Arietta sat, strapped into one of her shuttle's board-straight, uncomfortable seats. To her left, a line of enlisted engineers were elbowing each other, trading stories of their month's rest and adventure. To her right, another young ensign was already asleep, head lolling onto his shoulder. Facing her across the aisle were a number of faces she dimly recognized from the library, or passing in the halls. A number of these were medical students. She absently reached up and began twisting a loose tendril of hair around her finger. They would be departing momentarily. Though she knew already that none of her friends had accepted a commission aboard the Enterprise, she had hoped to see at least some familiar faces.
Her heart leapt into her throat as the shuttle's main engines roared to life. Her bridge officers would have already beamed aboard. This, too, filled her with a strange sense of dread. She fished into her pocket for her official orders. Unfolding the already crumpled page, she scanned it.
"Ensign Knight, reporting for duty, sir." She muttered under her breath for perhaps the hundredth time.
"Ensign Knight…" it did have a nice ring to it. She supposed her parents would be quite proud of her.
At length, she tilted her head back, closing her eyes as the shuttle jerked and bounced its way up out of the atmosphere.
To Arietta's nerves, it was the longest ride of her life. She noticed that some of the new medical personnel looked nervous as well. The rest of the shuttle was filled with hushed conversation, a few individuals attempting to read from PADDs, and several who were trying to sneak one last midday nap in before the regular schedule of life on duty resumed. Finally, with the slightest jerking thud, she felt the shuttle settle into its docking bay. She quickly unbuckled the straps of her safety harness and rose, tugging reflexively at the hem of her plain black top. She looked around momentarily before diving back toward her seat to retrieve her orders, now definitely crumpled, from the floor. She flushed crimson and looked around, hoping no one had noticed her.
The little column of personnel slowly began to file out of the shuttle, and along with it Arietta. The docking bay was larger than she had expected, bright, and echoingly quiet, save for the soft hissing of the shuttlecraft de-pressurizing its thrusters.
Suddenly, at the head of the line, Captain James Kirk appeared, smiling broadly. Alongside him was a Yeoman, clutching a PADD and appraising the crowd.
"Good afternoon, welcome, welcome back." Kirk said. It occurred to Arietta in this moment that it was much easier to see him as an authority figure in this environment. She hoped that would also be true for… everyone else.
"If you are returning from shore leave, I hope you've recovered sufficiently from last night. If you are joining us for the first time…" his eyes scanned the crowd 'til they landed on Arietta, "please see Yeoman Cline and she will direct you further."
Before Arietta even had the chance to process what was said, Kirk was gone. Most of the crowd was dispersing, leaving her standing with a small cluster of Starfleet Medical residents. They approached the Yeoman, uncertainly.
"Name?"
"Knight. Arietta Knight."
"Knight, proceed to deck 5, room 38. You will have two hours to settle your things and relax, then you are to report to Commander Spock on the bridge."
"Yes ma'am. Thank you." Arietta squeaked. She gathered up her bags and raced for the turbolift doors.
Arietta was certain that, when Yeoman Cline suggested she "settle her things" she did NOT mean "allow them to explode across her space as if an air lock had somehow burst". Still, that is largely what happened as soon as Arietta was admitted through the softly squeaking door to her quarters. She was sharing her space with one of the new medical personnel, but at least she would finally have her own bedroom, and not have to subject this poor sap to whatever mess, noise, or adventure was going to occur there on a pretty much daily basis.
Finally, after wrestling with the replicator, somehow accidentally reprogramming it to speak Russian, figuring out how to fix it, ending up with thirteen cups of steaming hot Earl Grey tea and one very unappetizing chocolate-covered salmon, she successfully settled down with a small snack, which she subsequently barely touched, all the while sprawled across her new bed. She hated the nervousness that crept over her in moments like this. They made it very difficult to work efficiently and not make a comical mess of herself. She missed the calming scent of Vulcan incense, though she was grateful to finally see her thermostat read below 80F. At length, she tentatively stood, crossed the room, and picked up the blue uniform jersey that she would grow all too comfortable in over the next few weeks. She fingered its delicate smoothness, ran a hand almost reverently across the Starfleet insignia. She slipped it on, over her black sweater, taking a breath to still herself. It was time to report for her shift.