—- USS Seattle, Above Nuevo Mundo —-

The newly discovered world, or at least the section that the crew was limited to visiting, had proven to be quite a hit. It was a perfect world for colonization, except that it was so far away from Federation space or anything that the crew knew. Even Tashai the El-Aurian on the crew had not been this far past what the Federation knew and had explored. It was lonely, about 100 people removed from anything they’d known before. Granted the Voyager had been further out, but Federation exploration had been more methodical than this in exploring and expanding their borders. 

Lieutenant Akane Sone was in her Stellar Cartography lab. Aside from Nuevo Mundo she was able to give names to almost all of the worlds that she found. Or at least those that the Captain and first officer had not chosen to name. With the USS Seattle’s sensors no longer tracking the Borg, she could use them to broaden her sight and explore in a way that did not necessarily require her to put ‘boots on the ground’. For example she found a gaseous world not too far away orbiting one of the twin suns that they had found. The ship would not go there, particularly after the disastrous results of being in the suns’ radiation field before, but she could chart it from afar and add it to her records. 

In walked Lieutenant Claudia Jara, half of the Strategic Operations department and Sone’s lab’s neighbor. 

“You going down to the world?” Lieutenant Jara asked.

”I don’t need to set foot on a planet to explore it,” Sone said.

”It’s not about exploring. It’s about getting some air, some sun. Getting out of uniform,” Jara said, “Relaxing.”

Sone had the ship’s computer run another sensor sweep, and marked down a few interesting stellar bits and bobs. She had the sense that Jara was flirting with her a bit, but she was not quite good at figuring these sorts of things out. Sone knew that she could be a bit oblivious to those kind of things. She ignored that implication for now and focused on her work, her fingers tapping glass as she set up another query in the computer. 

Jara grabbed her hand, “Hey, relax okay. These planets will still be there tomorrow.”

Sone pulled her hand away, “Stick to your own business. I don’t come into your lab or whatever it is and tell you to stop, strategically operating.”

”People don’t get when they’re powerless,” Jara said, “the Borg scared me to, but I’ve been through a lot growing up on Turkana IV and it taught me that sometimes you just have to have fun when you can because the bad times had a way of coming no matter what you do.”

”It’s not about being powerless, it’s about doing something people remember you for,” Sone argued.

”You’re not Kirk, or Picard and neither am I. Nobody will remember us, the sooner you understand that the better,” Jara said.

Sone shrugged, the Cartographer knew that she was unlikely be remembered widely, but maybe there was the option to discover a planet that one day held millions of people. To map something that mattered. Still her fellow Lieutenant was not wrong in her assessment, she could use the break.

Nodding she said, “Alright give me an hour to clean up here and get a bathing suit on.”

”I’d better see you down on the surface,” Jara said.

—- Nuevo Mundo —-

The world was lush, and the part that the USS Seattle’s crew was allowed had no predators that could pose a threat to the crew. The island continent that they had found had been rather isolated from the other continents and had created an almost too perfect landing area. The Operations crew had set up an area for beaming down, and they had also set up a portable replicator to provide food and drinks.

As Lieutenant Akane Sone materialized on the world she adjusted her one piece bathing suit which was similar to what most of the female crew wore. They had all picked the standard design in the replicators, and had been happy with that. The difference beating Sone’s metallic prosthetic legs which began just above her knees. Jara was already there, looking around surveying the planet visually.

”You made it,” Jara observed.

”I did,” Sone said

”I didn’t realize your legs, anyway you don’t notice, or I didn’t,” Jara said, “Let me know if we should avoid sand or water.”

”No, it’s okay, they’re able to stand up to that,” Sone said.

The pair walked down to a beach area nearby, able to get far enough away from the crowded beam down spot that the original away team had setup. They both lay down towels and then laid down on the soft sand below.

”See isn’t this better than being in a lab?” Jara said. Unlike much of the rest of the crew she had not going for the default first choice bathing suit, but rather than selected a more revealing two piece design that Sone recognized as a bikini. Jara was nothing, if not confident in herself, though Sone supposed to go through a rather lawless home-world to Starfleet you had to have confidence.

“I like my lab,” Sone said.

“Nerd usually do,” Jara teased.

Sone smiled, “Yes, I’m a nerd. Guilty as charged.”

—- USS Seattle, Ready Room —-

Captain Nathanial Hawthorne sat at his desk reading the response from Starfleet. Apparently they had done a good job, managing not to die, and to lead the Borg away from Federation space. Now they had to get home, but as pushing themselves to race back was unlikely they had been tasked with finding out what was out there. It would be about a month or two before they returned to Federation space, so this was an extended mission, largely left to their own discretion.

“Seventy-eight percent of the crew have had shore leave on world,” Commander Adriana Cruz said, “A good number.”

”We’ll leave tomorrow or the next day. Starfleet wants us home, though we can make a few stops along the way,” Hawthorne said, “though probably no more words just to visit the beach.”

Cruz laughed, “It was nice down there.“

”Even his you didn’t wear a bikini,” Hawthorne teased, setting down the PADD and standing. He kissed Cruz on the cheek and went over to his bar which was mostly for manual coffee brewing. He looked at Cruz, “Want coffee?”

”Fine, we’re not going anywhere I’ll take one of your overly fussy coffees,” Cruz said.

The Captain set about grinding the beans and then pouring the water over the grounds after placing them in a metal looking thing that Cruz could not identify. Making coffee via a replicator was easier and made more sense to Cruz but for once she was going to indulge Hawthorne.

Just once.

”We get to explore, you must be happy with that,” Cruz said watching as Hawthorne continued to pour.

”I am, it’s all new. Not many of us get to do that,” he said.

”Where no one has gone before,” Cruz said accepting the cup of coffee from Hawthrone when it was done. Though she would not tell him, it was actually pretty good.

The Captain nodded, “To strange new worlds, and new civilizations.”