Atala, part II
Posted on Wed Oct 4th, 2023 @ 5:47pm by Lieutenant Naota & Ensign Davna & Ensign Delia Sil
954 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission: Pressure
The muted hum of the ship’s computer trilling in the background.
The feel of artificial gravity.
The ever-so-slightly hospital antiseptic quality of the recycled and scrubbed air.
He hadn’t realized that he’d missed the feeling of home until he’d transported aboard. Then internally kicked himself for it. He didn’t want a ship to feel like home. He didn’t want to feel as though he belonged here. Right here.
The bridge of a Federation starship.
The child’s shoulders sagged as he gave a quiet sigh. The tawny-haired Maori had changed into an outfit that was most unbecoming for a boy his age. All black, with red shoulders and piping. A black turtleneck was visible through the rounded collar of the tunic, with a pair of silver pips nestled against one side of the boy’s neck.
Summer vacation was over.
School was back in session.
He’d never even heard of the Meridian-class until a few minutes ago, the boy moving from the status display along the back wall to the tactical console as he played catch-up with trying to understand the ship or its capabilities.
In a perfect world, he’d have a week shadowing the Maintenance Officer before he was thrust into the position he was now.
All things not being equal, this had just become a learn-as-you-go endeavor. “Ops,” the boy uttered aloud, his clipped, New Zealand accent making itself known as he addressed the woman at the station there.
He didn’t know her name. He didn’t know any of their names. So, he paused there, and asked, “Ensign..?”
"Davna, Sir." The aforementioned Orion had made a point to assign herself to this shakedown. Before his disappearance, Luka had signed off on Naota's paperwork before truly reading up on the Only. So, instead of giving the Captain more to worry about, Davna took it upon herself to make sure she had a way of making sure this one was not going to run off into the sunset. Even if it meant she had to ply him with... whatever it was Onlies liked. Candy? Chocolate? Puppies? Toys? Naota was such a different person from Jai, she was positive the two had different interests.
“Ensign Davna,” Naota echoed from the tactical station, hoping to commit the detail to memory. “Do you have a status report from engineering?”
Davna hit a button, eyeing the helpful report. "Engineering should be coming online now, Sir."
Before he’d even thought about it, Naota had crossed halfway from the tactical console to the helm.
He had an arm outstretched, hovering awkwardly in midair as though he’d been about to tap the ensign at the controls on the shoulder and relieve her.
He tried to play it off as he pulled the arm back, taking a step off to one side. Closer to the captain’s chair. “Helm...” the boy began, wincing as he heard himself start to give the command.
Bloody hell. He didn’t want to give the orders. He wanted to fly the ship.
“...impulse at one-quarter power,” Naota ordered, finishing the command and then steeling himself as he forced himself to take a spectator seat and watch as someone else did his job.
"Aye, sir," Delia replied, fingers dancing across the console. Patrol wasn't exactly glamorous duty, but she found herself smiling as the ship responded - a Meridian class was a nice change from flying shuttles, which had been most of what she'd been doing since arriving on Haumea.
Naota sat forward in the seat, so his feet reached the floor. His arms gripped the sides of the arm rest, so not to fidget with the restlessness he felt. “Thank you, Ensign..?” the boy began, trailing off as he waited for a name.
"Ensign Sil, sir." She made an extra effort to be sure and include the 'sir', mostly to keep herself mindful that he was the CO here, despite looking like an earther version of one of her cousin's kids.
He’d have to start learning these. Would there be a test later? Oh, wait, this was the test, wasn’t it? “Ensign Sil, move us into a geosynchronous orbit over the colony and hold there,” Naota stated, before he turned his attention back over to Ops. “Davna, raise shields. Maintain yellow alert. We’ve got a skeletal crew, so plan for a two-shift rotation.”
Twelve hour shifts. Just what everyone looked forward to. “We can reorganize into a three shift rotation if we get the extra bodies from the colony. Otherwise...” the boy began, his head bopping from side to side as he could hear the lieutenants who’d said the same thing during the war. Replacements rarely came. Still, he wasn’t going to kill anyone’s hope. “...it’s going to be a long one.”
Delia stifled a chuckle at the world-weariness coming from the kid-like LT. "Flight hours, sir. I'll take them however I can get them," she replied brightly.
"I don't think we'll be getting those extra bodies anyways," Davna chimed in. "They need all the help they can get ground side right now." She tried not to be antsy about the situation. Be in the present and the now, and worry about everything else later. "But I do know there's at least one body who can operate the replicators and get us some snacks if we get hungry."
"Let's just hope the matter stores are stocked," the boy remarked, still fidgeting as he tried to settle into the chair.
He loved being on the bridge of a starship.
...the chair just wasn't where he wanted to be.
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