From: Katie T (kayteese_at_gmail.com)
Date: Thu May 17 2007 - 05:58:15 PDT
=/\= "Bumpy Arrival" (Continued from Taylor's "79") =/\= Location: USS PATRIOT Stardate: 2.70517.1320 Scene: Corridor Ginny's initial elation at being on the USS PATRIOT was fading fast when she realized that after just a few steps she was hopelessly getting lost in the maze of corridors. From an early age she was used to travelling on starships, but hardly any had been near as big as this one. She tried to find her way back to the hatch to ask for directions from the guard posted there but found that she could not even remember that way. "Computer," she finally raised her voice, "please show me the way to my quarters." [[Unable to comply,]] the dispassionate tones of the ship's computer replied. Ginny was puzzled. "Why not?" [[Voiceprint not recognized as a member of the crew.]] That was unexpected, but it did make sense. Technically Cadet Eugenie LaGrande was still enrolled at Starfleet Academy and wouldn't become a full member of any crew before she graduated. Still she had thought that everyone, or at least the people - and computer systems - in charge would be prepared for her arrival. Maybe her orders hadn't got through in time, or maybe someone had simply forgotten to assign her quarters. Sighing, Ginny decided that she might as well report to Captain Jones right away. "Computer, please tell me where to find Captain Jones." [[Unable to comply.]] "Why not?" [[Voiceprint not recognized as a member of the crew. You do not have the necessary clearance for this type of information.]] **Sounds like security is tight around here,** Ginny thought, not quite sure whether on the whole that was a benefit or not. In her current situation it definitely was not. "Can you at least tell me if she is aboard?" [[Unable to comply.]] This was getting ridiculous. "Can you show me any place where I might get some information?" [[Unable to comply.]] Frustrated, Ginny slapped the panel next to her. "In other words, you wouldn't even give me the time of day?!" [[The time is 1645 hours.]] "Thank you so much!" Ginny growled. Then she stormed ahead down the corridor, pressing a few door chimes as she went. The was no reaction anywhere. Most of the crew were on shore leave at SB1, so quarters and offices alike were mostly empty. After several more minutes of aimless searching the newest arrival on the PATRIOT came around yet another corner and saw a woman coming out of an office several doors down the corridor. She was Vulcan by the looks of it, almost as tall as Ginny herself and wearing the colors of the science department. Ginny raced to catch up with her. "Excuse me," she began breathlessly and so caught up in her predicament that she completely forgot to show any form of respect towards a senior officer. "I've just arrived and the darn computer won't tell me where to find my quarters or anyone who might be able to help me, so maybe you could find out for me where Captain Jones is?" The Vulcan raised an eyebrow in the way only Vulcans can, with this small gesture expressing curiosity about the unknown crewmember and annoyance at her unconventional behaviour at the same time. "First, would you mind telling me who you are?" Feeling suddenly sheepish, Ginny snapped to attention. "I'm sorry. I am Cadet Eugenie LaGrande, ACT candidate. I'm supposed to finish my training on the PATRIOT." Her stance wavered as she darkly muttered to herself, "only not even the computer seems to know about that." T'ial almost did a double take. Slowly she looked the young woman in front of her up and down, trying to find any traces of the Caitian heritage she had heard rumors about. Cadet LaGrande's skin was pale, her face dotted with freckles and framed by a mass of unruly red curls. There were no cat's whiskers, nor slitted pupils. T'ial could not see whether the cadet had a tail, but from the rest of her appearance she suspected that that was not the case. Only a few golden spots in Ginny's otherwise green irises betrayed part of her heritage. T'ial's curiosity was raised a notch. If the outward signs were so small, just how much Caitian blood did this hybrid have, and how did its effects manifest themselves? The Vulcan science officer turned back to her office. "If you come with me, I will see what I can do to help you get settled. I am T'ial, by the way." With relief, Ginny thanked the ensign and followed her to her office, where T'ial wanted to persuade the computer to release the necessary information. =/\= Scene: Ginny's Quarters Half an hour later, Ginny was finally settled comfortably. T'ial had made some inquiries and found her quarters, and she had also seen about giving the new cadet the necessary basic clearance for computer access. Since both Captain Jones and Commander Kenta were unavailable, she had suggested that Ginny should postpone officially reporting for duty till the morning. For the moment she had merely sent them a note that she had arrived safely. While they navigated the corridors together, the Vulcan had asked her a few questions about her parents and where she had grown up. Ginny answered her freely, not thinking much of it. When T'ial had left her at her door, saying that she hoped to continue the conversation soon, she had responded in kind. Yet another half hour later, the partial Caitian cadet was getting frustrated again. She had been trying to get the replicator to make her something to eat, but only met with more [[Unable to comply.]] This time at least she received the explanation that the replicator system was currently undergoing maintenance. With a hungry sigh Ginny turned and only then noticed the message light which had been unobtrusively blinking in the corner all this time. Reading the message she learned that there was a party scheduled at a place called the "Hard Rock Cafe", and that her attendance was requested. Immediately she was in better spirits again. **Party means food,** she smiled to herself and made a beeline for the door. =/\= Scene: Hard Rock Cafe The party was already in full swing when Ginny arrived, and she was puzzled to see platters full of Starfleet rations all around. Even more strangely, people were eating them laughingly, pointing out especially "intriguing" flavors to others at their table. Only one man sat quietly surveying the scene, a set of rations unopened in front of him. Since most attendees were wearing civilian clothes, it was impossible to tell a person's rank or function just by looking at them. Ginny felt slightly out of place in her cadet's uniform, but with the replicators offline her only other choice would have been a bathing suit, and she doubted that that would have made her feel any more comfortable. She finally decided to try her luck with the "quiet man", as she privately dubbed him, and approached his table. Upon seeing her he smiled. "You must be Cadet LaGrande. Welcome aboard. I'm Benjamin Kenta, the ExO." **Just my luck to start almost at the top," went through Ginny's mind, but she managed to greet the commander formally. "Captain Jones is busy right now," he waved in the general direction of a cluster of people to their left, "but she'll want to meet you later. Why don't you have something to eat, and I'll introduce you to some of our officers." "Sounds like a good idea. I'm starving," Ginny confessed. Kenta smiled again. "I should probably point out that this is not our regular "party food"," he said. "The PATRIOT has an excellent chef, but he... took the evening off." Somewhere behind him, someone laughed. "That's one way of putting it," a new voice joined their conversation and soon Ginny found herself in the middle of more faces and names than she could hope to remember on her first day. =/\= NRPG: Still feeling my way into everything... Thank you all for the welcome! =/\= Katie T. Cadet Eugenie LaGrande ACT Candidate USS PATRIOT From HyperNews_at_youth.net
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sun Feb 17 2008 - 03:10:48 PST