242508,06 Duty log LtCmdr Sandra Boren

Posted on 06 Aug 2025 @ 5:21pm by Lieutenant Commander Sandra Boren

692 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Assignment: Arawyn
Location: USS Arawyn

=/\= Quarters =/\=

Sandra hadn’t left her quarters yet, instead, she’s sat at her desk studying the PADD with the data of the engineering department and had trouble to suppress the rising panic. Until now, she had been CEO on the USS Valiant, an Intrepid class. Total crew 150, 40 of those had been directly assigned to engineering, and she’d only been in that position for a year when she got promoted to CEO on the Arawyn. A sovereign class ship, with a complement of engineering personnel that was larger than the entire Intrepid crew had been. Including herself, 214 people were assigned to the engineering department on the Arawyn. Two hundred and fourteen.

“No wonder that I’ve been promoted to LtCmdr for this position,” Sandra mused quietly. There were 2 assistant Chiefs, and another 27 engineering officers, 184 enlisted. The numbers were staggering, especially compared to the Valiant. “Warp Propulsion Systems 40, Impulse & Power Systems 25; Structural & Hull Integrity 20; Transporter Systems 15; Environmental & Life Support 15; Computer Systems & LCARS Maintenance 20; Replicator & Fabrication Systems 10; Sensor & Subspace Systems 15; Damage Control & Emergency Repair Teams 30; Engineering Administration & Logistics 10; General Technicians / Cross-trained Support 14, it does all add up to 214.”

Sandra shook her head slightly and whispered to herself, “I’m an engineer, not a CO.” What worried her the most was that she was the daughter of two admirals, and that came with expectations, even if unintended. Thankfully, with her father’s surname, she was not as obvious a daughter of…. Boren was not as distinctive or as well-known as Blokpoel was. At least with her choice of engineering, instead of the science specialisation that her sister Meike had chosen, Sandra was the odd one out. Both Darvian and Rory had chosen security and tactical like their father. More than anything, she wanted to do her own thing, it was bad enough that she had joined Starfleet like the rest of her family. As proud as Sandra was of her parents and what they had achieved and done for Starfleet and the Federation, she felt the weight of expectations because of that, even if it was not logical.

"Meow," the soft voice of the kitten startled her, as it climbed up her leg and settled into her lap, looking at Sandra's face expectantly.

"What is up, little one," Sandra asked as she gently caressed the small feline between its ears. "You cannot be hungry."

The small animal started purring loudly, louder than one would expect from something this small. "I guess that is a good sign," Sandra mused, and she realised that the interaction with the kitten had stopped her panic, or at least reduced it to a lower level. "I still need to decide upon a name for you. What would suite you?" With every purr coming from the small body, her mind calmed down more and more. Much like gazing at the moon usually did, whether on Vulcan or on Earth. "I shall name you, Luna, little one. You have earned that name already."

Sandra took a deep breath, there was only one way to go about this, she realised. Someone had decided she was up to the job, and she would just trust that judgement. They would not have considered her for it if they didn't think she could do it. And she did have to admit she loved a big challenge. And they did not come much bigger than this. What was it that Grandpa Blokpoel had always said, "just do it. Think about the how later. Everything fits, otherwise we will make it fit, after all." She could hear his gravelly voice in mind as she said his words out loud. It had worked for most of his diplomatic success as Federation Ambassador.

"Right, Luna," Sandra stood up, and held the little kitten in her hand, before placing it on her cat bed, which was behind her desk, "time for you to rest, and for me to get to actual work. I cannot hide here forever." Sandra took a deep breath and picked up her PADD and strode out of her quarters. Time to report in for duty.


LtCmdr Sandra Boren
“Everything fits, otherwise we’ll make it fit!”

 

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