The Mellstoxx III campus of Starfleet Academy was well-situated enough that the sun shone bright on the Ellipse as Captain Reyes crossed the lawn. He had to squint as he looked up at the administration building, the stark white walls reflecting the blinding sunshine, but he’d been here before, and there was no mistaking his destination.

Most of the cadets were fresh-faced enough to still look startled at an unexpected officer in captain’s pips walking the green. Responses ranged from the complete obliviousness of those who had not yet trained themselves to notice and read pips instinctively, to a few confused and overly-formal salutes, or simply collapsing into a pile out of the way. For his part, Reyes just gave them all a cheerful smile and a bright, ‘Good morning, Cadet!’

They had enough ahead of them without him being a stick-in-the-mud.

Commodore Bale’s office overlooked the Ellipse itself, giving the commandant a glorious view of sprawling green space and the scurrying young minds it was his responsibility to mold and shape. The older Betazoid man rose with a jubilant air as Reyes came in, circling his wide desk to give an ebullient handshake.

‘Javi! Glad you could make it down to the surface.’ At once, Bale looked around his comfortable office with rank disinterest, and wrinkled his nose. ‘It’s a great day out there. Let’s not be cooped up, you get enough of that in orbit. There’s a coffee stand just by the parade ground.’

‘I do miss the sun,’ agreed Reyes, who had spent most of his adult life in space.

Thus did they cause more palpitations among the young cadets, a captain and the commandant helping themselves to lattes on the lawn. Bale was even more of a nuisance back out on the Ellipse, calling out to various trainees by name, stopping them to ask about their day, their classes, and remembering something personal and pertinent about each and every one of them.

‘You ever get anything done when you go for walks?’ Reyes said cheerfully.

‘I get to know my students. Far more interesting than corralling faculty heads.’ Bale smiled and sipped his coffee. ‘I assume you coming down here means construction’s finally finished?’

‘Stormbreaker was a setback. A lot of resources we wanted to dedicate to the new wing had to go to refugees and rescue mission…’

Bale lifted a hand. ‘You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Javi. We had to help those people. My cadets could wait a little longer among the joys of Mellstoxx.’

‘It is a pretty planet,’ agreed Reyes, looking to the distant trees at the far end of the parade ground, a cultivated little woodland which wouldn’t promise much by way of secrets, but perhaps shade. For a moment he wondered if his family would be happier on the planet, with him hopping down from Bravo on as many evenings as he could manage. But no. Eva would never want to leave the station, the hub of activity for the whole region.

‘How’s everything since the storm?’ Bale pressed on.

‘We still have some refugees, mostly from Coronal. Recovery on that world is going to take a while, and it’s not like we can give them new settlements like that.’ Reyes snapped his fingers with a sigh. ‘But most of the relief efforts and evacuations have moved on. We can get back to business as usual.’

‘And new business.’ Bale’s dark eyes brightened. ‘You already have a few cadets on the station, of course.’

‘Fourth years getting some hands-on experience. We’re in the position now to do more.’ Reyes began counting by tapping his fingers gripping the coffee cup. ‘Bigger dorm facilities for third- and fourth-years. More opportunities for hands-on departmental experience. The Exeter’s fit to fly, our auxiliary craft are fit to fly, Stinsfor is ready for more cadets, you’ve got those new base camps on the IVa and IVd moons for more biome survival training.’

‘You better not be exciting my cadets so much with field training and experience that they forget to transport back down for classes. And, the last thing. I’m going to be asked. I’m going to have that bright young cadet-captain coming right at me, so you better make sure I have an answer.’

Reyes couldn’t help but return the grin, Bale’s energy infectious. ‘You got it. Full training facilities and amenities for Cadet Squadron Bravo. We’ll give them the complete experience, Ison, I promise you. And put them through their paces.’

‘Oh, I’m not worried about them,’ Commodore Ison Bale chuckled, gleaming with pride as he looked back across the lawn at the slew of cadets of his campus going about their business. ‘A huge new intake of my kids getting their hands dirty up in orbit? Just wait and see, Javi. They might teach you a thing or two.’

Starbase Bravo In-Play for Q2 2400 

• The Stormbreaker Campaign has ended, and Starbase Bravo has stood down from its emergency condition to help in the Paulson Nebula. There is still a small collection of refugees from Coronal aboard and the occasional mission to the nebula investigating the after-effects, but life on the station is generally returning to normal.
• Most of the new officers have had a chance to settle aboard Bravo these past months, and might be looking for new opportunities. This is a good time to arrange to move up a Tier if you’re eligible, either adapting your current character’s position or creating new ones! It’s okay to slowly expand the roster and write characters in new departments.
• Most importantly, SB Bravo is now home to a greater community of third and fourth-year cadets getting hands-on experience working on the starbase, and further training. Most notable of these are Cadet Squadron Bravo, the elite training unit whose opportunities are greatly expanded by this change. Cadets can work and train on Bravo, but return to the Mellstoxx campus for classes, or take them remotely.