Captain Saffiya Nassar was well aware that a Commanding Officer wasn’t required to personally greet every new officer on their ship, especially not one of the size of the Valkyrie. At best, it was a First Officer’s job, but even then frequently was delegated down the chain.

The thing was that Saffiya very much enjoyed doing it herself, and made time whenever possible. Their newest member of the science devision came with an excellent recommendation and track record from Starfleet Academy – both of which had made her curious.

There would, of course, have been the option to summon the Ensign Irovin to her Ready Room – but that would be boring. Instead, she waited in the shuttle bay.

“Ensign.”, she said, offering a warm smile after giving the younger woman just enough time to wonder where to head to next. She paused, allowing additional time for her to register who Saffiya was. “I hope you had a pleasant journey. Did it take you long to make it here?

Tanna stepped off of the shuttlecraft ramp and turned a slow circle, taking in the immensity that was the shuttlebay. “This feels almost big enough to fit the whole Cromwell” she muttered to herself in amazement. The giant room was buzzing with motion and energy, as people went about their duties, with hardly a glance in her direction. U.S.S VALKYRIE NCC-74877 was emblazoned proudly along the wall opposite, positioned over the deck plan. She was about start towards it when she noticed someone cutting across the floor, directly towards her. Tanna’s eyes shifted to her collar, where she finally took note of the four shiny silver pips.

As her new captain reached her and asked how the journey was, Tanna found herself startled, and feeling suddenly apprehensive. Captains don’t usually meet Ensigns in the shuttlebay, do they? she thought to herself, starting to worry if there had been a mistake somewhere. She realized a few moments later with growing anxiety that she still hadn’t replied to the question. “Captain!” she said, much louder than she intended, and immediately felt her face flush red. “It was a lovely little break.” she continued slowly, regaining her composure, “It wasn’t too long, only about 36 hours. Just enough time for me to take in a few of my favorite movies.”  And one of Abigail’s. she thought, but kept that to herself. No sense in having a breakdown in the first five minutes. “This is so much bigger than my last ship” she said, “I can’t wait to get lost exploring her decks”.

Saffiya smirked at the Ensigns reaction, founding it charming more than anything else. “I promise you that you will get lost a lot, I still do.”, she confessed, motioning the woman to join her as she headed towards the nearest turbolift.

“On you, Captain”, Tanna said, jumping into step behind her new CO. They crossed the shuttlebay floor with a speed appropriate a captain, fast enough to get somewhere quickly, but slowly enough to take in the surroundings. How does she do that? Tanna thought as she watched The Captain move through the commotion with ease, seeming at times to even float above the deck, while she did her best to match pace a step or two behind, not wanting to get too close or stray too far away, or get run into by another crew member. They made it to the turbolift, and as the doors hissed closed, Tanna turned to The Captain and spoke up, “What’s next, ma’am? Would you like me to head to a lab and get right to work?”

The Captain considered for a moment. “Well, the official first steps are to get assigned to your quarters – Ensigns usually share with one other Ensign, but I know we are not at full capacity and you might be able to get single quarters for the time being, if you ask the quartermaster nicely.”, she replied with a wink. “And then, before the start of your first shift, there is a medical check-up. But since the first day is meant to arrive and get to know your new ship, there is ample time for that – if you are hungry, we could stop by Valhalla.”

Valhalla was the main relaxation space for the crew, and although Saffiya frequented the senior lounge, she often made a point of visiting Valhalla at least once a week, and connect to the members of her crew she didn’t usually get to interact with.

As those last words left The Captain’s mouth, almost on cue Tanna’s stomach gave a loud growl which felt like it echoed off the walls in the turbolift, and her eyes met the kind gaze of her new CO. “I could definitely go for a bite” she said as her face again turned red, “Breakfast was quite a while ago it seems” Soon enough the turbolift came to a stop, and the doors opened to a corridor both totally alien, and totally familiar.

A few moments later, they entered what Saffiya had affectionately nicknamed \”The Gates to Valhalla\”, which were plain doors that slid open with a quiet hiss as they approached. Beyond that, however, the designs and decoration had nothing to do with Starfleet’s usual utilitarian look.

Valhalla was largely kept in the style of ancient Norse cultures, blending it effortlessly with the progression of time that had eventually led them to space travel.

A waiter approached, greeting the Captain before offering both officers a table, where they sat down and browsed the menu. “You know…”, said Saffiya, her voice low and a conspiratory glint in her eyes, \”When I first arrived on the Valkyrie, I came here in civilian clothing – and promptly found myself among a group of Ensigns who loudly spread theories and rumours about the new Captain.”

Tanna let out a loud laugh, and slapped the table with her hand. “No way!” she exclaimed, “How did you get out of that?” This is nice, she thought letting her smile carry on after the laughter had ended, It’s nice to not have people feeling sorry for me for a change. 

“I just played along and added my own theories.”, Saffiya grinned.

Tanna took a look around this communal space, decorated in some ancient earth fashion, and let out a sign of contention. She had opted out of any synthohol as she wasn’t sure what was in store after this friendly introductory discourse, and wanted to make sure she was fit for duty.

Her thoughts soon betrayed her, however, when she started thinking about room assignments, and whether she would have a roommate. Her last roommate was of course, Abigail, and those two thoughts chained themselves together way too quickly, preceding the all too familiar flood of fond memories. She felt her breath catch in her throat, and she reflexively lifted her left hand to her right shoulder, letting it run over the cold metallic surface hidden underneath her uniform. The Captain must have noticed, because when Tanna caught herself and lifted her head again, she was met with a look of genuine concern.

“Is everything alright, Ensign?”, Saffiya asked gently. She was still learning to be a people-person, but she could tell when something was up.

“Apologies, Captain.” Tanna said quickly, “It’s an injury I sustained on an away mission. It’s pretty gruesome though, so I’ll spare you the gory details. It still hurts quite a bit once in a while.” No breakdowns, she told herself, not on the first day. Tanna did her best to cheer back up, and she reminded herself of of all the amazing opportunities here. It’ll get better with time, the doctor had said to her, the pain and the hurt.  “This place is pretty amazing,” she said as she collected herself, “I’ve never seen a Viking tavern on a starship before. Was this your idea?”

“Oh no, it was like that when I came. I am fairly sure someone looked up Valkyries and decided to make this the ship’s whole personality.”, Saffiya laughed, happy to let the other woman steer the conversation. “My last ship wasn’t nearly as fancy as this one. How are your Academy-colleagues taking that you got a first assignment like this one? I think I would have been hugely jealous.”

“Oh, yes.” Tanna said flashing an excited grin, “Most of my classmates wound up on Novas like the Cromwell or Oberths.To get a posting on a Sovereign is pretty amazing. Especially the Valkyrie, she’s a pretty sought after lady. One of my classmates almost got posted to the Enterprise! Could you imagine? He didn’t of course, because it’s super exclusive, from what I hear. For me, after what happened during my year on the Cromwell, I had to make a change. It was really just luck that you had an open position right when I was searching. That’s not to say I don’t want to be here Ma’am, I was really excited to get the job. I just can’t believe I got so lucky. You know, I’m actually planning on calling one of my classmates once I get settled into my quarters, you know, just to gloat a little bit.” She let out a small, devilish laugh. She closed her menu and set it down on the table. “What about you, Captain, what brought you here to the Valkyrie?”

“I got my own Command not too long ago – the USS Cupertino – but her previous Captain had never meant to retire. So I was transferred here.”

Tanna sat back after finishing her meal, and took another drink. “Amazing,” she exclaimed quietly, “It’s my dream to command my own ship one day. It sounds so exciting.”

Saffy grinned. She didn’t mention how awful her very first mission aboard the Cupertino had been, and how she was still struggling with the fallout of their descent into underspace. Instead, she mirrored the Ensigns enthusiasm. “That’s the great thing – it’s all in the cards for you, so to speak. The magic of Starfleet.”

Tanna leaned forward again, resting her chin on one hand. She reached out her other hand to the oil lamp that was illuminating the table, and waved it slowly back and forth in the flame. It wouldn’t burn her, of course, as it was just a hologram, but she enjoyed the way it danced and licked around her fingers. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” she quoted, “Imagine what Arthur C. Clark would say if he could see this. I find a lot of times we take for granted all the amazing technology in our lives. On ancient earth, even something as simple as light was so laborious, and we can recreate it with a little code and some computing power.” She paused for a second, then let out a laugh. “Sorry to wax poetic, Captain. I’ll try to keep my philosophizing to a minimum.”

“Oh please, I am all for philosophizing.”, the Captain responded. “Though I am more curious to learn more about what you envision in regards to your career – don’t worry, this is nor a formal interview, but I wouldn’t have gotten where I am if I didn’t have people who supported me. I already know you would like to command your own vessel at some point.”

“I’d love to be present at the birth of a star.” Tanna said excitedly, “Or be the first to discover a new species of life. Eventually I think I’d like to settle down on Earth and teach Astrophysics or Xenobiology at the academy. Did you know I’ve never actually been to Earth? My mom talks about it all the time, but I doubt it’s the same as when she was there.”

“Is there anything in the immediate future you would like to achieve?”

“I think for now, I would be content with getting myself buried in some work, and having some fun adventures. My last posting was a little traumatic, as you may have read in my file, and it would be nice to slow down a little.” Famous last words, she thought to herself as she sipped her water. Oh well, I guess we’ll see.  “What do you say, Captain, should we go see the Quartermaster and get my room sorted out? I think I’d like to get my things arranged.”

“Of course.”, Saffiya nodded. “I think I will remain here a little longer.”

She watched at the Ensign left, feeling quite positive about the interaction. Surely, the woman would make a great addition to the crew.