The Start of the Confusion

Posted on Sat Dec 23rd, 2017 @ 11:25pm by

696 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: S0:1: What Is Past, Is Prologue
Location: USS Saturn
Timeline: MD 01 - 1430 hours

Alex stood up and extinguished the candles that were set up on his temporary meditation altar. Despite his years of training he had found it difficult to truly clear his mind. Perhaps it was the strange surroundings that he found himself in. Perhaps it was the excitement that he felt about what lay ahead for him.

He walked across his temporary quarters and got a cup of coffee from the replicator and then sat down in the one chair that the room offered. As was the case recently his thoughts wandered to the future. Not only was he leaving a ship and crew that he had served with for 6 years, but he was about to embark on what by all accounts was a very dangereous yet extremely exciting mission. The Traveller was, to use the old phrase, truly going where no one had gone before. That was, of course, assuming that they actually reached their destination. The mystery, the intrigue, the unknown - it all appealed to Alex so powerfully that he couldn't turn down this challenge. It was an ideal opportunity to not only expand his knowledge of operations, but he would be among the first to encounter new cultures and species - the amatur historian in him couldn't wait.

What wasn’t ideal was knowing that he was going to be surrounded by strangers. He had always struggled in personal settings. It was something he was keenly aware of and was working hard to overcome. It wasn’t that he didn’t like other people, he just got very uncomfortable when conversations got personal rather than intellectual. He also tended to be very quiet and only spoke when he felt he had something to add to the conversation. This was no doubt a trait he had picked up early in his childhood but he had been told over the years that this made him seem very arrogant or as one of his friends called it “stuck up”. It hurt him deeply that others tended to perceive him like that and he vowed to make an even more concerted effort to be more socially engaged with his new shipmates. This was, after all, a fresh start. Nobody here knew him so there was no baggage to overcome. It was an opportunity for him to grow socially and one that, although it truly did frighten him, one that he knew he needed to embrace.

“Computer, how soon will we be within transporter range of the USS Traveller?”

“The ship will be within transporter range in 2 hours and 13 minutes” the computer responded.

That gave Alex enough time to send a letter to his mother. She still wasn’t at all keen on the whole idea of her son being stationed on a starship. She knew all to well the dangers that came with that and had tried her best to talk Alex out of even enrolling in the Academy to begin with. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be supportive, but her maternal instincts kicked into overdrive. She wanted to protect her only child. Knowing how concerned she was Alex took every opportunity that he could to help reassure her that he was going to be fine. It was easier to do that in writing where he had every opportunity to choose his words carefully.

Once he finished his letter home he packed the few belongings that he had pulled out of the transport crate and proceeded to transporter room three. There were two other people that were also going to be joining the Traveller's crew, both enlisted personnel. Alex spoke to them both for a few minutes - something that previously he would have avoided at all costs. They weren’t deep conversations by any stretch of the imagination but it was certainly a big improvement for him.

A few minutes later the transporter chief informed them that they were ready. The three newest members of the Traveller stood on the transporter platform and a few seconds later found themselves on their new home. Alex couldn’t help but smile a little bit.

Lt Alexander Shepard
CEO (Or so he thinks!)
USS Traveler

 

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