Posted by Captain Alex Becket (Commanding Officer) in Nala’s Check-In with the Captain — Ready Room, Deck 1

Posted by Ensign Nala Shai’Mori t’Liriena (Science Officer) in Nala’s Check-In with the Captain — Ready Room, Deck 1

Posted by Captain Alex Becket (Commanding Officer) in Nala’s Check-In with the Captain — Ready Room, Deck 1
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻
By the time Nala stepped onto the bridge, the noise had changed again.

Not louder denser.

The bridge didn’t chatter the way corridors did. It layered. Consoles murmured in steady, overlapping tones. Power flowed audibly beneath the deck plates, a constant, disciplined pulse that never quite stopped. Voices were clipped, controlled, professional yet always present, always moving.

Her ears flicked despite her effort to hold them neutral.

She kept walking.

The Ready Room door stood just aft of the command area, its surface smooth and unassuming. Close enough that she could feel the bridge’s rhythm through it. Close enough that the ship never really let go.

She stopped, straightened, and took a breath that didn’t go quite as deep as she wanted.

Captain Alex Becket, she reminded herself. Just a check-in.

Her tail twitched once sharp, betraying and she forced it still, clasping her hands behind her back to anchor herself. The low thrum of the bridge pressed against her senses from every direction, not overwhelming yet, but constant. Inescapable.

She chimed the door.

While she waited, the ship hummed around her warp systems far below, sensors sweeping, command circuits alive and alert. The sound crawled along her nerves, familiar now in an unwelcome way. Her jaw tightened. She shifted her weight, then corrected herself, boots aligning precisely with the deck markings.

You’re fine. You’re almost done.

The door hadn’t opened yet.

Her ears flattened a fraction before she consciously lifted them again. She swallowed, breath hitching just enough to notice. The end of the day pressed down on her not exhaustion exactly, but the cumulative effort of holding herself together through hours of sound she couldn’t shut out.

She focused on the Ready Room door. On the stillness of it. On the promise that this conversation would be contained. Brief. Structured.

Another second passed.

Nala stood at attention outside the Captain’s Ready Room, brilliant and capable and quietly straining, the bridge alive just beyond the wall waiting to see whether she could keep her footing a little longer.

Ensign Nala

“Come.” Said a voice behind the door as he was expecting the new science officer on board, who had then just gotten dropped off by her shuttle.

Captain Alex Becket
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Ark Angel

The door slid open at the Captain’s summons.

Nala stepped into the Ready Room and felt the bridge press closer behind her as the door sealed.

The space was quieter, yes, but not isolated. The ship still bled through the bulkheads: a muted command hum, the low-frequency pulse of power routing, the faint echo of voices and consoles just beyond the wall. The Ready Room didn’t silence the Ark Angel so much as contain it.

Her ears flicked before she caught them.

She moved forward anyway, spine straight, stride precise. Training overrode discomfort, even as the noise threaded through her head like static she couldn’t quite tune out. The effort of holding her tail still cost more than it should have.

She stopped at the appropriate distance from the desk and snapped to attention.

“Ensign Nala Shai’Mori t’Liriena,” she said.

Her voice came out a fraction faster than regulation. Clear. Controlled. Tight around the edges.

“Reporting for duty, sir.”

She held the posture hands clasped behind her back, shoulders square while the ship hummed beneath her feet. Her ears fought for neutral and mostly won. Her tail gave a single, restrained twitch before she locked it down again.

She did not look distracted.

She did not look weak.

But anyone paying close attention would notice the way her breathing was just slightly too shallow, as if she were rationing it saving what composure she had left for the conversation ahead.

Ensign Nala

The captain sat there and looked up. “At ease, Ensign. I don’t need any of my junior officers collapsing on me. Welcome to the Ark Angel, Ensign Nala. I am Captain Alex Becket. I bet you found yourself here rather well, I presume.” He said to the young Ensign. “Please have a seat. May I get you anything?” He asked her. “Something to drink to eat by chance?” He added in another question.

Captain Alex Becket
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Ark Angel

Nala hesitated half a beat too long then moved, because standing still suddenly felt harder than sitting.

“Yes thank you sir,” she said, words tumbling out as she took the seat a little too quickly, tail curling tight around the chair leg the moment she sat. “I yes, I found my way here without issue, the signage is clear and the bridge layout is logical and I reviewed the deck schematics twice before disembarking so navigation wasn’t a problem.”

She stopped. Drew a breath. It wasn’t enough.

Her ears flicked, then flattened halfway before she forced them back up, amber eyes flicking briefly toward the bulkhead as if listening to something only she could hear.

“I’m” she started again, then pressed on. “I’m fine. Just adjusting. It’s a very active ship.”

Another breath. Faster this time.

At his question, she blinked, clearly not expecting the option.

“Um yes if that’s permitted,” she said quickly, almost tripping over herself. “Chocolate milk. Please. If you have it. Replicated is fine any temperature I don’t…”

She cut herself off, jaw tightening.

“Sorry. Yes. Chocolate milk would be… appreciated, sir.”

Her tail gave one small, betraying flick before she stilled it again, posture still regulation-perfect even as the edges of her composure continued to fray under the constant, inescapable hum of the Ark Angel.
Ensign Nala

“Of course.” He said with a smile. “One chocolate milk.” He ordered from the replicator. He than smiled a bit and handed her the chocolate milk. “I’m glad that finding your way around has been easy. As of right now I’m glad your here. Your department head, he hasn’t been around. I’ve been needing a science officer here for a bit. While he of course is on the away mission. Get my junior officers more on the prepared side of missions when their department head isn’t around. I am guessing you’ve read up on who your department head is and what the mission is I presume?” He asked with a smile.

Captain Alex Becket
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Ark Angel

Nala accepted the glass with both hands a little too quickly.

“Thank you, sir,” she said, and took a sip almost immediately.

The chocolate milk was grounding cold, familiar, uncomplicated. She hadn’t realized how tight her jaw was until it eased a fraction. Her shoulders followed a heartbeat later, just enough to notice.

She swallowed, then spoke again too fast, filters slipping.

“Honestly no, sir,” she said, ears angling back in what was very clearly a truthful admission. “I haven’t seen either file yet. I was transferred over, intake evaluations started immediately, and I haven’t been issued my full briefing packet. I know that’s not ideal timing, but I didn’t want to make assumptions or skim incomplete data and miss something important.”

Another sip. Smaller this time. More deliberate.

“I’m ready to review them as soon as they’re available,” she continued, words still quick but purposeful. “Department head, mission parameters, standing protocols I work best with full context, and I can catch up very fast once I have it.”

Her tail twitched once, then stilled again as she forced herself to slow just a little.

“And thank you,” she added, lifting the glass slightly in an instinctive, almost Caitian gesture. “For this. It helps.”

She held herself still after that bright-eyed, overstimulated, sincere doing her best to stay composed while the Ark Angel continued to hum relentlessly just beyond the Ready Room walls.

Ensign Nala

“Of course, Ensign.” He hands her the two data pads with the current information. “As of right now, your Department Head is over at the Starbase. We lost all communication, and it’s just me and a couple of senior officers, plus other junior officers around. I could use you over at the science station helping us with scans and whatnot.” He mentioned.

Captain Alex Becket
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Ark Angel

Nala accepted the two PADDs immediately, a little too eagerly, claws brushing the casing before she adjusted her grip.

“Yes absolutely, sir,” she said, words quick and bright with purpose. “I can do that. I’m fully qualified on long-range and mid-resolution sensor interpretation, xenobiological pattern recognition, and anomaly differentiation. I’ve worked Class 10 systems during my final Academy rotation, and I adapt very fast.”

She caught herself halfway through the list and drew a breath, forcing her pace down a notch.

“I mean” she corrected, more carefully, “I’d be glad to assist at the science station. Whatever support you need.”

Her ears lifted forward, alert and intent now rather than strained, and her tail gave a small, hopeful sway before she stilled it again. The noise of the ship was still there still pressing but purpose gave it edges she could hold onto.

She glanced down at the PADDs briefly, already skimming, already orienting herself.

“I won’t get in the way,” she added, earnest rather than defensive. “And I’ll defer to your senior officers as needed.”

She looked back up at him, amber eyes sharp with focus and determination.

“I’m ready to be useful, sir.”

Ensign Nala

He smiled at her. “Very well. Just so your aware all the senior officers are on the away team except for myself and two others. Few Junior Officers are also filling in as well.” He said with a smile.

Captain Alex Becket
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Ark Angel

Nala nodded immediately, almost before he finished speaking.

“Understood, sir,” she said too fast again, enthusiasm bleeding through the fatigue. “That’s fine. I can integrate with whoever’s on duty and adjust to existing workflows. I don’t need much ramp-up time.”

She paused, then added more carefully, but still eager

“When would you like me to start?”

Her ears angled forward, intent and hopeful despite the strain she was still holding at bay, tail giving a small, contained flick as if already leaning toward the bridge.

“I’m ready now, if that works for you, sir.”

Ensign Nala

He smiled. “I love the enthusiasm. I can have you start now. No problem.” He said looking at Ensign Nala.

Captain Alex Becket
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Ark Angel

Nala’s ears lifted instantly, excitement cutting through the haze of noise like a clean signal.

“Yes thank you, sir,” she said, quick and bright, already rising to her feet. “I won’t disappoint you.”

She gathered the PADDs against her chest with careful precision, tail giving a restrained, hopeful sway before she locked it back down. The overload didn’t vanish she could still feel the ship humming through the bulkheads, still hear the layered murmur of the bridge beyond the Ready Room but purpose pushed it firmly into the background.

She turned toward the door, posture snapping back into regulation as she reached for the panel.

“Permission to report to the science station,” she added, already half a step ahead of herself eager, capable, and holding herself together by momentum and sheer will as she moved to carry out her first real duty aboard the Ark Angel.

Ensign Nala