The Fun Never Ends

Posted on Sun Apr 23rd, 2023 @ 9:26pm by Captain Björn Kodak

Mission: On the Road Again
Location: Personal Quarters
Timeline: Mission Day 2 at 0600

[Personal Quarters]
[USS Sojourner]
[MD 2: 0600 Hours]

The new uniform felt uncomfortable. Grabbing at the neckline of the recently replicated garment, Captain Kodak tried to adjust the collar as he looked at himself in the mirror. Stubbornly, the collar moved right back where it had been before. With a quiet sigh -- after all, he didn't want to wake Andrew, who was still sleeping a few feet away on the bed -- the Chameloid gave up trying to make the uniform adhere to his own standards of comfort and moved from the bedroom and out into the main living area of the quarters he shared with his paramour. As he walked, he subconsciously scratched at his arms, an itchy sensation manifesting underneath the material.

It was always the same with uniform changes. Every few years, someone at Starfleet Command decided it was time to "freshen up" the look of its officers and personnel. The new uniforms, of course, required a massive expenditure of energy and replicator material to produce, which wasn't really a problem for Starfleet vessels operating within easy range of starbases they could resupply from. But for the Sojourner, who was at least a month away from Pathfinder Station at the mouth of the Barzan wormhole, things weren't so easy. The edict to change to the updated garments had come in the previous night and, as the crew created their new uniforms ahead of their next shifts, Kodak knew the effort would be a tremendous drain on the Sojo's resources.

He'd been tempted to simply keep using the old uniforms until they planned their next pit stop at Pathfinder but, with the changeover to 2400, he figured the crew could use something to commemorate to new year. And, you know, their status of still being alive after everything that happened in orbit and on the surface of Shaddam IVa. Save Booth, Kodak sadly amended his thoughts. They would, in time, recoup the lost energy and material. Engineering had assured him that stop in a nebula to use the bussard collectors would work wonders there, though Kodak hoped they wouldn't regret the decision if circumstances escalated before they could find a suitable nebula to pilfer from. That, however, was a matter for another day. For the time being, he had other things to accomplish on his to-do list.

Picking up a PADD on which the said to-do list lived, Björn approached the replicator and ordered a steaming tumbler full of kaffee. While most called it "coffee," the Chameloid had grown up in Germany on Earth and couldn't break the habit of pronouncing and spelling the word the way Germans did. His particular blend of the beverage was mostly black, though a tiny amount of cream and cinnamon sugar was added to smooth and sweeten the experience. Ordered at the perfect drinking temperature, Björn took a satisfying sip and then left his quarters, headed up to the Bridge.

[Five minutes later]

The command center of the Sojo was a quiet affair so early in the morning. The night watch commander was still on duty for another 55 minutes but Captain Kodak made a point to stop in and see how things were going. As expected, the night had been a quiet one, with the Sojo warping un-harassed towards their next destination. Satisfied to hear that, the Captain left the watch commander to their last hour and slipped into his Ready Room, taking a seat behind his desk. Taking another sip of his coffee, he activated his PADD and began sorting through action items.

First and foremost on the list was a funeral for Crewman Jayden Booth. t'Nai had filled him in on the horrific happenings in the abandoned complex and the Captain lamented loosing such a bright eyed and helpful person. He would, of course, be sending a message to Booth's family to inform them of what had happened. In terms of the funeral, however, Kodak had referred to the "In case of death" plan Jayden had written -- something all crew were required to have in place -- to deliberate how to handle said event. The security officer had requested his body be returned to Earth for a family burial but retrieving Booth's corpse had proven impossible. He'd have to inform the family of that, too.

Body or not, though, at least thew Sojo crew would still be able to get a little closure by having a service. He composed a message to t'Nai with an ask to handle the details -- including an empty photon torpedo to act as a symbolic vessel to shoot into space -- trusting his Executive Officer to ensure the service would be meaningful to all who chose to attend. Kodak himself would, of course, say a few words in memorium but others would be welcome to do the same. The funeral would be a grim reminder of the dangers of operating so alone in the Delta Quadrant but at least it would give everyone a chance to come together and support each other in a difficult time.

Next on his list was dealing with the message he'd received from Starfleet Academy the night prior. It seemed their resident cadet had attained all the necessary credits and grades from his field work to officially graduate. Kodak debated summoning Noah to the Ready Room to privately pin the new silver pip on his uniform but immediately dismissed the idea. This was something to celebrate, both for Noah's sake -- he'd earned some pomp and circumstance -- as well as for the crew's. They needed a win and celebrating the cadet's accomplishment in a public setting amongst friends seemed a good way to go. It was also the perfect opportunity to for the crew to let off some steam after the horrors of Shaddam IVa, so why not combine the two celebrations into one?

Such an event was going to require copious amounts of alcohol and food, however, so the Captain dispatched a message to both David Mccolugh and Debbie Gless, asking them to collaborate on putting something together. As much as Björn loved Debbie's Diner, the King's Shilling Pub seemed like the best venue to hold such a party. He made note of that in the message he sent and requested that Debbie and David serve up the "real stuff" if available. Synthehol was fine for those who'd rather avoid a hangover but Kodak thought the crew deserved some real imbibing after all they'd been through.

Last on his list -- for the time being -- was a series of messages he needed to reply to. Starfleet Command was requesting updates and more updates on their activities and though his logs were sent on by default, they also liked the personal touch of written reports. Kodak settled in to finally begin composing said reports, subconsciously scratching at his itchy neckline. Why hadn't he just shapeshifted himself a replica of the new uniform? It would certainly have been more comfortable. What's good for the crew is good for me, he thought to himself, empathizing with the collective plight of getting used to new fabrics and lines. He made a note to grouse about the changeover in his reports.

The fun never ended when you were in the Big Chair, it seemed.

=/\= A post by... =/\=

Captain Björn Kodak
Commanding Officer
USS Sojourner