Bulkheads and conduits

Posted on 30 Jul 2025 @ 12:03am by Commander Adrienne Holt

672 words; about a 3 minute read

Her guest quarters offered her a view of the main docking berths. Standing close to the viewport in her small living area, Commander Adrienne Holt stood with her arms folded lightly over her chest, watching as her new posting made its way to her berth. It was a magnificent ship, Sovereign class, brand new. Even from this distance, you could smell the novelty. She'd served on a lot of ships before, but none as majestic as this one. The docking procedure went smooth. She only made a mental note of a small correction that had to be made to the Starboard side, she'd have to make sure to check the alignment with the Engineers once they had arrived.

Once docking was complete and every line was attached to the ship, the mesmerizing spectacle came to an end. With a small sigh, Adrienne punched the button that closed the viewport and returned the view of the bleek bulkhead. Unlike most people, she liked the bulkheads just as they were. It gave her a comforting feeling, snug, at home. 

Rounding the desk that stood in one corner, she activated her console once more. She'd been halfway through the crew roster once she got the announcement that the Arawyn was on final approach. Now, she continued scrolling through names and service records. Experience had taught her that most service records were empty shells. Empty stories. You had to hear from somebody first hand in order to form an opinion. But, given that she'd have to meet an entire crew, that was a large task ahead of her. Until she'd completed it, the feelingless service records would have to do.  

At long last, she reached the end of the list. The most important stuff she'd come across, had been committed to memory. Her brain felt fried and her legs felt restless. She hadn't stretched them in way too long. Grabbing her uniform jacket, she headed out to roam the corridors. Even though they wouldn't be here all that often, she wanted to get a feel of the starbase. She wanted to get familiar with it. Bars and crowds weren't on her list. No, instead she wanted to get to know the station itself. Like it was a living, breathing creature. Now that a lot of the bulkheads and conduits were still exposed, it had a vulnerability to it that she wanted to explore. 

Moving to the turbolift. Down to the lowest deck. Off to port. Her feet moving without thinking, ready to face whatever would come across her path.

After roaming the station for a while, Adrienne's feet led her to a giant open space. No construction was going on, it was simply a large, open hangar-like space. Curious why such a large area was located in this lower section of the Starbase, she dug a PADD from her pocket and typed in a few commands that gave her the future layout of the base. 

Hydroponics bay and botanical garden? Well, that was interesting. She'd been in a few of these in the past, but they were all green and lush and full of plants. Here, all you could see were bulkheads. Bulkheads everywhere. Her tour seemed to consist of bulkheads. Taking a closer look, she could see that there were more conduits and wiring and lighting fixtures present than in other areas. It was fascinating to analyse the different needs that went into a bay like this. All the planning that had to be already done upon construction. She couldn't wait to return in the future and see the bay in its full activity.

The thought of all life that would be created here, made her smile. It made her feel at peace with the starbase. With the prospect of the future. Content with life, and with all it had to offer, she decided it was a good time to return to her quarters and get some sleep before her new ship adventure would start in the morning. 

Cmdr Adrienne Holt
Executive Officer
USS Arawyn

 

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