Caelian sighed inwardly as the turbolift doors opened. One more stop to make, he consoled himself, then a well-deserved dinner. Then a shower, then bed. Maybe… maybe not in that order.

His last stop would be the easiest on his first day aboard the Challenger: talking to the ship’s counselor. As one of the only children growing up aboard the Venture, he’d gotten used to the quaint chats with the various staff. At times he almost felt like a science project—a curiosity about the effects of extended space travel on the young—but he’d never been insulted by it. Understanding the universe was a science vessel’s goal, after all. This would probably be simple by comparison, an elementary battery of questions designed to clear him for duty.

And since I’m not rampaging around the halls like a Tarcassian razor beast during mating season, he chuckled to himself, I should be fine.

He paused outside the counselor’s office thoughtfully. Was it protocol to just walk in and announce himself? There hadn’t been a waiting area aboard the Venture and he hadn’t thought to check the Challenger’s specs before making his way down here. Shrugging, he pressed the call button on the panel beside the door and waited patiently.