Ensign Leret lay down on the lower bunk of the standard combat issue Starfleet Bed, an uncomfortable remnant of the Dominion War maybe, but, this ship was only fit for transport to outer-ring colonies nowadays so he'd have to get used to it, anyway, the Defiant Class Transport known as the USS Argentina would be arriving at his new posting soon, the outpost on the edge of explored space, neighbouring the infamous Briar Patch, Starbase 901.
Jonathon Leret was in an excited and ecstatic mood, he would soon be arriving at his first duty posting; the one he'd been waiting for and it was his dream job, Security Officer aboard a frontier Starbase, he was looking forward to his exciting and challenging duties and there was something else that made him even more happy, he'd be arriving at his first posting with his girlfriend, the same age as him, Starfleet Command Cadet Julia Smith; he'd known her since his first year at the academy, they'd been in the same study-group, shared the same interests and experiences and in their second year, he'd asked her to be his girlfriend, just as she was about to ask him to be her boyfriend.
They were the same age, 24, he was an Ensign and she was a Cadet but technically, they were just about at the same height on the Starfleet chain of command, the only reason she was still a Cadet was that whilst she had also gone on the optional two year Starfleet Command Course as he had, she had majored in and had enrolled in the Advanced Command Course Stream in Starfleet Academy, taking the direct route to a duty station Command Posting, she would be graduating in one years time as a Full Lieutenant just like some of the Medical Cadets a few years older than her would be, but she firstly had to take a second year of 'on the job' training, taking a Junior Command Posting aboard the Starbase as a Command Intern for her second 'Cadet Cruise' serving as the Station's Assistant Third Officer for one shift of the day, for the rest of the day that she was on duty she would be serving in the other Command Role that she was assigned to, this was listed on her Academy Record as Assistant Starbase Operations Coordinator; she was going to rise to the heights of command faster than Ensign Leret, but they were always going to be close friends, both as colleagues and for the moment, maybe for ever in the personal roles of boyfriend and girlfriend.
For the three day cruise to Starbase 901 from Orivior Prime, were they had both been stationed prior to their individual orders coming through, Officers Leret and Smith had shared the same set of quarters that had been once assigned a few years ago to Heads of Departments but had now been attached to create a set of quarters with two separate single-bed sleeping areas; these Officer's Quarters were for members of Starfleet who were travelling to their postings with their boyfriend / girlfriend but were not married, to save any possible embarrassment of humiliation, Starfleet ordered that these personnel, unless specifically stated should share quarters in this way but not have to share a double-bed sleeping area; because of this, Jonathon and Julia were able to be in close contact with one another without being embarrassed before they reached their Duty Posting.
Suddenly, the CO's voice came through the Ship's intercom, [All Hands, please note that we will be docking with Starbase 901 within half an hour, all crew who are being transferred to the Starbase please have your specific orders with you at the Transporter Room, Shuttle Bay or Departure Gate that you have been assigned to, I am Lieutenant Commander Henry Johnson Commanding the USS Argentina and I hope you have a successful time aboard Starbase 901, good luck to all you recent graduates of Starfleet Academy or Starfleet Medical Academy and good luck to all you enlisted personnel who are waiting to arrive at your first posting, I hope you've enjoyed your journey, Johnson 7 out.]
Immediately Ensign Leret tapped his commbadge, [Ensign Leret to Cadet Smith, come in please.]
A voice came from the other sleeping area, it was real, not from a communicator. 'I'm in here, sorry, I fell asleep, I just woke up when the CO started talking; Jon, are you ok ?'
She walked into the room.
Jonathon walked over and hugged her, she saw his face and said, 'Don't worry, it's perfectly normal to worry about your first posting, remember your Cadet Cruise, anyway, in a years time I'll get to share the experience,' she smiled, he replied with, 'I'm sorry, I'm worrying, but with you around, it's going to be a lot easier and a lot more fun, I hope you do well with your Command Internship, don't worry, you're currently at the top of your year in the Command Course, you've passed the rest of the course excellently, as long as you keep a clear head and perform your duties as you're asked to, you'll have plenty of opportunities to show your skill at command,' he let go of her and smiled, she said, 'thanks, I mean it, and I'm glad you're here to' they paused, Jonathon said, 'I'm glad you think that and you know I'll help you with anything,' after a second he exclaimed in an excited tone of voice, 'come on, we need to get ready !'
They started packing.
Within the hour, Ensign Jonathon Leret and Cadet Julia Smith were aboard Starbase 901 and were reporting to duty.