A Field Trip of Sorts (Part 2, Getting to Know the Neighborhood)

Posted on Mon Oct 26th, 2026 @ 6:38pm by Captain Cassandra Hawk & Lieutenant Commander Frederick Kopec & Lieutenant Hank Jacobs M.D. & Lieutenant Elsen Rava
Edited on on Tue Oct 27th, 2026 @ 12:05am

2,705 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: A New Sheriff in Town
Location: Denali's Docking Pad, Starbase Mojave
Timeline: MD 9: Early Morning Thursday

Persephone had made a very good case for staying in bed, wedging herself into the warm spot Cassandra had just vacated and giving a long, slow blink. It was a masterclass in manipulation. Cassandra stood braiding her hair and wondering if she'd unintentionally nurtured a little negotiator.

“Nice try, Perse,” she said, scratching behind the cat’s ears and eliciting a satisfying trill. “But some of us have a gas giant to go visit.”

The feline looked unconvinced, but ultimately decided that enjoying the soft, warm hollow of the bed was more important than continuing to try to convince her misguided human to remain there. Cassandra righted the red collar of her uniform and attached her combadge, then gave her reflection a nod and headed out.

She'd found herself more excited for a quick trip around the system than she might have expected. She had genuinely grown to enjoy her posting here, but the concept of flying a runabout over to one of those nearby points of light and poking around sounded like a refreshing change of pace from cargo manifests and meetings in the conference room.

The cafe on the Promenade had a travel mug waiting for her, which she was starting to find equal parts flattering and alarming. It wasn't exactly a state secret that she was on an early trip off station, but she hadn't really expected the barista to be on the update list. She would need to determine whether this was the secret work of a very committed yeoman, or whether this quaint coffee shop was operating some sort of covert intelligence network to curry favor with their usual patrons.

She took the warm mug with a grateful smile, letting the warmth seep into her fingers. "Thank you!" she called back toward the stand, in the general direction she assumed the staff were, and carried it through the quiet corridors to the Denali's docking pad. The low-light "pre-dawn" setting on the station always gave everything a bit of a surreal appearance. The station was never truly asleep per se. But it was quieter, and the manufactured long shadows gave the impression of being somewhere untouched, making each corridor feel like a personal little secret. She supposed this could feel ominous under different conditions. Today, though, it was just pleasant. It was as she approached the access hatch to the docking pad that she realized she was the first to arrive today. Stepping forward, she keyed the small boarding ladder to unfold.

Hank had been working pretty much non stop since he had arrived on Mojave between a meeting with his new C.O., meetings with his Staff, and general care of his patients. Today would be a nice distraction for a little while as well as a welcome break in his routine.

Waking early Hank immediately made his way into the bathroom to attend to his personal needs. After showering he looked in the mirror and noticed a shave was definitely in order. Unlike some male crew he was 'old school' when it came to certain things and shaving was one of them. Grabbing a bar of shaving soap he lathered up his face before grabbing a nearby razor. Taking his time Hank carefully dragged the sharp object over his face being careful not to cut himself. How would it look for the Chief of Medicine to have the telltale signs of a freshly cut face; it might put his abilities into question. Afterwards he dressed in a clean uniform making sure everything was in its proper place before exiting the bathroom.

Walking into the living area he went to the replicator "One travel mug, coffee, strong, hot, and black" came the request. Moments later he grabbed his favorite morning beverage and took a careful sip "Yup that's hot alright."

Making his way over to his desk he opened the drawer and grabbed a first aid kit which he shoved in his left thigh pocket and a tri-corder that he place his his right. Necessary items being a doctor and all. Next he went to a shelf on the wall and reached underneath tapping a button. As a drop down box appeared Hank grabbed his phaser and one extra battery; one thing he had learned a long time ago....no matter how routine a mission might seem it was prudent to be armed. His belief was better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Satisfied with his appearance and preparation he secure his quarters before proceeding to a nearby lift "Denali docking pad" he called out; moments latter he was on his way being quite excited about exploring another object in space.

Walking into the docking pad area he noticed a hatch opened with a ladder attached he thought " This must be the place" as he approached and walked up the ladder. Entering the runabout he looked towards the fore end; seeing a familiar face he announced himself a ways away not wanting to startle the Officer "Good morning Captain Hawk" as he walked forward into the cockpit.

Cassandra was settled into the pilot’s, reviewing the systems as they came up on at a time. She was partway through laying in the first leg of the day’s itinerary, a course for the long since scattered remnants of a dead world, when Hank’s greeting carried up from the hatch.

“Morning, Doctor. Grab a seat,” she called over her shoulder. “I’m just in the middle of our pre-launch checklist. We should have a nice smooth ride today. Looks like Kopec really shined her up nicely.”

As Jacobs came forward, the phaser he’d brought along caught her eye. It wasn't the most outlandish inclusion, but she wondered whether he was expecting trouble this close to Mojave.

--

The first thing Elsen saw when she opened her eyes was a moon.

It was rotating slowly above her desk, surrounded by orbital projections and several columns of sensor data she'd been comparing the night before. Her cheek was resting against one forearm, the other still stretched towards a PADD whose screen had long since gone dark. She blinked at the hologram, momentarily confused as to why she was looking at it from such an uncomfortable angle.

Then she noticed the time.

"Oh, no. No, no..."

She'd only meant to check one more set of orbital calculations before bed. The captured moon's inclination had been bothering her, and she'd wanted to see whether a different model might explain its peculiar trajectory. One calculation had led to another, and somewhere between adjusting the parameters and comparing the results against the original survey, she'd apparently fallen asleep at her desk.

Which was unfortunate, because she was supposed to be aboard the Denali.

The next twenty minutes were a rather undignified scramble through her quarters, punctuated by Elsen occasionally remembering something from the previous night's research and having to resist the temptation to look at it again. She managed a quick shower, pulled on a fresh uniform and gathered her equipment, checking that she'd transferred the survey files before hurrying out. Breakfast would have to wait. Her blonde hair, hastily pulled back, was already escaping around her face by the time she reached the docking pad.

The sight of the runabout waiting beyond the access hatch improved her mood considerably. Despite the hurried morning and the uncomfortable stiffness in her neck, she was genuinely excited. They were finally going to get close enough to investigate two objects she'd spent days examining from a distance, and there was a very real possibility that some of her carefully constructed theories would turn out to be completely wrong.

That was half the fun.

Elsen climbed aboard with her equipment bag over one shoulder and a PADD in hand, making her way towards the cockpit where she found Cassandra and Jacobs.

"Morning! Sorry, I'm a bit later than I meant to be." She shifted the bag off her shoulder, looking slightly dishevelled but otherwise remarkably cheerful for someone who'd just rushed across the station. "I was going over the survey data last night and found something I wanted to check. Then I thought I'd try another model, which meant going back through the original readings, and..." She paused, glancing down at her PADD. "Well, apparently I fell asleep."

She smiled apologetically at Cassandra before bringing up the itinerary. "Everything's ready, though. I've got our approach to the debris field mapped out, and the sensor configurations for the moon are loaded. Actually, I was looking at the moon's orbital history again, and if the capture happened as early as the models suggest, there might be a way to narrow down where it originated. We'd need better compositional readings first, obviously, but..."

Elsen stopped, realising she was already halfway into discussing an investigation they hadn't even started.

"Sorry. I'll save that for when we're actually out there."

She found somewhere secure for her bag and began preparing her PADD for the survey, her earlier rush gradually giving way to the anticipation that had kept her awake in the first place. Glancing through the forward viewport, she smiled.

"I've been looking forward to this all week. It's been ages since I've had a proper field trip."

Cassandra couldn’t help smiling as Elsen’s words tumbled out. The enthusiasm was infectious, as always, and the speed of it said plenty about how long this trip had been on her mind. She turned in the pilot’s seat to face her.

“No worries at all, Elsen. I know how much you’ve been looking forward to this. We’re in no rush. Still need our Engineer after all. Commander Kopec seems to have gone the extra mile last night giving Denali the special treatment, too. You two did the real legwork here. The Doctor and I are just tourists.” She turned toward Jacobs with a slightly apologetic smile. "Not to diminish your contributions,Doc."

Hank chuckled lightly "Not a problem Cap" deciding to use an abbreviation.

Cassandra gestured above them toward the unseen obstacle above their docking ring. "Besides, we won't have a clear exit trajectory for another few minutes anyway. There's a barge right over our heads taking its time.”

Elsen had been checking through the sensor configurations when Kopec's name caught her attention. She looked up from her PADD, a rather different smile finding its way onto her face.

“He did? That's really sweet of him.” Her thoughts wandered briefly to the afternoon she'd spent in his office, watching him work with those well-worn tools of his. “I'll have to thank him when we get back. I went to see him about a faulty scanner the other day, and he was lovely. Very patient, too, considering how many questions I kept asking.”

She was still smiling when she returned her attention to the PADD, though Cassandra's mention of the barge overhead prompted her to glance towards the ceiling. “Well, at least I'm not holding everyone up, then. I was beginning to feel a bit guilty.” She settled into one of the science stations and connected her PADD, bringing up the survey files she'd spent most of the previous evening working through.

“Actually, that gives me a chance to check something.” She began comparing the runabout's sensor specifications with the configurations she'd prepared, her earlier rush giving way to the familiar pleasure of having something interesting to occupy her. “I made a few adjustments last night and I want to make sure everything transferred properly. I'd rather discover a problem here than when we're halfway through the survey.”

She glanced back towards Cassandra, looking considerably more awake than she had when she'd boarded. “And for the record, you're flying us there. I think that qualifies as rather more than being a tourist.”

It took Kopec longer than was proper to realise he was subvocalising a choice string of human, Tellarite and Andorian curse words as he jogged across the Mojave. He'd taken a detour to Main Engineering to pick up his favourite tricorder for field repairs, and had gotten distracted by how the work rota looked. By the time he'd realised he was late for the Denali he'd had to put it down and head off at a trot.

He felt incredibly lucky as he slowed down on his approach to the runabout that there was a barge making a ponderous departure somewhere above them. Kopec rattled his way up the ladder, forcing his breathing back under control as he stepped through the hatch. 'Apologies for being late,' he said in his gravelly tone. 'Little rota trouble back at the office.'

Slipping into one of the rear seats of the cabin, he grunted a hello to the others there before taking out his PADD and furiously endeavouring to completing his re-rotaing of his Engineering staff before they left.

Cassandra glanced back as Kopec clambered through the hatch, catching the tail end of his apology with a dismissive wave. “Not to worry, Commander. You’re not late. Besides, we’re still waiting on our friend the barge. And for what it's worth, I'm glad its rota trouble and not something more serious."

As she turned back toward the control panel, she met Elsen's with a small smile. “And agreed. Pilot it is then.”

A moment later, the sensor panel to Hawk's left chirped confirmation that the barge had finally cleared the top of the ring. With a quick tap of the console commands, a channel opened to the station. “Hawk to Ops. Good morning, Flight Control. Denali is all buttoned up and ready to go. Requesting clearance to depart.”

“Confirmed, Denali. Flight path is clear. You’re good to go, Captain.”

“Thank you, kindly. I promise we won't stay out too late. Hawk out.”

Her hands moved over the console, sealing the runabout's hatch and queuing the docking pad to come to life. As the outer door to the little ship hissed shut, the docking bay depressurized. A moment later, the large docking bay doors above them receded into the walls and a mechanical rumble issued as the floor of the bay lifted the runabout up and onto the surface of the station.

As the interior of the station fell away, the vast field of stars came into view, spreading across the canopy as the platform rose last few meters before stopping with a thump, setting the runabout on the surface of the docking ring. Outside their viewports, the broad disk of the ring stretching out in every direction. Past the edge to port was the arm connecting the ring to Mojave's central spire. Beyond that lay their neighboring nebula’s violet and cyan cloud.

Off to starboard, the barge that had held them up was finally lumbering away, its running lights almost blinking to the same unhurried pace.

Cassandra fingers keyed in the release. Below them, the docking clamps detached from Denali with a metallic clunk. The runabout lifted ever so slightly and hung there for a moment. Hawk eased the thrusters up and brought the nose of the craft around in one smooth arc until they were facing away from the station completely. The edge of the docking ring slipped away beneath them, and then they were in open space.

Cassandra gave herself a moment to appreciate the starfield beyond them. No matter how long they'd been out here, she never get tired of that view. Or the feeling of a sending a craft through it with the movement of her finger tips. She didn’t even try to hide the grin.

Once they were fully clear of the traffic lane, she adjusted their heading to match Elsen's path. “Alright, everyone, next stop, an ancient debris field.”

Her fingers came down on the warp control, sliding it up to run power into the engines. The warp engines whined up for a moment, and for a heartbeat the stars hung still. Then in an instant, they snapped into long streaks which swallowed the canopy, and the runabout leapt forward and winked out of sight.

 

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