Starbase Bravo was among the largest and most important commands in Starfleet, not only being a central logistics hub in its own right but also the homeport for the Fourth Fleet. Seven wireframe schematics of starships were floating in front of the viewport in Vice Admiral Belvedere’s new office: the first brand-new vessels to leave Starbase Bravo’s shipyard after a year of operation. The belle of the ball was the Interceptor, an Inquiry-class heavy cruiser with a sleek, angular design that made it look like it was going at warp nine, even hanging there as a blueprint. It was the new command of the station’s previous first officer, who’d been rewarded with a command of her own after a year on the station. 

Though a talented and decorated administrator, Belvedere himself had never ended up serving on a starship. His over forty years of service had been spent entirely on stations and at Starfleet Headquarters, where he’d earned a reputation as being assiduous, conservative, and highly resourceful. His third star in hand, he had few regrets about his career decisions, but he felt a momentary pang of regret at being desk-bound as he looked at the Interceptor.

The seven ships were scheduled to be launched about once every four days throughout the first month of 2400, each taking with her a chunk of the station’s crew. Over 300 on the Interceptor, and another 600 across the other six ships. Accompanying each vessel was a list in red showing which personnel were going where, along with a list in green showing where their replacements were coming from. It was less than one percent of the starbase’s total crew, counting the other stations in the system and the shore facilities, but getting 900 new crewmembers up to speed in less than four weeks could be a definite stumbling block for efficiency in Belvedere’s first month in command, especially considering that more than half of the senior staff were also rotating out into new assignments at the same time. The Columbia was also due to leave port and still had a number of lower decks billets to fill, meaning another hundred or so pulled from Starbase Bravo.

The door chimed.

“Enter!” Belvedere said, still flipping through the rosters. “In the future, we need to stagger these launches. This crew turn-over is unacceptable,” he said.

“Uh, yeah…,” came a meek response as he turned around.

He was expecting to see Lieutenant Commander Janssen, his latest flag aide. Janssen was tall, muscular, blond, and Dutch; the spitting image of someone whose job was mainly to look good holding a PADD in the background of formal events, but the person before him was quite the opposite: a willowy, nervous, and wide-eyed ensign in a red uniform.

“You are not my aide,” Belvedere noted, his eyes narrowing.

“No, sir,” the ensign agreed.

“Who are you?” the Admiral asked when the young man just blinked at him.

“Ensign Scott Bowens, sir. I’m your new Deck Officer.”

Belvedere sighed. “There are about four-hundred deck officers on this station, Ensign,” he explained, which caused Bowens to wilt a little. “That does not explain why you’re here.”

“Well, the lieutenant at the docking port said to report to my commanding officer,” Bowens said, cocking his head to the side, before grabbing his holo PADD. “Which I may have misinterpreted because you’re the commanding officer, not my commanding officer…”

“That sounds entirely plausible,” Belvedere replied dryly as he pulled up the display on his desk and quickly flipped through the scheduling system. “Conference Room 47. Two levels down. You’ll report to the Senior Officer of the Watch,” he said, torn between annoyance and amusement at having this bizarre encounter. He discreetly pulled the ensign’s file with his other hand out of sheer curiosity.

“Right. Conference Room 47. And he’ll tell me what a deck officer… does?” Bowens asked.

“You’ll mostly be telling other people where to go, which at this point based on your own navigational prowess seems a little problematic,” Belvedere quipped. 

Bowens grinned. “I’m a really talented pilot, though. If you don’t think I’d be a good deck officer, you could put me on one of those ships. One less transfer to worry about,” he offered, nodding towards the display behind the admiral.

“That’s very bold, Ensign. How did you get in here, anyway?”

“Um… Through that door? I hit the chime,” Bowens said, pointing his thumb back towards a door that Belvedere had thought up to that point was a closet or storage locker. “That’s a no on a starship posting, right, sir?”

“That’s a definite ‘no,’” Belvedere confirmed, tapping the call button on his desk. 

Lieutenant Commander Janssen appeared a few moments later, looking quite confused to see that Belvedere was not alone.

“Sir? How…? No one came through the outer office,” Janssen asked.

“Side door,” Belvedere said.

“I thought that was a closet,” Janssen muttered. 

“Well, it’s not. Could you please make sure Ensign Bowens finds Conference Room 47? And then fix the security protocols on that door?” Belvedere ordered. “I’d rather not have further lost ensigns wandering in here.”

“Of course, Admiral. Apologies for the interruption,” Janssen replied, gesturing for Bowens to follow him out of the office. 

“Sorry, sir. I’ll try to stay off your radar from now on,” Bowens replied.

Belvedere chuckled, the name suddenly clicking for him. “It’s a little late for that, Mr. Bowens. I’m very curious to see if you make as much a splash here as your brother did during the Archanis Campaign,” he said, after confirming that there was a relation on his terminal.

“How do you know about Harper, sir?”

“I know everything, Ensign. Make sure you spread the word of my magnanimity. Dismissed,” Belvedere said, smirking as the latest addition to his crew was ushered out.

Starbase Bravo In-Play for January 2400

• There’s a lot of turnover on Starbase Bravo. Maybe not proportionally (900 is less than 1 percent of 100,000 after all), but there are plenty of ways to explain how your character has come to serve on Starbase Bravo.
• Many ships are being launched this month, so departments will be busy with medical tests for the crews, fueling, logistics, calibrating their systems, and anything else you could imagine to get a ship ready to launch. 
• Many of the senior command crew are new, so the average ‘being on the street’ might be curious about the new administration, not yet knowing much.
• If your character isn’t brand new, how do they feel about not getting placed on one of the ships? If they’re fresh from the academy, the same question applies: how do they feel about being put on a starbase rather than a starship?

“Welcome to Starbase Bravo. Can I please have your name and department?” Steven asked, only to nod and reply with the usual ‘uh huh’ once he gets his answers. At the same time he pulled up a holo map, entered the information, generated a nav point with a route and then he swiped it over to them. “That will lead you to your quarters for your stay and then lead you to where you need to go to report in until you’re next assignment, unless you’re assigned here, in that case. Welcome aboard! Next!”

This would go on for essentially every day that he’s been assigned here. It was more or less a punishment to him for what happened at the New Years Party but it’s also part of his job. Although he would love to do more, so he just needs to suck it up and deal with it until he does his bit and moves up in the system. For doing excellent work and not goofing off or anything like that, of course.

“So, Watson. How did spending a day in the brig go?” Asked a crewmember.

Steven finished helping a Lieutenant before giving a response. “Oh you know, spending quality time with myself helps me motivate myself to never do that again. And also work on my interesting personalities.”

“Oh yeah? Give us one.” Asked a different crewmember.

Steven sighed and then saw an enlisted, petty officer, perfect one to do it on. Any other officer and he would skip as he feared that it would only come back to bite him. He cleared his throat and changed his voice a little. “Welcome weary traveler. I see you wish to enter Starbase Bravo. I’ve seen many go in but none return! First off, we have many attractions here. Shops of all kinds, for whatever it is that you desire, you shall find. Second, an amazing view of many vessels inside and outside the station, all very beautiful to watch as they come and go. Third, if you’re assigned to serve on board this station, be very careful of the senior staff, they’ll haunt your soul if you ever make a mistake.” Steven scanned their orders, entered the data, created the nav points and the routes before it was swiped to the petty officer. “Enjoy your stay, for you have been warned!” All of which beside him were those who snickered and chuckled away.

Steven chuckled himself before he shook his head, “I cannot keep doing that, just so you know. I don’t intend to lose my job.” Steven returned to asking and answering normally to those who were next in line.

“Did you hear? Someone accidentally went into the Admiral’s office the other day.” Said a crewmember.

Steven snorted, “How do you accidentally enter an Admiral’s office? Don’t they have security protocols and name tags to avoid such a thing?”

“Well apparently someone gave the guy bad directions.” Said another.

“Bad directions? I thought it was because they couldn’t read a map.”

Steven stopped listening after the ‘bad directions’ part. He then remembered the first day on the job about a month ago when he tried to direct people to where they needed to go and he ended up giving a Lieutenant who was suppose to go to Engineering, directions that went straight to the hydroponics bay. He didn’t even know the station had one. Steven shook his head out of that memory, “There is no way that was me, I learned my lesson weeks ago. Kind of the reason I got hammered at the party. Told myself, my New Years Resolution was to learn the station better and get people where they are suppose to go. And I’m doing it, ain’t I?”

They laughed. “Well yeah, you been doing this since the party and your brig time.” Said one of them.

Steven shrugged his shoulders, “You live, you learn, you move on.”

“So Watson, I am curious. If you get out of here, where would you go?” Asked a crewmember.

“You would need to be more specific. If I advance a rank, I would go straight to the one job I love and that’s the Flight Control Department. I want to fly man! And flying those shuttles or runabouts right now would be ever so relaxing.” Steven smiled as he dreamed only to get an annoyed throat clearing from a Commander and he gave an apologetic smile before helping them find their way.

“I mean, if an assignment opened up on a starship. Let me rephrase. What would be your go to starship if say…a Chief position opened up and you were offered it or your application was accepted?” They asked.

Steven rubbed his chin, “Huh. That’s a good question. I think I would choose an Inquiry Class. Heard they are suppose to be the best. And I want nothing more than to fly the best.”

“Yeah but, by the time you get out there, there will probably be a class way better.”

Steven shrugged his shoulders, “And some people’s minds change over time as well. Who knows, maybe I’ll want to fly an Odyssey when the time came. Or maybe a Typhon.”

“Eeewww, did you just say the Typhon?”

“What? Just throwing it out there.” Steven told them.

“Yeah but that’s like… we just don’t talk about the Typhon.”

Steven looked at them, “Look. Earth used to have these large naval vessels called carriers that carried a bunch of fighters and bombers and more. Sure some of the ships we have can do the very same but the Typhon is just a type of ship that has been long forgotten.”

“Or just unnecessary. Best use it had was probably the Dominion War.” Said one.

“Actually it barely got to see much action in the war when the first one was launched. And honestly, we’re not in a state of war right now and who needs a big boat full of fighters?” Said another.

“Okay okay. Let’s go back to whoever said, we don’t talk about the Typhon. What about the Obena class?” Steven asked.

“Oooo now that’s a beautiful ship. You get the chance to fly one of those and you’re set for life.” Said one.

“What about the Century? They’re so much better.” Said another. And this kind of conversation went on for the rest of the shift, at least for them. Steven chose to pick up extra hours and didn’t finish until three in the morning. He started his shift on Sunday the sixteenth and finished it on Monday the seventeenth. Nothing like putting in extra hours for the extra credit, least that’s what he hoped for when he drank some warm herbal tea to help him sleep before he rested his head on his pillow when he got into bed. The thing he knew that needed to happen was sleep, because if it didn’t happen quick enough, his mind will start to wander and play past events that he wished to forget or regret doing, and then he’ll never get to sleep….

Sonja looked out of the window of the shuttle seeing the massive station in front of her. It had to be the pinnacle of Federation Engineering and something she began to get excited for was to explore the station and its many levels. She was on the shuttle with a few other Ensigns, but not any she recognized. She had made some small talk to the others in the shuttle, but after seeing the station all she could do was wait to step foot onto it.

After the docking procedures, she stepped off the shuttle onto the station, which looked brand new in every way. She looked at the bay in amazement it was way bigger than she had ever expected her first assignment to be. She had grabbed her bag and was beginning to walk towards the exit when she heard a familiar voice.

Steven was there greeting and guiding new officers and crewmembers when he saw a familiar face and had to call them over. “Sonja! Holy crap!” He waves her over while putting a hand up to stop a petty officer. “Sorry but this is a priority one uhh, officer check in. Yup that’s what it is.” He then took her orders and started fumbling with it. “Oh wow this is going to take a while, hey guys could you take my line here, I need to figure out what’s wrong with my stuff.” He told them before stepping off to the side.

“Sonja Thompson. Holy cow lady, I was not expecting to see you here at all. I thought you be assigned to like, I don’t know, some starship or somewhere on the frontier, wherever they shove all you Security people at.” Shane told her as he ever so slowly worked on her orders so that she wouldn’t be able to leave just yet.

Sonja flipped around and her eyes lit up as she saw Steven. She made her way over to him and watched him fumble through her orders. It made her laugh just like Steven to make a sow when she showed up. She recalled the test where he couldn’t focus because she was part of it as well. She looked at him and finally spoke “Steven you always were one with words. Are you having issues with my orders? I know they were just fine when they were handed to me.”

She listened to his next remark and shrugged “I thought I would be on a ship, but that didn’t happen. I am still trying to figure out why…maybe it’s because this is the nicest station and I proved myself. I am not sure, but whatever the case I am here! At least I know someone.” she said as she pulled her hair back.

“Me, issues with your orders? Nah, just an act to have a chat with ya without having to deal with a line.” He told her with a smirk. “Oh yeah, this station is amazing. There are so many viewports to watch the construction or watch ships come and go. Sadly I’m stuck doing this job for a while before I can get up there to fly the shuttles and runabouts. Or do the job of guiding ships in and out of the station. Maybe hold the door closed until the last second and then open it up and be like ‘Just kidding!'” He joked as he entered the last bit with her orders and saw where she needed to go, so this time he slowly created the nav points and the route. “I mean, I say I would be unprofessional but you know how I am. Once I’m in the job, Professional Steven at your service.”

She chuckled at the remark and looked at Steven “If anyone can do it that will be you Steven you have always had the drive to do what you want even if that causes issues for the others.” She smirked “Heard anything about the other friend if they were stationed here?” She winked at Steven as he knew what she was talking about.

Steven shook his head, “That is so true, so true. Think on my first day here, like a week before New Years, I may have guided some people to the wrong locations. Kind of hard when this station is massive. And then I had a little too much fun after the New Years Party.” He shrugged his shoulders then frowned when she asked. “Now that you mention it, I don’t think so. I haven’t really been checking the roster to be honest. This station got like almost a hundred thousand people, give or take a hundred or so. I mean I could search by name, sure, but still. Woo.”

Sonja laughed “You got to make sure you get people to the right place. How do I know you are guiding me to the right location?” She winked giving him heck as she always did. “Hopefully we will see them crop up sometime in the near future.” She looked at the information he gave her and nodded “Well it looks as though I have somewhere to head.” She looked around and gave him a peck on the cheek “Thanks for the help, Steven. I am sure we will see each other around. Should we plan dinner to catch up?”

“Well I’ve been doing this for a couple weeks so, I’ve gotten better.” He chuckled then swiped her information her way. “That will guide you to your quarters where you can drop off your things and then guide you to where you need to report in. So-” He was caught off guard with the peck on the cheek and had to reboot the brain to process the question that she asked him. “Yes, we should actually. That is a great idea. Because catching up with you would be fantastic,” Then he looked at his coworkers. “And because I am getting the stink eye from my pals over there, so I should probably return to my line.”

Sonja smiled and nodded “That sounds like a plan. Yeah, you better get back to it I don’t want to get you in trouble. I will talk to you soon my friend.” She concluded as she walked out of the bay heading to towards where the nav beacons were leading her.

Ensign Celandra Bastin stepped off the gantry that had connected the transport ship she’d been assigned to, taking her first steps into her new life as a full fledged member of Starfleet. The assignment she had been given, a member of the Security Division aboard the Guardian-class starbase, had come to her as quite the shock. She’d been asking for several months to be posted aboard a starship, and yet somehow she was looking around the cavernous space that was the passenger reception area.

With a short sigh, Ens. Bastin adjusted the shoulder strap of her small luggage container she’d decided to carry aboard with her rather than leave it with her other gear. Her other hand was currently occupied with clutching somewhat nervously to the PaDD that contained her transfer orders as she began the journey into the interior of the station. As she made her way into the station, she noticed a line with a lot of similarly lost looking young officers and decided to join it.

“Hey there,” Bastin said, smiling to the young woman ahead of her, “Did you just make it aboard too?”

Sonja had been tasked with leading a new Ensign to the duty officer for Security. Why she had been chosen she didn’t know, but she followed orders. She stood in the arrival area for a few minutes before a redheaded Ensign spoke to her. Sonja smiled at the Ensign and shook her head. “No I have been here a few days. Ensign Bastin, I presume? I was told to come and get you settled in.”

“Oh… wow… I hadn’t expected anyone to actually meet me here. I’m Ensign Celandra Bastin, but most of my friends call me Cel,” the young woman introduced herself with a kind smile. Having grown up with a diplomat for a father had instilled in her, subconsciously more than anything, that a friendly smile and a chipper demeanor were usually good things to have when meeting people for the first time. Whether everyone reacted to it positively was another story, but it hadn’t let her down just yet.

“Have you started doing any actual field work since you got here, or is there some kind of orientation period where we have to sit through briefs and such?” Bastin asked as the two began their journey through the station.

Sonja smiled back and led Cel out of the arrival area, “Well, there have been quite a few briefings, but they have tried to mix it up and we have been on a few patrols, though I am still not sure of every area here. It isn’t hard to get lost or turned around here, but I am sure you will pick it up in no time. Oh, where are my manners? I am Ensign Sonja Thompson or Sonja to my friends.”

Bastin couldn’t help but laugh at the sudden introduction. The woman reminded her of a friend she had when she was still going through school prior to the Academy, a fact that made Celandra feel a bit better about her posting.

“I was kind of shocked to find out I’d been put on a starbase. I kept requesting starship postings during the last few months of the Academy and then…” Bastin motioned around them pointedly, “This is where I ended up. I guess I got spoiled living with my father on a starship for so long that I just took it for granted that I’d end up on one.”

Sonja nodded, “It was a bit of shock for me as well, but as a Lieutenant told me there are people here living their lives and yes you may occasionally have a fight, but this is a home of 100,000 people. No ship can say that, so in a way it is an honor to be asked to work here.”

Celandra shrugged at the woman’s words, “I guess that’s true in some strange way. I guess I just thought my first post would be more… action packed… My mother started her career in security and from the few stories she told me, it seemed like being on a starship would let me see things that would get my blood pumping and my heart racing. Dad’s always stuck behind a desk and I just can’t imagine myself being happy doing the same.”

The pair finally arrived at the turbolift cluster, stepping inside one of the many available lifts scattered around the compartment. Once inside, Celandra set her luggage container on the deck and gave her shoulder a bit of a roll while they headed toward their destination.

“Were you lucky enough to get sent here with anyone you knew from the Academy?” Bastin asked, getting tired of the silence in the lift.

Sonja nodded, “I did, in fact one of the current deck officers is a friend from the Academy, but so far other than him that is the only person I know on the station.”

“Well, that’s something at least,” Celandra said with a small smile, “I came here by myself, unfortunately. Everyone I hung out with got shipped off to starships. I might meet some of my father’s old shipmates, but even then that’s probably a long shot.”

Ens. Bastin looked down at her PaDD for a second before returning her attention to Ens. Thompson, “I’ll just have to make friends while I’m here. Shouldn’t be too difficult once they let me out on patrols and such. I’m sure there’s all sorts of interesting people coming and going through here. Just have to get out there and find them.”

Sonja thought for a second, listening to the inflections of the girls voice, she sounded sad. She smiled at the girl, “Well, if you want a friend I will be your friend.”

“I’d like that,” Celandra said with a nod, “It would be nice to have a friend who is also a coworker. Most of my friends weren’t in the Security course, so it will be nice to be able to talk about things and not have someone gloss over when I start talking about something they don’t understand about the security world.”

Sonja smiled, “Well consider me a friend, Celandra. I know what it is like sometimes and it will be nice to have someone I can confide in if work goes south one day.”

Ens. Bastin couldn’t help but laugh, “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to be able to do that without having to feel bad for my friends who couldn’t seem to care less about our line of work.”

Sonja rolled her eyes, “Tell me about it. They have no idea just how tough this job can be nor do they know what we do to keep them safe on a daily basis. If they did maybe they would be more appreciative of us.”

“Funny, my father says the same thing about his job,” Celandra couldn’t help but grin at the odd manner in which the two radically different paths they’d taken suddenly seemed so similar, “I guess we’re all doing something right if people take us for granted.”

The lift finally slowed to a stop and deposited the two Ensigns on the deck that they’d been waiting to reach. Bastin lifted her bag and returned the sling to her shoulder as they two headed toward the Security Offices. It had been nice to have someone take the time to guide her, since she hadn’t had a chance to even begin to commit much of the station to memory.

“Thanks for your help, Sonja,” Bastin said as they reached the entrance to the offices, “Maybe sometime later we can meet up and hang out. Who knows, maybe we’ll even have quarters close enough that we can do something in our off duty time.”

Sonja smiled, “Well I don’t have a roommate yet so maybe that will be you, Cel.” She winked and waved as she headed for the gym while Cel went to report her arrival.

Celandra waved back at the woman as she departed, turning to the door and sucking in a breath as she prepared herself for what would be the start of her new life aboard Starbase Bravo.

“That’s on the house, sweetie.” Zira Behr, manager of Cozmo Coffee, slid the newly-refilled flask across the counter with one of her easy smiles.

Lieutenant Rob Callahan gave a half-smirk in return, though it did reach his eyes. “You can’t charge me here. Everything’s on the house.”

“Then think of my joy to see you and good jokes as like free sprinkles.”

“I will, just as soon as I get a good joke.” But he winked, and took a quick gulp of coffee. It wasn’t just a shift break that took him into Cozmo, which in his opinion had the best blends on the deck. With wood panelling on the floor and walls, and slightly mismatched wooden furniture, it had a cosy, homely atmosphere that helped dim the illusion one was on a giant, floating pile of metal. But the coffee shop was also highly favoured by the newcomers to Starbase Bravo pouring off the adjacent commercial docks, and that made Zira, with her welcoming manner and sharp eyes, always someone to keep on-side. “How about the latest gossip?”

“Shouldn’t you be working?”

“When it comes to knowing who’s fresh off a boat, your gossip is my professional inquiry.”

“Honey, please.” Zira was petite and unassuming, but had been on Starbase Bravo since it was built, and its predecessor for ten years. “If something really important happened, I wouldn’t wait until you’d got a fresh cup of coffee.” She across the counter. “I’d have gone to someone way more important than you.”

“Then how about ‘moderately important,’ if that’s fit for my grade?”

Zira opened her mouth to make a comment, then her eyes flickered to the entrance. “Relevant and fresh off the boat? Look around you, sweetheart. I think someone’s looking for you.”

Callahan frowned, then turned to face the gold-shirted ensign who’d come in and seemed to have clocked him. He had no idea how Zira knew – or had perhaps guessed – her to be a new arrival, but she at least didn’t seem familiar with Cozmo. With hundreds of venues on Bravo, that didn’t mean anything, though. Still, he headed over with a swagger to his step, and took a stab on the off-chance Zira was right. “Fresh meat for the grinder of the Promenade Precinct?”

Sonja had been trying to get her bearing of the station it was still a lot to try and remember and she had even got lost on her way to her room. She was looking for another member of Security she had been told would be a good guide for a newby. Sonja usually could pick things up, but this station was a behemoth and not something that was easy to navigate.

After about five different inquiries she was told that the Lieutenant was in Cozmo Coffee. She made her way there and stepped into the entrance seeing the lieutenant she looked straight at him. She walked up to him “Sorry Lt Callahan I was told to come see you, as you would be a good guide for a new officer on the station. I am Ensign Sonja Thompson.”

He just about managed to not preen, reasoning that ‘welcome wagon’ was not the most prestigious of jobs. Still, it didn’t hurt to be known as someone others could come to for knowledge, and he remembered his first days aboard Bravo. After a few years serving on a Spacedock, he’d thought he’d known big. But ‘big’ as a word had nothing on a Guardian-class floating city like this. Callahan stuck his hand out for a firm shake. “Thompson, right. Welcome aboard, then, Ensign. Are you just fresh off the boat, or fresh off campus?”

Sonja shook his hand and smiled “Thank you, I am fresh off campus this is my first assignment, though I am not sure why I got stationed on a Starbase.” She said with a bit of disappointment in her voice.

He gave a small smirk. “A starship might sound more exciting on paper. The reality for an ensign is that you’ll spend days patrolling somewhere inhabited by perfectly well-behaved Starfleet officers, hours and hours training, and once in a blue moon have to fight your colleagues for a routine away mission – because they gave the exciting ones to the chief. Starbases? That’s where people live. You can’t beat people for keeping you occupied.” Callahan turned to gesture about the coffee shop, speaking with authority even though he’d never, by choice, served on a starship. “Especially down here on Deck 400, right next to the commercial docks. You never know what problem’s going to step off the next boat.”

Sonja listened to the words from the lieutenant and realized he made some points she had never even thought of, but than again she had never served on a station. “You make some good points! I think I will settle in here just going to be getting used to it. I need to find the gym at some point so I can get back into my weightlifting.”

Callahan nodded. “There are a bunch of gyms aboard. If you want somewhere quieter, odds are good you’ll be better off trying near your quarters. Otherwise, there’s a gym near the main security offices where a lot of the department works out. If a bit of esprit de corps and the occasional rampant competitiveness is your thing.” He shrugged, then glanced over his shoulder at the coffee shop. “But we should probably stop taking up floor space in here. So, this is Cozmo’s, one of the nearest coffee shops to the commercial docks. It gets a tonne of brand-new faces a day coming through, so I make dropping by part of my routine in case the staff here have noticed someone or something noteworthy, you know. Also does great coffee if you want a brew -” He stopped himself mid-sentence, then jerked a thumb at the promenade beyond the tall front windows of Cozmo’s. “That is, you need a full run-through of the beat, or are you just doing some recon ahead of your shift?”

Sonja smirked “Sometimes the best thing is a little competitiveness. It makes me laugh because people think I am joking when I challenge them due to my small stature.” She looked at the shop “I will have to remember this is here a good cup of java can always make the day a bit better.” She took a mental note of the mans reason for coming down here. She knew that was a good action and would have to get into a groove of where to check around the station. She looked at him and shook her head “I am not on duty per se, but as Security aren’t we always on duty. I am just trying to learn some pointers as this place is huge. I want to be the best officer I can be and make sure I show people that Security here is one of the reasons the station is so nice.”

“Keen of you,” he said with a wry, but not disapproving tone as he led them out of Cozmo’s and back into the hustle and bustle of the lower promenade. “You’ll find this place never gets dull, as this close to the docks, people are coming in off ships which arrive at all hours. So that takes some getting used to – you’ll pass somewhere mostly serving a breakfast crowd, and then a bar where it really feels like it’s in the mid-evening swing.” He gestured to a few venues as he spoke. “You don’t really get high-end trouble, of course. We’re still deep in Federation territory. We’re mostly here to help out if some troublemakers show up. So it’s good to know the regular faces – sure, it helps you notice if something’s out of place, but it helps the people who live here feel safe if they know you.” He spoke with more confidence, but plainly could hold court on his experience and thoughts for some time if permitted, emboldened by the mere handful of years of service he had on her.

Sonja felt the man was confidence, but was he trying to brag about his time in Starfleet compared to hers? She shook the thought off as he talked about the area. She wasn’t quite sure where she was going to be stationed, but she knew with his notes she would be set for this area anytime she was to patrol it. “It would make sense we don’t get any huge crimes here, but if I learned anything it is that we never discount such an action occurring even on a station so close to the Federation border.”

“You’re right,” he said with a faint frown. “Trouble can kick off anywhere, and if it does, we’re going to need more than knowing coffee shop owners to take care of things. Which you’ll drill for with your security team, over and over, ’til you could defend this place in the dark.” Callahan turned back to her, eyebrows raised. “So that’s the one-oh-one of security down in this section, Thompson. What else have you got left for settling in?”

She shook her head “Not particularly anything  I do appreciate the tour. Is there anything I can do to help you?” She knew it seemed like a stupid question from an Ensign, but maybe it would be the right thing.

Callahan grinned. “I’m good. We’ve lost a few hands down here to the starship assignments, so it’ll be good to have some fresh faces around.” Something occurred to him, and his expression shifted for one of guarded amusement. “I assume you haven’t met the Old Man yet?”

Sonja gave him a look of confusion “Nooooooo…I haven’t” She said slowly.

“You’re in for a treat. Don’t call him that, though.” At her expression, his grin widened. “Commander Vaughn, Director of Promenade Security, AKA the Old Man, AKA the Dragon if you’re really on his wrong side. Likes to be hands-on with trouble in the promenades – and you better hope it’s not trouble you made. You’ll have the pleasure soon enough, no doubt. Just be on your best behaviour, shine your boots and everything, and you’ll be fine.” From his smirk, it was perhaps difficult to tell how much he was giving a sincere warning, and how much of this was a wind-up.

Sonja frowned it sounded like this Commander needed to learn how friendly people can be. She wasn’t going to let his reputation scare her away. “Sounds like I need to pay this Commander a visit.”

Now Callahan laughed. “That’s your takeaway? Alright, well, Thompson, it was nice to know you.” He took a gulp from his flask, eyes dancing. “Assuming you survive the experience and make it to a duty shift, hit me up any time if you need something. This place can feel like a maze – and I don’t just mean navigating it physically – until you get used to it.”

Sonja nodded “It takes a lot to intimidate me so I do not react how most would. I will remember that and I appreciate your help Lieutenant. If you ever need a lowly Ensigns help let me know.” She smiled as she departed.

Ensign Celandra Bastin looked down at the PaDD she’d been handed during her orientation brief that contained, among a vast number of other things, the location and room number that she had been assigned as her living space. The location started with Sector Kilo-Indigo, then started a laundry list of letters and numbers that she’d had to cross reference half a dozen times during the ride to the appropriate deck number that had been hidden somewhere in the string of characters she’d been doggedly trying to decipher. “Even the room numbers are needlessly huge…” Celandra bemoaned as the lift finally eased to a stop.

Stepping out, bag still in tow, the young Ensign began walking down the corridor searching for labels on doors that might give her a sense of how far she would have to walk from the turbolift to her quarters. She discovered the answer to be, rather mercifully, not too far. The room was situated only a half dozen doors down from the nearby lift cluster, which made the woman feel as if someone had taken pity on her knowing that she’d never been anywhere with more than three dozen decks to it in her entire life up to that point.

She keyed in her personal access code and stepped inside, greeted with the sight of a small ‘day room’ that rested between two smaller rooms that were no doubt assigned to her and whatever roommate she’d been given. The door to one of the rooms stood wide open while the other was secured, which told her at a glance which was her own. Celandra walked into the small bedroom to find that her luggage crate had already been delivered, another small kindness that she was unusually happy about.

“Let’s get you unpacked…” Bastin said with a small huff. The crate wasn’t anything unusual or of any abnormal size given her lack of personal effects. The largest items inside were the books her father had given to her over the years, which took up the majority of the space in her crate. There were a few other trinkets and baubles from her time spent on starships with her father, but in general there wasn’t a lot in her possession that had traveled with her from her home back on Earth.

It took her a solid hour or so to put everything in the small space where she thought it ought to be, and once satisfied that she wouldn’t feel the urge to move things in the span of a few minutes, Celandra walked out into the shared living space only to find a rather familiar face walking in.

“Why… hello there, neighbor,” Celandra said with an amused chuckle.

Sonja had went to grab a bite to eat and workout after a somewhat busy day, including the wrong Ensign coming to her shared living space. She had decided to take a run around the promenade after she ate to work off the extra carbs. She noticed a few people looking at her as she ran and smiled with a sarcastic wave. She headed back to her quarters taking a breath when she entered the living area when a familiar face stepped out.

She smiled, “Hi Cel! Sorry for my appearance.”

“Oh please…” Bastin smirked, “I’ve come back from working out looking twice as bad doing half as much, I’m sure. I honestly didn’t expect you’d be my roommate, so I’m kind of happy how this all worked out. I figured they’d put me with someone from our department, but I haven’t had much of a chance to meet a lot of folks so I was a tad nervous when I came in and no one was here.”

Sonja nodded and took a towel, using it to wipe the sweat off her face. She looked at Bastin and smiled. “Well now you know you have me,” she said sarcastically, brushing her hair away and then laughing about it. Cel seemed to be staring at the tattoos on her arm and chest, “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, just an interesting design is all. From what I’ve been told, my mother had tattoos, but I never saw them. They’re nice, but not for me,” Celandra shrugged the question off, “So how are you liking it here? Since this is really my first day, I doubt I’ve seen enough to even start to have an opinion about it but I’d like to know what someone else thinks.”

Sonja nodded at the remark. She shook her head at the other question. “I like it, but man this place is so big I feel like if I deviate from the paths I know I will never get back to a location I know. I think it is a great station and there is lots to explore, which we can do together now. And I think we need to get you at least a little ink, makes you look tougher,” she winked.

“Don’t need ink to look tough, I just have to let my hair down and start yelling,” Celandra laughed, “My mother was in security, and I got more of my looks from her than from my father so… Pretty sure if I put my mind to it, I could scare even a Nausicaan if I applied myself.”

Sonja laughed at the comment “That is true, but sometimes it is fun to try new things. Who knows you may like it, but I won’t push you to do something you don’t want to do.”

Bastin wandered over to one of the small couches in the middle of the room and sank down into it, “I know what you mean about the station. Even the room numbers are absurdly long for what feels like no real reason. That’s partly why I was so hellbent on getting assigned to a starship. I can remember twenty or so decks a lot better than I can a few thousand.”

Sonja didn’t want to sit due to still being a sweaty mess but she nodded, “Well see when you get promoted to Captain one day you can say that you memorized a thousand decks and would not have a problem with twenty decks of your own ship.” She smirked, “That is if you want to command a ship.”

“Nope… hard pass,” Celandra shook her head, “My father is a Captain… I don’t want to have to deal with even a tenth of the politics he has to. That’s why I’m in security, I’m not expected to shake hands and kiss babies.”

Bastin couldn’t help but grin at her own comment, “I honestly don’t know where my dad came up with that phrase, but it always made me laugh growing up when he would use that to explain what being a diplomat was like.”

Sonja laughed, “Well then let me reword that as a Captain and the chief of security of a ship you can say you used to work security on a huge station so you could surely handle twenty decks on a ship.” She again smirked, “I think as a diplomat you have to be involved in everything so I understand the phrase, but I don’t think I would ever want to be a Captain of a ship, but the rank of Captain someday might be nice.”

“I’m pretty sure I remember hearing something about security officers making Captain without being in command is fairly rare, but not impossible. I’ll be happy if I make Commander, honestly. Just high enough on the chain to be somebody, but not high enough to have to worry about absolutely everything,” Celandra said, her smile just a tad devious.

Sonja saw the hint in her smile, “You seem like someone who doesn’t mind some mischief or pranks. I love pranks, but to make that clear only on fellow classmates or people who don’t mind them. I will not do the same thing a friend did and break into a senior officer’s office placing whoopie cushions. He is a wonderful person, but his mischievous side gets him in trouble.”

“As fun as that sounds, I keep my pranks somewhere they can’t come back to bite me…” Celandra poked the side of her head meaningfully, “My father worked with someone who could dish out mischief like a replicator spits out candy. After watching how hard he used to have to work to smooth over some of the things he did… yeah… I’m happy just musing about it. Once in a while I’ll play it out in the holodeck if I really need to get something out of my system, but that’s about it.”

Sonja chuckled. “I only really did it in the Academy, I don’t think I would have the guts to do so on this station, especially with the fact that it is commanded by a Vice Admiral,” she said, pausing for a minute, “Hey, you up for a movie? I would love to watch something and relax if you want to too. Just need to clean up first.”

Bastin shrugged, “I already put what things I brought with me away, so I’m not doing anything important. Sounds like it could be fun.”

Sonja nodded and quickly took a sonic shower before coming back out in her comfy pjs. She decided to pull out the Pierce Bronson classic GoldenEye and got the system setup before going over to the replicator, “Two large popcorns with extra butter and two large cherry cokes.” The food and drink replicated and she took one handing them both to Cel. Sonja took a seat on the sofa snuggled in and prepared as the movie began.

Celandra took the snacks from her new friend and leaned back into the couch to watch the film that Sonja had prepared for them to enjoy. She was happy enough that she was at least placed with someone she halfway knew and that was enough to allow for her to relax in her new place.

Nilah Virahl had just graduated from the Academy, she thought she would be assigned to a small starship for her first assignment. She was in for a surprise when she was being assigned to Starbase Bravo as an engineer. “Wow,” is all she said after she materialized on the transporter room padd of the station. Looking around she grabbed her belongings which were quite a bit for a newly promoted Ensign, but most of it was her books that she brought with her. She also had her small nicknacks as well as of course clothes and a few other small things, stepping off she saw an Ensign in red.

“Excuse me, sir could you point me to where my quarters are?” She replied as she pointed to where they were located on her handheld, “I have a roommate by the name of Ensign Murphy.” Nilah added looking at him.

First time he was assigned to a transporter room to assist new arrivals. Usually, he has a line from airlocks of docking ports at one of the arrival sections or whatever. But now he was enjoying the transporter room arrivals. Smaller lines, and much more chances to talk to people than being rushed to move to the next person. Though he was a little caught off guard when another Ensign came up to him and called him ‘sir’. Steven chuckled, “For one thing, my fellow Ensign, don’t call me ‘sir’. You’re not at the Academy anymore, and we’re the same rank. Unless you run into these guys,” He pointed with his thumb at one of the Lieutenants operating the transporter terminal.

Steven then cleared his throat as he lifted his PADD, brought up the holo display. “Do you have your orders on hand?” He asked her. “Your orders have a code to it that I need to enter.”

She chuckled, “sorry force of habit.” Nilah said with a sly smile as she activated her orders on the padd to show him.

Steven smiled back and then looked at her orders before he entered the information then his display populated. “All right,” He then created the nav points and then drew a route from here to her quarters then her quarters to where she needed to report in to. Well, technically the computer made the route, the most ‘sufficient’ and quickest route it could come up with. “There we go,” He said before swiping the map to her PADD. “That should take you where you need to go.” He told her before he started to search up for an Ensign Murphy. He then pursed his lips before shaking his head. “Sorry, I don’t think an Ensign Murphy has arrived yet. At least not your roommate. Looks like they have yet to check-in.”

She smiled as she took the padd with the route uploaded on it, “Thank you.” Nilah replied with a smile, “oh name is Ensign Nilah Virahl by the way. Though I am sure you were able to figure that out by looking at my orders.” She said with a chuckle, when she was nervous she seemed to talk a little too much. “Never thought that my first assignment was going to be onboard a starbase, I figured I get assigned to a starship or something.” She added looking at him as she went on talking.

Steven nodded his head, “Oh yeah, your orders gave it away but nice to meet you Ensign Nilah Virahl. Hopefully, I said that right. Lots of practice of weird names at the Academy, just insane. I am Ensign Steven Watson.” He introduced himself to her before he laughed a little. “Yeah, this station is huge. And you’re assigned to Engineering? Boy, I do not envy you, I mean if you get lost in a place like this, could take you a month to find your way back.” He joked.

“Yes you did,” Nilah replied with a smile. “Nice to meet you too, I am sure that once I study the station’s layouts I think we will be alright.” She chuckled as it was huge and could easily see how someone would get turned around. “I am up for the challenge of working on a station such as this,” Nilah commented as she was sure she was taking up his time doing his duty. She hoped she would make friends while on this assignment so getting out of her comfort zone and being more social would be beneficial for her.

There was no one really behind her yet so he wasn’t worried. “It’s a pretty big layout. I mean, this place houses a hundred thousand people, give or take. But specifications say it can hold a maximum of two hundred thousand. I don’t know what kind of emergency we would need to be in to double the station’s compliment but hey, that’s how huge this place is.” He told her. “Oh yeah, I’m totally up for a challenge. I can’t wait to start flying shuttles or runabouts and so some laps around this thing.”

“That sounds like fun,” she said as she never did fly a shuttle though she had worked on her fair share while in the Academy. “How long have you been on the station?” She asked looking at him with a soft smile.

Steven looked up at the ceiling for a second before he looked back at her. “About a week before New Year. Was here for the party and boy was it a party. Uh, the Promenade Security Chief guy…yeah, um, if you cross him, watch out. If looks could kill, his would melt you from the inside out. I vaguely remember what it was and that was only because I was drunk at the time. So yeah.” He chuckled.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Nilah replied with a chuckle realizing more people were starting to beam in. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your duties. Thanks for the directions and hope to see you around,” she said with a smile looking at him.

Steven saw the new arrivals materializing on the pad and he let out a sigh of disappointment. “Yeah, I better before the Lieutenant behind me gets cranky.” He smirked before nodding his head with a big smile. “You’re welcome and hope to see you soon.”

She headed out of the transporter room taking a glance at the directions, she headed towards the promenade. People were rushing about either to get something to eat, buy something from one of the shops, or heading towards an assignment. This place was huge, she was admiring things as she walked towards her destination.

Ten percent. Ten percent of his staff had been reassigned. In raw numbers it wasn’t a lot, but the practical reality of one in ten of his officers needing to be taught how to tell their arses from their elbows was not a pleasing prospect.

So it was that Geraint Vaughn brewed his cup of tea with a particularly vengeful air that morning. His husband had taken to herbal teas lately – something about helping his focus as he worked – and the sheer presence of a sage tea, its scent filling his nostrils at the breakfast table, was another unwelcome disruption to the routine. Eddie knew better than to offer him a soothing peppermint tea. He was provocative enough to make exaggerated noises of satisfaction and lip-smacking as he started his day, because Eddie Hardy didn’t have to work with his husband’s bad moods.

That pleasure fell to the new arrivals.

He stormed into the briefing room, clutching his mug like it might get thrown into someone’s face, and snatched the proffered PADD from the officer at the door. “What’ve we got, Calhoun?”

The young lieutenant cleared his throat awkwardly. “Uh, it’s Callahan, sir -” Callahan wilted at Vaughn’s plain disinterest. “The first twelve new arrivals to the precinct. Obviously one of the lieutenants will handle the walkabout, but you’re expected to…”

“Meet and greet,” Vaughn growled, stomping past Callahan towards the pulpit at the head of the briefing room. It was big enough to seat a lot more officers, and ensigns always looked small to him; either insecure and like they hadn’t yet grown into their physical size, or too obviously inflated with performative, false confidence. They would pop or they would grow, and whichever it was, he didn’t care until it happened quickly. They each got a steely look from the grizzled security chief, before he took a slow, thoughtful sip of tea. In the long silence as all eyes fell on him, the first sound to break it was his satisfied sigh at that first gulp of the cup.

“Ensigns.” The mug clinked as he set it on the pulpit. “If you don’t know who I am, you haven’t read your briefing packages. Accepting a percentage of you might be illiterate, my name is Commander Vaughn. I’m the Director of Promenade Security. I’m your boss. Which means that your problems are my problems. Which means…” Vaughn leaned forward, elbows on the pulpit. “Don’t have problems. Because I hate problems.”

Ensign Bastin listened to the opening remarks and felt a rather powerful wave of nostalgia hit her. She could vividly remember her mother saying similar things to people who had reported to her own security department in the short time she’d lived with her. Her mind wandered to thoughts of whether the two of them had served together at any point, or if it was just something that eventually fell out of the mouths of every seasoned security officer out there.

Sonja could admit that the conversation she had with Callahan earlier all made sense now. She could see why he had made the remarks he did. She wasn’t intimidated by the Commander and his remarks didn’t phase her. She had read the briefing packet about who he was, but she didn’t realize just what a piece of work he was. He demanded respect there was no doubt, but he also needed a serious shift in his mood, which would be another challenge entirely. She smiled at the thought of the challenge but made sure to get her mind back to the conversation at hand.

Ta’set smiled smugly at his CO. This mean was tough, for a human. By Romulan standards he was little more than an angry child. Life here on the Star base would be easier that Ta’set had initially thought.

Vaughn’s eyebrows raised with a hint of amusement at the expressions before him. “You are here because better officers than you got what they thought was a better offer. Most of them are on a starship right now. So let me make clear: if any of you are disappointed that you have been assigned to Starbase Bravo, one of the greatest feats in Federation engineering and one of the largest independent constructions by Starfleet, home to a hundred thousand people from across the Federation and beyond… I don’t want to hear it. Because you’re new, I’ll ignore your opinion. If you keep that opinion in six months, I might listen to you – and think you’re an action-seeking airhead.”

Another gulp of tea. “This is Promenade Security. Thousands of people come through this sector of the station every day, from all corners of the galaxy. Most of them are well-meaning citizens of the quadrants simply going about their business. Many of them live and work here, providing the services that keep you entertained. They have a right to go about their lives in peace and safety. They will be looking to you to provide that peace and safety. If you think that is achieved by waltzing around with a phaser on your hip, then maybe you do belong on a starship. That is not a compliment.” More tea. “This starbase is a community. If you want to be good at your job, you need to invest in that community. Know it, be a part of it, connect with it. Or you’re useless to me, and I’ll send you off to the Alpha-Red Precinct, which will sound exciting to be in the command module until you realise you’re stood at a door all bloody day.

“Some of the people who come through this station aren’t well-meaning citizens of the quadrants. They might not be big, bad, scary troublemakers, black marketeers and crime bosses, or whatever you think goes on here. Most of them are tired freighter crew who want to blow off steam and make bad choices.” He paused, frowning at his mug of tea. He turned to Callahan, who brightened at the prospect of being helpful to this process. “Calhoun – refill this.”

As Callahan slunk off, disappointed, Vaughn scratched his chin and leant on the pulpit. Piercing eyes swept across the gathered ensigns. “Let’s see if there’s a braincell here. How do you think we should deal with those people making bad choices?” He waited, ready to hear a variety of opinions to that dangerously open question.

“Well sir,” Celandra said with a slight shrug, “That will really depend on the bad choice they make. Self destructive bad choices can be handled most often on the spot with a few choice words… or as my mother used to say, a swift kick in the pants. When the bad choices hurt people around them, the kick might just be the start of things and ends with a stay in a brig cell or being tossed out on their ear and told to never come back.”

Ens. Bastin had no delusions that her answer was the one he was looking for, but she knew from experience that being meek or stumbling over herself trying to find the ‘right’ answer just wasn’t her style. Even if her perspective wasn’t the correct one in the situation, her willingness to put it out there at least wouldn’t be dismissed.

Sonja thought for a moment as she mewled over the question given to her before she answered “I think to fully answer that question the biggest thing would be determining what the bad choice is because some choices take a swift reprimand as Bastin stated, but it could also be a small matter that only needs to be decided one on one. However when the choice affects a group of people or this station as a whole that’s when consequences are needed for the action. That should be determined after the severity of the action is determined. That information must be determined before any action can be given, but that could range from time in the brig or more severe punishments given by superiors. No one is exempt from discipline regardless of the position they hold.”

Sonja did not stutter in her response nor did she look away from the Commander while she gave her answer. She wanted him to know she meant what she said and she was capable of doing her job regardless of what reservations he might have.

“They should be removed from the situation and dealt with privately and swiftly.” Ta’set says calmly looking the Commander in the eyes. “They should be reminded that they are here as a privilege and that if they want to continue to be allowed here they will change their attitude”

Ensign Sabina Kal felt awkward. Her eager young colleagues had beaten her to the punch with their answers. Adding her two cents would probably be an annoyance to the commander, instead she thought to herself, ‘Maintain high expectations for all visitors. Fairly enforce all rules and regulations and most importantly – don’t embarrass the boss’. Kal kept a straight face looking forward.

Vaughn’s elbows rested on the pulpit as he listened. “Lot of talk of action, euphemisms for action. Maybe, maybe. This is an open hypothetical after all. But never forget that as figures of law enforcement on this station, your every response is an act of force. You’re not an individual here to get stuck in, you’re a walking representative of authority. Just showing up to a scene in uniform, as members of Promenade Security – just being seen, is a use of that authority. Just speaking is a use of that authority. Most of the people you’re dealing with are civilians, not enemies. Your duty includes them. The right words can go a long way. And action, physical action? Action is for protecting yourself and others. It’s not for making inconveniences go away.”

He scratched his chin. “Be cautious in that optimism that troublemakers can simply be thrown off the station. This might be a Starfleet facility, but this is still Federation territory. Even if someone passing through might be encouraged to pass through quicker, that’s a failure. That’s shunting the problem along. And not all our troublemakers will do us the courtesy of being people we’ll never see again, and we don’t make people homeless just because they’ve broken laws.”

Sonja listened closely and took in what the Commander gave as words of experience and wisdom. Her goal was to make sure by listening she could learn what to do to make sure she didn’t meet him to be reprimanded.

Ta’set just nods in reply. Things are so different here. He thinks to himself.”

The commander reached for his PADD, and sighed with increasing disinterest. “Your next few days will be spent on basic orientation of these offices and of the promenade at large. You’ll then be assigned your beat on the sector. If you’re smart, you’ll get to know your area, your beat – who lives there, who works there. I guarantee those people know the area better than you. There is no greater source of wisdom on a place than the people whose entire livelihoods are embedded in it. I’ve no interest in security officers who think themselves too good to connect with people.

“If you’re assigned to a more busy area, you will likely be paired up with a more experienced officer – who, frankly, is literally anyone else. Quieter areas might see you thrown in at the deep end, paired with each other. You might worry if one or the other is a reflection of your quality – have you been banished to a boring beat because nobody thinks you’re any good? Have you been assigned a babysitter because nobody thinks you’re any good?” Vaughn held for a moment there, and then brushed on without bothering to answer, let alone reassure.

“To wrap up, a reminder. As so many of you are wont to complain: this is a starbase. Unlike on a starship, your days will not be spent doing nothing but guarding secure locations against nobody but other Starfleet officers, drilling for enemy threats that come once in a blue moon, and fighting over the least exciting roles on the least exciting away missions. You’re not the big dog to bark at enemies; you’re here to protect the people of this station. All of them, Starfleet, civilian, foreign. You are here to provide safety and security. Treat them like the enemy, treat them like they might be a threat, treat them with force before you treat them with courtesy, treat with them with words… you’ll probably get your wish and be on a ship. The hell out of here, and to nowhere better.”

He flicked off his PADD. “Focus the next few days on your orientation and your familiarisation with your new work area. What’s next comes next. So, assuming you understand I’m not here to explain your entire career path from here, nor direct you to the restroom: any questions?” The steely, unimpressed gaze fell back on them.

“No questions, Commander!” She replied in her normal jovial manner.

“Aye Commander.” Ta’set replies enthusiastically.

Ens. Bastin just shook her head slightly to indicate that she had nothing in mind to ask.

Ensign Kal thought to herself, ‘It’s now or never.’ “Just one sir, when do we get started?” She hoped she sounded as eager as her peers, but she wasn’t sure how Commander Vaughn would respond: a scolding or praise.

What she got was a rather sardonic raise of the eyebrow. “Okay,” Vaughn sighed. “I was hoping for something more insightful than crawling up my arse.” In Kal’s defence, it was unclear if he was targeting her or the whole lot of them. “Report to your patrol shift leaders for duty assignments and orientation. And remember: the eyes of the station are on you. What you do reflects on your colleagues, on Starfleet – on me. Think before you act, and don’t screw it up. Dismissed.”

Without another word, he turned on his heel and stalked back towards the door, empty-handed and angry about it. “Calhoun? Where’s my damned tea…”

Ensign Celandra Bastin was excited, not just at the prospect of getting to know more of the people in her new department but at the prospect of starting to work in the job she had been wanting to get into for quite a while since she joined Starfleet Academy. Her father had once commented that her drive to be in a combat oriented career field reminded him of her mother, even though the two of them didn’t get along in any manner that wasn’t professional. His insistence that she had anything in common with her mother irked Celandra, and given their family circumstances, it wasn’t all that hard to understand.

Walking into the main administrative section of the Security Offices, Ensign Bastin spotted the person that she’d been told would give her a rundown of what would be expected of her as a newly commissioned security officer, and likely a rundown of where she would be assigned for her first duty rotation aboard. The somewhat vague description of the man in question was still enough to pick him out of the group he was in when she finally did spot him.

“Lieutenant Callahan?” Ens. Bastin asked, giving him a small wave, “I was told to find you for my assignment briefing.”

He was sat at his desk in the bullpen, working at his console. The screen was out of sight, but above it hovered a holographic map of the lower promenade for reference, and it was only when he looked up at it that he spotted her. Callahan gave a quick blink, snapping out of his focus to turn to her, and switched the map off. “That’s me.” He grabbed his PADD and took up a stylus, twirling it in his fingers. “Name? We got a lot of new staff.”

“Right, sorry about that. Ensign Celandra Bastin,” the young woman said with an apologetic smile. Her eyes began to wander around the room for a moment, taking in the various faces and the various snippets of conversation momentarily as the man sitting in front of her connected the dots of who she was and what he was meant to do with her.

The tap of a stylus had the information before him, and Callahan got to his feet, brightening. “Bastin it is. First job is easy: bit of a workplace orientation. You been shown much around the precinct office itself, or can we skip to the promenade? For that matter, you ever been to Bravo before now?”

“I’m pretty sure getting around the precinct will be pretty straight forward compared to the station itself, so I’m happy to skip that part if you think we can get right into it,” Bastin said cheerfully, “And no, the last time I was anywhere near Starbase Four, she was a Spacedock.”

“Oh, really? That’s pretty cool.” He eyes brightened as he put his PADD away. “You’ll find the place a lot bigger, especially the promenade. Two sections of five decks each; it’s the closest thing to a city you’ll get after leaving atmo.” He set off through the bullpen, heading for the main lobby, the big doors that would take them to the promenade proper. “Do you know what your beat is yet, or is there anywhere in particular you want to be shown around, or will we just do the lot?”

“I haven’t been given a beat to walk yet, the person doing my in processing said I’d get that information from you,” Celandra said sheepishly, “I wasn’t sure if I should have asked for it anyway, but he was kind of intense when he was rattling off everything so I didn’t. If you wouldn’t mind taking me around where I’m expected to patrol, I’d be grateful. I’m pretty confident that once I walk it once, I won’t get too turned around… hopefully…”

“Right.” The PADD came back out for Callahan to double-check the file. “Bastin… got it. Lower promenade – oh, I see, Section 12. Yeah, I’ll show you the region. It’s pretty dense with nightlife entertainment, which can get pretty wild as it’s like that all hours of the day. You’ll have had your morning coffee and they’ll be on their sixth pint.” He gave her a sidelong look. “You’ve got some experience of what starbases are like to live on, at least?”

Celandra’s face scrunched up a tad at the mention of coffee. Most of her Academy friends drank the stuff, and while she didn’t outright despise the liquid, if she had a choice she preferred a good breakfast tea instead. It had earned more than a few snarky comments from the people she hung around when they found out about her aversion.

“Dad never got assigned to a starbase, so I only ever got secondhand information about them from the people who came to our ship from one. But I trust my father when he says that no information can beat firsthand information. He always used to tell me that stories about your last assignment usually got blown up a bit to cover for how monotonous it was. So while I think I might have a rudimentary understanding of how things are supposed to work, I’m smart enough to know that I don’t actually know and to keep an open mind until I see for myself what it’s really like,” Celandra explained as the pair continued to traverse the pathways toward their destination.

The Promenade was like it always was: busy, especially in the central section where the precinct lived. Familiar with the navigation after a year aboard, Callahan took a few turns without seeming to think much about the route. “The big thing to get used to, I found, was the fact it never sleeps. Sure, station time is a thing, but ships come in at all hours, and who knows what schedule their crews are on. Some facilities on the promenade are more geared to people who live aboard, or have very small staff, so they might shut down overnight, but the bigger establishments, and the ones closer to the commercial docks, are just… constant. On a planet, or a smaller starbase, you walk into a bar and you know if it’s just warming up for the night or if it’s last orders. Here?” He shook his head. “It’s a real challenge, both to the job and just getting used to it.”

Bastin nodded along with the man’s words as she took in the scenery around her. She’d done what amounted to shore patrol back in the Academy, so the reference to bar activity was familiar enough to her. The fact that some of the bars in the area she would be walking through during her shift didn’t have established patterns was a bit concerning but it wasn’t so daunting that she felt it was an insurmountable problem.

“Will I be doing my rounds with a partner?” Celandra asked when the thought came to mind.

“At first, for sure. On this beat it’ll probably be with someone who knows the ropes, but who knows, your patrol leader might start pairing up new arrivals if he thinks you’re up to it. The Old Man usually likes you all supervised for a bit, but there’s such an influx of new officers that might not be possible.” Callahan shrugged. “So, your father’s Starfleet?”

“He is,” Celandra nodded, “He was a diplomatic officer while I was growing up, but they tapped him for command duty right as I was entering the Academy. Not really sure if he’s still on the Argonaut or not. I haven’t heard from him much lately…”

“Is that why you joined up? Family business?” His tone was casual, making small-talk and getting to know a new colleague rather than conducting an interrogation.

“Kind of,” Bastin shrugged, “Mainly I just couldn’t see myself doing much else. I don’t have the patience to study like some of my siblings so I was never going to be a scientist or a doctor. I can take things apart but that’s about as far as I get before I get bored. Joining Starfleet and being in security just seemed like the best fit. I can use some of the social skills my father taught me from his years in diplomacy without having deal with stuffy politicians… and every once in a while I might even get to be involved in something that really gets my heart going.”

Celandra turned to the slightly older man, “What about you, Lieutenant? Did you join for any particular reason?”

“I grew up on Mars. Mum worked at Utopia Planitia. Starfleet felt like the thing to do.” Callahan shrugged, not elaborating further than those points. “Can’t say I chose Security so I didn’t have to study, but the way the galaxy’s been going the last fifteen years, Starfleet needs more officers in this job. Whatever the old-fashioned types say, nice words aren’t going to keep citizens safe.”

“I can agree with that,” Bastin nodded with a lopsided smile, “No matter how well you can talk about your ideals, if you can’t back them up… eventually someone’s going to come along and stomp all over you. Feels like people have forgotten that over the years…”

Celandra sucked in a long breath before letting it out, “Putting all that aside, are there any places in Section 12 that I need to be on the lookout for? Any establishments that just have a reputation for being… rowdy?”

Bastin could tell their conversation was heading down a road that would only lead the two of them into awkward silences that wouldn’t really amount to much. She’d had similar conversations with some of her classmates before graduation and almost all of them had been tense and uncomfortable by the end of them. She wasn’t entirely sure if her sudden shift of topic had been executed nearly as deftly as she imagined it, but it was better than letting them continue down a slope she wasn’t sure either of them really wanted to head down together.

Callahan had nodded as she spoke, but seemed satisfied with a shift back to discussing work, and took it in stride. “A lot of it changes depending on time of day, who’s come in, what kind of place they want to be. I’d keep an eye on the Pit and Pendulum; it’s a perfectly nice place, but one of the closest I think Bravo has to a dive bar. It does easy drinks and low lighting and tries to be a bit more edgy, and a lot of freighter crews from regions like the Borderlands or those kinds of frontiers tend to stop off there. This is still the Mellstoxx Sector, it’s not like we get hardened smugglers and fighters coming through every day, but it’s worth familiarizing yourself with the place.”

“I’ll do that,” Bastin nodded thoughtfully, committing the name to memory before asking, “Is there anything else I should be aware of? Anyone in our precinct I should know of before I do or say something I shouldn’t?”

“The precinct’s changed a lot with the new faces,” was all Callahan said, with something of a smirk. “So I can’t guarantee how the team’s going to feel and act going forward. You’ve met the Old Man, so there’s nothing more to warn you of there. The rest – you’ll just have to figure out as you go along, Bastin.”

Celandra shrugged and nodded, “I suppose I’ll do just that. I appreciate all the information you’ve given me. My next step, I guess, is to just walk the beat and see what happens.”

Ensign Sabia Kal looked out of the front window of the Runabout at Starbase Bravo. They’d been traveling from Earth to Starbase Bravo for days. The constant star field out the porthole had lost its novelty after the first day. For most of the journey, Ensign Kal was reading. The topics included the starbase she’d been assigned to, the command level officers of Starbase Bravo, and of course, a limited history of Trill. As a trained pilot, she’d requested flight time on the journey, and luckly the Lieutenant in command had obliged her for a night shift. Since he got to catch up on some sleep, Sabia got to be in the cockpit as Starbase Bravo came into view. It was impressive- what had started out as a small speck of silver had grown to take over their entire view. Sabia was in awe, ‘Starfleet had spared no expense when they commissioned the base‘ she thought to herself as she thought of her more traditional home on Trill. It’d be a while before she got to see her home but for now, the process of making Starbase Bravo home was about to begin.

Ensign Kal stood, “Thank you, Lieutenant, for this opportunity. The updates they’ve made to the runabouts made the night shift a breeze.”

“Don’t think I didn’t feel that shake at 0200, Ensign.” The Lieutenant didn’t turn around from the controls.

Ensign Kal ran through her mind, had she already forgotten her mistake? She was about to speak when the Lieutenant said, “Don’t remember? Neither do I.” with a chuckle as he returned to the controls. “Keep up with your flight training, you never know when a position may open up.”

Sabia smiled and nodded to the Lieutenant, and headed back to the cabin to pick up her luggage. The runabout had been filled with roughly 15 other ensigns who’d just graduated from the Academy. She barely knew them, but this voyage had definitely sparked a few friendships. She noticed her new buddy, Ensign Jonathan Heart walking towards her.

“Impressive isn’t it?“ he said. He must have seen the Starbase out one of the portholes or through the visual sensors on his PADD.

She smiled, “Absolutely it was! I had a front seat view of it too! I think Lieutenant Wang saw a tear roll down my cheek!” She said, with a laugh.

“You weren’t as bad as me – I had to wipe the drool from my chin when we first got into usual range.“ he smiled at her.

Sabia liked his smile – part of her thought he was cute, but shut that down quickly. She’d already had her heart broken once in the past month, no need to get into a fling during her first few weeks of a new assignment. “That makes me feel better.”

The runabout touched down softly on the shuttle hangar. Sabia stood grabbing her luggage. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around.” she said as they exited the shuttle.

“Oh you definitely will.” Ensign Heart said with a wink, then headed towards the nearest exit. ‘Are you SURE you don’t want love? Maybe just a little fun. Look at those bicepts.‘ Sabia noticed a surprising number of human males focused on getting large biceps. She didn’t fault them at all – their bulging muscles had been one of her biggest distractors in the Academy. ‘Yes… for now.‘ Again, she tried to control herself. She tried to focus her attention on the Starbase around her. It was one of the newest and most advanced Starbases in the fleet, and she was now partly responsible for making sure noon blew it up, sabotaged experiments, or got too drunk walking down the promenade. No pressure.

After a few short moments, Ensign Sabia Kal picked up her bags, took a quick stroll down the promenade, then located her quarters. She had two days to explore as much of the station as she could. The only thing standing in her way was her luggage. “Drop this off, then get our steps in the for the day,” she said to herself, “Time to start working on that promotion.”

Starfleet Academy—Mellstoxx III

“Hannah, you’re going to be late! You don’t want miss the shuttle to your first assignment.” Hannah’s roommate exclaimed trying to get her to move faster.

“I know. I know! I can’t find my book.”

“Can’t you just download a copy to a PADD?”

“It was a gift from my grandmother as a graduation gift. It’s hard cover print of Gray’s Anatomy. It’s the sentiment of the gift.”

Hannah would have lost her head that morning if it had not been firmly attached to her torso. She scoured her room from stem to stern until finally she noticed a corner of the book peeking out from beneath her pillow. “Aha! Found it!” she said as she reached for it.

“Great! Now get to that transporter station before Starfleet regrets making you an Ensign.”

Hannah tucked the book into her travel case. her remaining belongings, what little she had at the Academy, would later be sent to her after she had settled into her new quarters. She glanced around the room one last time. She’d spent far too many nights cramming for finals in that room. She was going to miss it, but her life was now geared toward the future as a doctor in Starfleet.

Starbase Bravo

When she materialized on the station’s transporter pad, she eyed two individuals in the room in which she now stood. One Lieutenant in gold and an Ensign in red. She nodded to the Lieutenant for a successful transport and then turned her attention to the Ensign. “Good morning.” she began, “You’re either waiting for your turn on the transporter, or you’re here to greet new arrivals and help them find their way. My name is Hannah Murphy.”

Steven squinted as he looked at her, something about her face looked familiar. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he knew there was a third friend that him and Sonja had. He shrugged his shoulders, “The second. Can I get your orders?”

“Oh yes. One moment.” She replied, reaching for the clasp on her travel case and pulling out a PADD documenting her orders aboard the station.

“Thank you, Ensign.” He entered her information in, started creating the nav points and then auto generated the route before swiping the holo display to her. “All right then, that should lead you to your quarters and then from your quarters to where you need to report in.” He handed her orders back. “You shouldn’t get lost but then again, this station is massive so, good luck!”

After leaving the transporter room, and seemingly following the directions on the PADD as indicated by the Ensign, she found herself somewhere on 500-level completely lost. Every corridor looked the same and there didn’t appear to be any indication that the area was anything but crew quarters. However, it felt like she had spent an eternity studying the labels on each and every door without success.

After taking what seemed like the dozenth turn at the next available junction, she noticed another officer with her back to her, sporting a gold tunic who appeared to know where they were going. In an effort to relieve herself of her predicament, she flagged them down. “Please, I need your help. I need to locate my crew quarters, but I’m absolutely disoriented.” she said, suddenly realizing that it was her friend Sonja and instantly felt embarrassed.

“Oh my god, Sonja! I never expected to see you on the station!”

Sonja turned at the sudden panic of the person voice. Her eyes lighting up when she saw it was Hannah. She quickly gave her a huge hug “Hannah! Oh my gosh I’m so happy to see you! I figured you’d be on a ship halfway to another quadrant by now!”

“I thought so too, but an opportunity opened up for me to do my residency here on the station. I figured with all the people here, what better place to do it. So what kind of adventures have they got you on? Catch any bad guys yet?”

Hannah knew that Sonja had a proficiency for security related tasks, so she naturally assumed the best for her friend.

Sonja shook her head “I can say that it has been a very uneventful time so far. I had to break up some fights in the Promenade and do the regular de-escalation, but other than that it hasn’t been to exciting. Many hours of guarding secured areas from unauthorized entry. Regardless I am glad your here.” She smiled again.

“Well, that’s better than nothing.” Hannah replied in a comforting manner. “We’ve got to get together after a shift sometime and you can tell me everything you’ve been up to, but I really do need to get to my quarters and then report to Medical before I’m late on the first day.”

Sonja looked at the information on Hannah’s PADD and chuckled “This is an easy fix follow me you’re right next to me in fact I ran into your roommate a few days ago when they mistook my shared quarters as hers.” She said with a wink and erupted in laughter from the memories of the event.

“What is your name?” the Chief of Staff said, “My name is Jowu Miw, but I’m Bajoran, so.. Yeah, you probably already got that.” Her face immediately turned red. “Got that, ma’am.” “Yes, yes, ma’am,” Miw responded with a sarcastic tone.

[Several hours later]

Miw arrived at his quarters, and entered. The contents of the room did not surprise him, seeing as the room looked a lot like her academy dorm, only bigger. “Hmm.” he mustered to himself, whilst thinking about what he was going to do after he had gotten settled in. He then started to unpack, and after he had done that, he walked out into the corridor, and started thinking about what to do. “Fuck it, sickbay. Guess I’ll get to know my colleagues.” he muttered to himself. He then found the nearest turbolift, and rode it all the way to the main Promenade.

When he entered Medical Station 12 on the Main Promenade, he was a bit surprised to say the least. Seeing as this was one of the medically least important places on the station, it was very well equipped. Several biobeds, an office, and a quite spacious waiting room. A human female in matching teal uniform and lab coat caught his attention upon entry.

Unsure if the man before her was science or medical, she introduced herself, “I’m Doctor Hannah Murphy. How may I be of assistance?”

“I’m going to be working with you. You should also know that I call dibs on the chair closest to the wall, seeing as no one has taken it yet.” Miw had evidently decided to take the cold approach with his new coworker.

“Be my guest. I’ve not decided on any particular office as of yet. I’m still getting situated. Chances are I will be spending a great deal of time in the main medical facilities in Sector H.” she replied. Hannah had been touring the various medical stations aboard Starbase Bravo, familiarizing herself with the facilities she might be asked to attend during her residency depending on the schedule for the day.

“Great. Just know that if I need your help in more severe cases, I will call you.” Miw replied. He then walked into the office, and immediately sat down in the chair which was nearest to the wall. “I don’t like this chair.” He then took one of the phasers, which was mounted to the side of the office, and evaporated the chair.

Hannah looked at her colleague in shock and disbelief. No doubt he violated a number of safety regulations and station security would soon be paying them a visit. “That was rather unorthodox. Would it not have been easier to request a new chair?” she asked.

“No, you see, I have some.. rather unusual preferences for chairs, so I usually get rid of the standard, and replace it with one, which I have constructed.” Miw replied in the calmest of voices.

“Well, if that’s what works for you, I’ll leave you to it then.”

“Actually, would you like to go out for a drink later? I want to get to know my new colleague. And I also want to figure out where on this hunk of metal one can acquire cheap alcohol.”

Not being completely sold on the idea of drinks, Hannah wasn’t sure she really wanted to go. She’d only just arrived, and within an hour of being on the station, managed to get herself lost locating her assigned quarters. She very much wanted to just crawl into bed and forget about the day. “If it’s all the same to you, perhaps another time. I haven’t exactly had the greatest start to my day so I doubt I’d be the best of company right now anyway.” she said, respectfully declining the offer before returning to the patient area to study the rest of the facility.

Miw then walked out of the station, and walked into the nearest bar, “Downtime”. He sat down at the bar, and the owner, Skal, said “Welcome, would you like a drink?” Miw cheered up a bit. “Bottle of Bajoran springwine, stat.”

After departing from the Promenade finally after her recent run-in with Ensign Wolfguard after not paying attention to where she was going. She made it to the turbolift and gave it directions as to where she wanted to go. After what seemed like hours, when in reality only took about a couple of minutes to reach its destination. Once the doors opened she walked out, heading down the corridor towards where her shared quarters were located.

She thought she had reached the right one, though she mistook one number and attempted to enter her code to get in it wasn’t working. “Weird,” she replied not realizing she was at the wrong quarters. Hers was the next one over from where she was, she kept trying but kept getting an error which caused the door to open with a woman standing at the other end. Raising an eyebrow as she was told that Ensign Murphy hadn’t arrived yet.

Looking confused she looked at her padd again then at the number above the door and her face turned red realizing she had the wrong door. “I am so sorry I misread the number on the door, guess my quarters are right next door.” She said looking at the Ensign in embarrassment.

Sonja had been trying to get settled into her room after a decent time of getting all her paperwork done. She had arrived at her quarters exhausted and yet wanting to unpack all of her stuff. As this was going to be here home was full of posters of different gaming aspects. She was a nerd for all intents and purposes and even though she loved working out her second love was gaming. She had gotten everything put up and was proud of the work when she kept hearing an error at her door.

She rolled her eyes and continued to work until she couldn’t stand it anymore. She activated the door to see a confused Trill in front of her as she stood there tapping her foot. As she heard the Ensign’s reason she sighed “It’s ok what’s your number?”

Looking at her, “578.” Nilah replied still looking embarrassed.

Sonja giggled “You were so close it’s right there.” She said pointing.

“Ya, I realize that I read the number wrong I do apologize.” She said looking at her for a brief moment, “thanks again sorry for bothering you.” She said as she was about to turn to walk next door to her quarters.

Sonja shook her head “Truthfully no need to apologize it could happen to anyone. I guess I should introduce myself since we will be neighbors. I am Ensign Sonja Thompson and I promise I don’t bite…most of the time.” She giggled.

She chuckled, “I am Ensign Nilah Virahl it’s nice to meet you.” She said with a smile, “I sure seem to be making an impression upon arrival.” She said chuckling, “first I run into another Ensign while not paying attention to where I was going now I am trying to break into someone else’s quarters.” She said with a nervous chuckle, she really needed to get over this nervousness talking to people.

Sonja shook her head at the comments “Don’t be so hard on yourself. This is a new experience for all of us and we will have to get used to the changes that occur with such a huge change. Just take a deep breath and realize you are only the person you strive to be.” She said with a friendly smile.

She chuckled, “just really surprised that my first assignment is a Starbase. I figured I get assigned to some starship before ever being assigned to a starbase.” She replied with a smile, “I am not complaining I think this is a great opportunity especially on a starbase such as Starbase Bravo to gain some experience and knowledge.” Nilah replied though she was beginning to just talk, “I came from the Academy down on Mellstoxx III.” She added before stopping herself from talking her ear off which she tended to do sometimes.

Sonja just stood there listening wondering if the Ensign would eventually catch herself. “I think we are all surprised about the path we were given, but sometimes all you can do is push forward and hope for the best. I think this opportunity is better than any of us realize.”

“Sorry, I tend to talk too much when I get nervous,” she replied as she stood there for a moment thinking of what to say next without looking like a fool. “I better let you get back to what you were doing. I still need to get settled before I report for my first shift in a few hours,” Nilah replied with a smile looking at her. “It was nice meeting you,” she added.

Sonja smiled “It’s ok no need to fret. It happens I’m sure we will see each other soon being neighbors and all. Have a great evening Ensign Virahl.” 

Sonja watched the ensign go into her quarters. She closed the door to hers and went back to getting her room sorted. 

After getting all settled into her quarters and starting to get acclimated with the station, it was time to begin her shift here in about half an hour. After getting changed into a fresh uniform she headed out of her shared quarters and headed for the turbolift. After entering “Sector Echo-One-Green, engineering support.” She ordered as the doors closed and the lift began to move towards its destination. After a few moments, the lift finally stopped at its location and she exited, walking down the corridor towards engineering support.

After a few minutes of walking she finally arrived walking in, she looked around to see if she could see the officer she was supposed to report to. When she finally spotted him she walked up to him and smiled. “Ensign Nilah Virahl reporting for duty sir,” she said standing at attention looking at him.

Livingston tried his best to ignore almost everyone that came into the shift office. Unfortunately, as he peered around the room – his colleagues had left him high and dry. Standing up, he narrowed his eyes at the ensign before him. He considered asking her to stand at ease but decided against it as he approached Nilah. “Roger that, Ensign.” He extended his hand for a firm and confident handshake. “Welcome to beta shift. What brings you here?” He asked.

“I just arrived on board a few hours ago and was told to report to you for assignment,” she replied looking at him as she shook his hand in return. She hoped to be assigned to the shipyards to gain some experience but she would work anywhere that was needed.

Liv grabbed the PADD from his desk and hovered it near the ensign to allow the computer to pull up her transfer papers. “Wasn’t told we were getting anyone new today.” He gruffed. Scanning the information on the semi-transparent screen he darted his eyes back and forth between the device and the woman in front of him – perhaps trying to ascertain if the information seemed to correlate with the person before him or if it was just filler. After a few moments of awkward silence, Liv spoke, “Virahl comma N, the almighty computer system has assigned you to secondary maintenance services – are you familiar with this branch of base engineering?”

Now Nilah started to feel like an idiot coming in on her first day not reading up on how different a starship and starbase are. “Please forgive me, I am not” she replied in embarrassment that showed. ‘Great way to make your first impression Nilah’ she said to herself standing there.

“Well,” Liv chuckled. “Then, I’m not gonna be the one to disappoint you. I spent six months in secondary maintenance, nearly ripped my beard out.” He leaned back and propped himself up on the rim of the shelf behind him. “What do you want to be doing six months from now, ensign?” He asked. 

“I hope to get a shot at the shipyard side of things,” she said looking at him as she was quick with that answer. 

Liv shook his head in restrained disbelief. “Rookies always want to get a shot at shipyards.“ He said. After punching up a few changes to the orders, Liv swiped them up to the holo display in front of them. “Give it your best shot and I’ll see you back here in three weeks,“ he paused, “maybe two.“  

Raising an eyebrow at his comment, sure he gets that sort of thing all the time but she knew she could do it. She took extensive courses at the Academy for shipyard construction. Was probably the reason why for her assignment on a space station that had a shipyard, “thank you, sir.” Nilah replied with a smile, “hopefully you won’t see me again,” she replied.

“I hope so too, ensign.” Liv playfully saluted her as she walked out. 

She left the engineering support room and headed with padd in hand to the construction yard to begin her work, she would need to check in with the lead there and get orders on what they wanted her to do first. She was feeling confident, though not too confident where she would look to sure of herself. She just hoped she would make a good first impression when she arrived. 

Nilah had arrived aboard Starbase Bravo and was shown how to get to her quarters by the Deck Officer, she knew she had a roommate which was fine as she was used to it during the Academy. She wondered what she was like, once she entered looking around she hadn’t noticed anyone being here yet. “Mmm, looks like I am the first one to arrive,” Nilah replied as she took a small tour of the quarters and found her bedroom which was a bit bigger than her dorm on the Academy campus. She began to put her belongings away, setting up her room the way she liked it, she noticed she even had a small library shelf along one wall which was perfect for her books. She enjoyed reading anything engineering-type books, studying different things whenever she got the chance.

After being escorted by Sonja to the appropriate section and parting ways, she confirmed the number on the tag mounted to the door. “Yep, this is it.” She said to herself.

She keyed in the access code she was given for the room. The door hissed open and she quickly realized she was not the first to arrive, noticing the faint sound of her roommate coming from an adjacent room. Not that it bothered her. She’d nearly been late arriving on the station as it were. Having only a short amount of time before she needed to report to the medical facilities, she made way for the other room opposite from where the sound was coming from after calling out to the unknown voice “Hello?”

Startled by the sound coming from outside her room she got up from her bed and walked out to see a woman standing in the doorway of the other bedroom about to disappear out of view, “Ah you must be my roommate.” She replied with a smile looking at her. “I am Ensign Nilah Virahl,” she said as she extended her arm out towards her with a smile.

Hannah turned around at the sudden, unexpected response of her roommate and returned the handshake quickly but firmly, immediately releasing it after doing so. “Doctor Hannah Murphy. Well…resident doctor. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am happy to chat in the short time I have available, but you’ll have to excuse me while I put away my things while doing so. I need to be at the main infirmary in about thirty minutes. It took me forever to find these quarters. Thankfully an old friend of mine ended up on the station and helped me find them.” she said as she dipped into the bedroom, steadily increasing her voice for Nilah to hear.

“My mom is a doctor back on Trill,” Nilah replied as she followed her to her bedroom. “I am on beta shift, hoping to work in the shipyards” She added as she stood there at the door. 

“My dad is a doctor too. He’s the reason I got into medicine.” Hannah said, replying to the comment about Nilah’s mother while she hung her spare uniform in the closet. “Hopefully I can be as great a doctor as he was. That is if I can make it through these next few weeks. My schedule is all across the board in order to get familiar with station life at all hours of the day before settling into a standardized rotation.”

Moving around to the bed, Hannah then placed two photos on her bedside table. One was of her and her parents during their trip to Machu Picchu, the other, her Alaskan Malamute that she’d left with her parents due to the uncertainty of canine life aboard a station. “There! That should do until the rest of my belongings arrive.”

“My dad works for the Trill Science Ministry as a scientist, I am the only one that decided in engineering as well as joining Starfleet,” Nilah replied as she saw the pictures and smiled. “Beautiful family and pet,” she added with a smile. She never had a pet growing up not that she didn’t want one but her parents didn’t want any in the house and she was alright with that. “I am hoping to get assigned to the shipyards,” she added as she stood there looking at her. For being a shy and reserved person she sure wasn’t acting like it.

“I’m sure you’ll get it if you put your mind to it,” Hannah replied.

Hannah was really beginning to enjoy the company of her new roommate and would have loved to sit and get to know her more. However, time was rapidly running out and if she stayed she was going to be late for her first shift and she did not want to let her commanding officer down before the two had even had a chance to meet. She and Nilah exchanged a few brief parting pleasantries, grabbed her lab coat from the edge of the bed, and scurried out the door with the hope that she wouldn’t get lost on the final leg of the beginning of her Starfleet career.

Roars of applause and shouts of encouragement echoed throughout the stadium. The sound rose as the bull rushed passed the muleta, which is the brightly colored bit of cloth that is used as a matador’s cape. Doran moved with ease as he waved the cape. The Bull rushed passed the matador a second time and the crowd cheered in exuberant excitement, not knowing if the creature would hit the Andorian or not.  

The second duty shift had ended and with all the activity Lt. Jg Doran Thoor wanted to get away from the hustle and chaos in the hallways. He retreated to the holodeck, where he had found an intriguing program nearly three months ago.

Old Eath, Spain. According to the description, it appeared to be some sort of sporting activity. His first few encounters were quite frustrating, but he was resolved to master this sport.

Doran, had no idea humans could be so brutal.  The battle with the large beast exhilarated him, because for his tactical mindset it was not easy to predict the animal’s actions.  The bull fight was also elegant with the pageantry of bright clothing and movements between the animal and matador was similar to a dance.

Doran sidestepped and waved the cape for the third pass when the distinct hiss of the holodeck doors silenced the crowd for a moment. Boos and geers targeted the individual entering the ring.

It had been a long day. Patrolling the Promenade with Ensign Thompson and talking to people. Ta’set wasn’t the best at being friendly and getting to know people. Not to mention most people didn’t easily trust a Romulan. Some time on the holodeck would be just what he needed. Romulans only used holodecks for combat training purposes so he had been incredibly surprised when he found out that here in the Federation he could use them for fun. He still mainly used it for tactical training, but every now and then he enjoyed himself.  As he walked in there a program already running. An Andorian was fight some kinda of large creature that Ta’set have never seen before. “Oh sorry. I didn’t realize this station was in use”.

“Computer pause program.”  Doran snarled.  The crowd was immediately silenced and the bull froze in mid motion. His antenna twitched slightly as he glared toward the interloper. With so many new people on the base it was not unexpected for someone to walk in a program while it was running.

Doran was less irritated by the program being interrupted and more set off by being seen in his attire. His blue skin complimented the silk and satin, richly beaded waistcoat, and knee-length skintight trousers of trimmed in gold and silver.

Ta’set took a look around at the program now that it was paused. Ancient earth, a a big crowd and people in colorful attire.  A large creature of some sort with sharp looking horns that appears to be charging at an.. Andorian? The Andorian was wearing some kind of extravagant colorful outfit. If this wasn’t a strange sight Ta’set didn’t know what was.

He paused for a moment and approached the person.  At first he noticed the pointed ears and thought he was dealing with some sort of malformed Vulcan, but as he got closer he noticed the man was not Vulcan at all, but of Romulan heritage and wearing a Starfleet uniform with the rank of Ensign.

“Ensign?”  He questioned.

Ta’set touches his rank insignia, still not entirely used to the rank. “Yes, that is my rank”

Doran rolled his eyes and his antenna dipped in annoyance. “Yes, I know that is your rank. It is how I refer to people I do not know.”  He gave the Romulan a long look. “Normally, this is an opportunity for you to explain your reason for being here and to introduce yourself.” 

“Oh. Apologies. I am Ensign Ta’set from the Promenade Security.” Ta’set says. “I am new to the Federation and things here are… different” Ta’set pauses for a second. “As to why I am here, I was hoping to use the holodeck for some recreational activity. That is not something I was ever able to do in them Empire so I was wanting to explore opportunities here. I was not aware that you were in here. My apologies.”

Doran hufffed a bit and grumbled under his breath as he decided what to do.  “Very well.” And he waved his hand indicating the ensign should follow him. He took a few steps and announced, “Arch.” 

“When a holographic program is running, there is a control panel outside that indicates the program that is running.” Doran then tapped a few controls and his costume disappeared and his normal duty uniform appeared.”  He then turned to the ensign and addressed him. “It is considered poor manners to enter a holographic program while it is running, unless it is an open program.” He looked over the panel on the arch. “It appears I did not lock the door or define is as being private, so no harm.” He sighed at that slight over-site. 

“Anyhow.” Doran began. He explained the arch and how to find, build and even modify and run programs. “While this only scratched the surface, the computer can run you through a training program.” He touched the control panel to save his current progress and the holodeck returned to the standard black and yellow grid look. 

Doran turned to the ensign, “What sort of program are you looking to run?”

“Thank you for helping me understand the holodeck and it’s etiquette. I was attempting to run a program that would allow me to learn more about Star Fleet interactions and protocol.”

Doran tilted his head to the side as he thought about it a moment. “Did your academy classes not cover that information sufficiently?” He turned and tapped in a few commands and a room that any fist year cadet would recognize came into being. “Romulan, umm…What made you want to join Starfleet ?” 

“I fled the New Romulan Empire to get away from the danger and corruption. My shuttles navigation systems were damaged on the way out and I ended up in Federation Space instead of Republic space. I was rescued by a Federation vessel and things just kinda progressed from there.”

With a nod Doran acknowledged the statement. “Computer begin program.” The room filled with holographic cadets quickly taking their seats. “This lecture will, without a doubt provide you with all the information you seek.” Doran indicated that the Romulan should take the empty desk. “Dr. Salak does not take kindly to tardiness.”  Doran gave a short laugh. as a Vulcan professor appeared before the podium. 

“Exit.” He ordered. 

“I am not as tolerant as others, but since your new…” His voice trailed off because he did not know what else to say.  He signed heavily, as if he was remembering a previous conversation.  “I’m sure you will find your way soon enough.” 

“Thank you for your kindness. May we meet again” Ta’set says 

After his run-in with another new ensign, Azir started back on his task of finding a deck officer. As he rounded the corner of the hall he found a young man about his age with padd. Azir figured he might be one of the deck officers for the station. He made his way to him straightening his tunic and adjusting the bag on his shoulder.

“Are you the deck officer?” he asked as he approach the man hoping this wasn’t just someone going over a checklist, that would be just another highlight of his day so far. If it wasn’t for the one pip on his collar he would wonder if he was still a cadet with the way his day had gone.

Steven was going over a few last minute details when someone in a yellow shoulder top tunic stopped in front of him and asked that question. He noticed the single pip which put them pretty much at the same level of authority. “Why yes, Ensign, I am. How may I help you today?” He asked, lowering the padd down and placed his right hand over his left hand.

Azir smiled, “Ensign Azir Wolfguard, I just arrived on the station and I’m not sure where my quarters are sir” he asked using a more formal tone as he was not officially on duty.

Steven wondered why the same ranked officers are calling him ‘sir’, formal or not. “Just Ensign will do, we’re the same rank and all.” He said but shrugged his shoulders anyways. “Do you have your orders with you?”

Azir slid the bag off his shoulder and reached inside pulling out a padd with his orders. “Here they are,” he said as his eyes slowly drifted around at the size of the station.

Took the padd from the other Ensign, went and entered his orders into his holo display from his padd and the nav points generated. Steven then went and selected their location to Azir’s quarters then to where he had to report in. Once done, a route was automatically generated with directions. Afrer that, he swiped the display over to Azir and handed the padd back. “All right there, Ensign. Just follow the directions and you can’t go wrong! There anything else you need?”

“No ensign, thank you very much,” he said taking the padd into his hand and looking down at it.

“Welcome to Starbase Bravo and don’t get lost!” Steven told the man before he left. “I’m sure I’ll see him again. Maybe.” He thought over the compliment of personnel on the station and shrugged his shoulders.

After speaking with Ensign Watson, she made her way out onto the promenade heading towards the turbolift that would lead her to the deck where her quarters were located. As Nilah walked looking around in amazement, she then looked down at the padd with the needed navigational points to where to go while pulling along her luggage. She was about to round a corner looking up a bit too late and ran into another Ensign in yellow, causing her to fall backward hitting the deck.

Azir made his way towards the promenade with his bag slung over his shoulder. He wasn’t sure where his quarters were. He found his mind adrift thinking about the journey he had been on when something smacked into him. He shook his head as he steadied himself. He looked around in front of him and then saw another ensign on the floor.

He felt his cheeks flush and he shook his head. “I’m sorry about that I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you okay?” he asked as much as rambled.

Looking at the Ensign in front of her, “Yes I am alright.” She said as she picked herself up from the ground standing upright, she straightened her uniform out. “Truth be told I wasn’t exactly paying that much attention either. This place is huge and was admiring the Promenade before looking at my padd to make sure I was going in the right direction.” She went on, knowing she was talking too much again. “I am Ensign Nilah Virahl newly assigned here as an Engineer,” she said extending her hand towards him with a smile as she just arrived on board and she already started off meeting people with a bang.

He shook her hand with a smile. “Azir Wolfguard, newly assigned to tactical. I was trying to make my way to the deck officer but this place is a lot bigger than imagined, it’s impressive. You know you can read over the schematics and defense systems but it doesn’t do this place justice.”

He rubbed the back of his head knowing he had just rambled a lot of unimportant and to most people useless information. “So I guess we’re both new to the station,” he said trying to recover from rambling.

She smiled as she figured out there was another one like her who tends to talk too much when nervous, “It is huge I’d never imagined I would be assigned right out of the Academy to a space station.” Nilah replied as she looked at him.

“When I first heard I was getting assigned to a starbase I thought it was going to be, well I’m not exactly sure what I thought it would be but it wasn’t this,” he said with a soft chuckle. “I’m not holding you up am I?”

She chuckled, “no I have plenty of time before the beta shift starts. ”Maybe I can show you where the deck officer is located as I just came from there, well at least one of them anyway.” Nilah replied with a smile looking at him.

He smiled taking one last look around where they were. “Lead on,” he said as paused “Would you prefer me to call you by your first or last name,” he asked before rushing to add more “Or rank”  

‘This is why you spend time with books’ he chastised himself in his head. He had spent most of his time in the academy in the library people were not his strong suit but books and knowledge were.

She smiled at him as they began to walk the way that she came, “you can call me Nilah.” She replied with a smile as they walked down the promenade towards where the transporter room was where she had met the deck officer. Sure there were other ones around but she was unsure of where they would be so she just took him to the one she knew about.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said with a smile as he followed her, his eyes working over the station. “Thank you for showing me where to go” he added trying not to ramble.

They continued to chat while they walked, once they arrived she bid him farewell. “I am sure we will see each other again,” she said before she walked back towards the direction that she had just come to head to her quarters. She made sure to always pay attention to where she was going and if she had to look at directions she would just stop and look instead of looking while walking.