Lt. Commander Yogan Yalu — I don’t see you out there walking children in nature
Justin Kavanagh
(( Operations Center, Deck 2, USS Excalibur-A ))
There were few things more exciting than the first day on a new ship. Yogan recalled fondly the anticipation and apprehension he felt when coming aboard Atlantis, his first posting out of the Academy, and then just five weeks later when he helped relaunch Resolution. But he’d been just an ensign then, responsible for little else than making sure he showed up on time and with polished boots. Now, he was responsible for making sure the workplaces and living spaces of more than 800 people were ready to occupy. The day was long, and there was still more to do, but he was enjoying every second of it.
As the day progressed, Yogan swapped out replicated Tiburonian glurtch for replicated Terran coffee, hoping the caffeine would give him an extra boost of focus for the tasks yet ahead. So far, ISAACS was being a total mensch. The issues that required manual intervention or correction had been minimal, and no one was sleeping on any of the warp cores. The crew–comprising transfers from Resolution, new arrivals from other postings, and even some recent Academy graduates–were coming aboard and making themselves at home.
Personnel assignments could be, and often were being, finalized up until the moment the docking clamps were released and the ship departed. Every few minutes, ISAACS alerted Yogan of another change to the roster—an astrometrics specialist accepted a deputy chief position elsewhere; a warp field technician wanted to serve on the same ship as her sister—and the system managed the allocations of quarters flawlessly. The most recent update concerned another new ensign, fresh from her training cruise on Starbase 118. Yogan perused the personnel file of Ensign Sleepy Tiberius, who would be serving under Commander Adea as a nurse in Sickbay, then approved the quarters ISAACS assigned to her:
//
SUBJ: Living quarters assignment
Dear Ensign Tiberius,
Welcome aboard the USS Excalibur-A. This message contains important information about your living quarters.
Living quarters are assigned via the Interior Spaces Allocation And Coordination System (ISAACS). By default, all Starfleet personnel up to and including the rank of Ensign occupy shared quarters, unless alternative quartering arrangements (AQAs) have been approved. AQAs can be requested at any time through ISAACS, and are approved by Operations after consultation with the Executive Officer.
Your quarters are located on Deck 05, Sector 02, Compartment 02. For a full explanation of the room numbering system in use aboard the ship, please refer to the relevant LCARS database article.
Your default access code is Lambda–3–8–8–1. On first use, ISAACS will prompt you to change the access code to a combination of your choosing before the door’s locking mechanism will release. Therefore, please have a new combination in mind to ensure prompt access to your quarters. ISAACS will not release the doors until this action is completed.
If you have questions, require assistance, or believe there to be an error in your living quarters assignment, do not hesitate to contact Operations at any time.
Once again, welcome aboard!
Sincerely,
Lt. Commander Yogan Yalu
HCO Officer
USS Excalibur NCC-41903-A
\\
A moment after the message was sent, another notification rose to the top of Yogan’s operations dashboard, and this one made him smile.
Yalu: Computer, where is Lieutenant Etan?
Computer: Lieutenant Etan is in his office on Deck 9.
(( Chief Science Officer’s Office, Deck 9, USS Excalibur-A – A few minutes later ))
The doors swooshed open to reveal Iljor’s office, and the man himself waving Yogan in. The excitement in the room was palpable, practically radiating outward from the young Bajoran and bouncing off the bulkheads.
Etan: Yogan! What a pleasant surprise! ::the grin on his face was unmistakable.::
Yalu: Hello, Iljor. It’s great to see you.
Yogan glanced around the office, pleased to see that everything looked brand new. He wondered what kinds of personal touches would festoon the place as Iljor got settled in, but the thought made Yogan think back to the situation between Iljor and his parents. Would he welcome family memorabilia or trinkets from his childhood in this space? Given what had happened to the family property, did any such items still exist? Looking once again at his friend, so ebullient and happy, Yogan pushed such thoughts out of his mind. Today wasn’t the day for that.
Etan: To what do I owe this pleasure? Can I get you a drink? I have my own replicator here. ::he said pointing to the device built into the bulkhead.:: Can you believe it?!
Yalu: Thank you for the offer, I’m fine. ::grins:: I’ve survived on glurtch and coffee all day. I probably should take it easy if I want to get any sleep tonight.
Iljor gestured toward the couch in the corner, and Yogan was relieved to be offered the larger piece of furniture.
Etan: Please, sit. ::beat:: Maybe we could see about getting a chair here- ::he pointed to the desk.:: for any visitors? I don’t like the idea of people standing when I’m sitting. Seems a little unequal to me.
Yogan made a few quick gestures on the PADD in his hands.
Yalu: Consider it done. I’ll requisition it right now. Either we’ll beam you one over from DS224 or use the industrial replicators onboard. ::beat:: I’ll make sure it matches the color scheme.
Etan: response
Yalu: I stopped by for two reasons. First, to inform you that you have the distinction of being the first department chief to have submitted their signage audit. ::places a hand across his heart and gives a cheeky bow at the neck:: On behalf of myself and ISAACS, thank you for your prompt response.
Etan: response
Yalu: It’ll take some getting used to, but Starfleet Operations says it’s supposed to lead to a “renaissance in the way starships allocate and manage space.” We’ll see how that goes.
Etan: response
Yalu: I also wanted to let you know that I had backed up all of the files we were working on, regarding the USS Ibn Battuta and that adrift shuttlecraft, to my personal database. Nothing was lost when Resolution was destroyed. ::reaches into jacket pocket and retrieves a data chip:: I made a copy for you, as well. After everything that happened at Rinascita Station, we can’t be too careful.
Etan: response
Tag / TBC
Lt. Commander Yogan Yalu
HCO Officer
USS Excalibur NCC-41903-A
Justin D238804DS0