Part of Starbase Bravo: Look Upwards

View Mission

An Awkward Intake

Starbase Bravo
June 2402
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Cadet Aaron Giesbrecht was sitting behind the desk in the security office, working on data entry for the new arrivals to the Starbase. It was tedious work, but he enjoyed it well enough. The next appointment wasn’t due for another couple minutes, so he got up from his chair, stretched out his arms and legs, and then crossed the room to the small replicator set into the back wall. “Coffee, black. Make it hot.” he said.
The computer trilled its response, then a small white mug of dark, steaming liquid materialized in the machine, filling the immediate surroundings with its warm, comfortable aroma. Replicator coffee wasn’t bad, but Aaron definitely preferred the real thing, and made a habit of frequenting Cozmo Coffee when he wasn’t on duty. He removed the mug and went back to his desk, dropping back into his chair with a sigh. The clock said 15:36, so he had just under ninety minutes left on his shift. The door to the Security Office opened with a soft whoosh, and Aaron looked up from his work to see a tall Andorian man was striding determinedly into the room. “Hi there!” he said with a cheerful wave, “Can I help you?”
Noting the cheery disposition on the young cadet, Traan decided to have some fun of his own. His head nodded slightly sideways and his antennae swiveled towards the Cadet, almost menacingly. “I hope so…How many more months until you graduate Cadet?
“Only about a month or so.” Aaron answered, a little uneasy now, due to the man’s intense disposition.
The hint of a grin crept onto Traan’s face. “Well until then, it should be ‘Can I help you Chief?’ But.. ” Traan noticed the cadet moving to stand up from his chair, “After you graduate, you’ll outrank me, and be able to call me whatever you like. So I will let that slide this time. I just thought i would come in and check-in here. I have already been assigned quarters, and I will be reporting for duty tomorrow.” He passed a Padd to the young Cadet.
“This a pretty huge Starbase you have here. The spec manuals did not prepare me for the sheer size of this place. 700 decks…” he said as he gazed around at the security office.
“Apologies, Chief.” he said hurriedly, collecting the PADD from the desktop, and inputting the relevant information. After about a minute, he placed the PADD back on the table. “All in order, Sir.” he confirmed. “and yea, it’s so big I get lost sometimes.”
Traan, allowed his brusque demeanor to lessen. “I can imagine.” He retrieved the padd from the desk. “With all the action going on the past few months, I was starting to think I might not make it. My transport was held up a few weeks ago at Sigma Orionis while the Vaadwaur were being repelled, sounded like it was pretty wild out this way.” He reviewed the padd, that had the information about his assignment, berthing, security clearances, duty status. He noticed his quarters did not match the the ones that were listed on the padd before he passed it to the cadet. Deck 49 instead of Deck 153. ~I hope that means an upgrade~ Traan thought to himself.
“Wild is definitely a way to describe it.” Aaron said quietly. “They hit us hard, and it felt like it lasted forever. The whole station just kept shaking, like an earthquake that wouldn’t end. I got stuck in a cargo bay with a few of my classmates doing inventory on emergency rations. It took them hours to get the door open again.” He gave a small laugh. “We didn’t have weapons, obviously, so we rigged up a deadfall aimed at the front door with the heaviest crate in the room. Almost clobbered the security officer that rescued us with it.”
Traan tried to conjure the image if a few cadets in a cargo bay rigging up some sort of improvised guillotine on the fly. It seemed preposterous to him at first, and then he recalled the news and intelligence reports he had seen about how bad Blackout and invasion had been, and it didn’t seem quite as far fetched. “And there I was stuck reading about it installing phaser bank on new Odyssey class ships in the fleet yards. You’re a credit to your uniform just for not losing your nerve Cadet.”
“Thank you, Chief.” Aaron said with a chuckle. “Oh yea, the quarters. I switched your room. You get a better view of the planet from there.” He thought for a second, then added, “You look like a guy who enjoys a drink, so I would check out Downtime. It’s a nice little place. Is there anything else I can do for you, Chief?”
“What gave you the impression that I like a drink cadet?” Traan said suppressing the urge to grin as he toyed with the young man a bit more. He could sense the nervousness without even looking at that mans face. The grin he had been suppressing for a moment slowly emerged. “Well, whatever it was, you’re right…and thanks for the tip. I think I’m good for now. Word to the little tips though… one, it’s best to not show up hungover for your first day at a new posting…and also, try to avoid assigning Tellarites and Andorians as roommates whenever possible. It’s not the best way to make friends with either species. *He signed.*
“Sorry about that. Let me fix it for you.” He tapped the console for a moment. “There you are, no more Tellarite roommate. You’re back on Deck 153. It’s a smaller room, but you’ll be by yourself. Welcome to Starbase Bravo, Sir.” Aaron said as he finished the intake form. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.” He smiled politely.
Traan passed for a second and then decided to go with his gut and accept the new quarters. He would figure out a way to retrieve his luggage from Boosh’s NPC quarters and not cause a blood feud between them by moving out on the first day. “Indeed, thank you cadet, for the tip and the favour” he said and he made to exit.