New Corridors

Posted on 09 Oct 2025 @ 8:44am by Lieutenant JG Ziyi Zhao

668 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Shakedown
Location: Deck Nine
Timeline: After Launching

Turn left at junction C-14… Then right at C-26… Straight ahead…

The corridors of this practically brand-new ship looked nothing like they used to. Gone was the retro-look of the faded grey and can't-make-up-its-mind-pink-or-peach carpet, the new floor was a reflective transparisteel material that made the ship feel colder, more industrial, and definitely less homely. How could she call this cold, metallic environment home?

But the worst part was that in the refit, they had moved everything around. The Science Labs, which used to be on the forward starboard quarter of Deck Seven, were now on the aft port side of Deck Nine. Supposedly, the shorter distance to the lateral sensor array would improve system performance in Astrometrics.

But Ziyi didn't give a frack about Astrometrics, her specialty was xenobiology. Why did they have to move that around, too? But, there was little she could do about it, so she went on searching for the Life Sciences lab. The listing she had on her PaDD told her that it would be on Deck Nine , section six. But when she turned where section six should have been, she somehow found herself in section twelve.

Ideally she could have asked for directions from the computer. But that locator module wouldn't be installed until Tuesday.

She could have asked one of her crewmates for directions. But everyone she had passed seemed just as lost as she felt. Not to mention the fact that she had yet to come across a familiar face.

Everyone she'd seen so far had either been a new crewmember, or one of the repair staff from Starbase 375.

Where was Chell when she needed him?

Deck Nine, section thirteen… She took a deep breath and looked at the corridor ahead. It curved to the right, so she was going clockwise. The largest corridor, the one going straight from fore to aft, lay behind her. So she was going in the wrong direction.

She turned on her heels, and walked back the way she'd come. She counted four intersections from the main corridor, then came across another large corridor - the one that cut across the saucer section from port to starboard. So now she was entering the right quadrant.

She crossed the next intersection and glanced to her right. Her breath caught in her throat, as she saw the mangled body of Ensign Leitão lying there. She blinked, and the vision vanished.

She paused, and took three deep breaths to steady herself. She cursed in her mind, and then reminded herself that such reactions were normal, after the traumatic events they'd gone through. Her friend Delenna had told her as much. She Steeles herself, and carried on.

She walked on for a short distance before finally coming across the door she was looking for. Door number 9-472. But it was labeled Waste Management.

She approached the door, letting it slide open, and entered. The lights came on automatically as she entered. She made a mental note to have that changed - her current projects were over bioluminescence, she needed manual control over the lights. And to have the room's labeling changed.

She put her PaDD down on one of the lab benches, and looked around the lab. It looked pretty much like every other lab she'd seen. Except that here, everything was new. The very latest models of the equipment she was used to, and even a few new pieces of equipment. Most of everything that has been on her wish list was there.

There was an empty bay at the far end of the lab that she hadn't expected. She walked over to it and read the computer display on the wall.

A holographic bay. Virtually any piece of equipment that she could desire could be holographically replicated in this bay. Less storage space required for seldom-used equipment, more versatility.

She let out a squee of excitement. This was her new home.

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A post by

Lt JG Ziyi Zhao
Science Officer
USS Cygnus

 

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