“Shutdown sequence complete. All systems are secure. You’re free to disembark.”

The pilot’s announcement concluded with the accompanying hiss of depressurization and the gentle hum of the aft hatch as it lowered to the deck below. The lively conversation continued between Bravo’s newest contingent of Academy graduates as they took their first step into their new posting.

Despite life support systems within every Starfleet vessel, starbase and facility maintaining a specific standard of environmental conditions, Byron Ward’s colourful imagination had already convinced his senses that the air onboard the Guardian-class Stardock was somehow cleaner, that he could taste the metallic zing from the lungful of air inhaled as the group stood on the shuttle bay deck.

Logically, he knew that his human physiology was nowhere near sensitive enough to detect differences in the air he was breathing at the molecular level; but having spent the majority of his life within the confines of Starfleet-engineered artificial environments, the modernity of Starbase Bravo sold the illusion.

PADD in one hand and case of essential belongings in the other, Byron offered the group a jovial goodbye and set off in the indicated direction. The whirr of heavy bulkhead doors announced his arrival at the station proper, and even a self-proclaimed Lunar schooner Starfleet brat couldn’t hold back his amazement.

Stepping into the cavernous hub of the station felt like stepping into the twenty-fifth century for the first time.

The twin promenades bustled with a diverse crowd of races; Starfleet officers, merchants, traders, civilians, if it wasn’t for the vista of docked ships framed by massive promenade windows, Byron could have sworn he was planet-side. Like a kid on his first vacation, the newly minted ensign allowed his curiosity to roam free as he continued on his path towards the designated crew living quarters where, surprisingly, a room of his own awaited. Four years of living life as a cadet accustomed you to certain realities; that shared accommodation would remain a continuing requirement until you reached the higher ranks.

With no real schedule to adhere to and a real need to explore, Ensign Ward lost himself to the grandeur of Starbase Bravo.