Change of Venue

Posted on 12 Jan 2025 @ 2:59pm by Ensign Emilie D'Astous & Ensign Chell

888 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Shoreleave and Reassignment
Location: Elysia
Timeline: Current

There was very little turbulence in the air as Ensign D'Astous maneuvered the shuttle through the purplish clouds and began the descent toward Elysia, the settlement on Calisto IV where the crew of the Cygnus had been granted settlement while their ship underwent repairs. A good portion of the crew had been granted leave on the planet, as well as the use of private facilities, at least for the duration of the refit, which was expected to take at least four months.

Émilie tried to remember the last time she'd had a four-month vacation, and was coming up blank. Of course, she knew those four months wouldn't be a complete vacation - she'd have a few shifts here and there as a pilot, ferrying people back and forth between Elysia and the Starbase. Calisto IV was outside of transporter range from Starbase 375, enough to have to rely on shuttle pilots to transport people and equipment back and forth. This was her fourth trip to the planet since they'd arrived. Forty-five minutes to board and clear the station, two hours to fly to Elysia, another forty-five minutes for landing procedures, deboarding, and taking off again, and again two hours to fly back to the station. But she didn't mind. Flying was her passion, and who could object when flying to a place such as this?

The approach to the Elysian settlement was simply breathtaking. After breaking through the sparse cloud cover, the first thing she saw was the blinding reflection of the twin suns' light on the surface of a turquoise ocean. Once the shuttle descended to an altitude of five thousand meters, she caught sight of the small group of atolls that made up the Elysian compound. Eight small islands, around which clusters of villas had been built on stilts, overlooking the tranquil ocean. In the distance, about fifteen hundred meters away, a ridge of coral reef created a natural barrier against the larger predators that could be present in the water. She could see it from her vantage point in the air, a thin dark circle surrounding the cluster of islands.

As she got closer, she could see the individual sea villas. Each cluster had anywhere from fifteen to thirty-five villas, each connected to a wooden boardwalk. The largest island, known as Lumina, had ten such clusters spread around it, whereas the smallest one, known as Zenthara, had four. Plenty of room for the crew of the Cygnus, thought Émilie. In addition, Myrridion, the third-largest island, boasted a volcanic peak, covered with a lush jungle, where villas had also been built on the hills. It also harbored the community center and housed the local population, indigenous to the planet.

The Calistans were a warm and friendly people, humanoid, tall and graceful, but also somewhat enigmatic. Federation members for the past seventy-five years, they had accepted the presence of Starbase 375 in their system both for reasons of protection, but also as a way to express their thanks for the help that the Federation had given them nearly a century ago, when a parasitic infection had threatened the collapse of their marine ecosystem - which, for a planet where the ocean covered nearly 90% of the surface, would have meant extinction.

The landing platform was located on Zenthara, the third-largest island, but also the only one where the terrain was level enough to accomodate such a facility. The landing platform was large enough to accomodate about a dozen shuttles, and was equipped with a garage where maintenance work could be carried out. She started her approach toward the landing platform, and turned to look in the back of the shuttle.

"Landing in about three minutes," she called out.

Ensign Chell, the Bolian supply specialist she'd met during the latest crisis, walked up to the cockpit and got in the seat next to her. "This place is quite something," he said, looking out in amazement.

"I'll say," she replied. "If you like hot and humid climates. But yeah, the view is really stunning. And it's going to be home for most of us for the next few months, at least."

"For some of us, maybe even longer," he said. He turned at her quizzical expression. "I put in for a transfer. I didn't have that much shore leave time accumulated, and they needed a quartermaster here to deal with the sudden influx of guests."

Émilie was stunned. "You're transferring off the Cygnus? I didn't even know Starfleet had a permanent presence on Elysia."

"We do. The Calistans have outsourced the logistics of the Elysian resort to Starfleet, since most of the guests here are Starfleet or Federation offworlders. Most of the staff is Elysian, and there is a rather large Calistan population, but we oversee the daily operations. We also have a scientific outpost on Vorynth Island, dedicated to oceanography on this planet."

"Impressive," said Émilie. "Sounds like you'll have your work cut out for you."

"Indeed," said Chell. "Though it saddens me to leave the Sygnus, I know I will be seeing you all again in the next few months."

Émilie gave him a smile as she guided the shuttle down to the landing platform, where Chell would begin his new career.

------

A post by

Ensign Émilie D'Astous
Flight Control Officer
USS Cygnus

and

Ensign Chell
Quartermaster
Elysian Outpost

 

RSS Feed