Hello Old Friend

Posted on Sat Sep 5th, 2026 @ 1:03am by Lieutenant Sornax

970 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Echoes in the Triangle
Location: USS Arcadia

It had been half a year since the Yggdrasil was destroyed in an unprovoked attack over a dispute about the exploration of a stellar nursery. The Klingon commander had claimed the Federation simply wanted to find a new location to install a surveillance post along the border; what fools. While Sornax had helped rescue several members of the crew, he had also lost a fair amount of friends on the ship, including Lieutenant Yeenfera. Yeenfera was a grow Denobulan, an incredible engineer, and most importantly, she had been his closest friend on the ship. But she gave her life for everyone else, sealing off a deck from a plasma fire before it could take over the whole ship. Her last words had been telling him goodbye as she pushed him out of the section of the deck, sealing it off.

What had followed was months of intense physical therapy for the Denobulan with Starfleet Medical since the injuries he sustained to his right leg required it to be amputated and fitted with a prosthetic replacement. During his time back on Earth while in rehab, he also served as an assistant professor at Starfleet Academy. Therapy hasn’t just included the physical kind either; no, Starfleet felt that he needed to see a counselor on a weekly basis. Twice a week at first, even. As much as he had hated it, he was also grateful for what it had done for him. And while he knew he did not need to continue seeing a counselor every week, twice a week or once a month was probably still a good idea. He was sure the counselor he had been seeing would be pleased with that self-assessment.

Right now, however, Sornax was focused on what was in front of him. Not only was he amongst the stars once more, but he was aboard a shuttlecraft that was closing in on a beautiful Constitution-class starship. When he saw the billet for the Chief Science Officer open up aboard the Arcadia, he submitted his application with interest. Stories of its encounters with the Klingons and Gorn were well known from its past, and its CO, Captain Abernathy, was spoken of with high regard. The chance to serve on the most advanced ship class in the fleet was impossible to pass up. The scientist had not expected the response to his application to be so timely. In fact, he was sure that due to the site's speed of the reply, it was a polite letter telling him thank you for applying but we’ve decided to go with a candidate that has more experience. Never had he been so happy to be so wrong.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” asked the Human ensign who was piloting the shuttle filled with new crew reporting to the Arcadia. “I don’t think there’s a better view amongst the stars right now, Ensign,” Sornax replied with a wide Denobulan smile. Minutes later, the shuttle landed in Shuttlebay One, guided in by a tractor beam for a smooth landing. Sornax waited for the rest of the passengers to disembark and then stepped off the shuttle and took his first steps onto the Arcadia, ready to begin the next chapter of his life.

Sornax was quickly brought back to reality, however, when a crewman in the familiar red uniform of the operations division stepped forward with a clipboard-style PADD in hand. “You must be Lieutenant Sornax. Welcome aboard, sir.” Looking down at the blue sleeve of his uniform, the scientist subconsciously rubbed the new stripe that accompanied his recent promotion to full Lieutenant. Afterwards, though, in what was a great surprise to the Andorian, Sornax replied with a traditional Andorian greeting and dip of his head. “Thank you, Chief. May I ask who you are?” he followed up afterwards.

The Andorian's antennae straightened upward as he offered a smile in return. “Chief Petty Officer Ravass Ch'izhilrel, ship's Quartermaster. Sir,” he replied to the question. “I’m checking off the new arrivals, seeing to their cargo being transported to quarters, and giving out said quarter assignments. Speaking of, you’ve been assigned quarters on Deck Four, Section Alpha, Room Elven,” the Andorian pronounced as he scanned the PADD he was holding.

“Thank you, Chief. I’m glad to see that the ship runs with such smooth efficiency. As a fair warning, one of the containers I brought with me is marked fragile. It contains some exotic plant seeds for the Arboretum. If you could have that transported directly to it, I would greatly appreciate it.” Sornax requested while making a mental note at the same time of his room assignment. He had to wonder if there would be enough time to settle into his quarters and perhaps take a nice shower before reporting in to the Captain and First Officer.

“Not a problem at all, Lieutenant. I’ll make sure it gets there in one piece. You can expect the rest of any belongings you brought aboard to be delivered to your quarters within the next four hours. Anything else I can do for you?” Sornax shook his head no and took one last look around the shuttle bay. “Thank you, Chief. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to head to my quarters and see when I’m expected to report it.”

Ravass nodded in confirmation and then offered his hand to Sornax. The two exchanged a handshake, and afterwards each went their own way. The Quartermaster headed for the shuttle that was being unloaded to take inventory of everything that had been brought with it, and the Chief Science Officer headed off to reacquaint himself with the undiscovered: a new ship, new people, and the final frontier.

 

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