Any other day

Posted on Sat Nov 9th, 2024 @ 4:41pm by Lieutenant Commander Joseph Nixon

336 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: I-402

On a quiet day aboard the USS Missouri, Lieutenant Commander Joe Nixon appreciated the rare calm that settled over the operations center. No distress calls, no anomalies, no impending cosmic threats—just the routine hum of ship systems ticking along smoothly. Joe knew these quiet days didn’t come often, and he relished the chance to focus on the less glamorous but equally essential aspects of his job.

He began his shift by running a thorough system diagnostic, a habit he’d developed to keep things running seamlessly. His console displayed a full report: life support at peak efficiency, power distribution in perfect balance, and even the auxiliary systems humming along without so much as a minor hiccup. Joe leaned back, satisfied as each component turned green on his screen.

The lack of pressing issues gave him time to focus on maintenance tasks he rarely had the time for during a high-stakes shift. He organized supply requisitions for Engineering, ensuring that they were stocked with any components they might need for upcoming repairs. He adjusted internal sensor protocols to streamline future scans, knowing that shaving even a fraction of a second off could make a difference during critical moments.

He also took a few minutes to check in with crew requests—adjusting the climate controls in the arboretum, rebalancing power in one of the crew lounges to fix a minor flickering light, and coordinating with Science to set up the long-range sensors for an upcoming stellar mapping project. Even these smaller tasks felt meaningful, like he was contributing to the ship’s smooth, harmonious operation.

As his shift wound down, Joe couldn’t help but smile. It had been an unremarkable day by most standards, but he knew that all of the minor tweaks, updates, and maintenance would pay off when the next big mission came along. The quiet days were when he could fine-tune everything, making sure that when things inevitably got busy, the Missouri would be ready to respond at a moment’s notice.

RSS Feed