Joining the Hunt
Posted on Wed Mar 22nd, 2023 @ 11:02am by Lieutenant Christopher Blake & Lieutenant Sorine Kaida
Edited on on Tue Mar 28th, 2023 @ 10:23am
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
The Hunt Begins
Location: Poseidon Station
Timeline: MD003 0800 hrs
Chris finished bringing the last of his kit onto the shuttle. Most of it had been transported for him, but he did have several things that he liked to keep as close as possible. The shuttle was clean and new, the last of the contingent of shuttles for the USS Artemis, and someone had to pilot it onboard. He'd volunteered right away and considering his posting it only made sense to him.
Then they told him he'd have company. It was too late for him to get someone else to pilot the shuttle so he decided to bare with it. He nervously looked around and then moved to take his seat in the pilots chair. He didn't like being alone with new people because they often asked uncomfortable questions about his injury or the cybernetics. Hopefully his passenger would be silent and just enjoy the ride in peace and quiet.
Kaida had a small bag over her shoulder carrying her few possessions. She wasn’t a collector of things and could replicate what she needed on board so packing had not taken long. She climbed into the opening of the shuttle and viewed the only other passenger. "This the shuttle to the Artemis?" She asked him.
"Yes it is." Chris replied, looking over his shoulder only slightly to avoid fully displaying his cybernetics. "If you have everything we'll be leaving shortly."
"Lieutenant Sorine," she said offering her hand in the traditional Human manner. This sometimes threw people off but Kaida had lived among Humans for a long time.
He was taken aback by how forward she was for a Bajoran, he'd half expected a simple ear pull. Not wanting to be rude, he slowly took her extended hand. "Lieutenant Blake, I'm the pilot." He tried to find a way to only look at her with one side of his face, but quickly realized that would just raise more questions. Instead he moved just enough for her to see his eye and then quickly shifted back so that it was on the side facing away from her.
"The Artemis is docked on the other side of the station so you'll get a good view of her as we circle around and approach." He offered shyly. "I think the Luna class is a very unique and beautiful design."
"Yes it is. But to tell you the truth I don't think there's a starship design out there that I've ever hated. I guess it matters more to me what's inside the ship than out." Kaida blinked, surprised she'd actually spoken so many words in one sentence to a stranger. She really was nervous today for some reason. A new assignment couldn't be the only reason. She seemed to take a moment to try and figure out what the other reason might be. She took a seat. "Is it going to be just the two of us?" She asked curiously, almost hoping someone else would join so she didn't have to provide so much small talk.
Oh great, she was a talker. He gulped at her question. "Yes, just us." As Chris spoke he tapped the console to close the shuttle hatch.
"This is shuttlecraft Cypress requesting clearance to depart for USS Artemis." He spoke into the comm line to operations. A moment later the console was unlocked by turned over to him from station operations. Finally having a goal he seemed to relax a little. It was that familiarity he craved and needed.
Slowly, the shuttle lifted from the deck and rotated toward the shielded port.
"Hang on." Chris said without looking over. He knew the inertial dampeners on these shuttles weren't as fast to react as some officers liked, but personally he enjoyed the momentary rush of speed before they kicked in.
The Cypress shot out of the docking bay like an arrow, as fast as he was allowed to push the engines without getting anything more than a stern talking to. Sure enough, the dampener didn't kick in instantly and for a moment they were pressed back into their seats as the wide open space opened up around them as Poseidon receded slowly behind them. The Cypress began a long lazy turn before to long, keeping Poseidon to the post ride as it began to circle around.
"OK then, " Kaida said. Obviously he was comfortable in the silence and for the most part so was she. Still, it seemed rude to be silent the entire time. She held on when he said to and smiled slightly as she noticed he seemed to really enjoy flying the shuttle. "I know small talk is dumb but it also seems silly to be silent so, what's you're favorite craft to fly?"
"Shuttles, the McCall is gaining quickly however I'm still a fan of the original Lt. Paris configuration of the Delta Flyer they built on the Voyager." Chris said calmly, barely even thinking about the answer. "Say what you want about Paris," Namely that he'd been a huge idiot in his youth. "But the man knew how to build a ship for a pilot."
As they slowly made their way around Posidon station, they could see the damage from the recent attack and the repairs being made to both the station and the surviving ships. They came around one saucer close enough to get the attention of a welder in a spacesuit. The welder stopped working for a moment to give them a wave as they flew over before getting back to work.
"Starships... That's a hard one. There's something to be said for the larger cruisers, but I like smaller and maneuverable. In those it feels more like you're an extension of the ship and less like an ant telling an elephant where to go." Chris continued. He hadn't even realized he was speaking more than he had been prepared to. He was flying, he was comfortable.
"What brings you to the Artemis?" He offered, finally realizing that it was his turn to continue with the small talk.
"New posting but I have to say I'm most excited about this one. I get to do the two things I love most and they're both my job. Exploring the universe and investigating it."
"And," Kaida added, " I find people of all species fascinating. Even if I don't always understand them in the beginning. In the end I think they're all after the same thing."
"Atonement..." Chris muttered under his breath somberly. His mind instantly went to his own troubles and for a moment, he hadn't realized he'd spoken the word aloud. "Well, some people would. We all want to make ourselves... better I guess."
Just as he finished speaking, the came around the final curve of the station as the Artemis rose before them as majestic as a tropical sunrise. The glow of the Deflector reflected off the underside of the saucer, highlighting the streamline flow of her hull. The underslung nacelles balanced at the end of the curved pylons and seemed to pulse with the energy and heartbeat of the ship. As the Cypress slowly approached, it rose to go up and over the top of the saucer section, giving them a close view of the bridge and the torpedo standing behind amid the roll bar like structure.
"Making approach to the after shuttle bay now." Chris said quietly, half to himself but also as part of the protocol when docking. "We'll be wheels down shortly."
Kaida thought the slip of the tongue was interesting. It wasn't what she had been going to say but she could certainly see how anyone else's life experience would lead them to believe that to be the answer. Life was subjective. "But the shuttle doesn't have any wheels." Kaida said, confused but momentarily distracted by the beauty of the ship. She was never one who could use words to describe her emotions or the beauty surrounding her but if she had to choose she would call it breathtaking.
"Never heard that one?" Chris asked. "Means prepare for landing." He was about to continue, but didn't want to seem like he was bragging or showing off.
The Cypress rounded down and lined up with the aft shuttle bay. Looking through the transparent shields they could see people walking between the shuttles and inspecting them. There was an empty spot near the entrance and a person waving them in. Chris slowed their approach as moved the shuttle through the shields and brought it around into the assigned spot. The landing was so gentle that even without the inertia dampeners, they wouldn't have felt more than a slight bump.
"Welcome to the Artemis." He said to his passenger.
"No, that one I have not heard. But then again I don't think I really know any pilots. At least not by their first names, I've certainly been in a shuttle before." Was she jabbering? Totally unlike her. She shook the thought out of her head. Once they had toughed down Kaida stood up. "Thanks for the ride. I guess we'll no doubt run into each other here?"
"Yes," Chris said with a slight pause. Once again he was without flying to focus on. "I guess I will. Good luck with the new posting."
"Thank you," Kaida gave him a small smile and departed the shuttle without another word.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Sorine Kaida
Criminal Investigations Officer
USS Artemis
Lieutenant Chris Blake
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Artemis
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