Son Arrivée

Posted on Monday April 19th, 2021 @ 4:37pm by

Mission: Jeepers Creepers 2: Creepers In Flight
Location: Various
Timeline: Current

::ON::

“T’es prête, Manu.”

In the main shuttlebay of USS Capella, the massive Odyssey-class ship on which Emmanuelle Larose had served for the previous two years, a small gathering of officers said their goodbyes to the diminutive strategic operations officer. Shuttlecraft Garneau was ready for launch. In a few moments, it would take her to her new assignment. She would be Chief Strategic Operations Officer aboard the newly constructed Deep Space Three.

She was nervous, but her chief aboard the Capella, Commander William Hunt, had faith in her. He taught her everything he knew. She was an excellent protégée, wanting to take in every tiny bit of his experience. He had not been her first mentor. She had first learned under one of the best security and tactical officers, and then from one of Starfleet’s top diplomats. She knew how to fight. She knew how to talk and listen. And she knew how to observe.

Commander Hunt had spoken highly of her in this little send-off gathering, but had honoured her specifically by saying his final farewell in her native tongue. “T’es prête, Manu.” You’re ready, Manu (her preferred nickname among those who could pronounce it right).

After some tearful hugs and kisses and salutes to her peers and superiors, she was aboard the Garneau and off into space.

The two day transit was calm. A bit quieter than she would have preferred but she was at least able to catch up on some reading. The newest romance by JS Anderson and the report on Klingon expansion rimward both took most of her time.

When she dropped out of warp at DS3, the sight took her breath away. She had seen similarly sized stations, of course. It was the same class as Earth Spacedock, after all, and all Starfleet Officers find their way there at least once in their careers. But never before had she been alone in the cockpit of a shuttle as she approached such an immense structure. She felt smaller than she ever had as the station loomed in front of her and slowly filled her forward viewport.

She could not help but let out a quiet swear in French.

Back on Earth, most of her extended family had not experienced the thrill of space travel, the awe of seeing some of the great wonders of Federation ingenuity, or the joy of living in a self contained city deep in the void. Only her little sister had followed her into space, though Mélissa had done so as an architect, designing buildings for Federation colonies across both quadrants. Her husband and daughter sometimes tagged along, and sometimes stayed back in that small town outside Montréal where the Larose family and countless others continued to live their simple and fruitful, if (in Manu’s opinion) boring lives.

“Shuttlecraft Garneau,” came a voice over the comm system. “Proceed to shuttlebay two-seven immediately. Do not exceed speed limit and be prepared to be taken in by tractor beam. Acknowledge.”

The voice took Emmanuelle out of her reverie. She signaled her acknowledgement and did exactly as she was told. It would not do well to annoy her superiors with a flagrant violation of rules before she even checked in.

Minutes later, she was on the deck of the shuttlebay, personal effects in a small cargo container being taken by an Ops Officer to her quarters. She would learn where she would bunk soon, after she had checked in with the quartermaster. But first, she would find the First Officer, and then the Captain, to present herself for duty.

::OFF::

Lieutenant Emmanuelle Larose
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
Deep Space Three