Cate Cassidy let out a long drawn out breath as the door to her modestly sized quarters hissed open.  Her right hand clutched the strap of her large duffel pack which was somewhat uncomfortably slung over her right shoulder while a travel kennel was very carefully being carried in her left hand.  Home.  At least it was right now.  Carelessly she tossed the faded and holey olive green duffel onto her bed with a muffled<div class="floatright">(http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu91/Cassiopeia101/AmyAdams-fluffybluesweatercropnresize.jpg?t=1284609293)</div>'thunk' before gingerly setting down the small kennel on the floor.  There was a cautious "mrroww?" as Cate reached down to open the latch and two large jade green eyes stared out at the room, assessing the situation.<br/><br/>"Jewel ..." she cooed, raking her left hand through the thick crop of red gold hair that had fallen into her porcelain face.  "Come on out kitty-kah!"  The silver Betazoid cat just grumbled to herself and flicked the tip of her striped tail, stubbornly sitting on all four of her paws.  Cate sighed and stuck her tongue out at the small sized feline.  "Well fine then, be that way.  You come out when you're good and ready."  The cat chortled a response and flicked her tail, obviously stating she would do just that.<br/><br/>The young ensign turned toward her bed and moved to her pack, unzipping one the compartments and pulling out a holopic frame.  She stood back up and took a few steps around the sparse room, eyeing up any available space to figure which exactly would be optimal.  Cate decided to plant the silver-tone frame on the right side of her small desk and flicked it on.  A holo clip of herself at the age of five and her father laughing as she sat in his lap, steering the cargo ship they had called home for many years.  A brief smile quirked up at the corner of her pinked lips and she reflexively swallowed down the forming lump in her throat.  For a moment her striking pale bluish green eyes seemed to fill up, but only for a moment.<br/><br/>"Not too bad, is she, Daddy?" she said to the picture, almost brightly.  "And they're actually letting<em>me</em>fly her!"  Cate had taken time to study the ship's specs and they were impressive, far beyond those of an ordinary science vessel.  It was the kind of ship that would have made her father whistle and pine.  Pushing her pack off the bed Cate fluffed up the provided pillow and sat down, leaning back against the grayish walls.  With a rattling mew Jewel began to step out of her temporary residence and stretched, still eying the room warily with her unearthly large, gem-like eyes.  Cate smiled down at her, watching as her dear companion got acquainted with the new surroundings.  "Ah, there we are, all unpacked now."  It had taken her eight months to finally fully unpack her bags on her last ship, there was something unsettling to the ensign about getting too comfortable too quickly, and regardless of all her optimism this place felt no different in that regard.<br/><br/>Every thought though now began to drown to the imaginings of what it would be like to be at the helm of a ship like the<em>McNair</em>.  Butterflies seemed to be in the middle of mating season within her stomach and goosebumps pricked at her skin as a chill at the very thought shot down her spine.  This was it.