Arrival

Posted on Tue Apr 25th, 2023 @ 6:54pm by Lieutenant Steven Edgeware & Captain Charlotte Rhodes

1,427 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: Runner
Location: Captains Ready Room
Timeline: MD 4: 0800 Hours

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-McNab residents Ballybrack, Ireland, Earth-

Things had not gone well. At first when Steven returned home to Ballybrack. His mother had been pleased to see him. After his first day home it all started. First she nagged him about when he was going to open his late father’s surgery. Then a string of eligible young ladies started being invited to dinner. Finally after just a week Steven had enough and told her. That he was giving up medicine and moving to science.

At first the silent treatment lasted for a few days. But then she went into a full blown rage. That was so bad Steven thought she would have a seizure. He packed his things and moved into a friends house. Word soon spread across Ballybrack so Steven quickly applied for a new posting. Before his mothers female friends banded together and chased him out of town waving burning torches.

As luck would have it his new posting came through. He was to be Chief Science Officer on the USS Defiant. So he said his goodbyes. Sent a farewell letter to his mother which he knew was a waste of time. She would recognize his writing and rip it up. Then he left to catch a shuttle to rendezvous with his new posting.

-Captains Ready Room-

Soon Steven had come aboard shown his transfer papers and was guided to see his new Captain.

As the man took position at the door to the Ready Room, Captain Rhodes walked up behind him, coffee mug in hand. "Ah, you beat me up here. I lost track of time down in Engineering," Rhodes said, extending a hand. "Captain Charlotte Rhodes. It's a pleasure to have you aboard, Lieutenant."

“ Well I wanted to start as I mean to go on. Punctuality is always a good thing when your on a new posting. Thank you ma’am Lieutenant Steven Edgware at your service. My I must say from what I have seen so far. You have a fine ship here indeed. I can’t wait to see her science lab.” Steven replied shaking the Captains hand.

"Science Labs," the Captain corrected cheerfully. "Trust me, if you've never been on a Constitution-class, you're in for a treat. You're going to be like a kid in a candy store. Speaking of which, we can go into my Ready Room if you want. But would you rather have our talk while on a tour?"

“ Well Captain I know it’s a little cheeky of me. But could we talk while we have a tour of your fine vessel. You see I did not have enough time to read up on the Defiant. Had to leave Ballybrack rather quickly before my mother set her personal army of friends on me. She was never to happy about my joining Starfleet. So when I told her not only was I returning to service after the Harmony Bay mining colony incident. But I was giving up Medical for Science she kind of went berserk.” Steven replied.

Charlotte cocked a bit of a smile, though a bittersweet one. "Oddly enough, I can relate. My father and I never saw eye to eye on my decision to join Starfleet. Of course, my father and I really never saw eye to eye on much of anything, including. say...the rule of law. Which is why I ultimately ended up literally trading weapons fire with him a few years ago. But that's a story for another time," she said with a chuckle, leading him toward the turbo lift. As the two entered, she grabbed the control lever, more a formality at this point than a necessity. "Deck 7."

As the lift shot down the tube, she turned to her science chief. The lift only gave her a moment though, as the doors opened even as she began her sentence. "So, Defiant as you know is a Constitution Class vessel. She's benefitted from a lot of the improvements brought with the 1701-A, so she has a number of engineering and tactical improvements. But she also has an entire suite of science labs. Astrophysics, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Astronomy, you name it. We either have a fully dedicated suite or a modular bay in the Secondary Hull that can be quickly converted into one. There's a fairly substantial science staff you're inheriting here," she continued, leading them across one of the Circulation Lobby bridges toward the Science Labs. The voices of officers traveling to and from various parts of the ship on the decks around them filled the lobby with a welcoming but not overwhelming level of ambient noise. Starfleet had long since determined the right level of noise cancellation to make the space feel populated but not crowded.

Steven wished he had more than one set of eyes. He knew the Constitution class had been updated since the loss of the Enterprise to Krall. But he never in his wildest dreams expected it to be on this level. He felt like dropping to his knees and kissing the floor. Not something one should do when your new CO is giving you a tour.

“My oh my Captain this ship is amazing absolutely amazing.” Was all Steven could say as he was to emotional.

Charlotte turned, giving an understanding smile and nod as she read his expression. "Believe me, I'm still getting used to a lot of it myself. I spent the the last few years on a Walker-class that, as much as I loved her, was way overdue for decommission. So, it is a bit of shock coming to Defiant. Any specific facility of interest?"

Steven tried to hide his excitement. He really wanted to see the new sickbay.

“If it’s not too much trouble could we see sickbay please.” He asked.

"Sickbay it is," Rhodes replied, leading them around a corner and down a brief rounded corridor. The doors slid open revealing the gleaming white chamber inside. The two story complex was capable of housing a sizable number of sick or wounded, with the ability to isolate them into different wings should the need arise. "I believe our current CMO, Doctor Nugo, is around somewhere. He's a very interesting man. The first Kelpian I've personally met and just the right amount peculiar. Bigger than your last ship I'd assume?"

“ Oh yes. I used to be the assistant chief medical officer. Until the Harmony bay incident. The sickbay we had was really too small for the crew numbers we had. That’s why we……we……. Sorry Captain. My, this is incredible.” Steven said changing the subject.

Captain Rhodes made a personal note to get more informed on the Harmony Bay situation. Clearly, her science officer had been deeply affected by it, and it’d help to know how best to handle that topic. The last thing she wanted to do was blindly bring up something traumatic. She leaned against a nearby bio bed. “I’ll make sure you and Mr. Nugo meat each other. In the meantime, any questions you have for me?”

“Actually yes Captain. Do we have a separate Quarantine or is each Department expected to set up their own. The reason I ask is if say the science department where to bring up a sample say a plant. Would it have to go through a separate quarantine or are we expected to have one in place?” Steven asked.

The Captain nodded as she listened. It was a good question. "Different procedures depending on how a contaminant might have come aboard. If it came up via the transporter, there's a decent chance the system would catch and filter it on its own. Shuttlebay has a scan in procedure as well. That said, probably a good idea to set up an internal process for the Science division. I'd say Medical could assist, but you're fairly trained up on it yourself."

“Yes. As my dear old Uncle Jonathan used to say it is always best to be safe then sorry. Mind you Captain if he had followed his own advice he would not of ended up spending five months in Starfleet Medical quarantine.” Steven said

"Physician, heal thyself," Charlotte replied a knowing nod. "If you develop any recommendations, definitely let me know."

“ Thank you ma’am” Steven said

"Well, I imagine you have a bit of settling in you'd like to do, so I'll leave you to it. Make yourself at home and keep me posted on anything you need," the Captain said. "And Mr. Edgeware? Welcome to the Defiant."

 

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