Room Assignments

Posted on Sun Apr 12th, 2026 @ 12:44am by Lieutenant Noxe (Cogenitor 125) Tome & Lieutenant Harinarayani Khatri

1,096 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: 48 Hours and Counting
Location: Main Operations
Timeline: pre-launch

Noxe was the Chief Ops officer. It had been a field promotion; she didn't feel like she was worthy of it, but both Jaro and the Commander had insisted. After Frontier Day, the Fleet was short people, and she was certain that the just simply did not want to do the paperwork. Besides, she didn't really mind; she didn't have anywhere else really to go. Things back on Vissia were tense currently, with the breakout groups that were pro-Cogenitor-freedom vs the old school thinkers, and her adopted family were on the move again. They were currently on Alpha 9; she was sure they would host her if she really asked, but she liked it here.

She was currently trying to work out quarters' assignments, making sure that, of course, no warring factions were roomed together, and that there was no co-ed funny business, either. They had a few special room requests, and she'd done her best to fill them.

It had not seemed unreasonable, Raya felt, given that the delay caused by Jaro's impromptu flight request had pushed her quarter allocation back much later than the original hour she'd been quoted upon arrival, to expect the matter to be well and truly sorted by the time she eventually did return. At first, that seemed to be the case and the promise of a shower and something at least resembling a nap before her official duties got well and truly underway had been a relief almost visible in the pilot's expression. Nobdy had expected her to return fifteen minutes later, least of all Raya herself, still dragging her rucksack and now sporting an air of disgruntled impatience that she was doing her best not to succumb to. For the third time, she waited, and once it was her turn to step up, appeared to take a moment to choose her words carefully.

"I think there's been some confusion."

Noxe blinked once. "What is the problem?" She asked, searching her PADD. Oh, the Chief Flight Officer. "Did you get lost?" She asked.

A fresh niggle of irritation nearly got the better of Raya. You're just tired, everyone probably is. "No, I found my quarters just fine. I think there may have been a mix-up with them, however." For a moment, the pilot just stared, as if hoping that a penny might drop from somewhere. "There's, uh, no bed."

Noxe stared for a moment. "No bed?" She repeated. She shook her head a moment. "Sorry. You did say that. Hold on!!" She held up a pale finger. "OHHH. There's the issue. You've been assigned to bunk with...what on EARTH is a Phylosian?" She said. She'd have to ask Zyhara next time they talked. "I am sorry. The original flight officer requested no bed, sand...and heat lamps", she said. "Are they lizard people? Cats?" Noxe had no idea, that was a species she hadn't met yet. "And how on earth would a phylosian even FLY if they are a lizard?" She muttered to herself. "Ok. So. Since you're a department head...well. The ENTIRE department, you get a single room, unless you really want a roommate," she said. "I have a single on Deck 5, a double on Deck 4 but it's next door to a person who has requested Bajoran drums, and a single right next to medical," she noted. "Across from the CMO," she clarified. Some people were weird about living close to the Doc.

It had been tempting to point out that there was nothing 'on Earth' about Phylosians, but that required a capacity for humour that Raya was struggling to maintain the energy for. Resisting the urge to rub at the dull throb that had settled just above her still-red eye, the Lieutenant considered the options and then just succumbed to the need to find somewhere to spend the night, even if it lead to reorganisation later on. "Deck 5 will be fine." Medical was always responsible for a lot of traffic, but at least it was likely to be an orderly kind of chaos.

"Deck 5 it is," she said, making a note on her PADD. "Should I have your stuff beamed over or can you do that yourself?" She asked. She didn't know if Captain Jaro had already given her an assignment for the day. "You're close to me," Noxe said. "Though I will probably move soon, closer to Main Ops," she said. Her office was next to Engineering. Which made sense.

For a split second, Raya didn't know what to do with that information. It didn't seem entirely relevant but, in purely conversational terms, she supposed it made sense. The closer she got to having been awake for a full 48-hours, the more challenging it was to process the frivolous subtext of general banter. As a result, the brunette simply blinked several times and then tried to back-track to answer the question she'd been asked. "I was told the bulk of my belongings would be tied up in security checks for a good few hours. Perhaps once they clear, it would be easier to just teleport them over." Raya hesitated, very aware that the friendly overture deserved some sort of reciprocation, and managed a thin-lipped smile. "It never hurts to have some distance between work and home."

Noxe simply nodded. "I agree," she said. "Ok, I will make a note and let the Chief know," she said, tapping away at the PADD. "I have your belongings being sent over by EOD," she said.

"Anything else I can help with? Please let me know; the Captain has tasked me with ensuring the arriving crew is settled."

Despite the incumbent descent into exhaustion, Raya couldn't contain a flare of unexpected sympathy. If the Chief's experience with their Commanding Officer was anything like her first impression then any tasking had probably been framed in very interesting terms. For a brief moment, Raya wondered if orchestrating a mass gathering of senior personnel on Deck 5 was actually part of it. An eyebrow hitched at the thought but her features remained otherwise impassive. "I'm sure we'll have plenty to discuss once I get a handle on where my department sits." Hesitating once more, Raya then added as she stepped back to move out, "Thank you, I'll get out of your way."

Noxe shook her head. "You are not in the way," she said. "But please let me know if you need anything else as soon as you can check in and get settled. I'll be here!!" She said, as she watched Raya walk away.

 

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