Second Look

Posted on Wed Sep 23rd, 2026 @ 9:39pm by Captain Natira Dareese
Edited on on Wed Sep 23rd, 2026 @ 9:45pm

779 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: Maiden Voyage
Location: Various - U.S.S Pathfinder
Timeline: December 10, 2380: 0800 hours

The corridors of the Pathfinder were extremely quiet. A brand new prototype, the ship rested in a construction yard at Utopia Planicia. Connected to external power, there wasn't even the hum of a functioning warp core for background noise traveling through the corridors.
In transporter room 2, a column of light began to form in the middle of the transporter pad. The quiet, familiar descending resonance of a transporter beam filled the space. A second later, a green-skinned woman of middle age, wearing a command red Starfleet uniform with captain's pips was deposited onto the platform. For a long moment, the woman stayed in place. Only her head moved, slowly, facing forward to the left, back straight ahead, and then to the right. A faint smile touched her lips. She took a breath, the smell of "new starship" mixed with sawdust filling her nose.
When her gaze moved to the transporter console, the woman finally noticed that the crewman manning it was watching her. He nodded to her in a silent show of respect, and she nodded back.
"Thank you, crewman," the woman said, finally stepping off the platform. She took a moment to look him over, and not recognizing him she concluded that he was simply a temporary stand-in until permanent assignments were given out.
"Certainly, Captain Dareese," replied the transporter operator, a tall Andorian male with black hair. "Do you need any assistance from here?"
Natira shook her head slightly. "The offer is appreciated," she said, "But no, thank you. I've already been given the grand tour."
"Of course, ma'am," was the Andorian's casual response. "If there's anything I can assist you with, please let me know."
Natira nodded slightly and offered a simple, "Certainly," inclining her head to the Andorian. Then, without another word, she crossed the room. The doors to the transporter room hissed open, and Natira stepped out into the wider corridor, marveling at how loud they sounded without the hum of internal systems acting as a noise floor.
Though she had already been given a guided tour, Natira felt as though this was a special time and wanted to see the sites again. In a few weeks, the ship would be full of officers and non-comms as it left Utopia Planicia under its own power. For now though? She felt as if she had the ship all to herself.
She walked the corridors slowly, her deliberate movements making her look more like a security officer than a captain taking in the fact that this domain was now hers. On her walk, she occasionally passed a maintenance engineer and exchanged a nod with them, or perhaps a few brief words. She took her time, to the point where she didn't even bother with the turbolifts. Instead, she braved dead silent Jefferies tubes to her major stops, including the crew lounge, engineering, deck 13 and finally, deck 1. When she reached each destination, she repeated the same steps every time. She'd step just inside, slowly look ahead, left, then right, walk around the space, maybe check a readout or two, then leave and move on. The process earned her some curious looks from engineers, but she just smiled and waved at them before continuing with what she was doing.
Finally, Natira arrived on the bridge. Not hearing the turbolift, the temporary crew that was assigned to monitor things was visibly startled when the hatch to the Jefferies tube popped out and she climbed out onto the bridge. Immediately, one crewman shot to his feet and declared, "Captain on the bridge!"
Other crewmen stood out of respect. They all saluted. Natira just stood there for a moment, taking in the scene. Finally, she addressed them all. "At ease, I'm just here to look around."
The watch personnel stood down and resumed their stations, aware of the Pathfinder's new captain slowly circling the space, taking in every small detail as she did so. Once she had completed her self-tour, she slipped into the ready room, greeted by nothing but the standard furnishings and a very empty desk. Natira gazed out the window ahead of her for some time, before moving to her desk and accessing her terminal. When she logged in, she was surprised to learn that over five hours had passed since she had beamed aboard. It was now clearly past lunchtime. Though she had personnel records to examine and senior officers to select, she decided that it was a good idea to eat first. After all, critical decisions should never be made on an empty stomach.

 

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