Between shifts

[Shalin 0]

Shan returned to his quarters after his shift, nodding as he noted that the off-shift officer that he shared it with did his part. The bedsheets were changed and folded, and the room was clean. He felt quite lucky - he had never met whichever Ensign had his quarters when he was on duty, and he didn't expect to. He didn't know if the other officer was a 'he' or a 'she', or even the officer's species. Learning that would mean investigating their personal effects, and that wasn't something Shan was interested in doing. All he knew was the name on the placard outside: "Madison Gray, Ens." 'Madison' could mean anything, though the name suggested a human.

 

With the stateroom door secured, Shan allowed himself some music. He smiled as it played, chuckling at the irony that his favorite song suggested that he 'enjoy the silence'. It was a recent remake - to his knowledge over thirty had been made since the song's origin. This particular one was slow and other-worldly, but still managed to keep to a recognizable melody. Shan had traced the song to its origins ... at least, the best origins he could find. Some of his classmates had suggested that Lacuna Coil wasn't the original band who performed the song, but he liked their version best anyway.

 

Crashing back on the bunk, he wondered how long he could keep up things as they were. His first encounter with a real crisis had pretty much cured him of his nonsensical edge, but now he went through his shifts quiet and nervous. He couldn't get past the gaffe of muting the Captain during a combat encounter, nor did he miss the fact that he was totally incompetent as a bridge officer. A good bridge officer gave orders that people obeyed because he inspired confidence. Shan shook his head … confidence was one thing he had little of. Still, there was the hope that the XO and Captain learned from this as well: never put an Ensign in charge of Lieutenants – it doesn't end well.

 

It was getting easier as time went on: he was alive, there were no casualties caused by his actions, and he wasn't spending his off hours cleaning the Officer's latrines with a toothbrush. All in all, things turned out rather well. Thoughts such as this allowed Shan to drop the matter for a while and turn his attention to the latest briefings on transporter systems. Shan was fascinated with every means of transportation imaginable. If it got things from point A to point B, he was interested in it. Picking up a pad, he refreshed his knowledge of transporter systems. When they returned to Earth he would be taking the transporter tests to renew his operator's certification, along with deck loader, shuttlecraft, and light transport. If it moved anything from one place to another, Shan wanted to know how to do it.

 

This was what kept Shan from worrying too much about messing up on the bridge. As long as he knew every way to move people and materials possible he had a talent that Starfleet would always keep, and Argelius would remain a distant pastoral memory that he wouldn't be condemned to return to.