[Starbase] A New Place

Posted on 07 Aug 2021 @ 7:30am by Lieutenant Commander Ashlie (Ash) Eider & Commodore Virid Salire

1,071 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: 2390
Location: Operation's Center

Ashlie was new to the starbase scene. Just walking around was getting her a bit lost, but she'd get there. Luckily, the computer could point her in the right direction, which was to report in. She'd asked the computer where the Commodore was and then asked for directions. There weren't any specific meetings setup, she just knew she was to check in once she was on board.

The readout indicated that the Commodore was in the starbase's Operations Center located in the central tower.

Taking in some of the sights, Ash made her way to the central tower and finally to the Operations Center. She'd have to remember that path..eventually. Her eyes scanned the room, more taking it in than anything else, while she looked for the Commodore.

And a spacious room the Operations Center was, split on two different levels. Like any command center, the room was abuzz with activity from all of the manned consoles. There were plenty of side conversations as some officers communicated with others not in the room, and others chatted about last night's springball competition.

At the center of the room, around a small table with a holographic projection of the Starbase, a yeoman was talking to a figure that was standing on a box or some sort of riser. Without it, the figure certainly would have been the shortest in the room. His back was turned to the newest arrival, but the lighting revealed that his skin was rather green, slightly oily, and his figure quite thin and compact with the exception of two legs that appeared to be very long for a person of his short stature.

Tilting her head a bit, Ash walked over towards the yeoman and whoever it was that they were talking to. "Excuse me? I'm looking for Commodore Salire."

The yeoman blushed, glancing up at the new arrival, before glancing back down at the shorter person. From this shorter person came a raspy, throaty voice that sounded like a human male whose nasal passages were completely blocked. "I'm Salire." The figure turned and greeted the new arrival with its large white and black eyes atop his head. "Can I help you, Commander?"

Smiling but also running a finger along her pips, Ashlie still wasn't used to being called commander. "Commander Ashlie Eider reporting in, sir."

The short and wiry Commodore smiled. "Eider, of course. I must admit, I wasn't expecting you to arrive until tomorrow, but now that you're here, welcome aboard."

"Thank you, Commodore. I managed to get here a bit early, though getting up here was a bit confusing." Ash looked around, "This is honestly amazing."

"Just wait until it's finished about this time next year," he told her. "The station is somewhere near eighty percent complete, yet we are in full operation. I hope you don't mind construction. It's rather unavoidable at this point."

Ashlie shook her head, "I figured when I read some of the information on the station that we'd be dealing with that. As long as they don't continually interfere with science systems, I'm okay. I figured something might get tripped here and there."

"I'd count on it," the Commodore confirmed. He gestured to the room around them. "In fact, just before you arrived, our Ops Center had been without power for two hours. If I were you, I'd double check the charge on your portable generators before starting complex experiments. Even just one jolt is enough to ruin one of those."

Biting her lip, she gave a nod. "Been there with experiments being ruined before. Thank you for the advice. Better make sure any tricorders for the team are charged up too in case of the power outage thing as well it seems."

"Forgive me, Commander, I may be making it sound worse than it seems." Virid smiled, at least as well a frog-like species could. "Systems are mostly stable, and outages are few, but they do happen. It's best to be as prepared as possible, especially since we know it won't be a forever-thing. Engineering is scheduled to finish their work with the power systems three months from now."

"I'm always one to take extra precautions instead of chancing anything." Ash shrugged. "Anything I should know besides how to get around?"

The Commodore nodded. "As with all of our teams, we're still building, or rebuilding, from the ground up. Science, so far, is our least staffed department. Not that scientists are hard to find on this side of the quadrant, but most of them want to be on the frontier... not stuck on a space station. That said, I would appreciate your full evaluation of the department's status and facilities."

Ashlie smiled, "I actually like being able to be on a station, seeing all the new people who would pass through and such. Space travel is nice and all, but sometimes the challenging things are best. I'll get that report for you as soon as I can, Commodore."

"Excellent," Virid said with a smile. "I don't suppose you have any questions for me? Policy? Habits?"

"Not at this time. Though I will admit, I've never come across an Anuran in Starfleet." She gave a small chuckle, "Never come across an Anuran at all until now actually."

The Commodore chuckled. "There aren't many of us. Officially, Anura isn't a member world, but that hasn't stopped Klingons, Ferengi, or even Romulans from enlisting or being accepted into the Academy. I myself found my swampy homeworld too restricting. There's quite an adventure out here in the galaxy, waiting for anyone brave enough to find it."

Ash nodded, "Makes sense. I'd want to stretch my legs and see what else was out there. I'll do my best to make sure you get to see whatever interesting things come into my lap as well."

Virid smiled. "That is much appreciated, Commander. Well, if you have no more questions, I'll let you get acquainted with the base. If you need me, I'm a combadge tap away."

"Thank you, Commodore. Now," Ashlie looked around, "I probably should find my way back and finish unpacking and going over who is here of the science team."

"Best of luck, Commander." The Commodore then provided a nod before hoping away with the yeoman.

Smiling as she watched the Commodore hopping away, Ashlie headed back the way she came, hoping to find her way to her quarters without much issue.

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