Ensign Tess Evinrude - Departures

[Tess Evinrude]

((Bridge, Deck 3, USS Ronin))

Tess didn't have the opportunity to know Commander Lorana very well, though every interaction he'd had with the woman had been professional and productive. She seemed the model science officer - curious, demanding, and bold.

When the operations ensign drew the proverbial short straw and was chosen to be one of the few crewmembers manning a duty station, he didn't take offense. The nature of that decision reflected the somber reality that Luxa and those who knew her were facing down on deck nine in the main shuttlebay - a life in Starfleet meant sacrifice and impermanence.

When the time came for the farewell event, the bridge officer in command projected a feed from the shuttlebay. Crewmen and officers alike lined the corridors from the nearest turbolift to the flight deck, forming long rows of red, then gold, then teal, and finally blue.

Niac: Attention on deck.  

More than a thousand heels snapped against the deck as the crew of the Ronin came to attention. The captain pitched his voice to carry across the deck, and, even through the monitor, Tess could see a range of emotion in the faces of the crew as the Trill spoke.

Niac:  Lieutenant Commander Luxa Lorana, Chief Science Officer…departing.  

A boatswain's whistle broke the silence.

Lorana: Tha-thanks. These mean so much to me.

Niac: If anyone here would like to address this officer before her departure, please step forward.  

On her way past the rows of officers, numerous individuals from all departments stepped forward to give a gift, offer a word of parting, or otherwise share a memory with their departing acting science chief. Evinrude found himself feeling a curious amount of loss. It wasn't that he knew Luxa particularly well, but he felt sadness at the missed opportunity to get to know her. She seemed to touch so many here aboard the Ronin, and there would be a hole left amongst the ship's ranks for a long time to come. Tess did spot Ava Munro on the edge of the crowd, making her way to the runabout, and he was grateful for their goodbye conversation. Though her time here was brief, he wouldn't soon forget the words of his department head.

Raga: Ronins. ::he smiled:: Dismissed.

Captain Niac offered respectful nods as the crew began to file out, and eventually turned away and put an arm around Commander Raga. Tess couldn't quite tell from the camera angle, but it looked as if the CO and XO both had been tearing up.

After the feed was cut, returning the viewscreen to a placid starscape, the bridge returned to its gentle, rhythmic murmur of engine noise and soft status beeps. At the bottom right corner of the screen, Proxima Sigma IV turned imperceptibly, yet inevitably, towards another day.

Tomorrow, Tess had a scheduled flight down to the surface for leave and, for some reason, that idea made him uneasy. He forced his eyes away from the viewer and back to his console. The Ronin's support craft had seen a lot of use recently, leaving plenty of scheduled maintenance to be organized and documented.

[End Scene]

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Ensign Tess Evinrude

[he/him]

Operations Officer

USS Ronin

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