Newly Arrived

Posted on Wed Aug 22nd, 2012 @ 6:06pm by Lieutenant Ophelia Lysander

Mission: Episode 1.0 - "Enduring Legacy"
Location: Lysander's Quarters
Timeline: MD 05, 1320 Hours

ON:

[[USS Yorktown, Lysander’s Quarters, Day 5, 1320]]

Surveying her new quarters with a critical eye, Ophelia carefully shifted the sleeping child in her arms to a more comfortable position. At three years old, her daughter still slept best when she was held safely in her mother’s arms. Ophelia had done everything she could to try to break her of the habit, but since she knew that it was only a matter of time before Hazel (PNPC) would be too big for her to hold anyway, the issue had never bothered her overly much.

From what she could see, their new quarters were a little more spacious than the ones they’d inhabited on Starbase 339. Ophelia was of the opinion that home was where you made it, but even so, she was glad for the additional space. Hazel was growing faster than ever, it seemed, and the toddler subsequently needed more room to accommodate her. The more room there was for her to explore and play, the happier Hazel--and therefore Ophelia--was.

Aside from the bathroom, two rooms adjoined the common living area. Ophelia and her aching back were both relieved to find that the first room contained a small bed obviously meant for a child. In one smooth, practiced motion, the doctor carefully lowered Hazel onto the bed’s plush surface, hardly daring to even breathe as she waited to make sure that her little girl hadn’t been woken up from the shift. A moment or two later, when she was sure that Hazel wasn’t going to wake just yet, she silently stepped out of the room.

The move, while exciting at first, had obviously exhausted Hazel. Ophelia was feeling the stress of it all herself, but as a grown woman, she at least had the strength and stamina to better handle the change. Aside from transport ships and runabouts, it was the first time that Hazel had ever been on a real starship for an extended period of time, and Ophelia knew only too well that there was going to be a difficult period of adjustment ahead of them.

Tired, and yet somehow restless at the same time, Ophelia decided to capitalize on the time she had to herself by getting some of the unpacking over and done with. It was only logical, she mused to herself, to not waste any of the precious free time she was given. The various crates that held their belongings were stacked at the far end near the curved sofa, and without wasting another moment, Ophelia began to attack them in a frenzied but well-ordered manner.

While she worked, her thoughts flew down a variety of avenues. Now that they had arrived on the Yorktown, there was still so much to be done. Ophelia needed to meet with her Commanding Officer, as well as the Medical staff she was now in charge of. She needed to familiarize herself with Sickbay and make any adjustments, organizational and otherwise, as she saw fit. Even more importantly, perhaps, were the considerations that needed to be made for Hazel. Until she found and examined the daycare system in place, she was going to have to find a way to keep her daughter safe and occupied whenever she needed to leave their quarters. Even in the 24th century, it was no easy task being a single parent.

Having emptied one crate, and then another, Ophelia moved on to yet another, prying off the lid with swift hands. Her myriad thoughts ceased abruptly. There, sitting on top of an assortment of keepsakes and mementos, sat a picture of her late husband. The sight of Roken’s smile brought her equal parts joy and pain. Lowering herself to her knees, Ophelia took the frame into her hands, sighing as she lightly traced the outline of his form with her fingertip. He’d been gone from their lives for two and a half years now, but the pain never really did go away. From what she’d been told, it never would.

In their quarters back on the starbase, the picture had been tucked away on Ophelia’s nightstand, partially hidden behind a larger picture of Roken, Ophelia, and Hazel as an infant, the last family portrait they had ever taken. Here in their new quarters, she quickly decided, it would reside out in the open. Climbing back to her feet, Ophelia set the frame on the edge of the round glass table where she and Hazel would likely share their meals together. It was an admittedly sentimental placement, but one that she was determined to make all the same.

Smiling softly at her late husband’s image, Ophelia nodded once to herself. She would miss the starbase, miss all the friends and memories that she had made there. But here, with her darling Hazel and an old picture, she would find contentment again. It was more than enough to build a home on.

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