Premonitions (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 18 Sep 2018 @ 3:43pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Aren Ban & Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater

2,521 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Rigel II - Avondale Shipyards Administrative Complex
Timeline: MD 117, 1127 hrs

[ON]

The administrative ward contained within Avondale Shipyard's personnel complex was surprisingly small and cramped for such a robust production facility. The late mid-morning hour meant traffic had calmed down, and the hustle and bustle of Starfleet officers, crewmen and yard engineers had thinned out now that everyone was at their various posts. As such, the small office ward where Lirha Saalm was located was almost devoid of personnel except for a few busy yeomen who hurried themselves with administrative tasks and walked around at a brisk pace delivering PADDs to various senior officers who were stationed at the orbital space station.

The small lobby which contained the waiting area had several vacant seats and a small kiosk from which Fleet personnel could check in, requisition, and make appointments, and it was here that Galileo-A's newest crew member would get her first taste of Starfleet life -- in all of its mundane glory.

As she followed the winding corridors of the Administrative Complex Ullswater was trying her best not to get too excited, or nervous, or whatever it was she was currently feeling. It was clear that whatever this nervous excitement was, she had a bit too much of it and she could do with calming down a bit. The journey had been uneventful to the point of boredom for the journeyer and the newly made Ensign was all too happy to have disembarked to the Avondale station. However following said disembarkment she'd had to wait a while longer and in the waiting the nervousness and excitement found ample space to mingle together.

She eventually found the correct door and entered into the waiting room. It was just as dull as most of the other administrative complexes she'd been in but looking around she felt a slight sense of awe - these were real Starfleet personnel, they'd seen and done real things. Sure administrative duties don't sound too exciting - but compared to being a cadet this all felt very real and she felt rather small next to them (a fact not helped by the great height of the yeoman she found herself about to speak with).

Ullswater presented herself before the gentleman behind the desk with a well practised smile. "Hello, I'm Ensign Sofie Ullswater. I think I have an appointment," she looked away for a moment straining her neck to try and get a glimpse of any of the officers walking about the place "With Captain Saalm."

The young and tall white-haired Andorian yeoman looked down at the new Human arrival and narrowed his eyes slightly to take in her appearance. "Name?" he asked, his antennae curling upward ever-so-slightly. His mind had been wandering when she arrived and her announcement sailed halfway over his head.

Name? Sofie blinked, bemused. Whose name? Her name? Probably her name, had he missed it? The man was tall, a good deal taller than her and if she had been any less confused she might have been intimidated by the one word response. The carefully constructed smile almost slipped for a moment as she gathered herself back together. "Ullswater," she repeated "Sofie Ullswater, an Ensign. I'm here about an interview?"

"..Ulls-water..." he mumbled, now looking down to his display as he attempted to punch in her credentials. Human names were still unorthodox to him despite the two years of enlisted training he'd attended on Earth. "Yes, I see," he then said after a short moment. "You're Captain Saalm's 1130. Follow me." The Andorian snatched a PADD then disappeared from view before reappearing from the other side of the secured door when it swished open.

Motioning for the blue-collared ensign to follow, he walked with long strides down the small office corridor and stopped at the final door on the right. There, he tapped the door chime and announced his presence. "Captain, Ensign Ulls-water for your 1130."

"Enter," came the sound of a light female voice from behind the door as it opened with a soft hiss.

Whereas it was the height of the Andorian that made him intimidating the prospect of facing the Captain past those doors was intimidating on a wholly different level. This next moment, stepping into this room, this was the moment that Ullswater had been preparing for during the entire 2 week journey. First impressions can be the most important and this was probably the most important first impression she'd be making in a long time.

Intimidated or not though the voice from beyond the door beckoned her in and she could do nothing but follow it. "Ensign Ullswater, Sofie Ullswater." She stood to attention and tried to give a confident smile "I'm here for the interview sir."

Inside the small office, Captain Saalm was seated behind her desk in front of her LCARS terminal with her Trill XO sitting in one of the two vacant chairs across from her. They'd been discussing some rather routine yet important personnel issues for the past 25 minutes, and the interruption of a new visitor was strangely welcome.

Lirha looked up from her PADD and to the new arrival at the door when is swished closed. Taking in the young woman's appearance, the first thing the captain noticed was her slight stature -- not especially tall, even for a Human, and with a slim build. However, her light grey eyes were quite striking and something the Orion captain had rarely seen within the species. She also had a natural look to her face, one which conveyed a balance of duty with aesthetics.

"Hello, ensign," she greeted with a formal smile. "Please sit. This is Commander Ban, my XO," she flicking her eyes to the other red-collared officer in the room.

"Thank you sir." Ullswater said and sat down in the chair so quickly she almost jumped into it. She tucked her feet under the chair with her knees together. She felt small, or maybe it was the chair that felt big. She was used to being the shortest person in the room but the people here today were giants in a wholly different sense. It didn't help that the captain was an Orion, a fact that had somehow not been conveyed to Sofie before this moment. She'd like to think there was no prejudice but growing up on New Sydney means growing up with a whole lot of horror stories about the Orions. Sitting there she put on the most professional look she had in her repertoire and tried to remain composed as old tales began to resurface, uncalled for.

Taking the cue from the captain Ullswater turned for a moment to Commander Ban (who thankfully looked moderately nonthreatening) and gave a formal nod and said "Good morning commander."

Aren smiled and nodded his head in greeting. "It is a pleasure, and good morning to you as well Ensign Ullswater. I hope that your trip out this way went well enough." Aren said.

"Thanks, it was pleasantly uneventful." Or rather it was boring, but Ullswater didn't think it would really do to say that right now. She settled a bit more into the chair, now feeling slightly less nervous. She tried to remind herself that she was a confident young graduate with a winning smile and a letter of recommendation - the interview couldn't be that bad. She turned expectantly to the captain and prepared herself for whatever was about to unfold.

"So," the captain said, breaking the silence and getting the interview underway. "I've reviewed your application for assignment. Tell me what brings you to my ship straight out of the Academy?" she asked the recently-minted ensign. "Not many new officers request a three-year deep space assignment as their first posting..." Saalm's tone and inflections were neutral yet tinted more with curiosity than scrutiny.

Remembering back to her conversation in Poln'rean's office a fortnight ago Ullswater wasn't sure request was the right word for how she ended up here but she knew she'd have to do her best to make sure that she didn't come across as some flaky recently graduated waif. "An instructor at the Academy brought the opportunity to my attention - I didn't want to end up with some stationary assignment sir. I'd like to see new places - step on planets that nobody ever has before." At first she thought she was just providing a convincing answer but as she continued she realised it was all flowing from the heart. "I feel there is so much to the universe outside of the couple of planets I've visited in my life and I'd like to see some of that." She gesticulated with a little wave and grinned and said more quietly "I'd like to be a bit exciting."

The ensign's stated motives seemed natural as they flowed from her lips. Lirha sat quietly and listened intently while observing the young Human woman's facial features and demeanor. In many ways, the captain had had similar feelings when she'd first graduated from the Academy almost ten year prior. She could relate and empathize with the excitement of new opportunities presented to Starfleet crew members.

"You sound like every new ensign I've interviewed over the last two years," Saalm teased with dry humor. "Relax, it's a compliment," she then added with a small smile tugging at the corners of her gold lips. "It's why we all joined Starfleet, afterall. To explore new worlds and discover new civilizations, yes?"

"Something like that sir." Possible other reasons she could have listed might have included Ullswater failing to make it in either the worlds of academia or entertainment but new worlds had definitely been a big part of the appeal. She was relaxing into this now, maybe interviews weren't all that bad? "I'm not sure if you've ever been to New Sydney sir, but growing up there really makes you wish for some foreign horizons." In truth the horizons in New Sydney were rather beautiful thanks to its unique lithosphere, but it at least worked as a metaphor.

The captain nodded and replied, "I visited several times as an Intelligence officer many years ago. The population is diverse but its economy is..." she paused to think of the appropriate Human word, "volatile. It's independence is its strength but also its weakness, I assessed at the time."

"Oh, you know it then!" Ullswater's face lit up for a moment but then quickly in subsided - be it a federation operative or a syndicate enforcer people who came to New Sydney with deceitful intent rarely left anything good in their wake. Trying to steer herself away from that line of thought she turned her attention to the captain's assessment of the place. Putting on her most steady and unexcited voice the young ensign responded "With such a prevalence of organised crime it can sometimes feel hard to call ourselves independent. Its certainly enough to make you seriously consider Starfleet as a career option."

"Is that what happened to you?" asked the captain. "I do not get the impression you come from a mining family based on your education and history." Saalm had read the personnel file and done her due diligence prior to the interview as with all new officer candidates.

"We are a mining family," the young ensign replied, grappling with the implication of what the captain was saying "At least a sort of mining family - my mother owns a group of pergium mines." She paused and waved her hand dismissively "That's where my sister has found her vocation. I've chosen to look elsewhere, but it definitely gave me a good start in life."

"I stand corrected," the captain admitted with a small smile after listening to Ullswater's explanation. "Tell me about this instructor who so kindly recommended this vessel to you," the Orion then asked, transitioning to a similar topic.

Ensign Ullswater welcomed the change of conversation "Commander Poln'rean? She used to be with the Starfleet Geological Survey before she started instructing at the academy sir." She gave a wry smile, thinking she'd got to the point of the captain's question "I believe the two of you were on the same ship at some point, back when she was an ensign."

Saalm was usually good with names and faces, but in this case she could only remember the former. "Sounds familiar. Which vessel?" she asked, now curious to recall whether this commander was a good reference or not.

Maybe Poln'rean had been exaggerating her acquaintance with the captain even more than she had admitted, Sofie tried her best to remember the ship's name "I think..." She paused searching her memory as best as she could "USS Mackenzie maybe?"

The captain inhaled as the mention of her former Nebula-class assignment prompted flashbacks of her early career. "Oh yes, I do remember. That is quite a test of my memory," she conceded.

"She is one of the smartest officers I've ever met," Saalm then casually remarked. "I remember fixing many of her systems in the science bay when I was an Operations officer."

Aren smiled, he had been listening quietly to the two talk, not wanting interrupt. He waited for a lull in the conversation before speaking. "For how big Starfleet is, it is remarkably funny how small it is. Our paths intersected briefly at Starfleet Academy. I was selected for the Advanced Starship Operations School, and Commander Poln'rean was coming in as an instructor, right as I was leaving. She took over my Applied Operations class for first year cadets." He said. "Does she still tell that story about the eruption on Tantus IV on the first day of class?" Aren asked.

Sofie grinned broadly "Every ensign in the fleet must have heard that story!" Sofie's mind raced back to her early days in the Academy and she felt a tinge of sadness that it was all over now. "She was a wonderful instructor, she was always so supportive and talked with such passion. I'm glad to hear that I'm not alone in having a high opinion of her." She hoped that one day she'd come to view one of the other two people in this room in a similar way.

"It seems you keep good company." Lirha smiled, happy to see the three of them discuss a common acquaintance and she noticed Sofie now seemed more relaxed and open. It was a good opportunity to let her personality shine through. "Well," she continued, "I'm always in need of new science officers; especially ones with a strong academic background. However, this assignment is only for volunteers...the most committed in Starfleet. You seem eager and ambitious but are you prepared to be away from the core worlds for so long? You will not see your homeworld for several years once we depart, and there are many other science and exploration vessels in the fleet. Poln'rean's recommendation aside, why Galileo?"

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Ensign Sofie Ullswater
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

CMDR Aren Ban
Executive Officer
USS Galileo-A

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