Leaving So Soon? (Backpost)
Posted on Thu Feb 23rd, 2023 @ 2:46pm by Commander Elisabeth Churchill & Lieutenant Karen Kujo 'Union Jane'
Edited on on Thu Feb 23rd, 2023 @ 2:50pm
1,516 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Insurrection
Location: Various
Timeline: 48 hours before "Riling Up the Crowd"
Elisabeth was packing up her quarters. Now that Commander Queed was on board, she knew the Myogi was in good hands, and she had informed Captain Takahashi of her intention to resign from Starfleet once they reached Sol. The captain had respected her wishes and had wished her the best of luck.
Elisabeth paused for a moment to look at the chronometer in her quarters. In a little over 48 hours' time, this chapter of Elisabeth's life was going to be over. It had been fun while it lasted, but now that she had some serious credibility as a holoprogrammer, Elisabeth felt the time was right to turn over a new leaf.
Suddenly, Elisabeth was roused from her musings when the chime to her quarters sounding. Elisabeth was evidently confused as to who would be calling at this hour:
"Enter;" She called out softly.
the door slid open and Lieutenant Kujo poked her head in, a look of concern plastered on her face.
"Is it true what they're saying?" she began, resting her arm against the door frame. "Word around here is that you submitted a letter of resignation?"
"Yeah, it's true;" Elisabeth said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Not like it was a big secret that this was going to be my last tour of duty though; don't get me wrong, Starfleet has been fun, but ever since my holoprograms started taking off in popularity, proving there's an audience for the work I do, it's just the incentive to remain in Starfleet has become less and less with each passing year. Why, are you going to miss me when I'm gone or something?"
"Well... for starters, why not just change your field of expertise?" Karen suggested, making her way into the room. Elisabeth happened to notice that she had a slight limp to her gait, but it did not appear to cause her any great deal of pain. "I've heard from Jane- erm, Lieutenant Sinclair that your holo-programming skills are phenomenal, especially that Olympic-Class Program I've been hearing nothing but good things about. Couple that with the fact that holo-programming's becoming something of a fast-growing career field, and I think that Starfleet would kill for your skills."
"If Starfleet was as desperate for holoprogrammers as you say, they'd have full time holoprogrammers on staff now, wouldn't they?" Elisabeth countered. "Trust me, I've looked, but the jobs simply do not exist. If they did, I'd have taken one a long time ago."
"But that doesn't mean that they won't be opening up-!"
"Did you not just hear what I said?" Elisabeth asked.
Karen sighed with a look of defeat. "Well, if there's nothing I can do to change your mind... could I at the very least request an evening in your company? I know it sounds kind of selfish, but I keep thinking to myself what a waste it would be to let such a... cute face slip out of my hands..."
She blushed and quickly averted her gaze. "Alright, that might've been a bit too much..."
"No, it's not." Elisabeth said. "I'm sure I could use somebody to help pack my things, unless of course you wanted to see for yourself the holoprograms you've been hearing all that praise about?"
Karen's face lit up like a kid who had just been offered free reign of a candy store. "You'd be willing to do that?" she asked, just to make sure she was hearing Elisabeth's offer correctly.
"Of course!" Elisabeth smiled. "I'm always happy to share my work, I'm of the belief someone I show these programs to might know somebody who knows somebody who's looking for a set designer for a holomovie."
"Yay!" Karen proclaimed, twirling around in childish excitement. "It's a date!"
Then, upon realizing what she had just said out loud, she blushed once again. "Um, whoops; got a bit ahead of myself there..."
"Don't worry about it, Lieutenant." Elisabeth said. "I'd be excited to have the creator of a holoprogram I've heard nothing but good things about show me some of their work."
Deck 5, outisde Holodeck 4:
Elisabeth had taken Karen down to Deck 5, where Holodecks 3 and 4 were located. Elisabeth knew that Holodckes 1 and 2 were usually fully booked all hours, but at this hour, either Charlie or Delta shift were on duty, and with generally fewer people on watch, the latter two of the Myogi's four holodecks generally had more open availability at this hour, and could accommodate walk-in sessions, which was why the two officers now stood outside Holodeck 4, with Elisabeth at the Holodeck control panel:
"So, which one do you want to see first?" Elisabeth asked.
Karen grinned. "Wasn't that obvious? I've been dying to see that Olympic-Class holoprogram with my own two eyes!"
"Which one?" Elisabeth turned to Karen with a smirk. "There were three ships, after all; Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic."
Karen's eyes glazed over like a kid who had just been turned loose in a candy store. "You mean to tell me you made programs for all three ships?!"
"Oh yeah," Elisabeth smiled. "I mean, each ship deserves it's own focus. Maybe someday, I'll create a master program with all the ships in a single program, but for right now, individual programs for each ship will have to do. If I'm honest, the Britannic was the hardest one to make, not necessarily creating the ship, that was the easy part. The hard part was imagining what she would have looked like had she seen civilian service."
"Wow... I'd totally kill to see that..." Karen gasped.
Smiling, Elisabeth turned back to the holodeck controls.
"Computer, activate program 'His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic, program mode 'Royal Mail Ship Britannic.'"
The control panel chirped in acknowledgement as the program loaded.
"Program complete: Enter when ready." The computer said.
"Shall we?" Elisabeth asked, turning to Karen.
"After you, Milady," Karen replied with a wide, toothy grin.
As the doors of the holodeck whooshed open, the sound of organ music met them as Karen and Elisabeth stepped through the arch into the Britannic's forward grand staircase, the default entry point Elisabeth commonly used for her programs. On first sight, it wasn't hard to notice the splendor of the space, from the wood paneling to the intricately carved "Honour and Glory crowning Time" clock at the top of the staircase's first central landing, to the green color of the tiled floor, to the organ that was playing right behind Karen and Elisabeth.
"I hope you're now starting to understand why I spend so much time on the holodeck when I'm off duty." Elisabeth remarked. "I mean, you don't get your programs nominated for awards by neglecting your holoprogrammer side in favor of your Starfleet officer side."
"Wow..." Karen gasped as she took it all in. "And you've been nominated for awards? Are you sure that there's no holo-programming jobs out there that could use your talent?"
"Not just nominated, I've actually won a few." Elisabeth explained. "Namely for the programs based on the Olympic and Titanic. But, I digress: Sure, I could probably find a job with some holo-entertainment company to work on set designs and whatnot, but then I'd be working on stuff the company wants me to, and not what I want to. Trust me, there's nothing better than being an independent freelance holoprogrammer; you get to work on what you want to, and if someone's interested in hiring your talents, they know they're already seeking out the source material that you do. That's how you keep your dream job from becoming a regular job."
"Well... have you considered freelancing?" Karen suggested. "Perhaps compiling a portfolio of some of your best programs onto data crystals, and then distributing them at conventions?"
"Are you that dense?" Elisabeth asked. 'I wouldn't have brought up freelancing if I wasn't actively considering it."
Karen's lips curled into a pout.
"Okay, maybe I was premature on that one." Elisabeth sighed. "Anyhow, standing here arguing in the Grand Staircase does no good. We've got an entire ship to explore, after all."
Karen's demeanor immediately lightened. "Ooh! Okay, what about... the First Class dining room?"
"Of course." Elisabeth smiled. "Right this way..."
Elisabeth and Karen spent many hours exploring the Britannic. They had laughed together when they got lost despite Elisabeth knowing the ship like the back of her hand with the work she poured into the program, and things even got a little spicy between them in the regal suite. And as Elisabeth lay naked on one of the beds of the regal suite, sleep closing in on her, and with Karen laying asleep in a similar state beside her, a thought crossed Elisabeth's mind:
Perhaps there are some things worth staying on the Myogi for...
Posting by
Lieutenant Commander Elisabeth Churchill
Assistant Chief Diplomatic Officer
Lieutenant Karen Kujo
Squadron Leader
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