Stardate: 80305:2103
Title: Far From Home
Author: Ensign Bridget Conway
Time: Current
Scene: USS Exeter / USS Horizon
Bridget was waiting to be transported aboard the Horizon. She looked out of the
windows that now showed the most beautiful scene she had seen in her life. It
reminded her of a connect the dots book that her mother had shown her when she
was a little girl. Bridget quickly became lost in trying to complete the
pictures that the stars were trying to show her. She had been told that the
first time she looked at deep space would be an experience that she would not
forget, but she could not imagine what she saw.
Gitta, the nickname her parents have given her and which she like to be called
by, was brought back to the surrounding of the transporter room by the feeling
of somebody looking at her. A young cadet was looking across the room but
immediately turned her head when she realized that Gitta was looking at her.
Gitta looked back at the windows.
*I wish that they would not do that. They know I saw them looking at me like I
am a freak but they play it off. I know its not everyday they see a power
wheelchair so why hide the fact that they are interested about it?* She thought
to herself.
Before Gitta could begin to wonder about the answer, the transporter officer
walked up to her. "Ensign Conway? " he queried.
"Yes, Sir," Gitta replied.
"We were informed that you would like your chair to be sent directly to your
quarters with your other personal items," the Transporter Officer explained.
"Yes, I only use it when I have emergency and it took a little time for my
neural transducers to recovery from the travel."
"Can I help you out of the chair?"
"No, I've got it," Gitta said as she pushed a series of buttons that were placed
on bands that she wore around her legs. She stood out of the chair and took a
few steps. At first her steps were uneven and made her look like she was drunk
but, after a few minutes, she was walking without a problem. The Transporter
Officer sat in the chair and tried to move it toward the cargo container where
it would be stored until it was time to go to the ship, but instead he only
ended up making the whole transporter room roar with laughter as he somehow
programmed the chair to go in circles. Gitta managed to push the control pad to
save the poor officer.
"I am sorry," Gitta said, trying not to laugh, "that I did not warning about how
tricky the control pad can be.
The officer looked at her. "That's okay. You must be from Ireland, right.
There's no hiding that fact from your voice and that hair; my wife’s family is
from there."
Gitta had hated her red hair when she was a little girl until her father one day
reminded her that she had the same hair color as her mother. To this day, that
fact gave her a sense of pride.
"Yes, I am from Ireland; just left there in fact."
The officer, having finally mastered the controls of the chair, turned to her.
“Far from home.”
"Yes, I am... Thanks again," she smiled, the Transporter Officer giving her a
nod as he left her.
*Yes, Gitta, far from home but you are closer to finding what you looking
for...*
"The Horizon is ready for boarding. All transferring crew prepare to board,"
another Transporter Officer announced.
A few minutes later, she was on the transporter pad aboard on the Horizon.
"Ensign Bridget Conway, reporting for duty."
=====================
Ensign Bridget Conway
Science Officer
USS Horizon
NCC-72400
=====================
