Lieutenant Chen walked down the corridor, heading to the transporter room. She had been asked to meet their newest crew member, Ensign Alaina McKenzie who was being dropped off by the USS Shelby. Aria was happy for their counselor, Zara Lox, as with all the trouble with the Vaadwaur, her office had been a revolving door. Aria was pleased that the crew felt they could go to her with their problems instead of bottling them all in.

Aria had had some herself but with the first sign of issues she had made an appointment. She knew that medical employees were often the hardest to seek help but she wasn’t one of them. Aria knew as the chief medical officer it was important that she be at one hundred percent all of the time. They never knew when there would be some kind of incident and she always needed to be both mentally and physically prepared to handle them.

Aria had worried about the rest of the away team she had gone with over to the civilian ship, the SS Wolverine, especially Jaxon Thorne. He had seemed off after they returned but with time, Jaxon was now seemingly back to normal. She had been close to approaching him several times but waited just long enough for him to seek his own help.

Aria walked into the transporter room and smiled at the officer on duty. “I am here to meet our newest officer.”

“She will be beaming over any moment.” Ensign Moreno said quietly. He stood at his station and a few moments later the familiar hum of the transporter started. A few seconds later, Ensign Alaina McKenzie materialized.

Aria did not know why it was that a person’s name gave you an impression over what they should look like. She had assumed she would be tall and thin with dark hair. Alaina was short, probably 5’2 at best. She had shoulder length blond hair with one streak of pink running down the side. Her eyes sparkled as her eyes met Aria’s.

“Welcome!” Aria said with a smile moving forward. She extended her hand. “I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Chen. We are glad to have you on board.”

“Ensign McKenzie.” Alaina identified herself with a smile of her own. “Permission to come on board.”

“Permission granted.” Aria said. “Would you like me to carry one of your bags?” She noticed Alaina had a bag over her shoulder and one in the other hand.”

“Thank you!” Alaina said. “I Tried to pack light but there are just things you can’t live without, you know what I mean?”

Aria nodded with a grin. “Trust me, this is nothing compared to what I came on with. I am kind of a pack rat though you would never hear me admit it to anyone.”

“This is home now.” Alaina said seriously. “You want to feel comfortable and having a piece of your life so far is what makes it that.”

“Definitely.” Aria replied. “Let’s head to the security department and have Lieutenant Thorne give you your clearance and then I will take you to your quarters to drop off your things and we can go on a tour.”

“Sounds good.” Alaina nodded. “You are our Chief Medical Officer.” She assumed from Aria’s uniform and pips.”

“Yes.” Aria replied as they walked. “I will be asking to get your physical taken care of in the next couple of days. She believed in getting right to the point.

“If I do not have too much scheduled today I will come by later.” Alaina replied right away. “Then I will not forget or get too busy.”

“How refreshing!” Aria exclaimed with a laugh. “Someone who does not have a phobia of my sickbay.”

Alaina grinned. “I know it is really different but I believe in facing things head on. If I have any issues I want to get them taken care of before they become an even bigger problem.”

Aria motioned to the left. “Right through these doors and either the chief or his assistant will fix us right up.” They walked through the door and Lieutenant Thorne was speaking with one of his officers. Aria and Alaina stood to the side patiently waiting for him to finish.

Jaxon turned and saw them, heading over. “Good morning!” He greeted them both. “Ensign McKenzie I presume.”

“That is what my parents named me.” Alaina said with a grin. “She held out her orders which Jaxon took and looked over carefully. He liked that Alaina had a sense of humor. There was a good reason for protocol but they were a family and there were times where they would be more relaxed.

“Everything seems to be in order.” Jaxon said after a few moments, handing her paperwork back.. “Let me get you set up, I am sure you want to get settled in and experience your tour of the ship with our good doctor.”

“It’s on my list.” Alaina nodded. Jaxon went to his computer and after a few moments he came back and handed her a comm badge . “Once you are finished with Lieutenant Chen, she will leave you with the Operations officer. He will want your papers so make certain you have them with you.”

“I will.” Alaina nodded. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.” Jaxon murmured. “Welcome to the Paso Robles, we are glad to have you on board.”

Once they left his office, Aria took her to drop off her things and then they headed on the tour. Alaina found the crew seemed really nice and happy with their positions. That made her feel good because she found that a happy crew meant a fair and just command staff. You could usually tell by whether the crew seemed to want to be there.

As they finished up outside of the Chief Operations office, Aria smiled at her. “Are you ready for the quiz now? It really is not so bad. I just need all the department heads names that you met today.”

Alaina blinked as Aria had a serious look on her face. She stared at her a moment and they both started to laugh. “You almost had me there and I was thinking I was going to fail this test epically.

“Sorry, I could not resist.” Aria said with a laugh. “It wasn’t very nice but the look on your face was priceless.” She rang Lieutenant O’Connell’s door and they headed in once he called out for them to enter.

“Good Morning, Lieutenant.” Aria said pleasantly. “This is Ensign McKenzie, our Assistant Chief Counselor. I have taken her on her tour, she has her security clearances and assigned quarters.” She turned to Alaina. “This is Lieutenant O’Connell, the ship’s second officer and operations chief.”

“It is nice to meet you, Sir.” Alaina said with a smile.

“We are happy to have you on board.” Reeve said with sincerity. He shook her hand and then took the papers she held out to him. “Thank you.”

Aria turned to Alaina. “I am going to go now. Once your day is done, would you like to meet for dinner? We have the best chef in the fleet.” She grinned. “Who also happens to be the captain’s wife. Her cooking is amazing!”

“She tells the truth.” Reeve grinned. “No one is skipping meals on this ship.”

“Yes.” Alaina said with a nod. “Can I send you a message and let you know for sure though. I am not certain what my day looks like and I do not like to say yes and then I find out I cannot.”

“That is fine.” Aria nodded in return. “I will see you later then.” She started towards the door. “We are glad to have you here. Enjoy your first day. The scene fades as Aria heads on her way and Alaina sits down to meet with Reeve.