The buzz around Sickbay had finally calmed down. The emergency plans and drills had yielded better results than Salara had anticipated. She didn’t honestly know what to expect, never having worked with this crew before. Regardless, they were ready for a crisis; everyone knew their place and roles. Selara enjoyed watching the senior members mentor the more junior ones.

“How was the send-off, doctor?” Ensign Korren said, poking his head into her office.

Selara frowned, “A bit underwhelming, to be honest. It felt like everyone had a place except me. And then I remembered this is my place.” She made a sweeping gesture to indicate the Sickbay. “I don’t pilot the ship or fire phasers. We’re a bit like engineers in that regard,” she considered this. “I can monitor things from the Bridge, but I’m more hands-on than that.” She hadn’t considered that leaving space dock had a bigger, more profound effect on her crew.

“Mr. Korren, something just occurred to me.”

“Ma’am?”

“I haven’t explored the ship. I came straight from dock to my quarters, to here. I saw Captain Romaes, then back here.” She quickly nodded, “I think a nice walk will do me good.” She stood, hung her coat on the hanger, and left Sickbay.

As the doors closed, she considered what would be a good destination. Anything departmental would be too busy right now, and her presence would be disruptive. “I should see this lounge that everyone is talking about. I shall go boldly!” She chuckled to herself. Traversing throughout the ship, she found the entrance to the lounge. And she only got lost once, much to her satisfaction. The doors opened as she approached, revealing the massive space that was the lounge. “This is everything that everyone in Sickbay said it was…” 

Selara stared in amazement at the aquarium towards the back. Almost instinctively, she found herself moving towards it. There wasn’t anything particularly charming about it, and Selara wasn’t naturally drawn to sea life. But the hulking beast had a presence that demanded to be recognized. Indeed, standing next to it she felt very small. “If this is meant to help one to remember their place in the galaxy, it does an amazing job.” She craned her neck to look at the top, but the combined eye and neck strain until it was no longer tolerable. “You win today, aquarium,” she chuckled. “Perhaps a drink to contemplate things,” she said, making her way to the bar.