Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aili McMorran (Chief Science Officer) in CSO’s Office: Cadet Matthew Riley Reporting for Duty
“Come in!” came a cry from beyond. The doors parted to reveal the primary science lab, its whites and greys gleaming with cleanliness. Worksurfaces intended for scientific equipment and apparatus lay bare, give or take a handful of PaDDs scattered here and there. Instead, what drew Matthew’s attention was a red haired woman garbed in dark, slim fitting sportswear, mid karate kick against a featureless humanoid target. “You don’t need to ring the buzzer you silly thing!” she exclaimed, her often suppressed Scottish tones fully exposed, as her opponent stumbled backwords into a central, oval shaped workstation. As it collided with the surface it shattered into digital oblivion, revealing itself as a holographic fiction.

The young woman grabbed a wet towel from behind her and began patting at her face as she turned to the door. “So”, she began but cut herself off as soon as she lowered the towel from her eyes. Her cheeks began flushing without delay. “Oh! I… You’re not…” Desperately, she began folding loose curls behind her ears in an impossible attempt to appear professional. “Are you… Cadet Riley? I am so sorry. I think I somehow mixed up my days…”

Matthew blinked. “Yes. Riley, Matthew, Cadet.” He looked from her to the table where the hologram had vanished. “Um, reporting for duty, lieutenant.” He placed an isolinear chip - containing his orders, Academy record, educational record, and service record from his prior two Academy cruises - on the desk near the door, and glanced again at the oval table. “I, uh, apologize for interrupting.”

He paused a heartbeat, unable to stop from running a hand through his blond hair. She was clearly as embarrassed at being interrupted as he was at doing so. Tension reduction, tension reduction, his mind screamed.

He cleared his throat. “Excellent form.”

Definitely more casual than my last assignment, he thought.

OOC: (Out of character) Welcome (back)! Brilliant first post! You obviously know what you’re doing and I look forward to writing with you! :)

OOC: Thank you! It’s been a long time, so I wanted a “safe space” to get back into the groove, so to speak hahaha.

One note for now: we (nowadays!) sign off our posts with a ‘signature’. You can see mine above. Yours would look something like ‘Cadet Riley - Science’. So long as it contains your character name and indicates their position, it does the job and you can format it however you please!

Good to know, thank you!

• Cadet Matthew Riley, Science