Families send Starfleet service members messages from home

StarBase 118 Staff · July 25, 2017

SHOALS — The USS Veritas crew received a pleasant surprise in the form of a special care package of personal correspondences as the ship continues its extended service in the Shoals.

Life aboard a starship can be isolating, and not just for those serving but also the families of those who remain behind on Earth, Vulcan, and other worlds far from a ship’s current assignment. For the crew of the USS Veritas, their assignment to the Shoals has meant that they have been tasked to a “domestic” assignment in name only. Here, the shifting tetryon fields that give the region its name also restrict warp travel to a maximum of warp 5 and hinder reliable subspace communication.

“I tell you, by the time I was done with my first tour, I felt like I had come back from the Gamma or Delta Quadrant,” said Crewman Oliver Vasquez, an engineer aboard Veritas.

After their most recent mission in the tetryon storm known as the Maelstrom, the crew were granted shore leave as the ship made its way to Antor II, the capital of the Colonial Coalition. A day before they were to arrive, however, Captain Roshanara Rahman revealed a surprise she had been working on in association with the Starfleet Family Association. The association contacted Veritas family members to create a special presentation of messages, pictures, and holo-recordings for the crew.

“It was a totally unexpected and amazing delight,” said Petty Officer Gemma Adler, a medical technician, whose sister Tracy and nephew Ben recorded their message during Ben’s sixth birthday party.

Among the other messages were baby announcements and even a (successful) marriage proposal. Afterward, Captain Rahman announced a string of service ribbon recipients for the crew’s actions during their recent missions thus far while under her command. Chief engineer Lt. Commander Luna Walker received the Innovation Ribbon for her idea to use a quantum detonation to escape the Maelstrom. Ensign Sepek was awarded the Captain’s Commendation for his actions piloting a shuttle alone during the mission, and Dr. Nikki Ryan, FedSec Agent Evan Delano, and Lt. JG Carter Greyson received the Purple Heart for injuries sustained. Finally, the entire crew was awarded both the Explorer’s Ribbon for the discovery of the Thraltans, the pre-warp inhabitants of a rogue planet within the Maelstrom, and the Maiden Voyage Ribbon.

As Veritas arrives at Antor II, the crew are working on various project such as retrofitting one of their Type-10 shuttles to serve exclusively for the ship’s Search and Rescue (SAR) team and addressing their supply needs while on extended duty in the Shoals and away from Starfleet resources.

Writte by Roshanara Rahman

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