Reporting In

Posted on Sat Jun 26th, 2021 @ 4:53am by Lieutenant Avery Paxton III & Commodore Samantha York

1,197 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Eye of the Storm
Location: Captain's Ready Room

ON

Avery took just a couple of minutes to stack the three small containers that held her belongings in a corner of her newly assigned quarters. She set a singular family photo on her desk in the room. Perhaps she would unpack later and make the space more personable. Then again, maybe not. With all of the transfers and moves she had endured from childhood into her own career within Starfleet, Avery had learned not to put too much effort into personalizing her space. Plus, if she was honest, she'd spend most of her time in engineering. It had always felt more like home than her quarters anyway.

A quick glance at the time confirmed that she had better head to the Commodore's office. Avery double checked her uniform in the mirror, ensuring there were no wrinkles, the pips were placed properly, and everything else about her conformed to regulation. 'How you present yourself, is how people view you and you never get a second chance at a first impression.' The saying that her Marine father had ingrained in her mind rang out as she made the final adjustments to her attire and slipped out into the hallway.

After a walk through the many corridors of the new vessel and a short hop onto the turbolift, Avery arrived at the bridge. She had grown up on ships, yet somehow each new vessel was fascinating and she took a moment to marvel at her new home as she walked towards the ready room door. She did a final tug to straighten her uniform jacket and pressed the chime.

Samantha York was going over the data from the planet and the Remen facility, looking for anything that would give them answers. When the door chimed she stood. "Come in," she said, walking around her desk.

As the doors open, Avery walked in and strolled to where the Commodore stood. "Lieutenant Avery Paxton the third reporting as ordered." She stated plainly, but with a sense of confidence.

"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant," Sam said. "Have a seat. Can I offer you a drink?"

"A glass of water would be great, thanks," Avery replied with a smile as she sat in the chair closest to where she was standing. Her fingers twitched slightly as she waited for her drink and whatever questions the Commodore might see fit to throw her way.

Sam replicated a water for the new engineer and a lemonade for herself. She handed one to the other woman, then took a seat. "Tell me about your last posting."

"I served as the assistant chief on the Lexington for the past five years," Avery smiled for a moment as the recent memories surfaced. She had enjoyed her time there and the people she served with. "We were assigned to a wide variety of missions over my five years. Humanitarian relief, conflict resolution, and a few that landed us in combat situations." She took a small sip of water before continuing. "But we had a great crew and a good ship that served us well through each one. From what I've seen so far of the Calypso, I'm guessing that I can expect the same here."

"I like to think so. We've got a good crew and they're generallyl good about helping each other." Sam smiled. "I hope you like hugs."

Avery chuckled and hoped she was joking. She wasn't a very touchy-feely type and hugs tended to be outside of her comfort zone, with some limited exceptions for those she was very close with. "Is there anything else I should know about the crew? Or the ship? I know the technical specs, at least from an engineering perspective. Warp capable, obviously, with a cruise speed of warp six, max warp 9.6, but has been known to get to 9.9 in cases of emergencies. Warp coils for this class typically run with an efficiency of 88% at speeds of up to warp 7 and 52% through warp 9.1..." she paused, holding herself back. Engineering was one of those slippery slope topics that Avery tended to get carried away with relatively quickly. "Anyway, anything else I should know?"

"About the ship? No," Sam said. "But we are dealing with a colony in need of repairs. They've been affected by ion storms. I just sent a team down to set up replicators They might need help getting power restored, but that will have to wait until we stop the storms." She took a sip of her drink. "Is there anything you need for Engineering?"

"Not that I can think of," Avery tilted her head in thought for a moment, cataloging what she knew of the new post. "I've reviewed the personnel listing for the department and everything seems to be in order. I haven't seen any reports indicating any serious malfunctions yet either so I think we're in good shape."

"It is. Engineering tries to keep on top of things. They're looking forward to your arrival," Sam said. "The doctor and counselor are on the planet right now. You can meet with them when they return to the ship. In the meantime, get settled and familiarize yourself with your new department. I plan on sending you down to the planet with the next team. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."

"Understood," Avery nodded and stood from her chair. "If there's nothing else?" She inquired with one foot already angeled towards the doors, eager to get her day started in engineering.

"Two things." She smiled at Paxton's eagerness to leave. "First, you should find the relevant information on the colony in the ship's computer. See if you can find a way to upgrade their power system so they can withstand the storms. And second..." She paused. "Be aware that the counselor likes to hug people. Forewarned is forearmed."

"Upgrade the power system and avoid the counselor. Got it." She chuckled slightly as she was only half joking. Avery was a big fan of personal bubbles and hate being poked, prodded, scanned, or touched. For the most part anyway. Over the years she had become pretty adept at avoiding the entire medical department.

"Any idea of when the storms will stop and the next team will go down?" Avery asked, curious as to how much time she'd have to research the best power system solution.

"From what we've found so far, this storm has lasted several weeks. It's either created or exacerbated by artificial means." Although they were still looking into exactly how that was done. "You should have a couple of hours." Her eyes twinkled with humor. "Not a lot of time, I know, but the repairs should be relatively routine."

"Well, there's not a lot of time to waste then. I'll start formulating ideas and be ready to join the next team. Permission to be dismissed?" Avery asked with an excited smile. She wasn't getting a lot of time to settle in before hitting the ground, but in some ways, she preferred it that way. Diving straight into a mission was a welcomed challenge.

Sam nodded. "Granted. Welcome aboard."

____
OFF

Lieutenant Avery Paxton III
Chief Engineering Office
USS Calypso

&

Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso

 

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