<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/oQ5lu7t.png)</div><strong>Location: </strong>Engine Room- U.S.S. Glenn<br/><strong>Time:</strong>1330 hrs(1:30pm), Sunday, 15th of June, Year 2256 (earth years)<br/><br/>“My god, Lieutenant- do you want to kill us all?”<br/><br/>She blinked. It was rhetorical, not requiring an answer. A criticism designed to make her feel more guilt and shame than she rightfully had need to. Anyone more confident would have called it melodramatic, but for Oriane Assanti, she felt just a tiny shred of panic. A need to justify or defend herself.<br/><br/>“No Sir! I-”<br/><br/>But her superior officer wasn’t done...he had a reputation to protect, and Straal’s dressing downs were nothing short of legendary among the crew.<br/><br/>“So you innocently miscalculated the distance between our proposed jump site and the nearest star? Do I have to hold your hand? Should I take you through course plotting step by step like they did at the academy?”<br/><br/>Behind her, Oriane could feel the alarm and bemused attention of the other officers assigned to building and operating the spore drive. She hadn’t been, of course. It wasn’t her area of expertise, but mapping space accurately for the jumps to be calculated safely...Well she’d made a mistake, the calculations took them very near a blue super giant, there was no point denying it. Even if it wasn’t quite as fatal a mistake as he made it out to be. Her jaw clenched, the muscles flexing as she bit back the reflex to argue as she always had with her many sisters. This was Starfleet, not her mother’s kitchen. They expected accountability and solutions, not excuses. Why was that still so hard?<br/><br/>“It won’t happen again Sir.”<br/><br/>Dr. Justin Straal tossed the datapad onto the nearest workstation in disgust, his attention already turned back to the spore drive.<br/><br/>“Of course it won’t. From now on, Ensign Piers will be double-checking all your calculations before they get to me. Congratulations Lieutenant Assanti, you’ve lost my faith in your competency. Now get out of my engine room, we’ve got deadlines to meet.”<br/><br/>Beside Dr. Straal, Ensign Piers offered a cringing smile, his discomfort and empathy radiating across the distance. Face burning with shame and the intense need to interject, Oriane turned quickly and fled from the Engine Room. What else could she do? Returning to the AstroMetrics lab, she found her station beside her shift mate, an Andorian female designated Lieutenant Commander Aran Tanis . Assanti gave her a smile, and the woman smiled in return, though her twitching antennae and assessing look made it obvious Oriane was doing a poor job keeping her feelings off her face.<br/><br/>“Straal on the war path again?” she asked.<br/><br/>Assanti nodded, pulling up the next several sectors of space to be processed and mapped upon her console.<br/><br/>“As always. The slightest deviation from absolute perfection and he’s convinced we’re all purposely wasting his precious time.”<br/><br/>Tanis grinned sardonically, mildly amused by human theatrics as was typical of other alien races within Starfleet. Being half one and the other, Oriane could certainly understand the sentiment- understanding human behavior herself only half the time at best. Falling into a rhythm side by side, they worked in companionable silence for the rest of the shift. When the hour chimed, the Andorian female stood, smoothing the skirt of her modified uniform.<br/><br/>“Want to go to the Mess? I’m dying for some Katheka before my evening shift.”<br/><br/>Assanti looked up at Tanis and nodded with a smile.<br/><br/><strong>Location:</strong>Mess Hall- U.S.S. Glenn<br/><strong>Time:</strong>1400(2pm), Sunday, 15th of June, Year 2256 (earth years)<br/><br/>They entered the mess hall together, Oriane eyeing the crowd gathering there with some confusion. The AstroMetrics lab was second only to Interstellar Cartography with being disconnected from the ‘grapevine’ of the ship- which naturally meant Assanti had no idea whatsoever what had everyone so excited as they packed like sardines into a room made to house only one fourth of the ship’s personnel at a time.<br/><br/>“What’s this about?” she asked Tanis.<br/><br/>Tanis shrugged, pushing bodily through the mass of officers toward the replicators on the far wall. It didn’t take long for the others to get the idea and get out of the Andorian’s way. Oriane felt a pang of envy, wishing she could command such an aura of respect. Instead, she was resigned to weaving and dodging as she took up one empty space after another while navigating the perimeter of the crowded room toward the replicators. Upon arriving, she found Lt. Cmdr Tanis already sipping her Katheka, one shoulder propped against the wall.<br/><br/>“Well..that was the cutest dance I ever saw.” she teased.<br/><br/>Oriane cringed, ducking her head as she quietly ordered her food. Tray in hand, she turned to find the bridge’s 2nd officer addressing the assembled crew of an impending competition regarding their first jump.<br/><br/><em>‘...Any young officer, serving less than 5 years with Starfleet on an active mission is welcome to compete. The winner will decide the destination of the jump. In the spirit of comradery, we are looking for those brave enough to take…10 pairs will be randomly selected from those who decide to enter the competition. Please take the next 10 minutes to sign up and we will announce the names of the competitors after.’</em><br/><br/>She and Tanis shared a look, knowing the severity of the lecture she’d received from Straal on her earlier miscalculations. He would undoubtedly be furious about this...Oriane smiled.<br/><br/>“Are you signing up?” Tanis asked from behind her mug as she sipped lazily, forever unimpressed it seemed, by the excitability of the human race.<br/><br/>Oriane’s smile widened, her spirits brightening as she watched the other officers pushing and vying for a spot in line. She took Tanis’ free hand and pulled her toward the line.<br/><br/>“Yes.<strong>We</strong>are.”<br/><br/>Tanis sighed.<br/><br/>“You can’t be serious. I don’t want<em>more</em>work. Besides, I have a meeting with command in thirty minutes.”<br/><br/>Oriane gave up on the concept of pulling the Andorian and moved behind her to push her along toward the line.<br/><br/>“So? Look, Commander Gavin’s already in line! If he has enough time to sign up, so do you.”<br/><br/>One by one, the officers put their names down and left the mess hall, until at last, it was their turn. Tanis sighed, feigning utter indifference, and so Oriane signed them both up. The 2nd Officer eyed them both as they signed, smiling professionally as they departed, but otherwise saying nothing. Oriane caught the shade of carefully restrained disapproval from her as they left, and she quickened her step. Obviously this competition was for everyone, but it was their every day job...perhaps the 2nd Officer felt they should give others the chance.<br/><br/>As if reading her thoughts, Tanis gave Assanti a forceful shoulder nudge.<br/><br/>“She’s a proper stick in the mud. Go eat your...what is that foul smelling sludge in your bowl?”<br/><br/>Oriane’s brow furrowed as she looked down at the forgotten bowl on her tray.<br/><br/>“It’s clam chowder and you know it. You say that every single time.”<br/><br/>But in spite of herself, she was smiling. Tanis shrugged, grinning behind an almost empty mug.<br/><br/>“Smells worse than tuber root.”<br/><br/>“You’re a tuber root.” Oriane retorted.<br/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">(*Stand by for Elias Gavin’s POV posted separately as his own character*)</span></strong>