Change of Fortune
Posted on Thu Jun 19th, 2025 @ 2:04pm by Lieutenant JG Zhederious (Zhed) Sciven
Mission:
Take My Hand
Location: Outpost 224 - Spaceport
Timeline: One week prior to Vesta deplyment
911 words - 1.8 OF Standard Post Measure
"Wait... that's it?" Zhed asked as he walked out onto the sole landing pad at outpost 224 with a small crate in hand and a satchel over one shoulder as he looked up at vessel on the pad, standing two decks tall, bigger than a Runabout, or even some captain's yachts.
"That's it," the lieutenant (Lieutenant Engle? Angle? Angry? Zhed hadn't quite caught it) replied as he took a few moments to verify Zhed's identity using the PADD in his hand, then approved him for entry to the ship; the USS Seraph. "Why? Not good enough?"
The Juran-Ti gave a snort. "Good enough??" After receiving his transfer orders to report to the USS Vesta, Zhed had fully expected to spend the next week crammed inside a type-6 shuttlecraft at low warp with a few trainees, field rations, and a barely passable lavatory onboard. Instead, sitting on the landing pad in front of him, was a full-on diplomatic transport -apparently between diplomats at the moment- that was slated to be heading in the very direction he needed to go. "Are you serious? Compared to what I was expecting, this is... Risa, but with a warp drive."
The lieutenant chuckled and nodded before handing the PADD back for Zhed to tuck back in his bag. "Good answer. I've assigned you to the Aides quarters, but otherwise you have access to the rest of the ship, minus the VIP suite. You have ten minutes before we lift off, and barring any trouble along the way, we should have you to your ship in about five days."
"And delivered in the lap of luxury no less," Zhed replied. "I might not want to leave."
"Ooooh, you'd probably want to rethink that last part. We don't have any other passengers aboard right now, but some of the diplomats we ferry around can be..." He paused, no doubt searching for a polite way to say it. "... challenging."
The Juran-Ti gave a vaguely disappointed grunt from the back of his throat. "Oh. Never mind then. I wouldn't have the patience to deal with that."
"You and me both, some days." The lieutenant shrugged. "I'll let you see yourself aboard and settled. For safety reasons, the holosuite will remain offline while we lift off, so don't try to fire it up before then. It'll be brought online once we break orbit, about the same time as the cook opens the galley for lunch. If you're not unreasonably demanding, he'll be happy to fix you whatever you want."
"There's a holosuite *and* an actual cook onboard?? No, seriously, if you need some extra security onboard, just let me know. Please." He watched the lieutenant chuckle again and head off to finalize his business with the outpost, then quietly surveyed the transport as his tail lashed behind. From within the crate he held, there was a soft and unhappy yowl. "Relax Max, you'll be out soon enough. But this is a nice ship, and we are *extremely* lucky to get it, so if you decide to start shredding the furniture, I swear there will be consequences."
Not wanting to risk being left behind and end up in a type-6 shuttle after all, Zhed quickly padded up the boarding ramp and didn't relax until he was safely through the airlock, the muggy heat of outpost 224 quickly giving way to the comfortable, controlled environment within the vessel. In Zhederious' experience, Starfleet cruisers were rarely anything but clean and well kept, but the gleam of the bulkheads here and the immaculate shine of the LCARS panels (not a single visible smudge or fingerprint) aboard this particular diplomatic transport was enough to make a starship look practically dilapidated. "Oh damn, this is nice," he muttered as he followed the corridor and poked his head through the open doors that he passed. Galley, dining room, pool (or aquatic quarters? Perhaps it was designed to serve as either), even a small arboretum and, of course, a holosuite. He located the Aide's quarters and stepped inside, finding it clean and well appointed, though he could only imagine how it would compare to the suite where the actual diplomats would stay. "Just as well. Too much luxury, and I'd never want to get back to work again." Tossing his bag onto a chair, Zhed carefully set the crate on the bed and turned it around to open the door on the end, letting the large orange tabby out with a meowl and purr as he started rubbing his cheeks against everything within reach. "Sorry Max, you're probably going to have to stay in here, or they'll probably have to clean this deck again when we disembark. I know you and your shedding." Zhed's tail twitched to the side as he sat on the edge of the bed beside the cat, and gently rubbed his fingers behind Max's ears where he liked it. "But if you're good and don't try to escape.... sorry, if you're good and don't *succeed* in escaping, maybe I can convince the cook to make you something special. Heck, play our cards right and maybe neither of us will need to eat from a replicator this entire trip. I suppose we'll both likely end up getting pretty spoiled." He gave the cat an amused hiss. "But, if this was the only ship available on short notice, I suppose we'll just have to suffer through it. You know. 'For the mission'."
Lieutenant JG Zhederious Sciven
Security
USS Vesta
