Karina strolled through Starbase 243 enjoying the relaxed down time she was getting. The USS Memorial was due to arrive some time today and she found she was eager and full of jittery energy. She’d enjoyed her time on the USS Dark Sea. Being the CIO had been interesting. Karina had the training and did well with it, but she could never quite get past her people’s inability to be deceptive. So she had skills and the analytical ability but deep cover was something she never excelled at. But she did do well in command. She’d been in charge of Gamma shift, data and information analysis, and most often away teams requiring her intel skills. She had really come into her own in that position and had made made a name for herself quickly. She was eager to see the Memorial in all her glory.

=^=Lt Enger this is Ops. The memorial is ready to dock, proceed to docking port 5 and you’ll get your first look at her.=^= Karina smiled. =^=Acknowledged.=^= she moved quickly from the promenade to docking port 5 and looked out the window. She was magnificent. She took Karina’s breath away. She’d studied everything she could about her. She was immensely excited about the AI that replaced the usual MAJEL interface. Karina cleared her throat, a habit to ‘reset’ her voice modulator. It wasn’t necessary and was a nervous habit and not necessity. She wished her mother was here to share the images and happiness she was feeling. If asked to describe how she felt in that moment she would never be able to find the words. She watched with satisfaction as the Memorial was maneuvered in and with a practiced eye could tell the helm officer was flying manually and not by auto pilot and Karina was impressed.

Her personal things had been sent to be transported earlier that day. She waited, hands clasped behind her back, weight on the balls of her feet until the docking hatch was opened and she could report to her new ship. She also knew that the Memorial was currently equipped with her Diplomatic module. This added 6 ambassadorial quarters, 24 staff quarters, two conference complexes, 5 briefing rooms, press quarters, and could support H, K, L and M environments. The bridge was also on Deck 8 working more like a Combat Information Center (CIC) than a typical bridge. The multipurpose areas, of which there were 3, had a martial arts dojo/gym, and school area, and the third was currently empty. The school room also working as an evacuation area, equipped with escape pods. Making the children, their most precious cargo, safe.

While Karina waited for the docking hatch to open, she ran through the senior staff roster she had reviewed last night. Then she was through the door and stepping onto the Memorial. She identified herself to the docking officer and then made her way to deck 8. She stepped out, her martial arts training keeping her posture straight but relaxed. She came to stand in front of the captain, coming to a crisp attention. “Lt Karina Enger, reporting for duty, Ma’am”
Lt. Cmdr Enger, XO