Reporting In

Posted on Mon Jul 22nd, 2024 @ 4:31am by Captain María Zavala & Lieutenant M'Raw
Edited on on Wed Jul 24th, 2024 @ 1:46am

910 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 1.01 - "Ad Astra"
Location: Ready Room, USS Carina
Timeline: Day 01, 1520 hours

ON: [[Ready Room, USS Carina, Day 01, 1520 hours]]

The turbolift doors opened up to deposit M'Raw onto the back of the bridge. Moving carefully through the various personnel working on the ship's final preparations prior to leaving the starbase, he made his way to the ready room doors, though not without a couple of glances at the tactical station - his station now, not just the station he would be temporarily manning if no one else in the department was available.

Arriving at the appropriate doors, he pressed the door chime and waited for the bid to enter. The doors then opened, and M'Raw stepped inside. Facing the officer inside, he said, "Captain Zavala, Lt. M'Raw reporting for duty."

Zavala turned from where she had been looking out the viewport. With all the rush of arriving, making contact with T'Laris, and catching up on messages, she'd needed a moment to pause and take a breath. Unfortunately, the view wasn't offering much. Under normal flight operations, she might have found herself looking out on another world (or, at least, the vast reaches of starry space). Here, all she could see here was a view of her own ship's hull and the adjacent walls of station's interior.

The sound of the lieutenant's voice did perk her up a bit. Insofar as it was an intrusion on her time, it was a welcome one. There were going to be a lot of new faces to learn, and any opportunity to chip away at that list in a more manageable setting was...appreciated.

"Lieutenant," she said, motioning for him to sit.

M'Raw sat down a bit hesitantly in the indicated chair. This was his first time meeting with a CO as a department head, and he wasn't really sure what to expect.

"You've come a long ways," Zavala continued, taking her own seat behind her desk as she spoke, "I do hope your journey went well."

"It went fairly quietly," M'Raw said. "Fortunately, one of the Curiosity-class ships, the Magellan, was headed out this way from Earth already, so it was just a matter of hitching a ride. Their chief engineer and I attended the Academy together, so making the arrangements wasn't too difficult."

Zavala couldn't help but smile. As large as Starfleet was, it seemed that nearly everyone she knew had some connection like what the lieutenant described (herself, included). The fact that those connections could withstand the rigors of such distance and time, and still bear fruit, were one of the things that gave her hope. "Well, I'm glad you were able to get in touch with your friend," she said, "and that they were kind enough to deliver you safely. It would have been a bit out of our way, had we had to swing past Sol system..."

"Yes, while I can't say I'm really surprised by getting another ship assignment at this point, I was a bit surprised that it was to help crew a ship finishing up a major refit that wasn't all that close to Sector 001. But, fortunately, things worked out, and here I am ready to get to work Anything I should be aware of right now, or should I expect the usual for a ship getting a largely new crew?"

"As far as I know, things have been relatively quiet," Zavala replied, "Granted, I've not been here that long, myself, but I trust the reports I've been getting from Lieutenant Commander T'Laris. I suspect the biggest concern in these next few days is going to be managing folks, returning or new, coming aboard and settling in. That, and making sure everything is squared away for our mission."

M'Raw nodded. "Sounds like what I figured to expect. One of my old Academy instructors talked about how we should get used to the idea of encountering 'organized chaos' under certain circumstances, and this would, I think, certainly qualify as such. I shall make sure to touch bases with the ship's quartermaster to ensure both the assignment of quarters and appropriate placement of supplies goes well. I have no doubt that they are handling the job quite well, but with all that is going on, even the best-laid plans tend to have occasional things slip through the cracks, and I'm sure an extra set of hands or two, properly offered, would be appreciated."

"Oh, I'm sure they will," Zavala agreed, pleased to see the lieutenant taking such initiative, "And if you need anything, do say something. I expect a certain amount of self-sufficiency from my staff, but the truth is...we're all in this together. We succeed (and we struggle) together. So, if you come across anything that concerns you (or any places where you think we could be doing things a little more effectively) in terms of ship's safety and security, I hope you will let me or our new first officer know about it."

"I certainly will, Captain," M'Raw replied with a smile. "If there is nothing else, then I shall be attending to my duties."

"Of course," Zavala said, rising to her feet to see the lieutenant off. She reached across the desk with one hand, offering it openly to M'Raw. "It was a pleasure to meet you, lieutenant," she continued as they shook, "I do look forward to our working together."

"And I look forward to working with you as well, Captain," M'Raw said.

OFF

 

RSS Feed