Going Up
Posted on Sun Aug 25th, 2019 @ 10:04pm by Captain Aviram Drell & Commander Temperance Zachary & Petty Officer 3rd Class Bgtzl'Uuskil
Mission:
Episode 01: "Vestal Hearth"
Location: Shuttlecraft Constance
Timeline: Day 01, 0912 Hours
ON: [[Shuttlecraft Constance, Day 01, 0912 Hours]]
It hadn't taken Zachary and Drell more than twenty minutes to reach the terminal from where they'd been. As promised, the Constance was there waiting for them.
Drell was the first to ascend the shuttle's boarding ramp. He paused momentarily near the top and surveyed the interior. In addition to the flight crew, he noticed only one other passenger aboard. "Small flight," he said, mostly to himself, "Are we all set here?"
"Yes, sir," the pilot replied, "Whenever you're ready."
To say Temperance was relieved to be boarding the shuttle and not having to transport to the ship was nothing short of a massive understatement. Walking up the boarding ramp and through the doors, she offered up a small prayer of thanks to what ever deity may have been listening before she took a seat, smiling at the other passenger before turning her attention back to Drell. "You have no idea how glad I am that you had a shuttle organised," she said with a nervous laugh as she fastened her seatbelt, tightening it and then double and triple checking it.
"Somehow, I had a feeling you might appreciate that." Taking the empty seat next to his first officer, Drell also made sure to fasten his safety harness. He checked each contact point to make sure they were properly secured. Then he called out to the pilot, "Okay. Let's go!"
There was some more chatter up front as the flight crew coordinated their final preparations for departure. The boarding ramp closed with a hiss, indicating a proper seal had been made. Next came the hum of atmospheric thrusters powering up. This was followed soon after by the feeling of movement as the shuttle lifted slowly from the ground and began its ascent.
At first, the flight was relatively smooth. As they passed from one atmospheric layer to the next, however, changes in wind speeds and direction caused the shuttle to rock and shift. It wasn't until about the second or third time it happened that Drell noticed the petty officer seated across from them wince. Drell watched the Vatrali close his eyes and wrap his long, slender arms across his chest in an x-shape as if trying to hold himself steady.
"You okay, petty officer," Drell asked.
No response.
"Petty officer," Drell called again, raising his voice this time. The petty officer was startled by the sound. He opened his eyes to find both Drell and Zachary looking at him expectantly. When he didn't say anything, Drell repeated the question.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, sir," the petty officer replied, "Sorry, sir."
Temperance watched the petty officer curiously, recognizing the expression on his face, the whiteness of knuckles, the grim set of his mouth. It was one she had seen mirrored on her own face many many times over the years. A look of abject fear. She cast a quick, curious glance toward Drell before turning her attention back toward the petty officer again. "Are you afraid of flying in a shuttle?" she asked gently.
Seconds passed in silence as their ascent continued and the petty officer appeared to wrestle with the question. Admitting to such a thing as being afraid to fly in a shuttlecraft when seated across from two senior officers must have been an intimidating prospect, to say the least. Who knew what sort of impact that would have on his ability to serve? At the same time, however, the petty officer seemed to realize there was no sense pretending otherwise.
He nodded his head once in a sign of affirmation.
Drell sympathized with the petty officer's plight. Clearly, the experience was causing the younger man distress. Yet, at the same time, he had chosen to board the shuttlecraft instead of taking the transporter. This told Drell that perhaps the petty officer was willing to endure his own discomfort in order to do what was most expedient or to keep from inconveniencing the rest of them.
Temp leaned toward him slightly, her elbows resting on her knees. "It's scary, but it's not dangerous," she spoke carefully, keeping her voice soft and gentle as she addressed him. "Just focus on your breathing. It's only a short trip, we'll be there before you know it. You're heading up to the Vesta aren't you?" She offered a smile, despite the fact that he wasn't even really paying attention to her. "I'm Temperance Zachary. What's your name?"
"Petty Officer 3rd Class Bgtzl'Uuskil, ma'am."
Temperance resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at the name, but she did cast a curious glance toward Drell before turning her attention back to the Petty Officer, a gentle smile on her face. "Alright, Mister Bgtzl'Uuskil, how about you tell me a little bit about yourself? How long have you been in Starfleet for? What department are you heading into?"
"Command department, ma'am," Bgtzl'Uuskil replied. Although he was still holding tightly to the safety harness, he did appear to relax ever so slightly. Focusing his attention more on the commander and her questions than on the shuttle around them seemed to be working. "This will be my third assignment."
"Well I'm sure we'll be working together a lot more in the future," Temperance said gently. "You're doing great, just keep breathing and keep talking to me."
As Temperance and Bgtzl'Uuskil continued to talk, Drell noticed the shaking and buffeting had begun to subside. He knew this meant they must have been nearing the Kármán line. Seconds later, the jostling disappeared completely, replaced by the steady thrum of the shuttle's impulse engines.
"We've cleared the upper atmosphere," the pilot called out, "Rendezvous with the Vesta in three minutes."
Temperance cast a reassuring smile at Bgtzl'Uuskil. "There you go, we're almost there. Just a couple more minutes and you'll be safe and sound aboard the ship." She turned her attention to Drell. "Thankfully this journey is quite short."
"Indeed." Drell was pleased with the way his first officer had handled the situation. Even though she'd been under no obligation to do so, she managed to establish a connection and help ease the petty officer's anxiety, all in a relatively short amount of time. It was impressive, not that he would have expected anything less.
The shuttle banked slightly to port and the Vesta came into view directly ahead of them. She was sleek, much more streamlined than the typical Starfleet vessel. This had been an intentional design choice to help improve the effectiveness of her quantum slipstream drive. However, it also had the effect of making her appear poised, ready to leap forward at a moment's notice. It was a sight Drell was glad he still hadn't gotten used to seeing.
Looking up, Temperance took in the view of the Vesta in front of them, a slight gasp of surprise escaping her lips. "Wow..." she breathed softly.
While she had seen plenty of starships of all shapes and sizes in her years on the Starbase before she had gone to the Academy, none had truly struck her as much as the sight of the Vesta did then and there.
Turning toward Drell, Temperance offered an almost shy smile. "She's impressive Sir," she said softly. "A true thing of beauty..."
"That, she is," Drell replied.
As the shuttle drew even with the port quarter, they could see that the large doors of the main shuttlebay were already open. A series of white signal lights flashed in sequence across the extended fantail to guide their final approach. The pilot brought them into the proper alignment and they slipped effortlessly through the atmospheric forcefield. Moments later, there was a metallic thud as they finally touched down.
[[Main Shuttlebay, USS Vesta]]
The two senior officers were first to emerge. They were followed closely by Petty Officer Bgtzl'Uuskil, who immediately made a bee-line for the nearest exit. Drell stood and watched him go. He could tell the younger man was still a little unsettled by the experience. It couldn't have helped him any, having to go through it in front of the ship's captain and first officer.
"Poor guy," Temperance murmured softly, her words resounding with sincerity. Turning back toward Drell, she smiled warmly. "Do we have an ETA on when we're expected to be leaving?" she asked curiously. "And anything you need me to be doing before we leave?"
Temperance's question drew the El-Aurian from his thoughts. "Right...of course," he said, turning his attention back to the woman beside him, "We're not scheduled to depart for another few days. I would encourage you to take some of that time and settle in."
"Of course Captain," Temperance replied easily. "I have no doubt I'll get to enjoy the pleasure of your company again before we depart?"
"I'm sure something can be arranged..."
OFF
Captain Aviram Drell
Commanding Officer
USS Vesta (NX-94200)
Commander Temperance Zachary
Executive Officer
USS Vesta (NX-94200)
Petty Officer 3rd Class Bgtzl'Uuskil
Yeoman
USS Vesta (NX-94200)
