Strays and Sovereigns

Posted on 07 Aug 2025 @ 3:45pm by Captain Sabrina Corbin & Lieutenant Commander Sandra Boren

857 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Assignment: Arawyn
Location: USS Arawyn
Timeline: 242508.07

=/\= Engineering =/\=

The doors parted with a soft hiss as Captain Sabrina Corbin stepped into Main Engineering. She paused, taking in the glow of consoles and the low hum of readiness that filled the space. The warp core wasn’t online yet, but the room felt alive.

As a former Operations Officer, she respected the rhythm here; the quiet choreography of a team tuning its instrument before launch.

“Commander Boren?” she called, voice measured, with a hint of curiosity.

She kept her stance relaxed, hands loosely clasped behind her back. There was a long list of introductions ahead, but Engineering was key. The Sovereign-class might be sleek and new, but fresh systems had a way of misbehaving under pressure, and she wanted to know the woman keeping it all running.

"I thought I’d stop by for a proper introduction,” she added. “No damage reports, no red alerts. Just a conversation, while we still have the luxury."

"Captain," Sandra looked up from her PADD startled, a quick glance had noted the four pips on her colour. She'd been engrossed in the data coming on her PADD. Thirty minutes earlier, she had given the order for all team leads to give a status report of where they were so that she could see what still needed to be done. "I apologise for not having stopped by on the bridge to report in yet. I came to have a quick look before heading up and.... got busy instead." She quickly composed herself, thinking of Luna for a brief second to suppress the panic that wanted to rise, she felt totally unprepared. "There is still much to do. I am honoured to have been trusted with this assignment, Ma'am.

Corbin raised her hand to show her understanding, bundling it with a warm smile. "I was not expecting everyone to bombard my ready room," Sabrina noted the initial anxiety that seemed to rise in the Lieutenant Commander, but it seemed to quickly ebb. "I expect my Chief Engineer to be deeply engrossed in engineering, so your location and focus are right in line with my expectations."

Sabrina looked around Engineering; it was a hive of activity, like the other departments she had been visiting were, but the main difference here was that she had seen Boren's teams throughout the ship already. "I have had the pleasure of meeting several of your officers as they led teams around the ship. I know you all are overwhelmed with activity. Is there anything you need to help organize?"

"Not at the present, Ma'am," Sandra replied, noting the look of understanding on the Captain's face. "Once I have reviewed all the status reports, that may change. Do we have an ETA of when we will start the shake-down cruise?" The warp core was still out of commission, several key components were being replaced or had detailed diagnostics running on them, so the preparations for the restart would take time.

Corbin shook her head, "No, though I'm eager to put the Arawyn back into the stars, I would like it if we weren't just cruising under impulse. So you will let us know when that is possible."

Sabrina shifted the conversation, confident that her Chief Engineer had things under control here. She smirked, "I heard Commander, that my cat may have a sibling onboard?"

Sandra raised an eyebrow, "there were more young felines? One did indeed accost me on the Starbase and without seeing a mother cat around, I took her in. I will endeavour to keep Luna out of harms way on the ship, Captain. Mine is black and white, I believe on Earth the markings would be called Tuxedo cat."

The Captain found herself tempering her chuckle just a bit, realising the nature of Engineers and especially those that had some Vulcan in them, "The presence of stray felines seemed very concerning to Admiral MacLaren. I'm confident Luna will be no trouble at all, Commander. I seem to have a troublemaker in Ptolemy; time will tell. I welcome pets on board. I'd be a hypocrite not to."

"I appreciate that, Captain. My grandfather always had one or more felines around. Even the short time that I have hosted Luna has reminded me of the time I spent with my grandparents." Sandra replied, even if they were in a different dimension, the stable wormhole had given her a chance to meet them and spend time with them. And her human grandfather had passed away only a few months ago at the old age of 95.

Corbin nodded at that, "I look forward to meeting Luna one day." Her eyes scanned engineering again. They really were quite busy, and she was tying up their chief. "I appreciate all the work your team is doing; their presence is well noted around the ship. Please let them know that. I will see you for our get-together with all of the senior staff later." Sabrina nodded her exit to the conversation and took her leave, happy to have the very logical Boren present in the heart of the ship.

Lieutenant Commander Sandra Boren
Chief Engineering Officer

Captain Sabrina Corbin
Commanding Officer

 

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