Utopia Planitia Shipyards

2254

167 years earlier

He sat expressionless, his hands in his lap as he felt the shuttlecraft begin to slow, then very slightly shudder as the tractor beam took hold. He saw the pilot's shoulders tense a bit, and he knew they were very close. The three rectangular viewports at the front of the shuttle showed only empty space, and he could tell they were in a gentle turn to port. The other passengers around him were chattering excitedly, smiling at each other, full of anticipation. The shuttlecraft's pilot gave an amused glance over his shoulder, making sure everyone was still strapped in. There was a brief exclamation of excitement as a vessel came into view. It quickly died down, though, as the passengers realized that the ship they had seen wasn't nearly big enough to be their destination.

It hadn't been a long flight, but it had been long enough for most of his fellow passengers to steal a few curious glances in his direction. Most had never met a Vulcan and were perhaps unsure of the etiquette involved. He could tell that many of them were fresh cadets straight out of the academy, full of youthful enthusiasm. For most this was obviously their first assignment, and they were very aware just how lucky they were. They remembered how envious their friends had been, friends who were themselves heading to their assignments aboard slow moving freighters, even slower non-warp capable courier vessels, and starbases that didn't go anywhere.

Many of them had been traveling for days, and it showed in tired eyes, wrinkled uniforms, and an assortment of various equipment bags and containers. His own uniform was immaculate, and his few belongings were in a case at his feet, magnetically affixed to the deck plates. His uniforms, some books, and a bundle of letters from Amanda-that was it. He traveled light, to say the least. He did not understand the human need to amass and collect large quantities of personal belongings, especially those that served no logical purpose or function. Humans would carry bulky items light years just to hang on a wall as a decoration, or sit on a shelf and gather dust.

The interior of the shuttlecraft darkened as a shadow fell across the forward viewports. A hush fell over the shuttlecraft's interior as the end of an enormous warp nacelle came into view. Then the shuttlecraft leveled out, and the rest of the ship came into view, so big the three viewports together were not wide enough to see all of her. The large shuttle bay doors at the aft end of her secondary hull were already open, and the shuttle gently came to rest on the pad. Spock could feel a vibration resonating through the deck plates and knew it was the bay doors closing. He heard the clinking of restraining belts being opened, of bags and bundles being gathered, and the gentle pops the shuttlecraft's hull made as the bay was pressurizing.

He noticed that everyone's eyes were transfixed by a single glowing red light above the pressure hatch that was the shuttlecraft's only entry point. Finally, the red light winked out, and a green one illuminated beside it. The pilot double-checked his atmospheric pressure monitor and then initiated the sequence that opened the pressure hatches. Spock felt his ears pop, as the pressure in the bay was a little higher than that in the shuttlecraft. Immediately there was a rush for the hatch, the passengers eager to step onto the deck of their new home for the first time. A few tried to put on an air of indifference, as though they were old hands at this, but it fooled no one.

Spock remained in his seat until the shuttlecraft was empty, with only the pilot still at his station. He then released his restraining belt, retrieved his case, stood, & walked calmly to the hatch.

He nodded once at the pilot and then stepped through the hatch onto the deck below.

USS Enterprise NCC-1701

In orbit at Utopia Planitia Shipyards

Spock saw that, although they appeared very eager to arrive on board, his fellow passengers apparently had no idea where to go once they got there. He saw them milling about in confusion, looking at a bewildering deck layout & directory on the corridor wall. He himself had memorized the path he needed to take to his new quarters and headed forward to the first bank of turbolifts going to the primary hull. He was surrounded by the smells of a brand new ship-fresh paint, clean machine oil, and newly formed composite materials. The turbolift quickly took him to his assigned deck level. Once there, he quickly located his assigned quarters, the doors of which obediently opened at his approach.

He was pleased that they had already been programmed to recognize his identity and that they were comfortably warm. The climate controls had automatically selected a temperature and humidity that would provide a baseline of comfort to a Vulcan. He could adjust them as he wished later, but for now, they were quite comfortable. He noted that, although they were not large, his quarters were more than adequate for his needs, and quite efficiently designed. He opened his case and stowed away all of his uniforms and personal items, which took less than three minutes. He then logged his arrival in the ship's computer.

He saw that there was already an itinerary created for him and that he was scheduled for various orientation briefings, a medical appointment, etc. He saw that his duty station was in one of the larger laboratories in the lower decks of the primary hull. He was pleased with this, for a lab of that size performed a variety of functions, and would prove to be an interesting post.

He realized he had not eaten for some time, and decided to sample the fare in one of the ship's dining facilities. He located the nearest one and immediately noted how different it was from the dining facilities on smaller ships he had seen. This one was obviously designed with the comfort of many species in mind. There was a large, brightly lit central dining area with large tables for those who preferred to dine in groups and engage socially with one another. There were also more private areas for individuals or couples, but it was the outermost areas of the hall that drew Spock's attention. They were dimly lit, for those who might not be comfortable in bright light, and there were also some areas with individual climate controls.

Spock selected a table for one in the darkest area of the facility. The level of light was not a concern; he chose it because it was nearly deserted and would be the quietest area available. He noted that the tables along the bulkheads had individual replicators for those who chose not to partake of the large cafeteria style serving modules. As he scanned the list of available cuisines, he was once again reminded of the advantages of serving on such a large ship. There was an astonishing variety of items available, designed to service virtually anyone's dietary requirements. He chose a plate of vegetables, a cup of plomeek soup, and tea. He was pleasantly surprised at the soup; it was not as good as Amanda's, but very good indeed for replicator cuisine. He finished his meal and decided to visit his duty station, even though he was not scheduled to report for duty until the following day.

Spock stood in the open doorway of the laboratory. He had been pleasantly surprised by the dining facility, but the laboratory surpassed all his expectations. It was even larger than he had expected, and was located on the lower starboard side of the saucer-shaped primary hull. What little equipment he could see was of the latest design, and he was reminded again that this ship was so new she was not yet fully fitted out. He could see that the far bulkhead held several small airlocks for experiment and instrument packages that required exposure to the vacuum of space. He walked to the row of viewports next to the bank of airlocks and noted that the lab was actually in the aft starboard quarter of the saucer section. He was far enough aft so that if he stood close to the viewport, he could see part of the cylindrical secondary hull and the strut for the starboard warp nacelle. Once again he was reminded of the enormous size of this vessel-far larger than any vessel he had ever been aboard.

It was very quiet in the lab, and he noticed that most of the workstations were as yet unoccupied. It was dark as well, and he had been momentarily surprised that the room did not illuminate upon his entrance. Then he saw the energy conduits hanging from the overhead where the lights would eventually be located. The ship was, after all, still being fitted out, and as such was not technically in service yet. A lot of the equipment was still in its shipping containers and had not been yet been installed and calibrated. For a moment he thought he was alone, but then he heard a quiet voice say "Can I help you?"

He turned, a bit startled. The speaker was very close to him, but he had not heard anyone approach. A young female stood quietly in deep shadows near a stack of thermoplastic crates, wearing the light blue one-piece jumpsuit worn by the maintenance crews. She was almost as tall as he was and very slender. She held a data pad cradled in the crook of one arm. As she stepped out of the shadows, he noted that she had unusually vivid red hair. He saw her eyes widen a bit, and before she could stop herself, she said: "Are you a Vulcan?"

"I am." His voice echoed in the cavernous room, and she took a step back. His voice had sounded unintentionally harsh, and in a softer voice said "I am called Spock. This will be my duty station."

She very quickly took on a professional tone. "Of course; we've been expecting you. Welcome aboard, Ensign. I am Ensign Azrael. I am the assigned to the xenobiology section."

This meant she would be one of his coworkers. She was young, even for an Ensign, he thought. For her to be in her final year at the academy (and to have landed this much-coveted post on the Enterprise), she must be very capable indeed.

"Thank you. I do not yet know exactly what section I will be assigned to." Gazing around the room, his eyes landed upon the piles of equipment still in their shipping containers. "Are you assisting in the installation of this equipment?"

"Well…not exactly. Technically we are supposed to wait for the shipyard workers to install everything, but they tend to be a bit rushed and heavy handed with things. I have to admit I'm going a bit stir crazy-I've been on board for two weeks with nothing much to do."

"I am to report to Lieutenant Commander Valerian for my assignment. Do you know where I might find him?"

She smiled a weak smile. "Yes; you won't. He had a family crisis and is on emergency leave. I don't know when he is expected to return, and to the best of my knowledge, no one has been assigned to his post in his absence. He and I were 'unofficially' going to set up some of the lab's equipment, but then he was called away."

Spock thought about this. He was here to perform his duties, not sit around idle and unproductive. "You had Lieutenant Commander Valorian's approval to do this?"

She smiled again, with an entirely different kind of smile. "As I said, in an unofficial sort of way. To put it another way: there is no one to tell us not to install and calibrate this equipment…"

They began the next morning, starting with the spectroscopic analyzers. Occasionally a shipyard worker or two would walk in and gaze at them curiously, but they never said anything and didn't seem the type to object to someone else doing their job for them. For the most part, the equipment installations were fairly straightforward, and all of the necessary equipment, tools, and supplies were readily available. Spock carefully studied the installation manuals and calibration directives and followed them exactly.

Ensign Azrael (pronounced "Az-ray-al") told him her friends called her Az, but he could not bring himself to do so. She was very competent and performed several complex procedures entirely by herself. Spock made the mistake of asking her if she required his assistance with a plasma flow simulator, and the look she gave him was all the answer he needed. It was not a mistake he would repeat.

They continued in this fashion for the next several days. They were unsure what to do with the growing mound of empty equipment cases and containers, so Spock finally acquired an unattended pallet loader and took them to an area in the hangar bay where there were much more of the same. Once this was accomplished, the lab began to look quite shipshape and was made even more so by the timely installation & activation of the overhead lighting.

Once the majority of the hard mounted equipment was installed, they began the tedious process of stocking the many storage units & compartments with the multitude of laboratory chemicals, disposable containers, and consumables. More cases were emptied and hauled away, and they came in one morning to find that a shipyard cleaning crew had obviously been in the night before. The floors, shelves, and workstation surfaces gleamed, and the last of the refuse had been hauled away. Quite suddenly, they found themselves with nothing else left to do.

They walked slowly through the silent laboratory, making minor adjustments to various pieces of equipment. She did most of the talking, as small talk was not really a skill he had mastered. He was, however (according to Az) a very good listener, and thus was not required to contribute much to the conservation. She was very curious about Vulcan, and asked a few questions, but she was smart enough to know that Vulcans were a private people and did not often discuss personal matters. She was, however, unable to resist when she found out that he was half human.

This was most definitely an aspect of his life he was not comfortable discussing with anyone, but her open curiosity was so genuine that he found himself speaking about Amanda. He limited the discussion to Amanda's life on Earth, her career as a schoolteacher before she met Sarek and her love of botany and biology. He could tell she was fascinated by this, and that she seemed to have an insatiable thirst for learning new things. This trait would serve her well in Starfleet, he believed.

As they walked past the banks of airlocks they rounded a corner and heard the soft hiss of the laboratory doors opening. They emerged from behind a low partition to find a slender, slightly built man standing in the open doorway, his mouth hanging open a bit. He held what appeared to be some sort of botanical specimen, but he seemed to have forgotten it completely. His eyes turned to Az and he said "Good lord, girl! Did you do all this by yourself?"

Then his eyes found Spock. He was half a head shorter than the Vulcan, and Spock's right eyebrow rose involuntarily in surprise at the man's attire. He wore a thick cardigan sweater over his tunic of command gold, a clear violation of Starfleet regulations. His eyes were a piercingly vivid green, and he wore the rank insignia of a starship captain.

"No sir, I did not-I had help, as you can see." Az glanced pointedly in Spock's direction as they both snapped to attention, but there was no need to.

"Of course! You must be Ensign Spock. I am Captain Robert April-welcome aboard."

He took a step toward Spock with his right hand extended as if to shake hands, and then must have remembered that Vulcans were not comfortable with such a gesture. In a smooth motion, he instead waved the hand to the expanse of the lab and tried unsuccessfully to hide his smile.

"You two have managed to keep yourselves busy, now haven't you? I suppose somewhere there are some shipyard workers who have quite a card game going. A few more like you and we won't need them at all…"

April spent quite some time touring the lab and inspecting the new equipment installations. Occasionally he would power up a piece of equipment and run a test cycle or a self-diagnostic program. Spock noted that his eyebrows rose in approval more than once. He seemed pleasant enough, but Spock could tell that he, like many in Starfleet, had no idea how to make small talk with a Vulcan. Spock and Az maintained a respectful distance from the captain; close enough to quickly respond to any questions, but not so close as to appear to be hovering or nervous. Spock had learned early on that few humans (especially superior officers) appreciated someone looking over their shoulder. He finished his impromptu inspection, bade them goodnight, and went on his way.

Spock observed that the captain was much more cordial and easygoing than he had expected, based on his experiences with somewhat stuffy senior officers he had encountered at the Academy. He found this most refreshing and looked forward to serving under such a captain.