Ensign Skye Shepherd: The Start of Something New
Skye Shepherd
((Shuttlebay 01, Deck 09, U.S.S. Octavia E. Butler))
Only a couple of minutes had passed since the arrival of a transport shuttle coming from the U.S.S. New Jersey to the U.S.S. Octavia E. Butler. Skye had stepped out from the airlock with a PADD clutched tightly beneath her arm. A duffel bag with most of her belongings hanging from her opposite shoulder as she walked. Some objects had been transferred before her arrival to this new assignment, seeing as though her father had made arrangements with those in command aboard the Sagan Class.
Standing up straight, the hybrid dusted all debris off from her uniform’s fabric. Eyes filled with wonder just as any academy graduate would be arriving at their first post. At her hip, a Mark VII Scientific Tricorder had been clipped to her belt on the inside of a lightly worn, synthetic leather sheath. Blonde hair had been neatly brushed with a fishtail braid on the left side of her face.
Beige colored Trill spots cascaded down both of her temples and into the collar of her science blues. The pattern being bridged by a somewhat large, keloid scar located on the left side of her neck. Which happened to be partially covered by black fabric. Her life had been packed in a suitcase and brought aboard. The transfer had hit hard, but perhaps a new beginning and a clean slate were all the 22 year old required at the time.
~~~<< 2 Hour Timeskip >>>~~~
Skye had now found herself walking down one of the hallways on deck 10, where she had been told the scientific division performed most of their research. It wasn’t until she entered the Hydroponics Facility that a familiar face, which she had seen on a PADD’s screen, came into her visual range.
((Hydroponics Facility, Deck 10, U.S.S. Octavia E. Butler))
Both doors leading to the Facility slid open as soon as the ensign’s presence was detected. She walked forwards, muscles tense just like a targ about to charge into battle.
A familiar presence had come into her view, which had only been presented to her through a scientific PADD held out by Lt. Cmdr. Orrin Castel. Her father and Chief Science Officer to the U.S.S. New Jersey, one of the few Constitution Class vessels remaining in service. He had been the one to make a suggestion to transfer to such a vessel after leaving the Chin’toka behind.
Captain Rouancet. Hesitantly, the Trill hybrid approached at a slow pace to greet her new commanding officer. After all, she didn’t want to rush the situation as the aftermath regarding her own anxiety.
Once she was standing in front of the human female, Skye came to a halt and awkwardly towering over her by 15 centimeters. Anxiety swarmed her body by trembling like a purse dog. It was pitiful, really.
Rouiancet: Greetings, Ensign Shepherd. I'm Captain Lia Rouiancet. (beat) Good trip?
Hearing the sound of flowing water somehow seemed to remind her about the place in which she had been born. A rural community by the name of Heran’zul, located on Trill.
The question was acknowledged by a slight tilt forwards from the ensign’s head, trying to appear as calm as she could, outwardly, in this new environment, and crew.
There was no doubt that Ensign Shepherd had accepted the invitation for a stroll throughout such a room beaming with plant life. It was something any scientist could dream about while traveling through the vastness of space. Several different species inhabiting the area, so different from the arboretums observed in older vessels.
Shepherd: Thank you, Captain. The trip was smooth… though I must admit, it’s a bit overwhelming at first.
Rouiancet: That's good to hear. Remind me again where you're coming from most directly?
Shepherd: I was on a leave of absence and spent some time aboard the U.S.S. New Jersey with my father (beat) as a civilian, actually. Before that, I was assigned as a science officer aboard the U.S.S. Chin’toka.
Pulling the Ina raptor fang necklace from beneath her uniform’s color, she allowed it to rest over her collarbones. Which happened to be covering the light colored and beige spotted skin resting underneath. Such a creature had been found taking its last breaths in the forested grounds of Heran’zul. Skye had kept a pair of them, her father wearing the second one. Both pendants were fairly simple, a small hole being drilled through the root and hung from a thin, leather string.
She looked to the side, noticing some blue and white colored blooms being native to Trill. The same ones with which they had burrowed that elderly Ina raptor in their yard. Shepherd considered life to be valuable, sacred even. In all of its forms, from a particular cell to the largest animal inhabiting their galaxy.
Drawing back her attention to the captain, the 22 year old ensign took a tight breath. Both eyes had been pierced to her presence, making the hybrid tilting her head the same way a confused puppy might have.
Shepherd: Is everything alright, Captain?
Rouinacet: My apologies, I didn't mean to stare. It's only that you're the first Human-Trill I've ever met. (a smile)
Of course, Trill hybrids were not considered that strange amongst Starfleet ranks. But there was something that made her stand out from most, her human heritage. It had been those genes which diluted the streams of spotted patterns running down her temples, colored a grayish beige instead of dark brown or even black, resembling those on her father’s skin.
Allowing a nervous sigh to escape her mouth, Skye approached the flowerbed with those blooms which she had recognized from childhood. Questions about her very existence had once been considered complicated, when genetic sequences regarding both species couldn’t exist together, it was through gene therapy that she had been able to survive the pregnancy at all. As a scientist it seemed as an act of magic that had saved her very existence.
Unlike other Trills, though, her (extended) family wasn’t composed of marsupial individuals. They happened to be mammals, just like humans are. A genetic trait that had made Orrin stand out amongst his people. Perhaps with a trait that had been passed down from their ridge-faced ancestors.
Shepherd: I’ve never been fully Trill. Never fully Human either. And I used to think that meant I wasn’t enough of either. But now I see things differently. I’m both. All of it. And maybe that’s what makes me… exactly who I need to be.
Rouiancet: Response
Tilting her head to the side, blonde hair washed away from her skin and revealed the spotted patterns inherited. They were unique, each of them sharing a different story, memories of an individual who shouldn’t have been.
One hand reached the back of her neck, but if she was to continue a scientific journey, the first step would need to be made in order to earn her commanding officer’s trust.
Shepherd: These came out muted. My dad joked it’s like the stars couldn’t quite decide where to land. I like that. It means I was never meant to be ordinary.
Rouiancet: Response
Glancing at the port light, a small smile illuminated the hybrid’s face. Anxiety remained flowing through her veins, but this was the start of something new. The galaxy was now waiting…
Shepherd: We’re here to find the ones no one’s dared to map yet.
Rouiancet: Response
Ensign Skye Shepherd
Science Officer
U.S.S. Octavia E. Butler NCC-82850
C240110SS2