Going Home

Posted on Sun Dec 8th, 2024 @ 3:00pm by Commander Samantha Howard

Mission: Family

Dr Samantha Howard looked up as the Washington slid into McKinley station, her mighty engines powering down and leaving an odd silence in both sound and vibration. It was as though someone had turned the heartbeat of the ship off and without it there was a sense of loss.

The Captain had organised shore leave for everyone and Sam was looking forward to going home. Not just to Earth, but to the baking hot summer that she grew up in. Earth tradition was still mainly centred around the Northern Hemisphere, with the south being the road less travelled so to speak. The seasons were reversed, and even water moved differently.

Despite it being freezing when she beamed into the main transport hub at Starfleet Command, she knew it would soon feel like an oven had been switched on high when she got to her destination. A short walk and she arrived at the regional transport hub that would take her to Sydney.

Duffle slung easily over her shoulder she arrived in the Land Down Under in usual style. The instant she stepped off the public transport platform and out into the open her body reacted to the heat, dousing her in a layer of sweat she hadnt experienced in years. The thick Starfeet uniform designed for climate controlled environments did nothing more than add to the discomfort.

She looked at the directional signs and made her way to the local transport pads. Keying in the code for her destination she arrived a few moments later. The blue of the harbour was replaced by towering mountains swathed in a blue haze of eucalyptus.

Yes, it was indeed good to be home.