It’s a small department

Posted on Fri Sep 25th, 2026 @ 1:52am by Lieutenant Sornax & Lieutenant JG Aiden Poe & Ensign Ganira

2,178 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Echoes in the Triangle
Location: Science Lab 1 | Deck 6 | USS Arcadia

After a day of reporting in to all the necessary people after coming aboard, Sornax’s first priority was getting a feel for his department. Having checked the duty roster, he knew that he would be able to find Lieutenant Poe handling things at the moment, which made sense, as from what he understood, the junior Lieutenant had been in the science department for some time. Thankfully, that was going to slowly start to change with not only his arrival but also the arrival of Ensign Ganira, the fresh exobiologist from the Academy.

Luckily for him, Ensign Ganira had gotten on the turbolift at the same time he had, clearly eager to get to work. That eagerness had given them a chance to talk, if briefly, before they came to deck six and made their way to the science laboratories. Sornax had never met a Gnalish before, though he had met other reptilian humanoids. To her credit, Ganira had paid no attention to the occasional stare as they walked the corridors to their destination. She had long come to accept that her people had a small but passing resemblance to what humans referred to as dinosaurs on their planet, a long-extinct race of giant amphibians.

For his part, Sornax had not stared at all, his training easily having kicked in upon meeting the young officer. He had made notes about the warm touch of her scaly hand and the claws when he offered to shake her hand, though. It was quite fascinating. When they arrived outside the science lab, Sornax offered for her to go first and then he followed behind her, taking the chance to inspect the lab for a moment. The young Ensign, however, made a beeline for Lieutenant Poe.

“Oh, hello there, you must be Lieutenant Poe, yesss? I’m Ensign Ganira, the shipsss new Exobiologisst.” She said in greeting, as she offered her clawed hand out.

Poe had been working all morning on getting the labs cleaned and prepped. They were, to begin with, clean, but his nerves kicked in. He was so glad that someone was here to take over the department and had heard, through the grapevine, that a new Exo-Geek was coming. He loved it! He loved beings and people. His grandmother used to say that the Goddess of Love made his heart bigger than most. As her words floated through his mind, he got a little sad. He missed her. A lot.

He was just reviewing the reports that had come in from the other lab junkies when a voice called his name. He turned and recognized her right away from her crew photo. "Ensign Ganira! Welcome!" He breezed by her hand and full-on hugged her. "Welcome to the Arcadia team!" He then turned to Sornax and hugged him too. He stepped back from the two, smiling. Then his smile faded. "Oh! I'm sorry; I'm supposed to ask before hugging. I just get so excited to meet new people!" His face flushed red. "I'm really sorry!"

He stepped back again, and true to history his clumsy side kicked in, and he tripped, promptly falling back. With the speed of a Vulcan, Selath he scrambled to his feet. "I'm okay! I'm okay! Happens a lot!"

The reptilian Ensign was completely surprised by the hug; it was not something she saw as an everyday way to greet new people in her culture. In truth, she has learned a lot about new cultures while at Starfleet Academy, but hugging seemed to be normally a humanoid thing for those considered friends. Perhaps this one has somehow determined they would be friends before they had even met? Before she could say anything, however, the Lieutenant had disengaged from the hug and moved past her to go greet her new superior. Oh my.

Sornax had tried to remain inconspicuous, hoping to let the Ensign make her introduction first, and in the meantime, he was admiring the lab and quietly thinking about what personal touches he may end up making to help with his priorities. Suddenly, that all went away when he heard his Xenexian science officer making a beeline for him. Thankfully, physical contact did not shock him; it was perfectly normal in his culture. But given the conversation he had the previous day with the command staff, he was a bit surprised by the action. Still, he offered a smile afterwards and waved his hand to signify everything was ok. “It’s perfectly fine, Mister Poe. I’m glad to see someone is excited to have me on board.”

Before he could continue, though, his eyes went wide as he watched the young man trip and fall down. Quickly, he moved to go help him up, but much like an animated character, the lieutenant had quickly gotten up on his own. “Take a deep breath, Lieutenant; everything, as you said, is just fine. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Poe's eyes sparkled wetly. "It is?" He bit his lip. "No one ever says to me." His lip wobbled a bit, but he cleared his throat. "Th...thank you." You will not hug them again; you will not hug them again. He tucked his shoulders back. "I have both your offices ready. Because the ship is so large, most specialists have their own little cubby." He beckoned. "Let me show you to your offices, and I can catch you up on the department. I'll be happy to not be doing any more reports." He laughed. "I forgot how much paperwork department heads do! Don't worry, Lieutenant Sornax, I've stocked your drawers with chocolate to help with the paperwork."

Sornax was worried for a second he was going to have to pull the man aside and straighten him, but Poe recovered just fine. For the moment, he was going to let things slide, though he wondered if a conversation with the ship's counselor about this might be in his future. “It sounds to me like you’ve been keeping yourself quite busy. Let’s get Ensign Ganira squared away, and then you and I can finish everything up.” He motioned for his assistant department head to show the way, and once more let Ganira go first since they were showing her the workstation dedicated to her first.

Ganira was excited the moment she heard she was going to have her own dedicated space, no matter how big or small it was. In fact, her eyes had blinked several times when Lieutenant Poe said that. Who would have thought an Ensign fresh out of the academy would get such a thing?! “Lieutenant, I understand you’re an archaeologist, is that right? Have you ever been anywhere exciting?” She asked as the tour began.

He grinned. "I am indeed. In my humble opinion, the funnest job on board." He thought for a moment. "Let's see...I have been to a few exciting places. There was a dig on Veklin II that I was a part of. The Veklinites were to join Starfleet but pulled out at the last minute. The ruins there were amazing. I would say that their prehistoric periods were somehow more advanced than the current civilization, at least when it came to building things!" He smiled at Ganira. "I have prepared a welcome-aboard surprise for you, Ensign! Your office has a 3D holo table where you can work out all you need to. It can run mini simulations, and it can also let you see real-time results from all three bio labs. Also, you have a replicator in your office. I got Engineering approval from Commander Walker for all the science geeks like me to have replicators. I kind of convinced him that coffee keeps us from being mad scientists." He laughed.

Poe turned to the new Chief. "You, Sir, have the biggest office and your own bathroom! I will miss your office. I have to admit that."

The young ensign was flabbergasted by all of the equipment her area was going to have. What sort of dream had she walked into, she wondered. Snapping from her thoughts, she offered a large, razor-sharp-toothed grin at Poe before moving to go inspect everything. "This is incredible! I think I'm going to check all of this out now." She said as she turned and went straight for the holo table. Sornax himself let out a chuckle and turned to his Xenexian assistant department head and motioned for them to continue the tour.

"You must have some sway, Lieutenant. Getting engineering and the Captain to agree to such upgrades for the science labs is quite the win. I had honestly half-expected to come aboard, survey the labs, and end up making requests like these directly to them myself. Tell me, besides the bathroom by my office, what is your favorite part of serving aboard the Arcadia. And at the same time, where do you feel it could use its biggest improvement in terms of the sciences division?"

"Ohhhh tough questions. I guess I love this ship because it's so big! It's like you could stay here for years and everyday there is something new to learn. In terms of sciences...I'm not sure. We've got some advanced equipment but I guess we could use some more departmental meetings. Find ways to merge the different sciences." He laughed. "As for sway I don't really. Before Commander Walker was taken he approves some upgrades. I don't think the Assistant Chief Engineer will be so cooperative. He doesn't like me much but he may like you! You're both Denobulan!"

The Chief Science Officer listened carefully to the responses, being careful not to interrupt Aiden as he scared the questions. He had hoped for something more in-depth about why he enjoyed the Arcadia, not something as simple as its a big ship. Perhaps he should have been more detailed in his question. As for the question to improving the department, well that was something he could work with. “I think we can certainly get the team working together, in fact I’m counting on it. I’d like to start the process by having you submit a report to me on the current team and their strengths and weaknesses by the end of the week. Seeing that you’ve been filling in for my role for a while I have to believe you have the proper insight that won’t be explained in standard personnel files.”

When Aiden explained the Assistant Chief Engineer was a Denobulan, he paused for several moments. His past aboard his previous ship flashed before his eyes, the screams of an old friend filled his head before the all went away. Quickly he tugged on his uniform and acknowledged the comment. “Right, a fellow Denobulan. Can’t guarantee that’s an automatic shoe in for support, but, at least I know what to talk with them about. Thank you Aiden. Anything else I should be aware of?”

Aiden tilted his head. He was a very good observer of people. "You went somewhere else for a moment." He reached out and placed a hand on the Chief's shoulder. "We are all sums of our past but it does not define us." His curse, as his parents called it, kicked in. He could sense shadows. It was an odd gift. "The shadows make us who we are," As he spoke his eyes shone a bit more lavender it was as if he was speaking but also not. "We must learn to co exist within them, only then can we over power them." There was a moment of silence and then he shook his head. Like always he didn't remember what was said only that he spoke. "Um...sorry I'm sorry I ...should go. Report! Yup!"

He backed up and slammed into a wall letting out a little squeak. Feeling mortified he turned and ran waving. "Will get that report ASAP!"

The sudden change in Aiden and how he reacted to the momentary lapse that the Denobulan had was surprising. The Lieutenant almost seemed older, wiser, even more mature. Sornax was both surprised that he had caught on that there was a darkness that had taken his thoughts for a moment and then had responded so kindly. He was about to thank him but then the personality he had been told about broke through and clumsy Aiden scurried out of his office. “Lieutenant, thank you.” He managed to say before he was fully out the door.

Afterwards, he moved to his desk and ran his hand over it, looking around the room. Sitting down, he activated the work console at his desk and pulled up the personnel file system. “Computer, display personnel file for Aiden Poe. Full biographical background and career record.” The Denobulan leaned back into his chair and stretched as the information loaded. It was time to really learn who and what his Assistant Chief was.

OFF:

Lieutenant Sornax
Chief Science Officer

&

Lieutenant JG Aiden Poe (PNPC)
Alien Archaeologist/Anthropologist

&

Ensign Ganira (PNPC)
Science Officer - Exobiologist

 

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