Posted by Vanessa Slade (CNS) in Make sure you know where to go to meet the CO

Posted by Vanessa Slade (CNS) in Make sure you know where to go to meet the CO
Vanessa exited the transfer shuttle looking more like a tourist than a Starfleet officer. In her left hand, she was pulling a rolling luggage case that had not one but two large duffle bags strapped to it. This monstrosity was ungainly and hard to maneuver by itself, and yet that was not all that the woman was carrying. On her right arm was a duffle bag like the ones strapped to her luggage only smaller. On her back, Vanessa also sported a backpack. No one would have looked twice if she had been arriving at Risa, Hawaii, or some other locale; however stepping foot off a shuttle and onto a ship, everyone looked twice, thrice, and at times just plain stared.

After apologizing again to several people that she had bumped, knocked, and whacked with her luggage, Vanessa moved off to the side and pulled out her personal communicator. Twenty messages were flashing in her mailbox. Letting out a groan she leaned against the wall and began to play them.

Message one flashed and played. “Yo call ma,” Dennis’ message was short and to the point.

Message two flashed and played. “Ness call ma. I’m tired of Dalton blowing me up,” Dexter said followed by the clatter of some tool on a concrete floor. The closing was not I love you or some other term of affection but a flurry of curse words indicating whatever was dropped had caused an injury.

Message three flashed and played. “Hey thanking me yet. If not suck it. You will tonight. Flight came through an’ hour ago and all the people lost their luggage. Stop whining. You got your bags. Never trust the blokes working at Logan,” Duncan Slade’s voice rang deep and gruff. Vanessa rolled her eyes hating she listened to her brother not trust the Starfleet quartermaster. Dropping the duffle from her shoulder she rubbed it as she listen to the next message.

Message four flashed and played. “Vanessa remember to sit by the fire extinguisher. Duncan said he was fixin’ one of those Federation jalopies that caught fire. Packed you one in place of your hairdryer.” Danny’s voice said eliciting a groan from Vanessa. If he tossed her hairdryer she was going to kill him. Looking around however she stopped playing the messages on speaker. It would not make a good first impression to have one of her knucklehead brothers question the construction of her new home or the pep of the warp engine.

Picking up her bag, she glanced down at her watch. Vanessa would never admit to anyone in her family there had been some shuttle issues. She would never hear the end of it. The problem was if she did not get moving, she was going to be late for her check-in with the new CO and that would be a problem. Grabbing her duffle and hoisting it onto her right shoulder she grabbed her luggage with her left hand and moved down the hall looking for a turbo.

Vanessa Slade

Moving down the hall, Vanessa felt like a cadet and not a senior officer. It was not that the hallways were narrow. It was more that Vanessa was so wide. Pulling the suitcase with two duffle bags strapped to it and the one on her right shoulder gave her the breadth of two people. This meant whenever a pair of people came towards her she would have to hug the wall to let them pass. By the time she had done it twice and politely refused the help of several crew, Vanessa was really hating that she listened to Dalton about not leaving her bags to the quartermaster division. As if there was a psychic link between her and her brother, Vanessa’s personal communicator trilled in her pocket playing the updated tune of Bad Boys by the Andorian Punk-regae band Outer Circle.

Dropping her duffle bag she hastily picked up her communicator as the lyrics rang out Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you? Answering the comm, the song immediately cut off. “Dalton,” Vanessa said in a firm tone. “I just got here and no I have not called Ma yet. Can you just tell her and the rest I got here safe and I will call you all later?”

“No. How was youh trip? Do you have youh luggage? You know the TSA ah always five-fingah discounting from travelahs,” Dalton’s thick Bostonian accent seemed to almost amplify over the communicator. The sound of chewing also indicated he was eating something so he was probably bored on patrol. Her guess was it was a hot dog off the cart vendor on Fifth and Main. Part of her felt a pang of homesickness. Being this far away, there would be no 3 pm hot dog break as he cruised the area.

“Dalt’n I am not going on a vacation.” As typical with Vanessa, as soon as she talked to her family, her accent appeared as if by magic. “I am checking into my new pawst and it’s Stahfleet, not Stahwest shuttle lines.” Shouldering her bag, she let out a grunt and began heading to the turbo at the end of the hall. “If you ar’n’t going to tell Ma I got heeuh why ah you calling? I am kinda busy at the minute.”

“Cause Ma would kill me if you got mugged on the way theyah. Just checking up. Don’t moan,” Dalton balled up the tin foil from his hot dog and tossed it in the paper bag letting the crinkles of the foil and paper echo through the call. In the background the sounds of the city played like a soundtrack. Horns, shouts, and chaos clearly showed Vanessa was right guessing Dalton was on patrol.

“Hanging up,” Vanessa rolled her eyes and slipped the communicator in her pocket. As much as she loved her brothers, there were times she wished she could change her number. The positive was five out of her nine brothers had reached out. That only meant she had four left to field calls from in the immediate future. Reaching the turbo, she looked at the crew member beside her. “Do you know what floor the Captain’s ready room is?”

Vanessa Slade

The ensign turned slightly pointing up as if that would give a good bearing. “Its off the bridge, so,” he shrugged. “Deck 1, his door is always unlocked but don’t just walk in. He won’t say anything but he doesn’t like it and he never forgets anything.”

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