Twenty-Four Hours

Posted on Thu Aug 20th, 2026 @ 5:54pm by Captain Tristan Faust & Lieutenant Christopher Jennings Jr.

1,028 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Mission 6: Echoes of the Interphase
Location: Desk 4: Captain's Cabin
Timeline: M6 MD05 (2268.10.08) 0800

Lieutenant Jennings made his way down the corridor to the Captain's cabin. The crew was now just returning from shoreleave. Due to the fact that he had just arrived as most of the crew had already left the ship, CJ never got the chance to meet the Captain or most of the senior staff. During this time along, the navigator had become accumulated with the ships systems for the most part.

Reaching his destination, Jennings looked himself over really quick before pressing the chime.

"Come in," the Captain said as the door opened. He looked up from behind the desk, his steely blue eyes scanning the officer in command gold wearing the braid of a full lieutenant. "Lt. Jennings?" he asked, standing up.

"Captain Faust," CJ responded. "I didn't get a chance to meet you before the crew took shore leave. So figured I take the opportunity before things got busy around here."

"Unfortunately it's always busy around here," Tristan responded with a sigh. He gestured for the officer to have a seat, "Shore leave was cut short... As always..." He said, "Oh well, a few days on Earth is better than nothing..."

Pulling out the seat and sitting down, Jennings had a curious look on his face. "So why was shore leave cut short?"

"Emergency situation," Tristan responded, "A follow up to one of our previous missions... I can say more once we leave dock. Until then if suggest getting any affairs on Earth sorted out."

"When do we ship out?"

"In another 24 hours," Tristan responded, "So we still have some time in dock... Hopefully the repairs will be complete. I'm sure Commander Hanous will be thrilled with the updated time table." He sighed, "I'm sorry, it's been all business, all day," he said before shooting a glance at Jennings, "How are you settling in?"

"Had plenty of time to get settled into my quarters and exploring the Midway. Its been a good transition overall."

"Glad to hear that," Tristan said, "I don't think anyone gets enough transition time... Not given what we've experienced with our tours of duty."

"The Midway has quite the reputation," TJ brought up. "Glad for the opportunity to be here."

"Hopefully a good reputation," Tristan responded with a chuckle, "We've had some interesting assignments... Definitely... Happy to have you aboard Mr. Jennings."

"Definitely a good reputation Sir."

"That's good to hear," Tristan said, "Do you need anything to help you transition? Any one giving you a lay of the land?"

"Lieutenant Vox did briefly," he admitted. "But most of the crew were off ship when I arrived. But I hear that she will be transferring elsewhere?"

The Captain nodded, "That's usually what happens after a few missions, people move around," he said, "This is our first time back to Earth since launch. I'm not surprised at the number of transfers being proceessed."

"Had quite a bit of time to do some exploring. You have a beautiful ship here. Its definitely one of Starfleet's finest and I look forward to leaving spacedock, getting around to our next assignment."

"Thank you," the Captain responded, "As I mentioned, don't have much time left in port..." He smiled, "Be careful what you wish for Mr. Jennings, adventure is upon us. And danger has a knack for finding us."

CJ thought about those exact word very carefully. Similar words that he had heard since he was a small child eager to leave his home world. A world that he hadn't returned to since leaving to attend the Academy. The Lieutenant couldn't help but to smile. "My mother used to tell me something very similar over the years. Suppose, I've been so focused on the adventure, that I didn't take the danger as seriously as I should have."

The Captain nodded, "Yes, don't get too caught up on the adventure," he responded, "An old friend of mine used to warn me about letting my life only be the uniform and duty."

"Sounds as if you have quite a bit of stories to tell."

"Quite a few," Tristan responded, "Quite a few." Although he was feeling rather nostalgic lately after his trip home, he wasn't sure what all he should be telling a new subordinate during their first meeting. "It is good advice, none the less," he finally said, "Just remember to practice good judgement and there won't be any problems. I didn't think I asked and I don't recall from your service record... But have you served on a Constitution-class before?"

"The Midway is my first constitution class," Jennings answered. But I have been studying up on her before I even arrived. Wanted to familiarize myself in order to have a feel what she was capable of."

The Captain nodded, "Smart idea," he commented, "Certainly start getting to know the crew, we are going to be in close quarters for quite awhile... And some danger as well..." He trailed off, "More detail on that will be coming once we are under way... In the mean time, feel free to ask any questions about the ship and crew, either to me or anyone else aboard."

"Is there anything in particular that I need to be focused on regarding the navigation department?"

The Captain nodded, "If I were you, I would get familiar with our navigation logs... I can't explictly say anything until we are underway, but they will come in handy very soon," Tristan said, "Once we are underway I can share more specific plans... Other than that, get as familiar with the ship as possible... I was the Chief Navigator aboard the Republic from '61 to '65. So I can answer most questions about Constitution navigation eccentricities..." He smirked, "I also can't resist taking the nav some nights for old time sake," he added.m

Jennings definitely took a mental note on getting those navigation logs right away. There clearly was a certain level of secrecy regarding their next assignment. Best not to push the Captain on trying to figure what it was. When the time was right, they would told what they needed in order to get the task done. "Understood, I'll get to that right away."

 

RSS Feed