Bonding With a Ship

Posted on Thu Jul 6th, 2023 @ 6:16pm by Lieutenant JG Matthew Cowley & Captain Elena Navarra & Commander Henry Perry

1,243 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Rescue
Location: Bridge of USS Samurai
Timeline: MD 1, 1645

Captain Navarra stood on the bridge of USS Samurai, her gaze fixed on the panoramic view screen that displayed the interior of the starbase. She made her way to the middle of the tri-level bridge, taking in the sounds of the vessel's working instruments, feeling the hum of the warp core reverberate through the plates on the floor of the ship. Now, she knew she wasn't really feeling the vibration, due to the structural integrity field, but it was something she could feel in her bones.

Elena took a moment and then turned around to face the Captain's chair sitting in the middle between two other seats, one of those seats being the first officer's chair. Her former position. It was then she realized this was what she missed. Being on a starship. Although she was a captain, she'd never had a starship of her own. Being the first officer of USS Kakashi was the closest she'd come. She made her way to the big seat and extended her hand, touching the edge of the console with a fingertip.

Henry entered Samurai's bridge with one of his many PADDS in hand. "Sorry about that, had to grab something from my office before we officially...." He paused as he watched Elena approach the captain's chair. From looking at Navara for a second, he instantly knew her desire.

"Go ahead ma'am, take the chair," Henry said as he made his way to the center of the bridge to join her. "Although I am technically the commander of this vessel, you are the commanding officer of this Starbase, so really, the ship is yours to command."

Elena took a seat in the captain's chair, loving the feel of it. "Technically, yes, Commander," she said as she examined the consoles on the arm of the chair. "But, if there were a situation at the starbase, my place would be on the starbase bridge."

Her yeoman hadn't seen this side of his boss in the past. He recognized the almost palpable desire she felt to be in command, and she was a natural at it. He didn't feel the same desire himself. Someday ... maybe? For now, he liked working and learning under someone else, and she was a good mentor, teaching him many of the things he would need to know if he ever did feel that desire.

Henry made his way over to the OPS station. "Well, when you are ready, your command codes are already inputted into the computer system. All you have to do is have the computer recognize who you are and give a voice verification."

No one else was on the bridge, just the three of them. Cowley wondered if that were by design. To give the captain room to stretch? To let her have most of the experience of being in charge of the bridge, but none of the real responsibility ... for the moment.

He let himself imagine what it would be like to be her yeoman on a ship ... and realized with an XO aboard, he'd have very little of the responsibility he now held on the starbase. He mulled that over. What was almost more than he could handle on 109 wouldn't be enough on Samurai. That left him in a bit of a quandary, now didn't it? At least, it would if the captain jumped ship ... and if she wanted or needed him along.

"You know Cowley," Elena stated as she stood from her position in the captain's seat and walked toward the ready room, looking over at both men standing with her on the bridge. "I could get used to this," she smiled.

As Matthew had thought, something was up with his boss. He followed her into the Ready Room, noting a Yeoman's desk just outside the door ,,, his desk at some point? He tried a comment about her growing attachment to the ship.

"A bit smaller than the 109 version, but ... adequate for a ship." It was, in fact, more than adequate, as a fiercely loyal engineer was quick to point out.

"Adequate, young man?" Henry said as he trailed the two officers. "I will have you know this ready room has the most advanced security features in the fleet." Henry walked over to the captain's desk and ran his fingers underneath an area where the Captain would sit. As he did, the lights in the room grew dim and a circle of light surrounded the captain's desk.

"This is an enhanced security grid that Starfleet Engineers have been working on. It guarantees privacy from prying ears and enhanced sensor grids from enemy ships." Henry moved to the computer console on the desk and entered his command codes.

"And this, my young Yeoman, makes it so the Captain can control the entire ship from her personal console, in case of extreme emergency." Henry stood before Cowley, impressed with himself, waiting for the young officer to say something.

It was, in fact, well past adequate, and Matthew figured he should give in gracefully to the facts. "Right you are to correct me, sir. This is definitely a case of looks hiding the truth. I'm betting you have a few more tricks up your sleeves, too," he said with honest admiration.

Henry smiled a wry smile. "Of course I do!" he responded. "But now is not the time to show all the secrets." He turned to Navarra and found her staring out of the small ship window.

"Captain?" He asked with slight concern in his voice. If he were honest with himself, he wasn't sure if she even heard about the new ship's security features.

"Captain, what do you think?" The ship's engineer asked.

Elena walked closer to the window and placed her hand on it. "How customizable is this ready room?" she asked, another smile creeping on her face.

"Well, ..." Henry said as he tried to see where the Captain was going with her line of questioning, "... I guess it depends on what you want."

"Would it be possible for this wall to be converted into a large window/viewscreen like the one in my office?" the Captain asked.

Henry looked and took a moment to consider what Navarra asked. "Anything is possible, Captain," he replied. "But is there something I need to know?"

Oh, bother, is there ever! thought Cowley. I'm just afraid to find out what it is myself. And what in the world she'd do with such a screen ... here.

"No." Elena responded. "Just... wishful thinking I suppose," Elena said with a bit of sadness in her voice. She was finally understanding what her heart's desire was, but she wasn't sure what to do about it at this moment.

=^= "SB109 command to Captain Navarra, please come in.=^=

Navarra tapped the comm badge on her chest. "Go ahead."

=^=Priority message from Admiral Nechayev.=^=

"On my way." Navarra responded as she turned to make her way to the exit of the ready room. "Cowley with me," she said with the normal commanding presence in her voice that her crew was used to.

"Commander Perry, can we pick this back up at a later date?" she asked as she continued to leave.

"Of course, Captain, whenever you're ready, you know where to find me," the engineer replied as he, too, left the bridge.

As Elena made her way back to the Starbase, she looked back, wondering what the future could hold for her dreams.

 

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