Preparations
Posted on Thu Apr 2nd, 2026 @ 12:56pm by Lieutenant Commander Robert Brant & Petty Officer 1st Class Celes Fara
604 words; about a 3 minute read
Mission:
Episode 1: Shadows of Diplomacy
Location: Shuttlebay
Robert stepped into the shuttlebay, watching the maintenance crews bustle about. With the ship now en route to Risa and moving through a slipstream faster than the mind could conceive, there was less for him to do on the bridge, so he had a subordinate take over while he took some things off his to-do list. Heading up a mission put some pressure on him, but he knew what he needed to have done, and he knew who he needed to do it..
The person he was searching for appeared in the crowd, her blonde hair pulled back in a tight braid, and her arms gesticulating sharply as she directed them to get boxes moved. He walked up behind her and when she finally stopped barking orders, cleared his throat. “Petty Officer Fara, I presume?”
“Yeah? Who’s asking?” she said, not turning around, supervising two crewmen.
“Robert Brant,” he said, trying not to let too much authority into his voice, not wanting to come on too strong.
Celes turned quickly, straightening. “Ah, you’re my new boss,” she said, giving the handsome human a quick, appraising look before nodding and snapping a salute. “Sir.”
“At ease, Petty Officer,” Robert said, somewhat amused. “This is your domain. Care to show me around?”
“Aye, Sir,” she said, gesturing towards the berths. “If you’ll follow me.”
An hour later, they were standing back in the shuttlebay near where they’d started, having toured the bay, the repair bay and the shuttle control room.
“Impressive fleet we have here,” Robert said, looking out over the bay.
“Yeah, they’re beautiful,” Celes said with a satisfied smirk, arms folded across her chest. “We work hard to keep them in good shape.”
“So far, so good,” Robert said. “You’ve got a good inspection rotation, and the repair bay looks clean and organized.” He stopped and gave her a sideways look. “So where is it?” he said.
She paused. “Where’s what?” she said, trying not to look guilty.
“I can count, Celes,” Robert said, grinning. “You tried to shuffle things around, but you’re one shuttle short. You’ve got a project shuttle somewhere.”
Celes smiled like she’d been caught with a hand in the cookie jar. “Auxiliary repair bay,” she said. “It’s pretty much junked, so some of the pilots and engineers like tinkering with it in our spare time to see if we can get it running from scrap. Kind of our lower decks group project.”
“Nothing I wouldn’t have done,” Robert admitted. “Is it exclusive to the enlisted, or can I join in?”
“You’re welcome to join any time, Boss,” Celes said with a wry smile.
Robert nodded, his smile fading. “Good, but in the meantime, I need a shuttle prepped. Needs to be a Type-11, and we need to soup up the inertial dampeners. It’ll need to withstand an orbital warp drop, and I need it done within twelve hours.” It would take them longer to reach the drop point, but he wanted some buffer.
Celes looked around the bay, thinking. “You should take the Cooper,” she said. “It just passed inspection with flying colors, and we can have its systems shored up in time.”
“Great,” Robert said, clapping her on the shoulder. “I know you guys can get it done..”
Celes looked at him, at his hand, then back at him, giving a snort of laughter. “Thanks for the motivational speech, boss.”
“Anytime,” Robert said, dryly. “See you in twelve.” He left the shuttlebay and headed for his quarters. He had work to do.
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