All Aboard!

Posted on Sat May 6th, 2023 @ 12:35am by Ensign Bek'a ir Az & Captain Aven LaCroix

1,667 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: House of The Dying Sun
Location: SB-84 --> USS Eclipse
Timeline: Onboarding

[Starbase-84]

Bek'a wiped her forehead with her sleeve. That bomb sure made a mess. She'd overhead several rumors but she didn't put much stock into that. It was enough for her right now to make the place safe enough to investigate, and for them to start the cleanup afterwards.

Hanging off a side stanchion by her tail she scrunched it down a bit more securely and swung herself over to the next junction. She grabbed it with one hand and tossed the roll of cable that stretched back over her shoulder, over the large conduit with the other. That look a good bit of load off and she relaxed just a pinch as she tucked a turn of the cable around the junction point and secured a loop.

She reminded herself not to hurry, haste makes a sloppy job, and a sloppy job gets species killed in space! No pressure that she was due to report to her new duty assignment... like... NOW! She exhaled after a deep breath and hoped she wouldn't be late, and if she was, that this was an acceptable reason for it. Wouldn't be the great first impression she was hoping to make!

Now that she was better focused she reached to her waist for the eng-tool, the multi-tool that no respecting engineer in the field would be caught without! Opening up the cable was easy enough with the right tool, and incredibly difficult without, so this was easy. Terminating the right circuits according to the assignments on her forearm PADD was clear enough and she TDR'd 'em to prove to herself it was clean all the way back to the panel she'd started from.

Letting go she swung in a lazy arc back the way she'd come. As she did so she heard a sharp intake of breath below and and realized she had an audience. One that probably thought for a couple of seconds that she'd slipped and was falling. She reached over to the rungs that were still intact on the wall and released the hold she had with her tail, bringing it around and over her shoulder so it wouldn't get in the way.

Looking down as she descended she saw a human with his hand on his face, shaking his head back and forth. The Ensign had been busy with other recovery duties and she hadn't realized he was back or she would've gave him a heads-up... but done is done and she was done.

"Lt Borkin, you should be able to run power and analytics now, which will make that side of the platform much more stable, and warn you if anything changes during your investigation and cleanup. It's a mess, everywhere! The other side is dead and should be safe but never assume, check each junction to be sure, alright?"

He chuckled lightly. "Thanks. We would've gotten to it but not for a while. I appreciate the assist. This will definitely speed up the initial findings. We may have the perpetrator in custody but the Commodore loves to be thorough, therefore the crew loves to be thorough! The crew of the Eclipse seems to have lent a hand across the board on this one. My thanks again and to your crew-mates."

Goodbyes exchanged, Bek'a double-timed it out of the remains and took a second to get her bearings and head for the ramp. The personnel access should be the next level up. As she moved that way she checked her PADD, just in case anything had changed. That happens sometimes when a bomb goes off... The route she saw wasn't possible as the walkway adjacent to the site had buckled and was off-limits. She re-mapped an alternate route and resumed her double-time pace.

Feeling fortunate she'd had her things transported over already, she was glad she wasn't lugging things along, not that she had very much from the Academy, but she likely would have lost any or all of it in the last hour. As she rounded the terminal she headed for the lock, pausing to be verified.


[USS Eclipse at dock]

"You might think about straightening up a bit before reporting in Ensign."

Bek'a hadn't really examined herself on purpose, nothing really she could do about it until she found her quarters, plus her spare uniform. She hadn't studied that particular detail of the ship yet, as to where and who could use the replicators. So quarters, then refresher, then clean uniform, then find the CO or XO on this boat and try not to smile... too much...

"Thanks. That was on my mind. Got a little sidetracked for a bit there."

With a nod at each other, she made a controlled dash with her new quarters assignment and let the arrow on the PADD direct her. Another fortunate benefit of a smaller ship, not far to go to get anywhere.

The cleanup and change didn't take long, fortunately her seabag had already made it. She was headed out into the corridor and queried, "Location of CO or XO."

-/\- "CO is in his ready room. No XO available." -/\-

'Hmmm,' she thought as she shifted gears to hit the turbolift and head for the sky, or the bridge anyway. She'd originally thought the Captain was a descendent of the famed Aven LaCroix, but nope... He was, is, the actual, defacto Captain Aven LaCroix. This assignment just got better and better!!

She thought she'd been excited on the ride up the lift, but once the doors slid to the sides, she was almost stunned... The Bridge... Holy Moly!!! Her eyes roamed left and right, trying to take it all in. The doors slid shut just as she realized she hadn't moved. 'Smooth move Bek'a. No one knows you're a noob now...'

She gestured to open the doors again and sheepishly made her way along the edge to the ready room door. Everyone seemed to be absorbed with whatever it was they were doing, so maybe her little snerf escaped anyone's notice. As she squared up on the door and keyed the chime, she caught a muffled snort somewhere across the bridge and knew twas not to be so.

Brushing up on his Klingon politics, history, and cultural studies, Aven had very little time and a lot to prepare for. So much had happened in such a short burst. An explosion on the starbase, the summoning to the Klingon homeworld, and to do so without a First Officer. The chime had alerted Aven that someone was coming to meet with with. There would be a lot of that without a First Officer. That much was certain.

"Come," called out the Captain. He was eagerly awaiting to meet the remainder of his crew, and this would be a great opportunity to do so. When the doorway parted, standing in the threshold was the individual. "Ensign, please make yourself comfortable" he said gesturing to a seat in front of his desk.

Bek'a couldn't suppress her eyes widening... the ready room... THE READY ROOM!! And there, sitting like any other common person, the CAPTAIN... and not just any captain, but one with a storied history in the fleet! The 'come' part of the greeting loomed in her brain and she realized she wasn't moving... 'hey feet, let's get a move on!' she thought, promptly slipping in to stand at his desk. THE CAPTAIN's DESK! She was doing her best not to smile one of her crazy smiles, most human species with good dental were taken aback by her rather feral-looking smile, so she worked to keep that under control most of the time. This captain though, what he must have seen in his lifetime... maybe...

The second command from the Captain arose in her brain and she carefully sat in the chair next to her, pulling her feet up in front of her, cross-legged in the seat. The close-lipped smile still threatening to erupt at any moment. She almost quivered with the excitement, her thoughts going in a number of directions... the ready room, the mission, the starship, the missions, the Captain... that sobering thought focused her attention and she fixed her eyes on the man in front of her.


Aven took in the ensign's actions, that wide-eyed look, all the excitement and curiosity. Ah to be young again he thought with a warm and widening smile. Yes, to be young again would indeed be nice, to be able to experience things the way the ensign undoubtedly was. It would have been like falling in love for the first time all over again. Everything so new and the galaxy much more vibrant and optimistic. Not that Aven was a pessimist, but realism had cast a haze upon his outlook. "You look like a kid in a candy store, ensign. Hold onto that as long as you can."

Bek'a wasn't sure what bore out in her expression, though the excitement still felt overwhelming over any confusion. She would undoubtedly play it back in her head, over and over in her personal logs. "Yes Sir!" She replied, her smile cracking wide, and the giggle stifled, for now.

"Good," Aven replied. "This ship is going to need someone with that level of enthusiasm and intrigue about them. That is especially true in the case of Engineering, ensign. We're going to need someone specializing in damage control response. Do you feel that would be a suitable fit for you?"

Bek'a nodded her head emphatically, leaning forward. "Yes sir... I can do it... I can fix it, I'll hold her together! You can count on me!"


[Engineering, USS Eclipse]

Bek'a was curled up in the seat, examining the list of scans and any analysis pending that she could review. She wondered who the new CEO was and hoped he would see her as an exemplary crew member!!! She almost giggled but maintained her professional posture, her grin threatening to grow beyond the widths of her cheeks...

 

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