In so many ways, today was just like every day in James Rowe’s life since coming aboard the USS Athena. Up early… stretch and rollout… gym… breakfast… shower… work… Today’s work found Rowe in Lower Stellar Cartography on deck 15. The room was dim except for the blue-white glow of the of the starmap as James used the large-scale projection system to overlay telemetry anomalies and gravimetric distortions with historical survey data. Rowe had lost track of how long he’d been in the cartography lab, utterly lost in the drifting map waiting for something to click. Then the computer chirped, looking at the clock James visibly relaxed. Research could wait. While the day had been so much like every other, it was about to take a very welcome detour. Getting his research to a stopping point and ensuring that the file he shared with Donivas was up to date, James made his way out of the lab.

As Rowe tapped his comm badge a smile crept onto his face, =^=Roe to Ren, I’ve just wrapped up my shift. If you’re still so inclined, would you please join me in 17 forward?=^=

The walk and turbolift ride were both short, and James found himself walking into the lounge approximately six minutes later. He made his way over to one of the small tables, the one closest to the lounge’s observation windows and took a seat. A civilian waitress stopped by, and James ordered an Old Fashioned before settling back in his chair. For a moment he watched the quiet bustle of the lounge… off-duty officers unwinding, families sharing meals, civilians chatting beneath the glow of the stars… James found himself wondering when exactly the ship had started to feel like home.

• Rowe