and the Tianlong would mean relying more heavily on his Wing Commanders. While he'd only met them the once, he had reviewed their service jackets. He was confident that they would be up to the task. "I believe I could handle that, sir."

"Have you been briefed on the rising threat of the area, and why Starfleet wants a heavy presence in this area?" Domingo asked, wondering if he was advised of the True Way Alliance and the Cardassian Government civil war. Along with the rise of the New Maquis, the Federation needed a strong show of arms in the area.

Last night had been a late one as Xander read various briefings regarding the situation in this region. "Yes sir. I spent last night familiarising myself with the situation out here."

"Sorry I was not able to meet up with you with yesterday, I hope Lieutenant Taylor got you settled into your new residency?" Domingo asked, hoping that Avril meet him, and escorted him. Domingo did feel bad, he had to many meetings on his calendar. And today showed no signs of slowing down.

The CAG could completely understand the demands on the CO's time. "I understand, sir. And the Lieutenant was able to escort me to my quarters." A thought struck him in that moment and he wasn't sure why it hadn't occurred to him sooner. "Sir, who will I be reporting to onboard the Tianlong?"

"I'll get back to you on that Commander. As of this moment, she has no command staff, and Starfleet had to hire some colorful third party sourcing company to bring her over here with our new Fleet Strategic Operations Officer." Domingo said, hoping some of that made sense. Domingo was trying to make sense, of this who fiasco.

Xander had heard of the incident the previous afternoon with the delivery of the Tianlong but he still couldn't quite believe it. He also couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that Starfleet couldn't have found skeleton crew to see the carrier safely to Port Royale. "Understood, sir. The Tianlong may not have a crew but she'll have a Tactical Aerospace Wing onboard soon enough."

"There is four galaxy class starships coming in today, with most of your pilots. And a lot of secondary personal. The next week or so, is going to be busy and chaotic. Welcome to opening week of a starbase." Domingo said with a smile on his face. "Starfleet is in a hurry to protect this station, and to show our strong arm. How fast can you get a unit patrolling the sector?" Domingo asked, trying to get down to business.

Ever since his meeting with his Wing Commanders the previous evening, Xander had been making plans to establish a Combat Air Patrol in the system. Once the rest of his pilots were in place it would be easy to get fighters in the air but turning the 714th Tactical Aerospace Group into an effective fighting unit would take time. "I can have a CAP in the air by this time tomorrow." He told the CO with confidence.

"Happy to hear that Commander, the residence of this station will feel a little safer knowing we have a front line of screen, to any possible incursion. I am hopeful the station will not see any combat, but we should always be prepared." Domingo said, as he finally sat down in his chair, and pulled up a tactical map. A holographic display appeared from his table. "We have a few blind spots, right now I have federation ships sweeping that area as the approach, but the closer we get to being fully staff, the less ships that will come in." Said Domingo, as he pointed to a couple of sensor echo blind spots. He also had tactical displays of of the solar system, and were he wanted potential flight paths for the fighter deployments.

Xander studied the sensor readings silently for a moment before reassuring the CO, "My Wing Commanders and I will do our best to establish an effective CAP in the system."

Domingo liked his answer, short and to the point. "I know you will Commander, do you have any questions for me?" Domingo asked, giving the floor for Alexander to ask a question. This was not entirely a debriefing. It was a change for them to get to know one another.

Sensing the meeting was drawing to a close, Xander stood. "No, sir. If there's nothing else, I'll return to my duties."

"Very well Commander, you are dismissed." Domingo said as he watched his CAG leave. Deep in his own thoughts, he was wondering who can he get, to command the Tianlong?

---

Commodore Domingo Martinez
Task Force 99 Commanding Officer
Port Royale Station Commanding Officer
USS Tianjin Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Commander Alexander Mitchell
Port Royale, Commander Air Group

 

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