It had been a long morning already by the time Samuels got to the replicator to order his first Raktajino of the day. He had been running drills all morning to get himself feeling trim and fit for his new posting. He wanted his uniform to fit perfectly when he arrived for duty.

Graduating from Starfleet Academy had been a dream of his since he was a young boy on Betazed and now it was a reality. The only step left was to get into his uniform and report in to his commanding officer.

He drank his coffee slowly, placeing the cup down as he took the towel from around his waist and tossed it to the floor, reaching down to pull up underwear and socks as he yawned. He flexed a little in the mirror to see if he could see any progress but nothing had really changed yet, so he simply got his crisp new Ensign’s uniform and put it on, ensuring to equip the shiny single gold pip and comm badge onto the vest. He looked sharp and he was excited to start work.

Working on a Starbase was different to a ship, instead of travelling to far off planets and seeing distant worlds, he would instead be looking after his crew on the base and having visitors visit THEM instead. A different life, but not a bad one. He was excited to see who he would be encountering in his new line of work as Counselor.

Once dressed, Korey headed from his guest quarters and walked down the corridor, nodding to a few crew as he went, heading for his rendezvous. He head read about Lieutenant el-Imam before arriving and was keen to meet the Deputy Director of Counselling face to face.

Nervously he waited outside her office door and announced his arrival through the comms system. Now, he waited…

“Come in” A voice stated the welcoming of the Ensign.

Korey entered as he was asked, looking around the modern yet comfortable office and to his superior officer, to whom he smiled. “Greetings Lieutenant, I am Ensign Samuels, your new Counsellor. I was informed I should report here for my orientation and first day. I do hope I am on time” he said nervously.

He took a seat as instructed and looked up to el-Imam. He knew from his research that she had done a lot of work on EOS station as well as on the Kennedy. She had the resume he could only dream of having one day. But today was the start of that journey. His first day as a graduate and his first shift onboard Starbase Bravo.

Looking up from her paperwork, a soft smile appeared on her face while looking at Korey. “Welcome, Ensign, welcome to the counselor team on this wonderful station.” Arwa placed the PADD down and looked at him. “So, first things first, how are you? Settling in on Starbase Bravo is your first day, but getting your roots in the ground is also very important. 

“Well, it’s certainly something! I arrived on base last night, so spent a night in guest quarters. I didn’t want to risk being late.” he admitted sheepishly. “I have only seen a small amount of the base so far, I went for a job around the promenade and that’s about it. I look forward to seeing more of it in the coming days and getting started with my duties.” 

He fidgeted a little in his seat. His empathic abilities showed that the Lieutenant was very calm, almost serene, which put him swiftly at ease.

Nodding to that, “Well, I am not, as they would say, a hard ass when it comes to first days,” Arwa pointed out and leaned in her chair. “I think you can use the orientation day or two. It gets you familiar with the base and their daily operation. You will find out quickly enough where counseling is mostly busy with” She thought about the amount of security officers that booked a counselor after incidents at the promenade. 

Hearing that was indeed a relief, as he knew he needed to really scope the place out to get his bearings. For a boss, it seemed that she was pretty relaxed. Didn’t mean he’d slack off of course, but nice to know his wellbeing was being thought of.

“Does the Starbase have a large crew? How many are stationed here permanently?” he asked, considering what his workload was going to be like. “I do like to get to know people fast”

“Is it big?” Arwa thinks for a second, “I think about 60.000 people serve on this base…is that enough?” Arwa teased him a bit and gave him an eye wink. “It will take some time to get to know everyone, but every day will not be the same. That is for certain”

He blinked. 60,000 people?

“Wow…no wonder you needed more counsellors…Do I get my own office to see patients?” he asked, not sure how it worked aboard a starbase. “I’d like to start reviewing duty rosters and such as soon as I can. I’d like to get stuck in.” he said eagerly.

Shaking her head, “We are hooked up with the personnel department that arranges your duty roster. It should already be linked to your profile.” Thinking for a moment, Arwa looked back at him. “We don’t really work with personnel offices; well, some do in upper levels. But most counselors work on flex spots, just take an empty office and claim it for the day for yourself”

“I understand” he said politely. “So just use an office for appointments and just enjoy the space offered, right?” he said with a smile. He was clearly a little overwhelmed but trying to keep up appearances.

“Well I guess then I should go explore and orient myself with this place…any recommendations before I go?” he asked.

Seeing the uncomfortable posture and a bit troubled facial expression, Arwa took a deep breath. “Take it all in, Ensign, take your time. Start with Promenade and work your way around. I would say try Gate Inn or Brew to take in the vibe of the station, they serve some good drinks there” Arwa smiled at him. “You will do just fine”

He nodded politely and got to his feet. “Then I shall do so, the station is large and I am keen to see it’s wonders. Thankyou so much for your time today, Lieutenant. I will do my best to make you proud.” he said, as he got to his feet and headed to the door. The whole world was his oyster now and he was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime….