Juliet looked in the mirror and shrugged her shoulders to settle the uniform. Jet black hair framed a porcelain face set with two piercing crystal blue eyes, her nickname sake. The odd color hid her true lineage and brought her just enough attention to distract from things she didn’t want noticed.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Anders

She looked at the newest addition to her also new uniform. The promotion pip, moving her out of the Ensign bracket once more, shone like a beacon in the mirror as she resettled the Department Head tunic for the umpteenth time. The return to her former rank had been a hard-won battle. But she was there. A sigh fell silently from her lips as she reached up and touched the dark circle on her collar tab. She took a deep breath, nodded a final time to her reflection and walked out of the bathroom.

She was on the Manhattan, now. Her last station, a beacon way-point just far enough from Earth to prevent a quick travel jaunt, had given her time to clear her head, and set her priorities straight. Her dismissal from the Leviathan had left her head spinning. She thought she had acted right. Bollocks, the CO had agreed with her. But the RTF Commander had not. He had dismissed her from the anomaly collecting ship the moment they had stopped for repairs. Most had expected her to sulk and pout and try and whine her way back to the ship. But she had done no such thing. Head high, confident in her past decision and vowing she would do the same had the time presented itself, she had walked away with a determination to set her past behind her and make a new future for herself. The Levi tour had put her in touch with a long lost cousin who had given her her identity back. With that in her mind, she had moved forward, gotten requalified in everything she could get certified in, and had moved herself up in view to make her the choice when the opening for Security Chief on the Manhattan had become available.

Stepping out of her quarters and nodding to a pair of crewmen passing by, she headed for Medical and her new assignment. Her easy stride lead her to the lift. But at the last moment, she veered and chose one of the access ladders instead. She had been cooped up on a shuttle for two days and knew she needed to do more than pushups to get herself back into shape. The climb was swift, Deck 4 to Deck 3, and a few seconds later, she stepped into the Medical Bay and looked around.

The first thing she would do is glance around the room with crystallin blue eyes and start marking which uniforms were present. Were any of them in there from Security? How many medical personnel were bustling about? And what color was the majority of those in the bays she could see? Whether it was her Black Ops training, Security conditioning, or just idle curiosity, she always checked the situations she wandered into. Hailing a passing medical person, she inquired, “I’m here to check in. Who do I need to see?” She’d waited till an hour past shift change to be sure she wasn’t stepping on toes or interrupting pass down meetings. She hoped, whoever she needed to see, would be free by now.

She tugged down the front of her tunic as she waited.

Lt JG Juliet “Jewels” Anders
CoS