It was with mixed feelings that Tija had left the Challenger and boarded the transport vessel that would take her to Starbase 157. The Academy ship had been her home for two years. She had enjoyed teaching cadets and liked the constant turnover. She felt sure she was going to miss it. At the same time she had always liked the challenge of new assignments. Yet before she could start that, there were some things she needed to take care of first. She had never expected that the day would come when she’d had to ask for medical leave; least of all for psychological reasons. Yet here she was.

She hadn’t wanted to go medical leave and she still wasn’t one hundred percent convinced that it was really needed. Yet after the last away mission on the Challenger, she’d had another long conversation with Counsellor Janusz Korczak during which he had strongly recommended that she should take a medical leave. Well, more than recommended really. He had pretty much insisted on it. She didn’t want to at first, but at the same time she didn’t want to fight either and taking a break to take stock of things probably couldn’t hurt. Also, if she was quite honest with herself, she knew that her approach so far was not working any longer. If it ever really had. But having a mental breakdown in the shuttlebay and then being short-tempered afterwards; taking it out on cadets and some of the miners. Well, as reluctant as she was to admit that she was struggling and not doing well, it had served as a bit of a wake-up call. So she finally came to see that the Counsellor was right and she had a couple of things she needed to work through if she wanted to continue being a good doctor. After all, in order to help people you have to be healthy yourself.

So here she was on her way to the Starbase and a new life of sorts.

As she had hoped, the journey to the Starbase had turned out to be very uneventful. Which was good, of course, but it also left her with a little too much time to think or rather brood and fret. So it was still with very mixed feelings that she set foot on Starbase 157, which, as she understood it, would be her new home for now till the USS Ogawa was repaired and ready to leave for her next mission again.

Now the question was: where to go next? So far in her career that had always been a question that was easy to answer. Bringing her few personal belongings to her quarters and then reporting for duty with her superior officer and her boarding evaluations. Obviously she wasn’t reporting for duty any time soon, but clearly she had to make her presence known to someone. The Captain? First Officer? Chief Medical Officer? Counsellor? This definitely wasn’t helping her feel any better about being her. Maybe the best first step was finding the quartermaster to find out where she was going to stay for the time being. They could probably also tell her where she might find certain members of the crew of the USS Ogawa.

Without further ado, Tija reached for her duffle bag and started to make her way towards the quartermaster’s office.

~Lt. Tija