The Paramount moved smoothly through the Federation’s rimward territory. It’s crew having just finished an archeological study was now roaming near Starbase 399. This was one of those slow moments within Starfleet. When there was no big bad, no big event, no big disaster that needed to be dealt with. It was simply them being explorers.

The majority of the crew was sound asleep, others preparing for their next shift and some preparing for sleep. A small collection of officers were in the crew lounges enjoying a nice warm meal.

But for those assigned to the graveyard shift like the young Ensign Daniel Linton were still working ensuring the alpha shift would start their shift with a clean station. Linton was a nurse fresh from the academy.

Emerging from the CMO’s office Lieutenant Anastasia Kast searched sickbay glancing at the small number of nurses and sick who stood remanded at work. “Mr Linton,” she called out to the young officer. “I’m surprised you have left.” She said fo him as she walked towards the biobed he stood next too.

“I prefer to work ma’am,” Linton responded as he continued to work on the screen at the foot of the bed.

Kast peered over his shoulder trying to decipher what it was that he was doing. “What are you doing anyways?” she asked him after giving up trying to figure it out herself.

“I’m ensuring this biobed is fully functional for the next patient,” he said carefully. He avoided eye contact as his hands moved across the display.

Kast nodded as she slowly thought his shoulder gently pulling him from the screen. “You’ve done enough Ensign,” she said ro him softly as she tried to make him relax. She could feel the tension within him slow rase at hee words.

Linton had joined the crew shortly before the Underspace crisis. When he first came aboard Kast had been the first person he had interacted with that was within the medical department. Being assigned to gamma shift meant he rarely more senior than an assistant department head.

“Go do… something,” she said softly. “That’s an order.”

Her voice carried a sense of warmth he was not expecting. It was light, caring, thoughtful, the complete opposite of what an order would have sounded. But he could read in between the lines. He knew what she really meant.

“Well I have been meaning to write to my parents,” he said softly almost in a whisper.

“Good,” she said to him. “Go and do that.”

“Yes ma’am. Good night,” he said as he turned and exited sickbay. He stepped out into the still corridors. It was unsettling. The corridors where usually filled with life and the never ending dea or officers in the pathways but it was erie with the reduce lighting and the sound coming from his shoes herring the floor.

He stepped into the turbolift as he ordered it to take him to his quarters. Unlike many of the ensigns onboatd he wasn’t in a hallway bunk but in a shared bedroom with a fellow ensign and friend.

Stepping into his quarters he notice it was empty walking over to his bed and he sat. “Computer send a message to Joseph & Caroline Linton,” he instructed the ship’s computer.

“Subject?”

“My First Posting.”

“Destination?”

“Christopher’s Landing, Titan,” he responded, he received a chime in response signaling the computer was ready.

To: Joseph Linton, Caroline Linton

From: Daniel Linton

Subject: My First Posting

Hey mom. Hey dad. I’ve been meaning to write to you for a while. So much has happened since I’ve graduated from the academy. Two days after coming aboard we were trapped inside this thing called Underspace for two days before being spit out over a one million light years away in the Delta Quadrant.

We would eventually make first contact with a race known as Athreans. They were peaceful but suffered from being politically unstable and during first contact negotiations the planet would go into a civil war orchestrated by a Romulan Free State general. Then due to Cardassian interference underspace space would begin to collapse forcing us to return home before we could successfully stop the civil war and expose the Romulan involvement.

Then a month after that we were working with Starfleet Intelligence to stop the Orion Syndicate from acquiring illegal technology stolen from Starfleet.

All around a pretty good first posting. I love and miss you both.

Your son,

Dan

P.S: Happy New Years just incase I forget.