First time ship bound
Posted on Fri Feb 2nd, 2024 @ 10:38pm by Lieutenant Zhi'rev & Senior Chief Petty Officer Sethan MD & Captain Zseeq
1,058 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
Short Treks
Location: Ready room
It had been a while since he had set foot on a starship, as crew anyway. The last several years he had spent at the academy, teaching the new best and brightest of the future. But this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up when the offer had passed his desk.
Husband in tow, Zhi approached the door to the Ready Room and pressed his palm to the chime. "Let's hope he's in to begin with," he told the Vulcan male next to him. "Otherwise we'll go see your new boss and come back later."
"Patience," Sethan smiled, "you really need to learn some patience."
"Says the always impatient one," Zhi smirked, "something about a pot and a kettle?" He glanced back at the door, hoping it would open.
Having met with the Chief Medical Officer only a short while ago, Captain Zseeq was sitting trying to articulate his log. The Saratoga was nearing departure and he was ready to get moving. Every moment that they spent at Spacedock was a reminder to him, a reminder of what had just happened aboard the Saratoga at Frontier Day. He was hopeful, hopeful that going back into space would take away those thoughts.
Hearing the chime, the Captain sighed and looked at the door, "Yes?"
Upon hearing a voice inside, Zhi stepped forward to trigger the door sensor. He stepped inside, Sethan close on his heels as he moved until he reached a desk. "Lieutenant Zhi'rev and Senior Chief Sethan reporting for duty. Sir," he announced.
The younger of the pair smiled at the man behind the desk. "I'm Sethan," he clarified somewhat unnecessarily as the rank on his collar was already pretty indicative. "Though I prefer doctor, sir," he added.
Zhi leaned forward to offer the captain a PADD with their transfer orders. "I am assigned as your science chief," he stated, a hint of excitement in his voice.
The Deltan Captain glanced down at the datapad for a moment before picking it up. Starfleet Command had, initially, notified him that the Saratoga would be picking up its Science Chief at Deep Space 12 upon their arrival in the Maelstrom. This was just another surprise out of many so far in his tenure aboard the Saratoga.
"Welcome aboard," the Captain replied to the duo as he tapped the approve command on the PADD. He slid it back across toward the Chief Science Officer, "How are you finding the Saratoga so far?"
"We just arrived," Zhi answered with a smile. "We dropped the girls off at daycare and came straight here. We haven't even seen our quarters yet. We do intend to report to sickbay shortly. Sethan needs to meet his boss and obviously we need our boarding physical. If I am not immediately needed on the bridge perhaps I can...roam the ship a little?" He arched a single eyebrow in question at the man.
The Captain nodded, "Please. Feel free." He hadn't really thought much about the number of children aboard the Saratoga. Initially, when he was assigned as first officer, the plan was that families would not be permitted to reside aboard. He planned to continue that, and then Starfleet Command pointed out his own son would be just as restricted from visitation and it looked 'selfish' if he let him aboard.
"We will be preparing to travel to the Maelstrom later today. I just have a few additional items to attend to before we leave dock."
"If there's anything you need me to look at before we do, let me know," Zhi offered, "I will report to the bridge when you are ready to leave space dock.'
Sethan had said nothing so far, but he had been studying the Deltan. "How many families are there in board?" He asked curiously. "Do you have a family with you?" There hasn't been a great many children present in the daycare area, but perhaps they'd just been early?
The Captain addressed Sethan's question first. Looking at the Petty Officer, the Captain answered, "Not many, actually. Saratoga was originally planned not to have families aboard due to the... nature of the Maelstrom Sector. I've served there previously and while exploration isn't exactly safe, the Maelstrom is even worse. The entire region is plagued by high levels of ambient radiation - nearly three times what we'd expect, dangerous subspace rifts, quantum destabilization, and even temporal disturbances."
"It's dangerous," he took on a more sympathetic tone than he'd planned to as he turned his gaze toward the Science Officer, "I recommend reviewing the database entries on the Maelstrom before we get there."
"Of course captain. And I have no doubt we will be able to keep our family safe." It was a small but necessary lie even though he knew he'd protect them with his life if he had to. Zhi gave a small nod of confirmation. "It should be interesting then," he added, "many scientific discoveries to be made, I am certain of that."
Sethan swallowed once at that prospect. "Perhaps we should go to sickbay now, and see if they can do anything about the radiation and... children."
"Doctor D'BrooNi-Haistro has reported in and I'm certain she'd be happy to meet with you," Zseeq added. "I just received notice that our supply of Hyronalin has arrived aboard and she is probably there cataloging it now." Hyronalin was the primary drug used to counter the effects of radiation poisoning. It was a necessary evil for all ships operating in the Maelstrom to have enhanced supplies compared to similarly appointed Starfleet vessels.
"Then we should," Sethan suggested anxiously.
"We have time," Zhi soothed, "we're not even out of space dock yet. Calm yourself Sethan, there's nothing to be worried about." He drew a comforting arm around his visibly distressed husband. "With your permission captain?" He queried politely. It wouldn't do to leave without being properly dismissed.
"Carry on," Zseeq approved with a nod.
Zhi gave a nod of gratitude. "Thank you sir," he says he pulled his husband out of the office. "You need to get a grip Sethan, I know you worry but if it was so unsafe, we would never have been allowed to take our girls on board. Now, we should get our quarters sorted, or we'll be camping in the arboretum tonight."
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