Aries' Arrival

Posted on Sun Apr 27th, 2025 @ 11:51pm by Lieutenant Commander Hamish Brott & Petty Officer 3rd Class Korbin Aries

961 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Spiders of Sarastus VII
Location: Relay Station Bellwether

The last several days aboard the compact type nine shuttle had been, well as comfortable as one could at the conn of a shuttle. Korbin was grateful that the cruise speed was warp four, which he pushed to warp six for a few hours to cut off some time.

However Petty Officer 3rd Class Aries had docked via the launch bay about an hour ago. He had found his bunk and unpacked his bag, which didn't take long as he didn't have much.

Now it was time, time to meet the boss so Korbin made his way quietly across Station Operations, giving a smile to an officer here and a nod there before making it to the station commanders office and quickly tapping the chime.

In his quaint little but overly cluttered bric-à-brac office full of tchotchkes and nick-nacks, the music permiatted the bulkheads, leaking out to the Operations center and echoed down the corridors of the small relay station. It was often why anyone manning the communications station wore an earpiece or full on headset, that and Lieutenant Commander Brott's compulsive habit of belting out operatic pieces. Bolians were known for being colorfully jovial, but Brott was at a whole other upper echelon of jovial. He was flamboyant and bombastic.

Mid performance of the aria "Un bel dì vedremo" from Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly, a chime cut through and caused Brott to look up towards his doorway. There stood a man in uniform that made the Bolian move swiftly and reach across his desk to unlock the door, causing it to open with a compressed sound that could not be heard over the music. "Computer, pause Puccini, por favor."

The Bolian leapt upward out of his seat as through springing to action. "My oh my," he said in a breathy tone having exhausted himself with the aria. "You certainly do not read academy manufactured, enlited?"

“Petty Officer third class Korbin Aries reporting sir” he shifted slightly in his stance.

"Aren't you just adorable," Brott said moving towards the petty officer and wrapping his short hefty arms around the man and squeezing him. "I am so glad you are here. We needed a new shuttle pilot."

The Bolian eventually released his grip but stood close. "Mmm and that scent. What cologne is that?"

Korbin stood in the middle of the office in silence. He wasn’t exactly sure what to say or do but finally replied “I’m glad to be here sir.”

"We are certainly lucky to have you, Petty Officer, Aries" replied Brott. "We have a new shuttle that needs a good pilot."

“What class shuttle. If you don’t mind me asking, sue” Korbin enjoyed what he did.

Brott smiled. "The Sally Snowman is a type-10 shuttlecraft. She's warp capable, a good compact auxiliary craft. She replaced our previous shuttle recently."

“Very good sir” Aries said with a smile. “Agile little vessel” Korbin added “cruising speed around warp five with minimal defensive and offensive capabilities.” The Petty Officer knew his shuttle specifications right up to the necessary classes being released into the fleet.

The Bolian chuckled. "Yes, that does all come in handy. We do like to get out once in a while to stretch our legs" noted the station commander. "The rest of the crew at least. I tend to stay right here and hold down the fort."

“Understood sir” Aries smiled at his superior.

Lieutenant Commander Brott grabbed a PaDD from off his desk and gestured the petty officer to follow him. "Come, let's stretch our legs a bit shall we? There is more cargo space aboard this old station than anything else to be quite frank with you. If you want to stay in shape...don't look at me, I spend most of my time at a desk" noted Brott with a chuckle. "Point being the station has a jefferies tube network that will put you through the wringer."

"Maintenance aboard this old communications relay station rests on all our shoulders. I'm not as fit as I once was, but I still pick up the occasional hyperspanner to fix the consoles. The transporters often need recalibrating, isolinear chips burn out and the replicators go on the fritz about ever other Tuesday" Brot explained as they exited his office and were back into the nerve of the station, Ops. "There's a hell of a vertical climb upward the maintenance ladders to adjust our comm and sensor systems, transponders get plagued with gremlins every now and again."

"Sounds like this old relay station has her share of troubles" Korbin cracked a smile. "The troubles of an aging facility, right sir?" he was following Lieutenant Command Brott by this point. "I'll be glad to pitch in where ever I can be of use, sir" Korbin wanted to pull his weight and why not trying and impress his new superior officer a little while he was at it.

Brott chuckled. "Some people would find that offensive," replied Brott. He did not. "Aging facility as it is, Bellwether is still holding together just fine. She has her good days and bad days, but I trust you will ensure that she keeps ticking away. Bellwether gives as back what people put into her. Treat her well, I've learned to over the years and she's kept me safe."

A long service history was one thing, but Bellwether had more than that going for it. This entire region of space would have taken hundreds of souls in her lifetime if she wasn't still operational. It was the one thing Brott knew to be true, and every year when someone thinks it is a bright idea to shut her down. they often are met with data to make them reconsider it.

 

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