It was only a few days ago now that his former Captain had called him into his quarters and given him a small black box with orders to the USS Dauntless after giving him a small speech. He hadn’t seen it coming at all. He sensed the apprehension leading up to it and the feeling that one was hiding something, but he had already come to the understanding that every human had their secrets and that it was considered rude to intrude. Besides, the Captain always had things they need to know that the rest of a crew might not need to know about yet. Growing up in his Father’s footsteps had him learn a lot about several different species and being able to work alongside several of them only improved his outlook on everyone and the Federation in general.

Sitting on the shuttle he flipped that little black box around in his hand, pips already on his collar nearing the location to rendezvous with the Dauntless. He noticed his own apprehension as they grew closer and closer. With every push into the career of Starfleet he grew closer and closer to command. If only his father could see him now. It had also only been a few weeks that he had gotten news that his father passed away. What would he have thought? What would he have felt upon getting the news of being asked for this assignment? His thoughts were a whirlwind of questions and thoughts about what could have been before a small female voice broke through them. “Five minutes sir .. we’ll be docking soon.”

“Thank you Lieutenant, and again, I do appreciate you going out of the way to take me to the Dauntless.” He gave a warm smile as she nodded and turned back to the front of the shuttle, silently blushing. Her thoughts, well, feelings easily betrayed her as he could feel them as clear as day. He chuckled lightly to himself as he scooped up his bag after getting permission from the Dauntless to dock. Hopping off the vessel onto the shuttle bay floors did he realize it was time for him to do even better for himself and the new people all around him. He stopped and just listened and felt everything around him. So many different people going about their day, all with a sense of direction and motivated. He took the inspiration from those around him and started on his way to drop by his new quarters to set his bag down and then to meet the Captain.

Maxwell Saunders (Oncoming XO)