Meet & Greet

Posted on 18 Aug 2025 @ 4:04am by Lieutenant M'Leyna & Captain Sabrina Corbin

1,882 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Assignment: Arawyn
Location: Captains Ready Room

After checking in with the ship's physician, M'leyna made her way to the turbolift and pressed the call button. As she waited, she looked down at her PADD and scrolled down her on-boarding check-list. Seeing next, she had to meet with the Captain, the Meruian woman felt a flicker of anxiety but quickly pushed it aside, "new girl jitters" she called it. She noted the rest of the check-list and saw this was the last item on the list, then she would inevitably go see her new quarters and unpack.

When the turbolift doors opened, she stepped inside and let the doors close behind her eith a soft hiss, a sound she realized was nearly universal on almost any Starfleet vessel- save for the holodeck doors, why do they look and sound like blast doors sometimes? She chuckled to herself at the weird thought.

"Computer-" she called, only to be responded to by the computers acknowledging beeping tone, "locate Captain Corbin."
The computer chimed and responded in the typical familiar female voice, "Captain Corbin is in the Ready Room."

With a nod to herself, M'leyna straightened her uniform and took a breath, "ok..." she said with an exhale of air, "Deck One- Bridge"

The computer chipped and the turbolift moved with a gentle ease, carrying her to her destination.

On the way, M'leyna caught herself thinking of home, it'd been quite some time since shed stepped foot on Meru IV, let alone swam in the waters of her home planet- "Breathing in the waves" was a phrased coined by her people, a proverb to remind one's self to relax and take in the moment, dont fight the current but see where it takes you. Taking another breath, the Meruian let herself go at ease with herself, trying to rid herself of the "new girl jitters" and stop fighting the current- as it were. "Breathe in the waves, M'leyna" she told herself, almost as a mantra. By the time she said it, the turboloft slowed to a halt and the doors opened, revealing the sleet bridge of a Sovereign Class Starship.

She took an almost reverent step out and looked around at the layout, taking in the sleek organization and wide space. Everything seemed to have a smoothe fit and function about it. Sure, the station locations were typical of any Starfleet vessel, but this- this seemed almost luxurious. Of course, she couldn't help but look over at the helm console- her station- now the feeling of anxiety was replaced slowly by an eager giddiness, she may be new on this ship, but that console was HER happy place. M'leyna was always happy to fly, anything with a flight control system, even if it was an ancient stick and rudder, in the clouds, space or underwater, she was born to pilot.

'Underwater,' she thought to herself, thinking of home again, racing through Karryya Canyon in her father's supped-up Tidal Skimmer. She let herself chuckle, remembering making her brother nearly wet himself when she took him for a ride through there, then being chased by an enormous Plythor. She wasn't worried at the time, but her older brother certainly was scared beyong scared. Eventually, they'd lost the giant whale of a beast in the canyon and returned home where she ended up grounded for nearly ninety suns. Again, she gave a chuckle at the thought, the times shed snuck out in that same skimmer but never got caught.

Her chuckle caught the attention of an Ensign nearby who seemed to be doing some electrical work under a console, "Can I help you, ma'am?" He asked, breaking M'leyna free of her reverie of times gone by.

"H-hmm?" She snapped her heart to notice the short red-headed man before her, "o-oh, hello, Ensign. I'm just here to check in with Captain Corbin and report for duty."

The Ensign then seemed to light up in recognition and smile "Oh! You must be Lieutenant M'leyna! The Cheif Helmsman, right?" He chuckled, "word gets around on this ship, ma'am. Welcome to the Arawyn! Yeah- the Cap'n is in the ready room, just over there!." He pointed to a nearby set of doors just off the side of the bridge.

M'leyna was taken aback by his seemingly enthusiasm but made herself smile warmly nonetheless, "Thank you Ensign. I appreciate it."

"Ey, think nothin' of it, ma'am" he said with a wave and went back to work, leaving the Meruian Lieutenant to look at the set of closed doors, suddenly feeling those "new girl jitters" coming back again.

She took another deep breath and let it out slow, repeating to herself again, "Breathe in the waves." And did her best to let go of the slight anxious feeling as she stepped to the ready room and pressed the chime. 'Here we go...' she thought to herself


=/\= Ready Room =/\=

Sabrina was in her ready room with Yeoman Merrick, reviewing her schedule and expectations. He had just produced a draft of her speech, and she let out a quiet chuckle as her eyes skimmed the text.

“As much as I admire your structure, Elias, I’d sound more like a malfunctioning replicator than a captain if I read this word for word.” She set the padd down with a faint smile. “We’ll see how much I keep, but I appreciate the effort.”

The door chime interrupted them. Merrick rose smoothly, and Sabrina straightened in her chair.

“Come,” she called.

The doors parted to reveal a lieutenant she had not yet met. Sabrina offered a smile, her tone welcoming but measured. “Lieutenant, welcome. Please, come in.”

Elias took his cue, inclining his head to the Captain before brushing past the newcomer with an easy confidence. “I’ll check in later about that speech.” He paused just long enough to nod at the officer on his way out. “Welcome aboard the Arawyn, Lieutenant.”

As the doors swished shut, Corbin gave her full attention to M’Leyna. The younger woman carried herself with the stiffness of someone still fresh off the shuttle, eyes bright with a mix of nerves and determination.

“You have excellent timing,” Sabrina said, gesturing to the chair opposite her. “Sit. I’m eager to get to know you, and I do prefer first impressions in person, rather than filtered through a personnel file.”

M'leyna gave a nod to the yeoman as he walked by and to the Captain, standing respectfully straight until offered a seat. She had to force herself to breath for a moment before she finally sat down, while doing her best to appear calm and collective, "Thank you, Captain" she said, her eyes, black with bright pink irises called the room like a kid in the principals office, until the Captain mentioned fist impressions.

"Oh, yes, ma'am," she nodded, "I agreed. A datapad, or even a communicae from ship to ship can only tell you so much about a person." She added, seeming to relax a bit, constantly reminding herself to 'Breathe in the waves'.

"O-oh! I almost forgot." She said, thankfully reminding herself to hand the Captain her PADD with all her transfer information to be signed off. She gentle placed the PADD ont the desk that separated them and sat back in the seat.

Sabrina picked up the PADD and skimmed it, recognizing the precise organization immediately—Alexander Powell’s influence was unmistakable. The check-in list was meticulous, down to the smallest detail. She pressed her thumb against the signature marker, and the device chirped its acknowledgment of completion.

“There,” she said with a faint, wry smile. “Formalities out of the way.” Sliding the PADD back across the desk, she leaned back slightly.

“We received our orders this morning—convoy duty. Which makes me especially glad to have a seasoned hand at the helm of this new beauty.” Corbin asked with a smile, "Are you excited get on the controls of the Arawyn?"

The Meruian couldn't help but crack a smile at the question as she retrieved the PADD, "Yes, ma'am, I am" she nodded, "I've never flown a Sovereign Class before, to be candid... I believe the Arawyn is the largest ship I'd have flown, for that matter." She explained, "However, the notice of my transfer from the Hyperion came as a random surprise." she took a moment to pause, "one day, Captain DeSoto simply told me that im being transferred- effective immediately. Needless to say, she didn't seem too happy about it." M'leyna actually allowed herself to chuckle a bit at the thought of the fury in that spicy little Puerto Rican woman's eyes when she'd told M'leyna the news.

Sabrina couldn't hold back a smile at the thought of her Chief Helm having never flown the very ship they were sitting on. Though the Captain knew too how few of them existed, especially now. "In my experience with pilot's you all seem to be very confident you can steer anything. What's your favorite thing to fly?"

M'leyna though on the question a moment as well as the Captain's statement, however in her case, M'leyna COULD fly almost anything having dedicated most of her adult life to flying- almost addicted to that free-feeling she'd get when at helm, "Well," she pondered aloud, "The Akira Class Hyperion was very agile and alot of fun to fly, I find that darting through space in a Valkerie Class attack flyer is simply a blast. During the war, I'd suggested we put a few on the Hyperion for surgical strikes and orbital assistance- very quick and they pack quite a punch." She smiled as she explained, remembering training the Hyperion shuttle pilots as well as her own staff to pilot the agile crafts.

Corbin couldn't help but smile at the Lieutenant's enthusiasm. "This thing probably flies like a bus compared to those. A very fast and sleek bus, granted."

The Captain tugged on her uniform top a bit and leaned back, "Well, we just received our orders as I mentioned previously. So you don't have a lot of time to settle in. We have a commissioning ceremony tomorrow evening and will leave the dock the next morning. You'll find the details in the mission brief I sent out earlier."

"Let the XO or myself know if there is anything we can do to get you settled in." She smiled with a nod, "I'm happy to have you here."

They Meruian Lieutenant nodded and stood smiling at the Captain in response, "That sounds like a perfect amount of time, ma'am," she said, "I'm anxious to get to work and meet my staff. And that'll leave an adequate amount of time to catch up on the department notes and reports." At that she held out her hand timidly in offering of a handshake, "Thank you for your time, Captain. I promise to make you proud to have me aboard."

Sabrina stood with the Lieutenant and shook her hand, "I'm sure you will do me and the Arawyn proud. Get that dress uniform ready for the ceremony tomorrow."

"Aye, Captain. I'll have it ready." M'leyna nodded before taking her leave, stepping out of the ready room anx making her way across the bridge to the turbolift.

Captain Sabrina Corbin
Commanding Officer
USS Arawyn

Lieutenant M'leyna
Cheif Helmsman
USS Arawyn

 

RSS Feed