Shepherd's Sheep

Posted on Tue Sep 4th, 2012 @ 12:04am by Petty Officer 1st Class Mizatan Fij [Byrne] & Petty Officer 2nd Class Charles Rhodes

Mission: Klingons on the Starboard Bow
Location: USS Endeavour - Transporter Room, Crew Quarters
Timeline: MD04 2019hrs

As the whirl of the transporter whined down once again, a new group of enlisted personnel was beamed aboard the Endeavour. The captain appeared to have done quite a fine job of offering himself up for future favours to members of Starfleet's Admiralty, and had gathered a decent supply of replacement and supplemental crew after leaving so many behind on DS19.

Petty Officer Mizatan Fij stood near the rear of this latest batch of new crewmembers, compressed between his fellow colleagues and the transporter wall, but he waited patiently for the group to start being ushered out of the small transporter room and into the corridor before attempting to move - trying to shove his way through the group wouldn't achieve anything other than a chaotic mess, and likely a few trips to sickbay.

The group of fourteen - most of them yellowshirts, though Mizatan spied the odd teal and red collar amongst their number - were led down the corridors by one of the senior chief petty officers onboard - Mizatan assumed the quartermaster, or at least an individual associated with his duties. The entire group were enlisted personnel, and Mizatan had come to learn the procedure when reporting aboard a starship in a group of enlisted personnel; the first stop would be the crew quarters.

The enlisted crew quarters were communal, as were the majority of the junior officers quarters. Each assigned a bunk in a large expanse of a room - itself already occupied by quite a number of individuals who had already serving onboard and currently off-duty - the enlisted man in Starfleet had to be able to live with anybody. They had a small amount of storage room for clothes and personal effects, and a bedside table each for a few personal mementos - pictures, models, and the like. Mizatan followed the chief dutifully to his assigned bunk, and tossed his small case on top of the blanket. He had the top of the bunk-pair, the bottom bunk having already been claimed by a human petty officer, who smiled welcomingly to the half Ktarian - though only briefly, before returning his eyes to the book he was reading on a PADD.

Removing his outer uniform jacket and tossing it on the bunk with his case, Mizatan hauled himself up onto his bed, and stretched out on his back; his tall body size taking up almost the entire length of the bed. His first duty shift wasn't until first thing in the morning, so he could afford to use the rest of the day to relax, and get settled in to his new home.

"You served ship-board before?" came the sound of what Mizatan recognised as a Texan drawl from the lower bunk.

"I have," the computer specialist responded. "On the Junikawz in the Beta Quadrant."

He heard a slight grunt of approval from the NCO below him. "Good. There are so many fresh-faced crewmen on this boat already, I don't know if I could have stood sharing a living space with another one of 'em." The man paused, before sniffing loudly; Mizatan got the impression that it was more out of habit than any physical condition. He also got the impression that the number of fresh-faced crewmembers was being over-exaggerated. "Name's Charles Rhodes. Yours?"

"Mizatan Fij."

"You're half-Ktarian, aren't you?" Rhodes asked below; the direct type it seemed, which was fine by Mizatan. He grunted the affirmative. "What's your other half? Human, Betazoid, Risian...?"

"Human," Mizatan responded. He understood where the question came from, even with a full-blood human. Many species were so indistinguishable from humans at the cursory glance that his mother could have been a member of any one of those species, or more.

Charles Rhodes nodded, though unseen by his companion above. "Well, Mizatan Fij. Welcome to the Endeavour."