—- Starbase 86. Senior Officer’s Lounge —

The names of the new two senior staff aboard the USS Selene were familiar to Captain Olivia Carrillo, even if she had never met them. Looking through their records she saw that Commander Doctor Travis McCleod, and Captain Doctor Michelle Mueller had both served on the USS Anaheim where much of her current crew had come from. Mueller had went on to command an Olympic-class medical ship, and the Commander had taken time off back on Earth.

Carrillo was not convinced that there would not be an issue, with two captains on one ship, particularly when Lieutenant Kolem who had served with Mueller on the Anaheim admitted that the woman had clashed with Captain Hawthorne. 

“He hated having doctors running the show, which given Mueller and McCleod were in charge of the medical contingent on a medical California-class bugged him,” Kolem explained as the senior staff of the USS Selene welcomed the Academy Staff onboard.

“Pleasure to meet you both,” Carrillo said, as she changed topics as the two officers clad in Academy uniforms approached she extended a hand and smiled.

“Nice to meet you,” McCleod said with his laid-back manner, he smiled at Kolem, “And you Lieutenant, last time I saw you you were fresh out of the Academy.”

Kolem smiled, “How’d you end up together? I mean in the Academy, together?”

Mueller shrugged, “My ship was decommissioned. I had to wait for a new assignment, and Doctor McCleod had always been a mentor so I took him up on his offer of a job.”

“I took some time away from Starfleet while my father was sick, helping run the family medical practice back home. After he died, my brother stepped up and Starfleet had me teaching at San Francisco. I was needing to leave the planet, for my own mental well-being, so I took an assignment here, teaching students in space,” he explained.

“To be clear we are not together,” Mueller said, her Germanic nature almost Vulcan-like in its need for expressing the exact truth of the matter.

McCleod nodded, “She is closer to a younger sister.”

Carrillo nodded, wanting to point out that she did not care what the two Academy Professors did with their time, or their girl parts and boy parts. Instead, she once again changed the topic, gesturing around the lounge on Starbase 86, “Well I trust you know Lieutenant Commander Young, and see Lieutenant Commander Tashia if you need anything, or need help settling in.”

“Sounds like we’re back on the Anaheim,” joked McCleod recognizing most of those names. 

“The students are arriving throughout this week,” Mueller explained, “There will be four to a room in terms of sleeping arrangements. They’ll take class and do at least three duty shifts a week. Also we’d like to schedule you and some of your crew to teach classes. It’ll be two hours a week for lecture and an additional few hours throughout the semester of hands-on learning.”

Carrillo nodded, while she had nothing against Starfleet Academy students having been one herself, she did not really want to spend anytime teaching. Still she’d have to play along, as it was part of having a Lamarr-class ship.

“Send me the details, and who from my crew you’re looking at taking part,” she said.

— USS Selene, Sickbay —

Doctor Mueller entered sickbay, it was more modern than either the USS Anaheim’s or her own command has been. Still it had the familiar sterile atmosphere of medical bays throughout the Federation. Docked there were only a few nurses working and one doctor Doctor Thomas Elordi.

“I was looking for Doctor Va’Tok, I was his Chief Medical Officer,” Mueller said when asked if she needed anything.

Elordi’s face fell, “Oh, I am sorry. I thought… Va’Tok was killed months ago on the USS Luna. We had a changing onboard and he was umm… I tried to save him but I wasn’t able to. I’m sorry.”

Knowing that doctors did not get the luxury of grief the way others do she nodded. Va’Tok had been a friend, and they had worked closely for years. On her own ship it seemed that she had not gotten notice of the Vulcan’s passing or it had been one report from another ship, buried amongst dozens of such reports.

“Doctor T’Rala is the CMO now,” Doctor Elordi said, “I can call her in if you want?”

Mueller shook her head, “No I was just visiting a friend, nothing official.”

Elordi nodded, “Well I’ll see you around.”

— USS Selene, Dock —

Three years of Starfleet Academy, another six months of on the job training on the USS Dallas near Vulcan. Still Cadet William Gakor was nervous as he adjusted the strap on his duffle bag walking into the USS Selene. He’d only been on aging workhorses, this was a sleek and modern ship. These were officers with years of experience on the frontier, protecting the Federation.

“Don’t be nervous,” fellow cadet Jura Ibile said, reading his mind as she approached him from behind. Not that she being here was likely to make him less nervous. They’d briefly dated in second year and that had ended in an embarrassing event on the Golden Gate Bridge of which she had promised never to speak of.

He glanced at her, not surprised as he’d seen her on the transport to Starbase 86 the day before. Jura smiled to put him at ease, “Relax they all put their pants on one leg at a time just like you.”

“I should never have taught you that phrase,” Gakor observed. 

A woman who barely looked to be out of the Academy herself approached, she wore the yellow accented uniform of engineering, or operations.

“I’m Lieutenant Commander Tashai, can I help you get to your rooms?” she offered.

“Lieutenant Commander, how uhhh, could you be so highly ranked?” asked Gakor. As a telepath Ibile could already tell and looked slightly embarrassed.

“I’m four hundred and twenty-three,” Tashai said, “but thank you for thinking I look young. Our Assistant Chief Engineer is older than that. So don’t worry, you’ll fit in looking like you’re still a Cadet.”

“I am still…” began Gakor before being kicked in the shin by Ibile who was trying to get him to stop digging a hole for himself.

Tashai smiled, “Don’t worry about it, if I had a dollar for every one who said I was young I’d have about a hundred dollars. Which isn’t much but it’s funny it’s happened a hundred times. Oh and dollars were a form of currency on Earth in the old days. Your rooms are that way and down two decks. I’ve put signs up until everyone is aboard we’ve divided them up by male identifying and female identifying students.”

— USS Selene, Engineering —

Doctor Travis McCleod entered the engineering bay and nodded at James Young who was standing on a console tying to reach into a Jefferies Tube. Young spotted him and leapt down onto the floor.

“Commander, congratulations I heard you just got the full pip,” McCleod said shaking his hand.

“Captain went up a pip, gave me a bump. Not that it changes anything I do,” Young said, “I still herd the same cats.”

McCleod chuckled.

“Hey Young, what’s the deal with the shields, we got them back to full after the fight?” the Assistant Chief Engineer Murf asked.

“They’re back to full,” confirmed Young.

McCleod nodded at her, “And who is this young lady?”

Murf smiled, “Murf, Young you didn’t tell me you knew any guys.”

“I know men and women,” Young said tiredly.

“So what’s Murf short for?” McCleod asked.

“Murf,” Murf answered.

“Okay, are you enjoying working with Young? I remember when he was just a Lieutenant back on the Anaheim,” McCleod said.

Murf nodded, “He’s a good boss. I’ve had a few of them in past careers.”

“What else have you done?” McCleod asked.

Murf rattled off a number of jobs from being a miner to once being an actresses in holonovels.

“That’s a lot of jobs,” McCleod said.

“She’s like eight thousand years old,” Young said, “Lanthanite.”

“I am not that old,” Murf said, though her file did not actually say how old she was, and it was a question she always avoided.

McCleod laughed, “Now I feel  like the young rookie.”

“You were born old,” Young said.

“I was, that’s true. Good to see you Young,” McCleod said.

He turned and started towards the turbo lift when he noticed that Murf was following him, “Can I help you?”

“Do you want to go out and have dinner?” Murf asked.

“Do you date younger men?” McCleod asked.

“If I didn’t I’d never date at all. Do you date older women?” Murf asked, not that serious about the date, or anything really.

“I’ll manage. Eighteen hundred? There’s a place on the starbase I’ll take you to,” McCleod said.

“Eighteen hundred sounds good,” Murf said nodding.