SD242008.02 - Joint Duty Log - YM & DA - "Welcome Reinforcements"

Posted on Sun Aug 2nd, 2020 @ 8:13am by Lieutenant JG Aleethia Sacraterra & Brigadier General Jonathan Grey

1,167 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Sincerest Form of Flattery
Location: Versailles
Timeline: Current

=^= Main Operations =^=

As the nerve centre of the station, this large, circular room was always busy.

An Ensign at the Flight Control console held an earpiece to her head, providing the incoming ships with directions and guidance.

Some distance away, a collection of people from Strategic Operations were discussing fleet movements, attempting to agree on an appropriate response to the sudden rise in raider activity on nearby star systems.

Behind them, a team of maintenance staff used a cutting torch on the broken remains of a digital table in the middle of the room, making it easier to remove the shattered remains.

As for the CO, he was in the office next to Main Ops, stabbing his fingers at digital tablets (called "padds") with slightly more force than was strictly necessary. A marine to the core, he'd been shocked two years ago to receive a rapid series of promotions, resulting in his sudden command of this starbase.

Which meant that, in the space of one meeting, he'd gone from someone who could actually fight in battles, to someone shackled to a desk.

The paperwork was an ever-present reminder of this, which was why a small crack on the screen in front of him was growing slowly larger with every ill-tempered thump.

=^= Meanwhile, several decks down... =^=

She looked around at her new quarters. While it might be a bit worse for wear, she could see the rooms becoming hers. She was new to the this part of the Starbase. She was Aleethia "Alee" Sacraterra and she was skilled at handling change of scenery. Growing up at an orphanage, there hadn't been much that kept her happy. The orphanage's employees had sometimes thrown all the children for a loop, changing the entire setup of the rooms. That meant that some rivals suddenly had been forced to share a room.

She sighed. The best thing ever invented, in her eyes, was the possibility of getting an education. After she had turned 18, she had gone to the Starfleet Academy. Again, education had been her refuge. Squaring her shoulders, she put down her suitcase. It contained all she owned; clothes and books. Now she wondered where to go from here.

Outside, the call to adventure emerged from a nearby turbolift and walked out into the hall. Stepping neatly around a beam that seemed to be holding up a section of the ceiling, he consulted a padd in his hand and started reading door numbers as he passed them, eventually finding the right one.

Reaching out, Lieutenant Rogers (the General's yeoman) pressed the door chime.

*beedle-bop!*

The door chime rang. Alee went to see who it is was. Everything was completely new to her; she had never been in this part of the Versailles before. Hopefully, it was someone who could show her where to go now. She opened the door to see a male standing there. She wasn't sure whether to use the word "man", as most human males was referred to as. With all the different species of living creatures, it was safer to not assume anything. "Hello", she greeted the male.

"Hello Ma'am." announced the male at the door, tucking the padd behind his back as he assumed a formal stance. "Am I addressing Lieutenant Junior Grade Alethia Sacraterra?" he asked, pronouncing her name with a short 'eh' phoneme.

"I am Aleethia, yes. Whom am I talking with?", Alee asked. She would probably never be able to get used to the formalities of being a lieutenant. She straightened and nodded to the man. "I assume you were looking for me?", she asked.

"I am Lieutenant Rogers, the General's Yeoman. That is to say; his personal assistant. He is occupied with paperwork at the moment, and asked me to welcome you to the station." said the Lieutenant, offering his hand for her to shake. While his tone was firm and professional, there was some warmth in it, and his stance relaxed a little as he spoke.

"I'm grateful to be honest", Alee admitted. "I'm not sure what to do now that I have arrived here. This place is huge", she told Lieutenant Rogers with a smile.

"This may be a larger posting than you've had in the past," said the yeoman, "however the principles are still the same. You can start by reporting to your superior officer. The diplomatic offices were thoroughly destroyed during the arrival of the black hole, so the diplomatic department has relocated to a set of offices and meeting rooms near dock 3. Oh, and you'll need this."

Here, the Yeoman paused in his instruction, and fished a multi-coloured chip out of his pocket. "Here. The diplomatic offices are all locked up tight; authorized access only. The station's main computer is still online, but voice control is patchy, so you'll need this access chip to get through any secure doors."

"Thank you very much", Alee said politely and accepted the chip. "I appreciate your help. I haven't been in this area of Versailles before. It's rather large", she told the Yeoman. It was large. Coming from an orphanage where her contact with the rest of the starbase had been limited, it had been a bit... overwhelming to join the Starfleet Academy, where there were more people than she had ever seen as a child. However, it had been the best thing she had ever done. Hard work had gotten her to where she was now. "Is there any chance you have a map? I don't know this part of the starbase yet", she said.

"Certainly." said the Yeoman, stepping over to Aleethia's desk. Snagging a spare padd from the little slot, he brought up a map on his own padd and tapped the two together, passing the file across. After a moment, a glowing image appeared on the screen; a 3d representation of the entire station.

"Here you go." he said, passing her the padd with the map on it. "To get to your assignment, simply step outside, go right, and take the door marked 'turbolift'. Right now we're saving power, so they're only active twice an hour; at zero and thirty minutes past. Just step inside and say where you want to go. The lift will handle the rest, and your map should be able to take you the rest of the way." he explained.

"Thank you. I better get going. I really appreciate your welcome and your help", Alee said, wondering what else to say. There wasn't much else to be said for the time being. She did need to get going, but she didn't want to be rude to the Yeoman.

"You're welcome, Lieutenant. Good luck." said the Yeoman. He gave her a friendly nod and left her quarters on a dime, well aware of all the tasks he had yet to complete today.

This one, at least, had been enjoyable.


=^= End of Log =^=

Lieutenant Rogers
Yeoman
Starbase Versailles

&&

Lieutenant JG Aleethia Sacraterra
Diplomat's Aide
Starbase Versailles

 

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