Two and a half new crew

Posted on Sat Jul 4, 2020 @ 4:58pm by Captain Larisna Koralova

The USS Hornet was going to be Lieutenant Amu Hinamori's new assignment, home and birth place of the child she carried within her. Currently however, she sat in the rear compartment of a type eight shuttle. It was rather uncomfortable for a six month pregnant woman, but only temporary. She hoped that these new Century Class Starships were worth it, especially since her and her partner Ikuto were starting their own little family on one.

"Nearly there doctor. Don't worry, it'll be over soon" the shuttle pilot said turning his head back to look at her. She couldn't wait to be out of the shuttle, it had been over two hours since she boarded.

It touched down gently and Amu pulled herself up. Her large swollen belly stuck out in front of her as she slowly walked down the boarding ramp. Luckily she had arranged for her personal items to be transported aboard, so all she carried right now was the PADD with her transfer orders on.

(Bridge)

After a few minutes of yet more travel, this time by turbolift; Amu arrived on the bridge. She looked around at its design and smiled, it was definitely a new Starfleet ship, the paintwork was still fresh. Spotting the ready room door she wandered over to it slowly, gaining a few odd looks from the other officers. Aftersll it was a strange sight to see a pink haired pregnant young medical officer walk across a busy bridge.

"Time to make a good impression..." she muttered to herself as she reached out and touched the chime to make her new Commanding Officer aware she was there.

Larisna had finally finished organizing the ready room, the crates were shoved over to one side. A couple images of landscapes and a city on Trill and some of the areas around and within Saint Petersburg, Russia were hung, and the small solid scale models of her previous ships were also on display. The USS Savannah, USS Knox and USS Galaxy were all on a shelf and in order from left to right of her time on each. The painting of the Hornet herself that had been here when the ship had been commissioned was left alone, but Larisna didn't give into the vanities of some captains, and so she had no awards or medals displayed. She was adjusting one of the Trill landscape pictures when the door chimed.

"Enter." Larisna said, turning away from the picture to face the door.

On hearing the call to enter, Amu walked in slowly. She looked around at the ready room, it seemed as if her new Commanding Officer liked to decorate their ready room. Spotting the commander she stopped and smiled. "Lieutenant Amu Hinamori, reporting as ordered Commander. I'm the newly assigned Chief Medical Officer" she stated.

"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant. Or do you prefer Doctor?" Larisna asked, gesturing to the seat opposite of hers at the desk. "Commander Larisna Koralova. Please, sit down. I just finished getting my personal effects dealt with here but no tripping hazards here. Anything to drink?" She offered.

"I could kill for some sweet tea" Amu said with a smile as she eased herself down into the chair opposite the Commander. "Thankyou"

"Of course." Larisna replied and came back from the replicator with a glass for the Doctor and iced water for herself. She sat down.

"Again, welcome aboard, Doctor. From my understanding, sick bay was one of the areas that isn't undergoing any major adjustments, though I was advised that you can still customize the EMH as you'd like. Otherwise, I guess it defaults to factory presets. I don't honestly know what that means, but I've never been on a ship this new." Larisna added with a chuckle.

"So. Do you have any questions for me? I'd like to get to know my senior staff and the reverse is equally true." The Commander leaned forward in her chair.

"Just one. Whats the size of the medical personnel? I want to make sure we have enough trained people in case of any emergencies" she asked. "Plus, when this little one decides to grace us all with his/her presence, I might need one of them to assist me with my duties" she explained putting both hands on her rounded out belly.

"We'll have a full compliment before we launch. Now, they may be fairly green, Starfleet Command wants to put experienced crews on other ships." Larisna explained, "I don't agree with it, but given that this ship almost was never even completed, you can see where that leaves us. If you need any additional support, you're free to borrow the XO. She used to be Intrepid's CMO, so I suspect she'll be a valuable resource for you."

"Now, that said, I have to admit that I have some hesitation in your participating in Away Missions. I know you will be performing to the best of your abilities and we are tasked with Exploration, so families are permitted. But I'd rather not put you at risk until the little one joins us out here. Afterwards, we can discuss things more fully." Larisna said, "But I do not intend to lock you in sickbay. With Commander Reazat able to help with medical matters on Away Missions, I'll need another senior officer on the Bridge. I haven't decided on a Second Officer, so I'm not saying that. Just more if you're not as available to go on Away Teams, I can at least try to compensate by giving you a more active role."

Amu nodded. "I understand. I'd be more than happy to help where I can" she replied. "I understand your concern for me not going on away missions, thankyou for that" she added with a small smile. "But, its going to be another three months or so until this baby decides to come out. I'm six and a half months at the moment, but on a starship, that should fly by. Excuse the pun"

"That's fair. I want you to still have an active role with the ship, it would be rather backwards to assume you can't do anything while we're waiting. Many Starfleet officers who were expecting still did great things." Larisna said, with a chuckle, "But if there is anything I can do to assist, please let me know. I want to make sure that you feel that you can perform your duties without undue limitation."

"I'm sure that I'll still be doing everything until the baby arrives. The only problem I have at the moment is that this uniform, even the maternity version still shows everyone that my belly button has popped out" she laughed.

Larisna chuckled and took a drink of her water.

"I'm afraid that's something I'll just have to take your word for, Doctor. Never had the time or inclination during my career. And I was passed over by the Symbiosis Commission ages ago when I applied because I'm only half Trill, so no passengers for me in this body as of yet." Larisna said with her own grin.

"I admit that this might just show how far along I am in my paperwork, but will you be the only parent for the child on the Hornet or no?" Larisna asked, "I know that I'm looking at something months in the future, but as you said, time does tend to fly faster than we expect, and better now that if there's anything I can do to prepare things for you. Frankly, I'm just glad to be where we can look at this in a positive light. Some people still cling to the Dominion War-era policies regarding civilians and children on starships."

"Yeah, but I've always believed that having families and civilians on board is good for morale. Plus, it means that you can be part of their lives and not a distant parent" Amu explained. "Although Ikuto my other half seems excited to be working in the ships lounge. He's always being a bit of a..." she pondered for a moment "...like an alley cat. Going here and there getting by, thats until he met me. Its nice being with a free spirit at times, but having a child wasn't what we were expecting, you know, until it happened" she told her, a small smile creeping across her face.

"I believe the yard crews christened the lounge as the "Hornet's Nest". I like it better than the re-use of "Ten Forward", especially since the lounge is on Deck 3, not Deck 10, on the Century-class. And "Three Forward" doesn't have the same ring...the "Nest" is suitable, I think." Larisna said, "But I'm glad that he's going to be here with both of you. Something that I regret not seeing much of in my career. I'm glad that will be different here."

"He didn't have a choice. I told him he was coming with me. Afterall, its half his fault that I'm pregnant right now" Amu laughed. "Is there anything I should know about the crew, medical wise?" She aaked curiously.

"I don't know of any off-hand, but I suspect anything that will be needed to be addressed will come up in the medical records." Larisna replied, "It's a brand new ship and you'll have the chance to shape the department as you would like."

"Nice to know that I can set my own pace and shape my own staff" Amu replied. At least this way she wasn't stepping into anyones shoes so to speak. "Well Captain. Permission to go see the sickbay and our medical facilities?" She asked.

"Of course. And there will be a get together for the senior staff at 1900. Something for us all to mingle and get to know one another. If there's something food-wise you'd like the galley to include in the buffet style, let them know." Larisna said.

Amu nodded. "I'll make a note of it" she said as she rose to her feet. "If you'll excuse me Captain" she said with a smile.

"Of course, Doctor. Call if you need anything." Larisna said with a smile of her own.