Feeling nervous, Bollwyn walked into Transporter Room Two and smiled at the transporter chief. 

“They’re ready to transport over, sir,” The chief said.

Nodding back at them, Bollwyn gave the go-ahead. Grasping his hands behind his back, Bollwyn stood up straight. He wanted to provide an excellent first impression and didn’t want to let Lieutenant Commander Alkos Kudege down. The very handsome Bajoran man was their chief operations officer and had asked Bollwyn last night while they were both in the gym. Well, Bollwyn wasn’t sure why he was in the gym. Bollwyn was trying to work on his own fitness regimen when he was transfixed by the impressive amount of weight that Alkos had been lifting. Despite Bollwyn’s best efforts to concentrate on his routine, he couldn’t help but be drawn to Alkos’ incredible muscles, further accentuated by his snug-fitting vest. The man was an Adonis. 

Shaking his head out of his thoughts, Bollwyn looked straight ahead and smiled just as the transporter beam finished materialising their new crewmember. As his department head had taught him, the best way that Denobulans made someone feel comfortable was with their huge welcoming grin. There was no way that Bollwyn could smile as high and wide as Lieutenant Commander Velesa; he ensured he appeared friendly.

“Welcome aboard the U-S-S Columbia; I’m Ensign Samwell Bollwyn, one of the ship’s science officers.” 

Sonia materialised in the transporter room of the Columbia and looked around. She shifted the large duffle bag containing her belongings on her shoulder as it had gotten tangled in the braid. Without the braid, her long blond hair would likely push regulation length on the right side of her head as she had an undercut on the left. Looking around, she nodded towards the transporter chief before her blue eyes settled on the young ensign in blue before her. “It’s a pleasure Ensign Bollwyn; I’m Ensign Sonia Jeden, engineering and operations,” she said, matching his smile, “”I’m“It’sThank you for meeting me.” 

Bollwyn stepped forward and extended his hand to shake hers. He had seen Commander Nelson, their first officer, do the old human custom on many occasions. The Bajoran woman before him was beautiful, and he was sure her eyes sparkled under the transporter’s light. “If you follow me, I’ll take you to the Lower Deck bunks.”

She took his hand and gave it a shake, “Ah, the lower deck bunks, can I call a top one?” She asked with a little laugh. “Always prefer the top bunk.”

Bollwyn chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head. “I’m sure there’s plenty for you to pick from.”

As they made their way down the corridor, Sonia couldn’t help but feel like she was walking with giants on such a legendary class of vessel. “So, Ensign Bollwyn, or can I call you Samwell? Have you been on the Columbia long? What’s she like? Anything a fresh graduate should know?”

“I’ve been on the Columbia for a year now, and you can call me Samwell as long as I can call you Jeden?” Bollwyn replied, still smiling. “The Columbia is one of a kind. She’s got all of the modern marvels of the twenty-fifth century but still has the groovy twenty-three-sixties feel! The Columbia may be one of the oldest Galaxy-class ships still in service, but she’s got character!”

She smiled at that, “But of course, it wouldn’t be right not to call me by my name,” she said with a wink. “I have to say, the ‘groovy’ twenty-three-sixties is a lot brighter than the newer ships, and they have carpets! I toured a Sagan-class at Starbase Bravo, which definitely has a different feel, not bad, just different.” As they approached the turbolift, she realised they had walked past the captain’s quarters, “Do you know the Captain, Samwell? What is Corbin like?”

They entered the nearest turbolift, and Bollwyn called for their destination before continuing to share what he knew about the ship. “I joined shortly after its last major refit when Captain Corbin took command. He is pretty cool, almost like a twenty-fifth-century Jean Luc Picard, without the obsession for digging up old things or having any connection to the Borg!”

“That is high praise; Admiral Picard is famous, one of a kind, saved the Federation several times and…” she turned away slightly as she realised she was fangirling a little and felt her cheeks flush. She recomposed herself and looked back at Samwell, “No connection to the Borg is good, though hopefully, we won’t hear about them for a while or ever again. Creepy bastards…” She paused momentarily and ran her tongue along her teeth, a habit she developed for when she is nervous, “…is there anything I should know about Captain Corbin, in case I met him?”

“One thing to know about the captain, he expects us to keep everything neat – I mean everything!” Bollwyn emphasised that last word as the turbolift came to a smooth halt, and the doors hissed open for them. “And welcome to Lower Decks country!” He extended his arm down the massive long corridor. “A majority of the junior crew reside here. Most of us do have quarters, but a good number of us prefer it here. Though most things are communal, it brings us all together, and the bar is pretty good too.”

“Thanks for the heads up about everything being neat. I will make sure my space is spotless.” She stepped out into the corridor and smiled, “This is pretty cool; I get the wanting a sense of community; I will be happy here for sure.” They started to make their way down past the rows of bunks until they reached the top bunch designated for her. “Looks like this is me,” she said, tossed her bag onto it, and looked around at various ensigns milling about. “Do you need to get back to things, or do you have a bit longer? I would love to hear more about the ship and crew. I will be working with Lieutenant Commanders Alkos Kudege and Stefanie Ortega; are they good people to work with? Their files only say so much?”

Hearing Alkos’ name made Samwell blush; he shook his head to refocus on Sonia. “Both are great at the jobs they do. Commander Ortega knows the ship’s engines like the back of her hand, and Alkos is just…great. He’s grea”.