Tour Time - Part 1

Posted on Sat Nov 29th, 2025 @ 1:24pm by Captain Daegan Baas & Commander Jerome Hunt Jr. & Lieutenant Darius Korveth & Lieutenant JG Christian Rogers & Lieutenant JG Ryan Kellerman

2,383 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: What was Lost is Found
Location: USS Valkyrie
Timeline: MD 6 – 1300

Commander Hunt walked down the corridors with councilors in tow. He been explaining each deck to the group and answering questions as they went along. The group were clearing impressed, even though there were some on the tour who did their best to hide it. The doors opened their first stop. "And our next stop is the medical center. Our doctor has been known to pull out several miracles in this space."


[Medical Center]

Kurul was definitely impressed by the advancements he had see in the launch bay, the lift, even the corridors themselves. There really was no comparison between the interior of the Federation shuttles they had use for a time, nor the interior of the Ulysses or the Sahriv. He wondered if the difference were a striking between his ship, from all those years ago and the Romulan ships of today.

Entering the Valkyrie's Medical Center his eyes widened. He head never seen such a facility not on a star base nor even on Romulus. As the move passed the central area there were other door and corridors to various wards. Reading the signage he could see that the ship was equipped with Counselor, Recover ward, Cryogenic Stasis, Morgue, multiple labs, an Intensive Care, Primary Care, and Isolation wards. "Commander, your ship has facilities that you would expect to see only in major medical facilities. Are all Federation starships this well equipped?

"On smaller starships not quite this size,' the Commander explained. "But on larger ships around the size of the Valkyrie. We tend to have it all."

Yuvana took as much advantage of the tour as she could. Getting close to things and technologies she had very little understanding of because she'd heard about them as stories from her parents. There was something so...sterile and antiseptic about the ship and everything on it. It was bright and tidy and neat. Everything was well placed and maintained. It was almost the complete opposite of her own home. Somehow she was disappointed. She expected...more...of her forebears.

Dareem walked a few paces behind Kurul, his hands clasped neatly at the small of his back. The bright light of the infirmary caught along the planes of his face and its sterile glow reflected in his eyes. "It's an odd kind of peace," he said to himself, mostly. "To build a vessel meant for war, and give it the heart of a hospital."

Jerome turned his attention to Dareem. "Technically the Vesta class is a deep space explorer, along with being a battler cruiser. The main objective is always exploration and diplomacy. But she has large teeth and very sharp claws when the need arises."

Andelra moved closer to one of the biobeds and touched the firm padding. "Everything looks so... clean," she said. Her voice became wistful after a moment. "Had we this technology, we may have saved more than a dozen or so over the years."

Meanwhile, Posrun, the younger councilor, had found the displays along the wall and was completely absorbed in the layers of medical readouts, his curiosity now completely unguarded. "Imagine what the colony could become with tools such as these. We could diagnose and treat in minutes!" He turned to Dareem, eyes bright. "You see it too, don't you?"

Dareem's gaze lingered a few moments longer on the wealth of technology before him. "I see what's possible," he said at last. Quietly, he added, "The question is--possible for whom?

"Everyone," Yuvana countered the dour and taciturn fellow councilor. She resented the implication of his words. "Those of us born on the colony have heard our parents talk about the nature of the Federation. How they spread what they have and know across the galaxy. We heard of the gloriousness of our Romulan heritage as well. Not all of us were privy to experience one or the other and harbor old cultural stereotypes and resentments against the other. We strove to overcome such pettiness in order to ensure mutual survival of all those on the planet. I would not see all of our efforts so ignored and swept away now that we have rescue at hand."

She struck her walking stick against the floor as she took several steps, her hand sweeping across the room. "I see all this shiny and technology and understand the stories my parents told me. But I also can't help but think how they'd view it now. You called this the 'heart' of the ship, but where is that heart? I see sterility, coldness, indifference. I don't see a heart, I don't see warmth. I don't see life." She turned. "Mr. Rogers of Security," she demanded. "Answer this: if given your preference, would you rather live among such shininess or on the planet, among life?"

Rogers looked around, glancing longest at Hunt, not sure how to answer the question, or if it was one he should even attempt to answer. The thud of her stick against the deck brought his attention back to her and her dark eyes, suddenly turned fierce and honed as steel blades. "Living on the ship serves its purpose." He said. "I am not the one to ask, however, because I have always lived among such...coldness..."

Looking over at Roger, the Executive Officer could see the uneasiness of it all. "Madam it's not about coldness or the warmth of a planet. It's about choice and opportunity. I grew up on Earth but chose to join Starfleet to see the stars. My wife and children are on the Valkyrie as well. And when the time comes, my children will make that choice for themselves. What you haven't quite seen on this tour or the families. We have schools and recreational areas. We have events here as well. This crew and other Starfleet crew are their own communities."

Kurul smiled and came to their hosts rescue as he looked to his old friend. "A Medical area would need to have a feeling of 'sterility', that is its nature. However I'm see there is a great deal more to see", looking to the Commander.

"People don't get better in 'sterility'," Yuvana muttered as she continued to look around the room.

Jerome returned the gesture with a smile of his own. "And that takes us to our next stop in hydroponics." The leading the group out of sickbay. A few minutes, they entered hydroponics. The Commander hoped that these would lighten the mood of Yuvana. She seemed to carry quite of influence over the group. Yet, it seemed that there were others who wanted more than their current way of life. "Take a look around and let me know if you have any questions. I will try my best to answer them."


[Hydroponics]

Moving a bit closer to Rogers, he whispered. "How do you think things are going so far?"

Rogers looked around the group then shrugged. "Middle ground. We have some that are excited and see the possibilities and," he glanced at one of the councilors in particular, "some that haven't left old prejudices behind. I think we need to highlight the changes in Federation relationships over the last hundred years, to include the strides we've made in bridging the gap with the Romulans."

He glanced at the commander. "And maybe put a few more plants around the ship."

Kurul followed the Commander in the ship hydroponics areas. "Wait! Capt. Baas said you are able to create food out of energy with your replicators but you also grow food?"

"We have a lot of different plants here on the ship," Jerome explained. "Some for research, some beauty and some for food as well. Some people prefer their food as natural as possible."

"Still, there is no life here. it's all...cold." Yuvana's walking stick tapped on the deck as she walked further into the room. "This is all so ordered, so organized. It's good for a small farm but..." she turned to face Hunt and Rogers, her wizened brows creasing. "Is this all that the future has? Neat, orderly rows? Cold, sterile spaces? This ship is a marvel, but it's also bright, clean, orderly. There is no life to it!"

"Oh," Rogers whispered, as a flash came from her, battering against his carefully held shields but still managed to give him a bit of comprehension. He knew he was about to regret a few things. "Yes, Madame Councilor, this is orderly and clean. Just as you would have the fields on your farm. We keep this area clear and orderly so that the work done here is not compromised. It's, as the Commander said, for food, medicine, research. This is meant to be farmed, for a purpose. Not for beauty. That would be the arboretum, which I believe is a planned stop on the tour. In fact," he hadn't discussed this, and didn't believe anyone had and hoped the Commander was quick on the uptake, "it's also where the luncheon is going to be held. I think you'll find that place much more to your liking.

"As for the rest of the ship being sterile and 'cold'. Those are common, working areas. Quarters are assigned and have the capability of being made to reflect their occupants. Individual work spaces are also made much more personalized and warmer. But the Federation is made up of many different races and species, so we keep common areas free of clutter and undue cultural dominance, so that all feel as if they belong."

"But how can one feel they belong when there is nothing of themselves?" Yuvana countered. "How do two peoples," here she also glanced at the other councilors, "feel they are accepted and valued when they have nothing of themselves to show for it?"

Rogers gave a shrug, "That's what individual spaces are for. It would be unfair to, say, our Bajoran members if they were forced to conform to entirely Terran concepts and spaces. By keeping common work spaces free of one culture's values then the others don't feel as if they are unwelcome or unvalued. The Bajoran crewmember still brings his values, such as he dja pagh and tenets of culture and is free to be of that, while also mingling with the whole. Then, in his spaces, he has his shrine and scrolls. We have spaces, such as our chapels and holodecks, that are also made so they can accommodate the various other cultures that comprise the Federation or those with whom he have dealings. Such as the Romulans. There has been enough cultural exchange among the two civilizations that we have programmed a wide variety of Romulan dishes into the replicator, Romulan cultural and geographical spaces into our Holodecks and writings and data into our libraries. Does that make it seem less cold to you?"

Yuvana's face brightened as she smiled. "Maybe, I will judge later after we have seen your spaces, to see how they reflect your life."

Roger's frowned but quickly forced it away. He knew at least Yuvana saw it as she dropped one wink. "I didn't think-"

"It will be okay, I'm sure we're all adult enough to handle socks lying on the floor," Yuvana said, once more.

Kurul shook his head at Yuvana, "My old friend, This is a Starship. There must be a high degree of cleanliness in order to protect the various components that make this ship function, some of them are quite delicate...well at least they used to be. From what I have already seen I can say that this is a much more...welcoming environment than what we had back when Dareem and I served on the Sahriv. It was very spartan, much mere 'sterile' as you say than here. I can tell you we would have nothing like this," his hand waving to the rows of plants.

Turning to their host. "Commander if we could get some of your vegetables crops so that we could add them to our crops?"

"I believe that could definitely be arranged," Jerome spoke. "I'm actually curious to get some samples of your own crops."

Dareem stepped in beside Kurul, his eyes narrowed not at the plants themselves but more at the ceiling--fixed on the network of discreet emitters that fed this quiet green room. "Commander, forgive an old officer his instincts, but I see more than crops here. All this control..." He gestured upward with two fingers. "Light measured to the photon, it would seem. Soil that isn't soil at all. Air that never shifts unless permitted." His voice carried no true accusation.

Thinking about the comment, Hunt nodded. "On a starship we don't have all the natural resources to depend on. So we have found ways to assist the garden process. These methods are used on various worlds within the Federation as well. No need to deal with droughts."

Near the back of the gaggle, Andelra had drifted to a cluster of broad-leafed vines. The green was so vivid it almost started her. She reached out but did not touch--only hovered her hand above the leaf's surface. "Old Earth taro," she said softly. "I saw drawings once in a book once." Her eyes traveled down the row--herbs from Vulcan, a medicinal root from Coridan, and a plethora of vegetables she recognized immediately. "I never thought I'd see these outside of a text."

Meanwhile, Posrun had knelt beside a panel that appeared partly recessed into the deck. "Look at this," he whispered, opening a schematic that blossomed across the tiny readout. "Moisture cycling, nutrient dispersion, root temperature mapping--all completely automated. Each plants gets its own profile. Its own care." His eyes darted from node to node to node. "With half this infrastructure we could triple our yields. No more guessing or being at the whim of our weather." He looked up at Hunt, his enthusiasm now fully unmasked. "Is this standard? Do all your ships carry systems like these?"

"Ships, station, colonies and almost every world in the Federation."

Kurul, smiling at the enthusiasm, walked up putting a hand on Posrun's shoulder, "Well we can and hydroponics to the list." Looking back to the Commander, "Where to next Commander?"

"Cetacean Ops," Hunt announced.



TBC...

 

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