On Invisible Wings

Posted on 08 Jan 2013 @ 8:33pm by Lieutenant Dawn Meridian
Edited on on 09 Jan 2013 @ 1:55am

793 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: Vega Colony - Landing Site
Timeline: MD 12, 1216

[ON]

Dawn practically hopped out of the Federation transport, stretching her arms wide. The first few footsteps on a new planet were always special, surreal somehow. She wasn't sure what it was - the strange, slightly different scent to the air, the almost familiar colour to the wide blue sky, the gentle caress of the breeze against her skin... maybe it was all of those things. Maybe it was just that she'd been on Earth only hours ago, and the sudden change made the differences stand out.

She paced around the landing pad as the transport's other passengers filed out, all hurrying along to get to someplace or another. They hadn't been very interesting, at any rate - humans visiting relatives on Vega IX, bureaucrats heading to the commercial district to manage trade and resources, a woman and her son who hadn't stopped talking about how awesome it was that he was moving to a new world. Actually, now that she thought about it, that was awesome. She mentally crossed the boy off her "uninteresting" list.

Vega Colony was not particularly populous; she'd read up a bit on it during the flight, because reading was slightly less boring than staring into space. Five million was a big number, but not big enough that the city would feel... cramped. The spaceport wasn't particularly crowded either, and that was usually a good sign of what she'd be getting herself into.

She paced along the perimeter of the landing pad, gazing over what she could see of the planet's surface. It was hard to believe it had been a desert planet, once. It was so... pretty now, at least until the buildings towering not far in the distance. Those were nice in their own way, she supposed. But by far the most breathtaking sight was the giant starship lying quietly nearby. Well, it wasn't quite nearby, but it was much closer to her than the city was; that was nearby enough.

The Galileo was... amazing. She smiled to herself. A few stray workers ghosted over its hull, making sure it was ready to fly. It was odd to see a ship like that on the ground; she knew it was much smaller than the Galaxy she'd served on before, but seeing it amid all the shuttles and runabouts made it seem much, much bigger. "So that's home," she said to herself. With a sudden swell of excitement, she rushed forward, practically dancing toward the sleeping Nova-class. It was a shame she wouldn't see much of it while it was flying - it was hard to see the outside of something from the inside, usually.

"Hello," she called. Guarding a ship's perimeter was probably a very boring job. Then again, city security in general was probably rather boring. Too much standing around looking important and not so much... pew pew with the phasers. She had to remind herself that people got hurt that way, and there was a reason she wasn't with security. Noticing that the man was looking at her expectantly, she shifted her weight impatiently. "Counsellor Dawn Meridian," she said. She hated ranks. The day she introduced herself as "lieutenant" was the day she'd deserve... something bad.

"Let me just check with my optical database," he replied with a sigh.

Dawn blinked. She was pretty sure an "optical database" wasn't - oh. He was one of those people. She ruffled around in her bag and thrust her identification at him, placing her other hand firmly on her hip. "You know, if you were nicer to people, you might enjoy your job more," she said, without even a hint of malice or bitterness. She smiled happily at him, stepped onto the transporter pad, and said, "Energise."

After a moment of tingling darkness, she could feel the ship around her, as if it had moved to her and not the other way around. It felt like it had stories to tell. She closed her eyes, and she could almost hear them - a colourful maze of emotions stitched into walls: joy, sadness, fear, betrayal, anger... "Hm," she said out loud, not paying any attention to the transport officer in front of her. Apparently, she had her work cut out for her.

Well, it would be easier to work once she actually knew where her quarters were and had her commbadge registered. So that was a thing she had to do. Still smiling, she marched out of the transporter room and randomly down the brightly-lit corridor. Deck plans were overrated anyway. She'd find operations sooner or later.

[OFF]

Lieutenant (JG) Dawn Meridian
Counsellor
USS Galileo

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