All of Our Necessities

Posted on 13 Aug 2018 @ 6:51pm by Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater
Edited on on 13 Aug 2018 @ 7:05pm

2,120 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Starfleet Academy
Timeline: MD 103

ON:

Ullswater's hair was still rough with that dusty red sand of Mars. Only just returned from supervising (herding) a bunch of 1st year cadets on the Martian Geology Field Trip the urgency in the tone of Commander Poln'rean message to her had made her think that doing anything but walking straight from the runabout to the commander's office might not be in her best interests.

Her face dropped significantly upon hearing Poln'rean's first words to her.

"Did you not have time to clean yourself up after the trip ensign?" Poln'rean was grinning.

Other than the momentary dropping of the face Ullswater recovered quickly and threw back a grin of her own to the seated commander "I apologise sir, the word 'urgent' had me worrying that Earth might be suffering some sort of geological disaster."

Poln'rean chuckled a bit, it seemed calculated, not too much chuckle as to break the flow of conversation "As far as I'm aware the ground we stand on is just as granitic and just as cretaceous as when you left." She nodded to Ullswater and gestured to the seat at the other side of her desk. "Stand easy ensign, and feel free to sit down."

Brushing herself down a bit beforehand Ullswater gratefully took the seat opposite the commander. The two of them had become quite close over the past couple of years what with Poln'rean being the geology instructor for Starfleet Academy's Sciences Department and Ullswater being possibly her favourite student.

"The reason I asked you here," as she was speaking the commander made a gesture to one of the cups of tea on her desk which Ullswater accepted with a now long time familiarity "Is because I just heard about something you might be interested in as an assignment."

Ullswater's shoulder's drooped a bit at the thought of getting assigned somewhere. She's been putting the thought out of her mind for months now. She enjoyed too much talking with the other cadets and staff about interesting aspects of geology - as a science officer on a ship she'd probably be stuck doing scans of strange things in floating endlessly through space. About as far from Earth Sciences as is imaginable.

Poln'rean knew this of course already as Ullswater often confided in her and had met many other cadets with similar views. "But don't worry," the commander said preemptively "I know you were feeling slightly anxious about the idea of joining a crew as a science generalist but this is something different."

She handed Ullswater a PADD which Ullswater duly thumbed through: a science ship being put together in the shipyards at Rigel II. "I served with her captain and I think I could put in a good reference for you. Thing is of course, since its a science ship there will be quite a few other science officers on it. Sure you'll still be a generalist - that's how Starfleet works, throw down a scan here, analyse some goo there - but I think they'll be happy to have your specialist knowledge too."

Ullswater felt conflicted for a moment - it sounded good but the idea of leaving the Academy after all this time was not something she yet felt great about. "Thank you sir," she smiled diplomatically "I think this could be an interesting proposition."

"You'll have to go somewhere sooner or later," Poln'rean continued, knowing well the difference between Ullswater's genuine and diplomatic smiles "You're an ensign now, ensign."

Ullswater sighed "You are right of course commander. I'm sure this'll be great I'm just a bit..." she paused.

"Nervous?" asked Poln'rean.

"Just a bit." Ullswater grinned and visibly relaxed.

"Well you shouldn't be." Poln'rean leaned back in her chair and raised her cup to her mouth supping some of the tea. "Your examination results have been fantastic across the board and in the sciences especially. I'm sure there are innumerate ships in the fleet that would take you over most of the other junior officer candidates."

"You flatter me sir." Ullswater responded quickly, wanting to move the topic as quickly away from self indulgent congratulations as possible. "I didn't score all too well on my astrophysics though. What if I get stuck scanning a nebula for a year?"

Poln'rean sighed and took a long slurp of her tea before sitting back up again and looking Ullswater directly in the eye. "When I was just an Ensign like you I served on the Mackenzie, a big chunky Nebula class Star ship and we spent 5 months on a deep space mission back in '83. I didn't even set foot on a planet in that time, but that doesn't mean I didn't make myself useful. At one point we encountered a binary star system. At first we though it was normal then we realised one of the stars was generating some inexplicable patterns in its corona."

She pointed to an image of a star which was framed on the wall of her office. "It was that one. Now a geologists job normally deals with solids. But as our astronomers were getting more and more bemused with the movements within the convection zone the CSO asked me to take a look at it." Poln'rean wistfully leaned back in her chair again.

The pause dragged on.

Ullswater scrambled for what it might mean. Did the commander want her to guess what had caused the disturbances? Was this some sort of test? Or was it just Poln'rean being absent minded, facetious or otherwise perverse. Not wanting the silence to drag out for any longer Ullswater threw out a question as cheerfully as she could manage. "So what was the issue in the end?"

Poln'rean sighed as if to signify that Ullswater had completely missed the point of the story. "Transferable skills ensign. Its all about the transferable skills." She gestured with some vague waves in the air. "If you can analyse the currents in the Earth's mantle you have the tools in you head to also analyse any other sort of convection based system - stars included."

Ullswater nodded. She now understood what her teacher had meant and found herself slightly annoyed that she had missed it. "I suppose that makes sense..." She paused, pondering the implications. Maybe life on a science ship might not be too bad. There would be other people to bounce ideas off of and every mission should bring new and unexpected developments. It would be different from a normal science officers work, something better perhaps. "So you say you were friends of the captain? You think you could get me a assignment there?"

"Well," Poln'rean waved her hand about dismissively. "We served on the same ship for some time. If not friends we were at least aware of each other." She wistfully remembered those old days on that ship. "Really I didn't know Captain Saalm that well at all, being in different departments and all, but we were both junior officers so our paths crossed a couple of times."

This wasn't at all reassuring to Ullswater. She'd assumed that the commander meant that they were old friends and this was a sure fire thing. Maybe that's not the way things work in Starfleet though? Maybe being acquaintances is just enough. She hid her insecurity by large gulp of the tea. It was still quite warm but she'd needed the moment to put her contented face back on and formulate a response. "So what is the time frame for putting in this application?"

Poln'rean grinned a slightly mischievous grin. "The USS Klaestron is leaving for Rigel tomorrow. If you board it you'll reach the Avondale Shipyards just in time to be interviewed. It'll take you about two weeks to get there which I'm sure is plenty time enough for you to put in your application."

Ullswater gave her a look that maybe one shouldn't give a commander if one is just an ensign. "You want me to set off tomorrow?"

"Yes!"

Ullswater looked on in disbelief.

"There isn't going to be much of an opportunity like this again ensign." Poln'rean continued "The Galileo will be shipping out soon and if its not taking you along with it then it might as well resign yourself to serving as an underling on some giant and impersonal Starbase." She said it was a joking tone but with edge to it that was enough to make it know that the threat was real.

Ullswater nodded and finished her tea. "I better go and start packing then," she put down the cup on the table. "That you for the tea as well!" she paused and then added "That you for sorting this all out too, I'm really grateful - you've been a great help to me while I've been here sir."

Poln'rean gave her that loving smile that Ullswater had grown used to over the years. "You're very welcome ensign." She said warmly "You're dismissed, better go and get ready!"

Ullswater stood up, thanked Poln'rean again and then turned to the door. Just as she was leaving Poln'rean voice came from behind her "Oh and Ensign Ullswater, just in case I don't see you again before you leave - Good luck!"

"Thank you very much commander." Ullswater threw a grin over he shoulder and began to step out but just before crossing the threshold she paused for a moment and asked. "By the way, did you find out what was causing the unusual corona activity?"

"It wasn't me that found it in the end but there was an odd quantum filament caught within the radiation zone." She waved her hand dismissively "Now get yourself gone ensign, you have packing to do."

------

Once outside Commander Poln'rean's door Ullswater let down her veneer of cool and began to hastily get herself into the packing mindset. She rushed off down the corridor and across the academy grounds to the dorms.

It was her last day on Earth today, unlike the last day she'd spent on New Sydney she didn't feel much in the way of sadness to be going - she'd only been on Earth for one reason, and that reason was that she might one day travel to strange new worlds full of interesting new rocks and unexplored new lithology. One day she might come back, but as far as she could see right then she had no real reason too.

She was so grateful to Poln'rean for all the work she'd put in to get her this far. As Ullswater was packing she remembered back to when she first met the commander. She'd seemed so fake in her willingness to help, it had all looked like a facade but as they'd got to know each other Ullswater had some to see Poln'rean as more than just an instructor - maybe even a friend - and now as she packed up her bags ready to leave on a starship to take her out to the boundaries of humanity she was sure that Poln'rean had always had her best interests at heart.

Maybe rank told her they were just colleagues, but Ullswater's heart told her they were friends.

------

After Ullswater left Poln'rean put on the desk-side kettle she had once again and thumbed up the report for the next student she was talking to today. It was Ensign Marlo which she would recommend be assigned to the USS Laibok. She was sad to see Ullswater go, she'd been a good student and a driven geologist. Whether or not she'd make it in the real world Poln'rean had no idea - that wasn't her job.

Marlo's record was boring - a conventionally good science officer candidate. She glanced up at the picture on the wall - the one of the star from on the Mackenzie. She had no regrets of putting it up there. It might have been the best tool she had in making prospective science officers remember that they were never going to be real geologists.

Some called Poln'rean a cynic. She preferred to think of herself as a realist. Starfleet needs science officers, the bread and butter of their mission of exploration. Poln'rean's job was to turn idealistic little cadets with a love of geology into the generalist that would form the backbone of the next generation of Starfleet. Once upon a time she'd hated that part of the job, now she reckoned it was the most necessary one, especially when she thought back to when her own geology instructor had told her the exact same story 20 years ago.

If only the astrophysicists had really asked her for any help in analysing that star...

Maybe she'd be less of a cynic.

OFF:

Ensign Sofie Ullswater
Academy Graduate

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