By Other Paths
Posted on Thu Jun 25th, 2020 @ 6:49am by Captain Aviram Drell & Lieutenant Edron Zaerbe & Lieutenant JG Daniel Sheridan & Lieutenant Elijah Mitchell
Mission:
Episode 03: "Interlude"
Location: Beachside Patio, Starbase 11
Timeline: Day 3 at 2135
ON: [[Beachside Patio, Starbase 11, Mission Day 03, 2135 Hours]]
An hour after sunset, the patio overlooking the waterfront was abuzz with energy and excitement. Couples sat side by side as they shared romantic meals or after-dinner drinks. Groups of Starfleet personnel were taking advantage of the opportunity to get away from their work and the confines of ship-board life. Even the locals had turned out and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Conversation and laughter filled the night. All of it was happening beneath the canopy of a beautiful, starry sky.
Sheridan sat at a table by himself. Although he didn't mind being around all the activity, he much preferred not to be at the center of it. Earlier, he had spent some time watching those around him as they went about their business, but now his attention was fixed on the screen of his camera. One image after another slid past. He'd study each one for a moment or two, then decide whether it was worth keeping.
Save. Delete. Delete. Delete. Save. Save.
On the other side of the patio, Zaerbe sat with a group of folks from the Vesta. They were all talking and laughing with one another. He was usually pretty good about keeping up with the conversation, interjecting to share something or telling a funny story of his own. For some reason, though, his attention kept wandering away from the group. He'd look up and his gaze would invariably settle on the young man seated alone. Zaerbe thought about going over and introducing himself, but part of him wondered whether this person would rather have been left alone. He was just about to get up from his seat when he noticed, somewhat disappointingly, that someone else had beaten him to it.
Lieutenant Mitchell had been enjoying some of his remaining time planet side. The walk along the waterfront was beautiful, small groups of people dotted all around but one man stuck out, sitting on his own studying what looked like a holocamera. It was unlike Elijah to strike up a conversation with someone so casually but he slipped into his professional persona and hitched up his confidence. "Mind if I join you?"
"Uhh...sure," Sheridan said slowly.
Eli pulled the chair out and sat down, suddenly struck by a fresh bout of nerves. "I...uh...I hope you don't...don't mind." He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "I noticed you sitting here engrossed in your holocam," he motioned to the device in Sheridan's hand, "and to be honest I got curious." Eli extended a hand. "Elijah Mitchell, soon to be Chief Diplomatic Officer of the Starship Vesta."
Sheridan blinked, momentarily surprised by the coincidence. He shouldn't have been. True, Starbase 11 was a well-established facility and the recreational area was a popular hangout for residents as well as those just passing through. Yet, the Vesta was one of the larger starships in orbit at the moment, which meant it was more likely a greater percentage of the crew was taking advantage of time off on the surface. In fact, there were probably several folks from the Vesta hanging out among the crowd at that very moment. "Daniel Sheridan, operations officer," he said, regaining his composure and accepting the handshake, "and I'm assigned to the Vesta, too."
"Well then I'm glad I sat down. At least now when I arrive on board I'll know at least one person." Mitchell offered a lopsided grin. "How long have you been onboard?"
"Just a couple of days."
The Diplomatic Officer nodded. "You got here just ahead of me. How are you finding life onboard? Anything I should know before beaming up?"
Sheridan pondered the question. "Have you ever been aboard a Vesta-class before, sir," he asked. The lieutenant slowly shook his head back and forth, not that Sheridan was surprised. He hadn't either until he got this assignment. Although the design was already almost ten years old, it was still in rather limited production. The Sovereign, Luna, and even the newer Curiosity seemed to be a far more common sight for most people. Seeing a Vesta in person was still a rare thing.
"I wouldn't beam up, then," he said, "I'd try to catch a shuttle instead."
The comment caused Lieutenant Mitchell's eyebrows to shoot up. Were the Vesta's transporter unreliable? She wasn't a new ship. Any bugs in her systems should have been worked out long ago. "Why do you say that?" He asked, leaning forward.
"Better view that way," Sheridan replied.
Elijah couldn't help but smile. There was something lovely about that way of looking at things. "That's the photographer in you talking." He said, pointing at the camera on the table. "Always thinking about the best visuals."
The younger man felt his neck flush a little. One of the things he'd always appreciated about his camera was that he could use it to help shift people's focus. He could highlight something or someone, share a story that needed to be told, or even simply remove himself from the center of attention for a little while. True, the fact that he was choosing the shots meant his voice was still shaping things, but he liked to think it was ultimately about what folks were seeing and not who was on the other side of the camera. Sometimes, this meant he wasn't always sure what to do when people praised him for his work. "Don't have to be a photographer to appreciate it..."
"That's true." Mitchell agreed. "But photographers have a particular ability, whether professional or amateur. I've worked with a few PAOs in my time and their eye for detail is incredible. Each of their images tells its own story. And even looking back through history, photographers have played such an important role in the telling of historic events." He offered a lopsided smile. "Not much need for your photographic skills in Operations, though. Still, I'm sure you make plenty of time off duty to indulge your hobby."
Sheridan wasn't quite sure where this was going. "Are you saying I'm in the wrong field," he asked.
"It's not my place to tell you that." Mitchell replied with a shrug. "They say that if you find a job you love that you'll never work a day in your life. With that in mind, do you love your job?"
The younger man shrugged half-heartedly. He didn't hate his job. In fact, he knew serving in Starfleet had given him quite a few opportunities he might not otherwise have had. It would've been a lot harder to have witnessed the colony start-up had he not been assigned to the Thames at the time. That said, it wasn't exactly a secret (at least among his closest friends) that his "day job" was just that - something he did during the "day" to pass the time. He'd known for awhile that programming computer software wasn't something he wanted to be doing for the rest of his life. He just wasn't quite sure what was...yet.
"That wasn't a yes but it wasn't a no either." Elijah smiled and leaned forward. "One of the good things about Starfleet is that you can move between careers. I started out as a JAG Officer and now I'm a Diplomatic Officer." He leaned back in his seat and added, "I know of a career path that would allow you to indulge your love of photography and would include some writing and dealing with the press among other things. If that's something that would interest you, come see me." Elijah stood and smiled at the younger officer. "I'm sure I'll see you onboard. I have a shuttle to catch."
OFF
Lieutenant Elijah Mitchell
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Vesta (NX-82601)
Lieutenant JG Daniel Sheridan
Computer Systems Officer
USS Vesta (NX-82601)
Lieutenant JG Estonia Zaerbe
Division Officer, Propulsion
USS Vesta (NX-82601)
