Stardate 2401508.26 - Joint Log, Lieutenant Sato & Ensign Ayuhara
Posted on Thu Aug 27th, 2015 @ 10:52am by Ensign Natsume Ayuhara & Lieutenant Commander Akira-Ri Sato
1,409 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission: Midnight on the Firing Line
Ensign Ayuhara was fresh off of the torpedo room debacle when she stepped off of the turbolift at deck four. She made several twists down the corridor before she came face to face with the security department chief's office entrance. Ayuhara pulled at her skirt variant making sure her uniform was pristine before pressing the door chime and waiting patiently for a response.
Akira had managed to spare a few minutes to check in on Security. Fortunately, Lieutenant Heartly knew her duty as senior Security Officer and had seen to the internal preparations, leaving Akira to read over the status report that Heartly had prepared and left on Akira’s desk. It was that report that Akira was quickly skimming through when the door chime rang out. She wasn’t in her office much or for very long, which was why when the door chime rang out Akira paused like a deer in the headlights for a moment before she shook it off and called “Enter”.
Before Ayuhara stepped into the threshold once she had received vocal permission to do so, her body went rigid and she bowed at the waist. Very crisply and attentively, she made very good use of her short but thickset frame to close the distance to the desk before her. Ayuhara stopped short of it and quickly snapped her body rigid; arms at and pressed against her sides, legs and heels together, back straight, shoulders back, chest out and head on top of her shoulders. Ayuhara' did not look the woman behind the desk in the eyes as she waited to be given permission to do so. She did, however, announce herself.
"Ensign Natsume Ayuhara, reporting in, ma'm!"
Akira looked up from the Padd she had been reading and blinked in surprise at the other Japanese woman. She hadn’t known that another Officer from her home region had been assigned to the Endeavour, and since she hadn’t been able to read through every report from Security it had caught her off guard. She recovered quickly and stood up straight before giving a respectful bow.
“Endebā, shōi ni noyyōkoso,” Akira said. Straightening, she smiled. “Please, stand at ease.”
"Chūi wa, dōmo arigatōgozaimashita," Ayuhara replied while trying to hide her own smile. She was excited to learn that her immediate superior spoke her native language and was also probably from her country. Ayuhara offered her own respectful bow and relaxed her stance, feet shoulder width apart and hands clasped behind the small of her back. She felt an invisible blanket of nervousness cover her and her stomach began to produce to butterflies. Ayuhara searched her thoughts for what to say next and instead kept her eyes on her superior officer.
“Have a seat,” Akira said with a smile as she sat down herself. It was not unusual for Officers from the same region to end up being assigned to the same star ship. But in Akira’s experience, very few people from the Japanese region on Earth ever joined Starfleet, so she had never expected to see another Japanese woman assigned to the Endeavour.
“So, how have you found your assignment to the Endeavour, so far?” Akira asked.
Ayuhara relaxed visually and lower herself into the nearby chair. The butterflies began to subside slightly. "It has been wonderful, ma'm. Thank you for asking. I am still getting settled into my quarters as well as getting used to the ship layout and specifications. This is my first assignment, after all. I'm just very happy to be here." Ayuhara felt like that was alot of words and paused with a sheepish smile.
“The Endeavour does have a different layout compared to other Intrepid class ships, but from what I understand she’s the first Intrepid II class ship built and there are quite a few changes compared to the regular Intrepid class ships,” Akira said as she reached for a blank Padd. Tapping in a few commands, she downloaded a full schematic and deck layout and handed it to Natsume.
“This has everything you need,” Akira said.
Ayuhara gladly accepted the new documents with a bow. "Most appreciated, ma'm." She tucked the PaDD under her arm and then considered her next question. "What exactly will be my assignment here on the Endeavor?" Natsume was expecting the third shift as she was a fresh from the Academy ensign with no starship experience. She figured that it would certainly be a work of wonder if she was not on on the midnight shift.
“Most of the time, you will be assigned to security based duties, but there will be times that I will assign you to man the tactical console on the bridge as well. We usually rotate officers through that position on a regular basis. Starting off, you’ll be assigned to security based patrol duties and you’ll be on call for any away missions. You’ll be added to the bridge duty rotation list next week when we update the list,” Akira said.
"I understand, ma'm," Natsume replied. "I am very eager to begin my duties. I hope that I can live up to the expectations expected of me and bring honor to this great vessel."
“Perform your duties to the best of your abilities and follow your orders in the same manner, and you will bring honor to the ship, the crew, and yourself,” Akira said.
Ayuhara nodded and considered her superior officer for a moment. "Ma'm, if I may ask, what part of our country are you from?"
“I was born in Miyazu, in the Kyoto Prefecture," Akira replied. “I understand from your service record that you’re from the Miyazaki Prefecture?”
"Yes, a town called Takaharu," Natsume informed. Her eyes lit up with a childish excitement at hearing of Akira's home city. "Oh my... your city has Amanohashidate! Have you ever been there?!"
“I have, although it’s been over fifteen years ago,” Akira said with a faint smile. “My mother was going to walk the length of it with me once I graduated from the Academy, but our deployment schedules have never allowed us to do so. It’s something we’ve agreed to do the next time we are both on Earth.”
Amanohashidate, the meaning of which is roughly "bridge in heaven", is a 3.6 kilometer long, pine tree covered sand bar. It spans across Miyazu Bay on the Tango Peninsula, northern Kyoto Prefecture. Natsume remembered that it is ranked as one of Japan's three most scenic views.
"When the time comes, if you wouldn't consider it too much of a bother, may I journey there with you, ma'm," Natsume asked very politely. She would understand if Akira declined, as this sounded much like family affair. She just couldn't not ask.
“I’ll make you a deal, Natsume. The next time the Endeavour makes a port of call visit to Earth, we’ll both go,” Akira said with a warm, friendly smile.
Natsume grinned ear to ear. "Deal!" She didn't know very much about her superior officer but from this encounter, she believed that their relationship could sprout into one of quality. Natsume focused back on the present. "What is my first patrol route, ma'm? And is there anything mission specific I should be focusing on?"
"For right now, I'm assigning you to patrol Deck Five and guard Sickbay, at least until after the threat from the Klingons is dealt with. I want you to report to the Chief Medical Officer and then begin a standard sweep of the deck. If we get into a fire-fight, I want you at Sickbay. I'll also assign a pair of enlisted Security Officers to help you. If you need to, you can contact Lieutenant Heartly or myself," Akira said.
"Understood, ma'm." Natsume was very eager to begin her patrol. She coursed her mind for a moment for any final questions and upon finding none, she smiled coolly. "Will there be anything else, ma'm?"
"That's all. Dismissed," Akira said with a smile.
Ayuhara gathered herself and vacated the security office. She stopped on the other side of the doors when they closed shut and exhaled. After watching her feet for several seconds, she lifted her head and stared down the corridor. It was official. She was a Starfleet Officer with an assignment and it feel good.
OFF:
Lieutenant Akira-Ri Sato
Chief of Security and Tactical
&
Ensign Natsume Ayuhara
Security Officer
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