Holding Down The Fort

Posted on 10 Dec 2025 @ 10:40am by Ensign Lucas Scott

674 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: The Displaced
Location: Bridge, USS Arawyn

=*= Bridge =*=

As his replacement arrived Lucas could finally let himself exhale, It was the next officer's turn at the tactical station and he had a few hours' rest before he was back on duty. There were so many unknowns with the vessel Arawyn had encountered that being able to focus on the small things had almost felt like a luxury. There was an incredible amount of pressure with engaging a new species, a true first contact, and he'd felt incredibly lucky to focus on his own responsibilities. There were far more experienced and skilled officers for engagement with a new society and with those personnel occupied he'd gained valuable time continuing his education with the Arawyn herself.

Equipment had been made ready in anticipation should the situation take a turn for the worse, extra shifts had become available for Tactical experience as the two ships had remained in a close defensive posture. As a department Arawyn's security forces were young and still finding their flow but stood at the ready to respond and being part of that had done a lot to restore Luke's faith not only in himself but those around him.

Transferring authority for Arawyn's weapons systems to the relief went smoothly and as much as he'd enjoyed having his fingers at the actual controls the escape of not having to use them was immense. There would be a time and place for that and it was a gift from the fates that today was not either. Once the authorization was transferred Luke headed immediately for the lift, there was some time left for off-duty but he fully intended to spent as much of it as he could sleeping.

A light breakfast would fuel the fire long enough to make it through tomorrow and the feeling of 'getting ahead of the game' gave him the sensation of progress. Luke entered his quarters conflicted, things were finally feeling like they were falling into place and while he knew he needed sleep the anticipation of making more progress tugged at his desire to keep the ball rolling.

Hours of trying to keep up had flown by but now that he'd been given pause Luke was exhausted. The journey back to his quarters for sleep he desperately needed passed almost too quickly, the sight of his bed was almost alarming as he'd traversed the corridors seemingly without being aware of it. Uncle Jay had always warned him about the dangers of burning the candle at both ends, that sleep deprivation as a real threat, but he'd always struggled with having a normal routine. One thought had always led to another and while at times had enabled Luke to rise to almost any occasion it had also left him anxious and tired many times without any sensation of accomplishment. But on this rare occasion he'd had a "good shift", things had been quiet

Bed. He was so happy to see it that part of him was disappointed at the fact he was enthused at all. First thing was to schedule the replicator ahead of his wake-up alarm, coffee ready to go would be a great start to tomorrow. Knowing that a fresh mug would be waiting for him the uniform was the first thing to go and the sensation of just being in his undershirt and boxers was more enjoyable than it should have been. The next shift would come soon enough, for now the smallest of luxuries were being enjoyed to their fullest.

Finally laying his head down on the pillow, THE pillow he'd carried with him from the Academy, and exhaled. The room was quiet and while there were many questions in the air he didn't have to answer them. He only had to show up for duty on time, conduct himself as a trained officer and be ready for whatever happened. Anything else was out of his own control, Luke couldn't be responsible for everything that happened only his own response to it.

--- End Log ---

Ens Lucas Scott
ASec
USS Arawyn

 

RSS Feed