Introductions Before Shore Leave
Posted on Wed Apr 23rd, 2025 @ 11:00am by Ensign Astrid Renfield
Edited on on Sat Oct 25th, 2025 @ 7:20pm
1,056 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: Main Engineering - Deck 11 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD001 1100 hrs
Astrid arrived bright and early aboard the Pioneer in hopes of meeting her new boss before they went on shore leave. Astrid herself was not scheduled to start her new assignment until shore leave was over, nor move in, that is why she was staying in guest quarters aboard the station. She walked down the corridor on Deck 11 toward the Chief Engineer’s office. She took in the ship’s layout. This was her first time aboard an Intrepid-class vessel, and it felt different from the Sovereign-class ship she had served on before. A change she welcomed. Excitement bubbled within her as she thought of serving with a new crew and hopefully making some friends along the way. She stopped in front of the office door. She announced herself and waited patiently. Maybe they weren’t in, she wondered.
After waiting a moment with no response at the door, Astrid decided to ask the computer for the location of the Chief Engineering Officer. The computer informed her that they were on the upper deck of the main engineering. Having already visited engineering before, she knew exactly where to go. A few moments later, she arrived and made her way to the upper deck. She looked around looking for the chief.
Brianne was leaning on the barrier, wistfully looking over engineering, noticing the new person coming up to her, she snapped out of her daydream, "Astrid, right ? Wasn't expecting you so quickly, only got the letter today" waving a sheet of green plastic.
"That’s correct, ma’am. I’m Ensign Astrid Renfield," Astrid said in a respectful tone. "I’m not scheduled to officially report for a few more days, but I wanted to come by and introduce myself." Unsure of how formal her new chief preferred things, she decided it was safest to keep things professional for now.
"Please, unless the warp core's on fire, don't call me sir, ma'am, commander or anything formal. I'm Brianne, or Brie. Redstone's fine in a pinch. Same for everyone else down here, we don't stand on rank here, whoever's the expert, is the one who's in charge, so according to this, if it involved the drive, I answer to you, OK ?" She answered.
Astrid felt herself relax, she appreciated the approach Brianne took to running the engineering. “Understood and got it. Brianne it is.” She said with a smile wondering if her name could be shortened but As didn’t have the same ring as Brie. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Astrid.”
Brie gave her a hug , "Well, 'Trid, what's the plan ? "
Astrid was caught off guard by the hug but didn’t mind it. She returned the embrace with a smile. “Oh, Trid! I think I like that,” she said with an approving nod.
"You got your quarters sorted yet ?" Brianne asked
Astrid shook her head. “Not yet. They won’t be ready for a few more days, so I’m staying aboard the station for now. It’s fine, though, it’s given me a chance to explore. I’ve never been on a station like this before.”
"Oh, Honey, you must be on deck 4, section 10 to 20. We're doing there up at the moment. The plumbers are taking far, far too long putting the new bathrooms in after the pipes broke. I'm supposed to go in and wire up the replicators once they finish, If they finish, I was supposed to start three days ago." She sighed "Hope we can get you in soon."
Oh, that sounds like a fun mess." Astrid replied with a touch of sarcasm. "But honestly, for a new bathroom, I don’t mind waiting a few extra days before I can move in."
"Tell you what, when I put your 'cator in, I'll de-restrict it, so you can get the fun things." Brianne replied. "bit of a thank you for being alright about it."
"You’ve got yourself a deal," Astrid said with a wide grin. "You’re too kind, Brianne. I can already tell I’m going to enjoy my time here on the Pioneer."
"Nah, not kindness. Things can get pretty stressful at times, if I can make things off-shift better for my team, helps them when it does get tight." Brianne answered. "So, you take it easy just now, and get yourself comfortable with everything."
Astrid nodded in agreement. From her childhood on the mining colony to her Starfleet assignments, she was no stranger to high-pressure situations. "You know, they really should add a line in the Starfleet recruitment brochure about how you’ll be thrown into stressful situations more often than not," she said with a smirk. "But hey, I’ll take your advice—settle in, get my bearings. When it’s time to get to work, I’ll be ready."
"Good, because I'm hoping to get the drive running at the best efficiency we can, then we can really fly." Brianne said with a determination in her eye "this is supposed to be cutting edge, and I want to see how fast we can go."
Astrid grinned at Brie’s excitement. "Now that's the kind of challenge I signed up for." She said matching Brie's enthusiasm.
"Excellent. Get organised and settled in, and once everything's OK we'll sit down and make a plan. Have a read through things, if there's any training courses you'd like to do, I'll sign them off." Brianne offered, a plan forming in her head on how things will run on her new ship.
Astrid nodded, already feeling a sense of purpose taking root. “Sounds like a solid plan.” She smiled. "I'll see you soon."
Brie put her hand on Astrid's shoulder "I hope so. Enjoy your leave, and don't worry about anything engine related until we ship out."
Astrid let out a soft chuckle. “I’ll try my best… no thinking about engines…” She trailed off for a moment, knowing full well how difficult that would be. “...Probably,” she added with a grin, her tone half-playful, half-resigned.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Commander Brianne Redstone
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Pioneer
Ensign Astrid Renfield
Quantum Slipstream Specialist
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