Ensign Janai Zol - A Smiling Vulcan, a Humming Starship

[Janai Zol]

((Shuttle Bay, Deck 11, USS Valkyrie-A, in orbit around Aelkuun))

The shuttle's doors opened, and Janai stepped out into her new home. The hustle and bustle of the shuttle bay was evident, crew running around, unloading supplies, fixing engines. A dozen snippets of conversations reached her ears, but she couldn't focus on any of them - she felt far too nervous.

She sensed Zol's nervousness too, feeling like the symbiont was running laps around her belly. She put a hand there, trying to soothe it. With the other, she held on to her suitcase. Most of her stuff was still in the shuttle, to be deposited in her quarters later, but this suitcase carried her most precious possesssions - books on dueling, written in the Earth Middle Ages. She wanted to keep those in her sight, use them to enhance her little corner of the science lab.

The Valkyrie would be her new home now. So far from her parents, from the Academy, from everything she'd known. She'd worked hard to get here, she told herself. She deserved to be an ensign, stressful though this all was. And it'd certainly get more stressful still - she wasn't even in a mission yet.

An officer waited for her just outside the shuttle - a Vulcan, judging by her appearance, though the fact that she was currently smiling at Janai did cause her to doubt that observation. She had three pips, two golden, one black - a lieutenant commander.

T’Ama: Ensign Zol!

Zol: Reporting for duty, Commander!

The officer raised her hand in a Vulcan salute, which confirmed the Vulcan assumption, strange though the smiling seemed. Perhaps Vulcans did things different on the Valkyrie.

T’Ama: Lieutenant Commander T’Ama, First Officer. Welcome to the Valkyrie.

Janai returned the salute - it'd taken her a while to force her fingers to open like that, back in the Academy, but she'd mastered the motion now.

Zol: It's an honor to be here.

Commander T'Ama turned to her PADD for a moment.

T’Ama: Science, is that correct?

The Vulcan's gaze was piercing, and Janai felt Zol do a somersault in her belly. She kept her voice steady as she replied - or at least she hoped she did. 

Zol: Science, yes. With a specialization in history - my thesis was on the Vidiians.

T’Ama: Good. Come on, I’ll bring you to Azura while Operations does your onboarding and assigns you quarters.

Zol: Understood, Commander. 

She followed as Commander T'Ama led the way through the corridors. Beneath the bustle of crew all around them, Janai could hear the faint sounds of the ship itself, the hum of the engine, the beeping of the computers. They were calming, soothing Zol as well.

T’Ama: So are you joined?

The question was sudden, but certainly expected. It was, Janai assumed, the most common question a Trill received - and in a starship, it was important for her commanding officers to know. 

Zol: I am only recently joined, Commander. It's been about a year now since me and Zol became one. Have you met other joined Trill before? 

T'Ama: Response

They walked on, deeper into the ship. Janai particularly liked how her footsteps echoed off its floor, sounding far more sure of themselves than she felt.  

Zol: Commander, if I may, can you tell me about my Chief Officer? 

She'd read up some things about Commander Ada, of course. She was eager to hit the ground running. But she hadn't had the time to get to everything and, anyway, it was best to hear things from those in the know.

T'Ama: Response

They neared the elevators now. Janai had spent the trip to the Valkyrie looking into the ship, and imagined they were going up towards the science labs. She couldn't keep a smile from spreading on her face, imagining all she'd get to do there. She turned to Commander T'Ama as they waited for the elevator to arrive.

Zol: Commander, this is perhaps a frivolous question. oOMight be better not to ask it, but oh well Oo What's your favorite part of serving on the Valkyrie?

T'Ama: Response

###

Ensign Janai Zol

Science Officer

USS Valkyrie-A, NCC-76418-A
V240304JZ2