Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Sharah Fayth (Chief Science Officer) in CSO’s Office: Ensin Matthew Riley Reporting for Duty

Posted by Ensign Matthew Riley (Science Officer) in CSO’s Office: Ensin Matthew Riley Reporting for Duty
Matthew glanced at the PADD for the 10th time, ensuring he was standing before the correct door. The door even said “CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER” on it; it couldn’t be any clearer. He sighed, flipping the medallion he hadn’t realized he had been playing with in his right hand, then quickly pocketed it and pulled out an isolinear chip.

You were old for a cadet, and you’re old for an ensign, he thought.

But you have the knowledge to back that up, he retorted. You’ve done what many have never been able to do: become a Starfleet officer.

That’s not the hard part. The hard part now is proving yourself. Every moment of every day.

He shook his head. He knew that wasn’t actually true, but that was a part of him he could never change, that search for perfection, even to his own detriment sometimes. He felt, rather than saw, the slight change to his peripheral vision that accompanied a serotonin stim. His shoulders relaxed, and he took a deep, easy breath, and pressed the chime for entrance.

Sharah was having a hard time settling into her new office. It was near the arboretum, but not in it and she hated that. She didn’t feel prepared to be in charge of the ENTIRE science department. But Drudoc..the Captain felt she had earned it, so she would live up to it. She’d figure it out. It was a puzzle and she just had to know how it went together. She was moving things around in the office, making room for a small flower bed to change the drabness of the room. She felt the presence
of someone outside her door and then the chime. “Enter.” She said, hoping it was loud enough to be heard. She never liked officers barking out a welcome, it always made her nervous.
Lt. jg. Fayth, CSO

Riley stepped in as the doors parted. His blue eyes swept the room, pausing momentarily on the flower bed. Well, at least it’s only one bed, he thought, and not a room full like Commander Hilo.

He grinned at the memory of the Challenger counselor and felt a little more relaxed as he set the isolinear chip down on the desk and assumed a parade stance, holding the PADD in both hands behind his back. “Lieutenant Fayth?” he questioned, still smiling. “Ensign Matthew Riley, reporting for duty.”

• Ensign Riley, Science