Anticipating Arrival

Posted on Thu Apr 27th, 2017 @ 8:33pm by Commander Walter Prescott

Mission: Shadows and Whispers
Location: Guest Quarters, SS Crescent Star (NSP 28616)
Timeline: 1058 Hours

ON: [[Guest Quarters, SS Crescent Star (NSP 28616), 1058 Hours]]

Walter let out a sigh. He'd been reading the same line of text over and over again for the last five minutes. It wasn't that the material itself was a problem. Systems analysis and departmental readiness reports were nothing new to him. Sure, they could be wordy and redundant at times. Yet he'd rarely found them too difficult to understand. No matter how hard Walter tried, though, he just couldn't seem to process what he was reading.

Perhaps he needed a break. With the touch of a button, Walter shut off the screen. He waited until the display had cleared completely before setting the PADD aside. Then he leaned back in his chair and allowed his eyes to relax a little.

It had been almost two weeks since the Crescent Star set out from Cestus III. There were those who might have had a thing or two to say about Vulcan starship design, but nothing about this particular ship struck Walter as anything less than efficient. Captain Reed (NPC) and his crew worked hard to keep things running smoothly. There'd been nothing really for Walter to do than take meals in the mess hall, make use of the ship's recreational facilities, and spend time reading up on his new assignment. All in all, he'd have described the journey as rather uneventful.

=^= Attention all passengers. =^=

The sound of the captain's voice cut through Walter's thoughts and brought his attention back to the present. He opened his eyes again, blinked a few times to clear them, but did not move from his place in the chair.

=^= In a few moments, we will be dropping out of warp and preparing to enter the Archa system. =^= the captain continued =^= I know many of you are eager to get on with whatever business brought you here and you won't have to wait much longer, I promise. It's going to take a little while for us to clear traffic control, though, so just sit tight. We'll let you know once we're docked and ready to begin disembarking. =^=

No sooner had the man finished speaking than Walter noticed the starfield outside his viewport start to change. At first, it was barely noticeable. Then the streaks of light that had been going by non-stop for several days solidified into individual points of light against the dark background of open space. The Crescent Star had dropped out of warp and was approaching the system under impulse power. A moment later, the view shifted again as the ship banked slightly, no doubt in response to instructions from the station's dockmaster.

Walter got up from his seat and crossed over to the viewport. Although he knew there was no way he'd be able to see the station from this distance, Walter still looked out in what he hoped was the general direction. His eyes scanned the various stars until he noticed a faint blueish dot that seemed to be growing larger. Walter assumed it was Archa IV which meant Starbase 332 was orbiting steadily above it. Their trip was almost over, but his journey had only just begun.

OFF

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Lieutenant Commander Walter Prescott
Chief of Operations
Starbase 332

Captain Vincent Reed (NPC: Prescott)
Commanding Officer
SS Crescent Star