Familiar New Surroundings

Posted on Fri Mar 15th, 2013 @ 2:33pm by Lieutenant Horatio Hawke
Edited on on Fri Mar 15th, 2013 @ 2:36pm

Mission: Klingons on the Starboard Bow
Location: CFCO's Quarters, Deck 03
Timeline: MD07 0715hrs

Horatio loved the Sovereign-class! Ships of this class were the ultimate convergence of diplomatic prestige, brutal military might and cruise liner comfort.

He walked out of his cabin’s bedroom in his oversized flannel pyjamas and ambled across to the replicator near the twin sofa. Seriously, his quarters had a pair of sofas!

Rank had its privileges, and he certainly appreciated that. But sofas!

“Coffee. Strong,” he spoke into the replicator then glanced out the large windows that looked out into the dark expanse of space. The Endeavour was still in orbit of Cestus III, but Horatio’s quarters were on the starboard side of the ship and so didn’t enjoy a planetary view out the window.

I’ll have to complain to the purser, he chuckled to himself as he took the freshly replicated coffee from the device and sprawled out on one of the sofas.

He had served in four starships in his career and been a passenger on countless others, so he had seen the inside of many different quarters. From the basic, shared accommodation of the lower decks through to the modest two-to-a-cabin setup offered to junior officers and right up to the expansive suites granted to the captains of magnificent vessels such as the Endeavour.

Of course, it made perfect sense to provide for crew comfort on a ship that could spend five years away from home in the depths of unchartered space. By no means did Horatio think it unwarranted for this level of comfort, but he did enjoy it. Particularly as a member of the senior staff; Heads of Department received the third best digs in a starship and this morning Horatio was quite happy to enjoy them for a few moments before his day began.

In a former life, he had served for three months as Acting Chief Flight Control Officer in the USS Sovereign – the original of her class. But during that time, he was only acting and so did not have the chance to upgrade to a big room with a view. Now, he was here. He wasn’t acting anymore and the full privileges were his.

He came here by way of two not-quite-so-luxurious posts. In the Akira-class USS Swiftsure, he was a department head, but in that ship the third best digs did not come with a view. Then, of course, the hospital on Starbase 621 where he shared a room with a continuous rotation of up to three others and had no view.

This is more than adequate, he said to himself as he scratched the back of his right knee through the flannel of his pants. He downed the rest of his coffee and got up, returning the mug to the replicator where it vanished.

He went back into the bedroom, through to the bathroom and showered, then changed into his uniform. He checked himself in the full length mirror in the bathroom and made sure his hair was neat, the uniform sat well on his shoulders and his rank pips were correctly aligned. The commbadge was a little askew, so he quickly straightened it before a final inspection. He nodded – excellent.

Today was his first day of active duty in the Endeavour and he was eager to get started. It had been almost five months since he was last active and he was well and truly over the boredom of not having work to do. Full of energy and ready to go, he picked up one of the PADDs from his desk (two sofas and a desk!) and checked his schedule for the day.

First up – 07:30 – catch up with Flight Control Staff. Just an informal meeting with the officers of the Flight Control Department so he could be brought up to speed on who was who and what was what. Then it was his shift on the bridge. With the ship in orbit and not expected to depart for another day or so, it would prove to be an easy shift. At least he would have the chance to meet some of his colleagues; he looked forward to that.

He glanced up at the digital clock on the bulkhead above the desk – 07:23 – and smiled. Here we go. With one last straighten of his uniform tunic, he headed out into the ship with an eager spring in his step. “Let’s do this,” he said to himself as he left his comfortable quarters behind.

Day one ...

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Lieutenant Horatio Hawke
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Endeavour NCC-86105