Come What May... (Part Two)

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 4:32am by Lieutenant Arthur Torres Dr.
Edited on on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 8:00am

Mission: Into the Wild
Location: USS Palatine / USS Pandora

The Palatine was due to stay alongside Pandora for a scant few hours, just long enough to transfer crew and supplies before the Pandora headed off to its next assignment. The Expanse. Arthur had spent some time refreshing himself on local stellar cartography, and what his studies had revealed disturbed him.

All his belongings had already been beamed to his new quarters on the Pandora, but he still sat in his temporary room aboard Palatine, studying the notes he had made on his padd. Not only was the passage into the Expanse dangerous, there was very little information about what lay beyond. One starship seemed to have done the bulk of the mapping in the region, leaving most of it unknown. What was known, though, seemed bleak. The Ravagers, a chaotically organized group of mercenary pirates, seemed to be operating beyond the Expanse’s veil. They were powerful, violent, and could certainly be a problem for Starfleet efforts in the region.

The time in the lower right of the padd’s screen caught his eye. He was due to report aboard Pandora in five minutes. Heaving a sigh he turned off the padd’s screen, stood and stretched his lanky frame, and headed for the door. No glance was spared for the room as he left, it was just another place of transition. A waiting room for whatever might be to come.

---
As soon as he beamed aboard Pandora, Arthur headed for his quarters. The system would have logged his arrival automatically, so he had time to finish debriefing himself before he had to meet his new CO -- which was good, because one of the things he wanted to debrief himself on was his new CO. Aside from the most basic dossier he knew nothing of the man, and Arthur liked knowing his superior officers as intimately as possible. This was especially important now, since his entire role aboard the Pandora for the length of his tour would be advising the man (and acting as a node in the intelligence and strategic planning networks in the region, but that was almost a separate job from his duties on the ship).

He was pleasantly surprised, upon finding his quarters, that they were almost as large as those back on the starbase. Nothing fancy or extravagant, but comfortable enough to spread out in. The furniture was Starfleet standard, beige and streamlined for an efficient mix of basic style and quality. A small potted plant (some sort of fern) stood near the door, breathing a small amount of life into the space. He ruffled its fronds gently, as he passed. “Going to have some company soon enough, little friend.”

Keeping part of his attention on the clock, he made his way to the bedroom, where his belongings had already been delivered, and set about unpacking. He travelled light, replicating most of what he needed whenever he transferred to a new post. It seemed silly to collect things, given that his eventual intentions had always been to move on as soon as possible. Always moving closer to Stacey. He removed the small framed photograph of his wife from the box of bedside nicknacks, and placed it on the nightstand. Eventually there would come a time when he could make a home for himself somewhere. He wasn’t there yet, but he was closer.

Laying back on the bed, his wife’s photo near his head, he again pull out the padd, and scrolled through his new CO’s service record until it was time to leave. Then he washed his face quickly in the bathroom, straightened his jacket, and headed off to meet the man in person.