TBC

Posted on Thu May 29th, 2025 @ 9:54am by Captain Lukas Fredricks & Lieutenant Commander Reruk

848 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: R&R
Location: Stellar Cartography, USS Britannic

Lieutenant Commander Reruk was sitting in the Stellar Cartography Laboratory of the Britannic reviewing the latest updates from Starfleet Cartography. He hadn't served long aboard the Britannic, but he was starting to finally get used to everything aboard the ship. It certainly had its own quirks, but every ship did. At least it wasn't as kooky as the Bradbury or the Ojai, but California Class ships were known for being unorthodox.

Captain Qa'ada wouldn't have minded that Reruk had called the Bradbury kooky, but Captain Neela Daren would've had a fit if he called her ship kooky. When he was assigned to the Ojai they had been on a deep space assignment cataloging gaseous anomalies in the Beta Quadrant. It had been hard on a lot of his colleagues to be out of the Dominion War, everyone had lost at least one friend from the Academy, but they did accomplish a lot.

Scrolling through the update, Reruk heard the door open.

Captain Fredricks walked into the Stellar Cartography lab. It was odd to see it back in its original form as a SC lab. During the war it had been repurposed as a war room. It was comfortable to Lukas to having it back. "Commander Reruk?" He asked as he approached the sole occupant of the room.

"Whoever you are, you just ruined about two hours of work," the Hekaran Science Officer announced as he turned away from the computer console. He paused at the newcomer, "Captain Fredricks? I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting many people to be up this late. What can I do for you?"

"I'm ever so sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your work." Lukas replied. "I just wanted to introduce myself and meet you before we arrive at Deep Space Nine and you disappear for some well-earned shore leave."

Reruk looked at the monitors, "Oh, I hadn't realized that we were almost there already. I wasn't planning on taking leave, but I could use that time to try to rereun these experiments."

Fredricks offered his hand to the science officer. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He said wanting to start the conversation a fresh.

The Hekaran glanced down at the Captain's hand before he accepted, "It is nice to meet you too, Captain. Do you mind if I resume the experiment? I may be able to still get some data before everyone else starts waking up for the day."

"By all mean." Lukas smiled as he gestured towards the Commander's experiment. "So, how are you finding life aboard the Britannic?"

"A bit of a whirlwind, actually," the Science Officer answered as he worked on rebuilding the experiment on the crescent shaped workstation. "Most of my career has been spent on California Class ships so far so I haven't had a lot of time on front-line vessels."

The Hekaran adjusted readings, "I had served with Captain Qa'ada for a while. I'm hoping he's not too unhappy I chose to remain here. How are you settling back in, Captain?" He asked, somewhat absently, as he finished setup.

"Britannic has pretty much been retired from actual front-line duties but I suppose we're more forward than most Cali class ships." Lukas replied. "As for Captain Qa'ada, he speaks very highly of you. I doubt he would stand in your way if there was a path to further your career.

"I'm settling back into the routine. I did miss this ship while I was away. It's been home for many years now."

The Science Officer nodded, "I had read that in the ship's history and saw that you were assigned here during the Dominion War, taking over not long after the ship was first commissioned even. I'm sure that it was strange not having been here for so long, Captain."

"Very much so. This ship is more home than anywhere else really. Starfleet tried to promote me after the war. I declined to remain here. I love my ship. We've been through a lot together!" Fredricks explained.

"It would seem so," Reruk answered. "Fortunately, you were able to return, Captain. I have a feeling that you were pretty well missed by your crew." He glanced at the console, "If you'll excuse me though, Captain, I need to get the tests in place if we're going to get the data we need. Unless there was something else that you needed, sir?"

"The crew are like my family and the ship is my home. I'm also pleased I was able to return." Lukas replied with a small smile. "Of course, I didn't mean to disturb your work. Just felt I needed to introduce myself to you. I have an open-door policy aboard the Britannic. I'll always listen to my crew."

Standing at the primary workstation, Reruk nodded graciously, "I'm glad to hear that. I'll be sure to come to you if I'm ever in need." He resumed working on the panel, trying to recover his delicate work.

"I'll leave you to your work. Have a good rest of your day." Lukas replied before nodding and exiting the Stellar Cartography lab.

 

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