Warp Core Joy Levels: Supernova

Posted on Tue Jun 24th, 2025 @ 5:40pm by Commander Cressida Vale MD & Lieutenant JG Elen Rell

2,663 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Prologue
Location: USS Guinevere
Timeline: Early 2389

Elen Rell sat cross-legged on the narrow padded bench by the viewport, comfortable in her tight black leggings and sleeveless top, marking this as time when she wasn't on duty. She had experienced a stint as Acting Chief Engineer, thankfully not for long, before she had been put as Acting Assistant Chief Engineer. She hoped that eventually, that spot would be claimed too. The steady hum of the USS Guinevere thrummed quietly through the bulkhead if she allowed herself to focus, grounding her in the familiar comfort of the ship’s pulse. Or maybe she was imagining it. She wasn't judgy that way. The small room was neatly organised in her typical fashion: a woven Martian tapestry above her bunk, a neat stack of PADDs containing engineering manuals beside a well-worn poetry collection done as antique books, and a basket filled with colourful yarn at her feet.

In her hands, she cradled a steaming mug of lemon and ginger tea, the sharp citrus and warming spice soothing her senses. The cup, chipped at the rim, was a comfort from her days at the Academy, and the familiar weight in her palms helped steady the fluttering thoughts in her mind.

Her PADD rested open beside her, displaying technical schematics for a new adaptive warp coil design, but Elen wasn’t actively studying it. Instead, her hazel eyes were fixed on view. The music that played was deliberately chosen: gentle enough to calm the restless energy buzzing beneath her skin, but with enough movement to keep her mind engaged.

She took a slow, deliberate breath, closing her eyes briefly. This was her mindfulness practice, a small ritual she’d developed to manage the scattered firestorm of her ADHD. She counted the breath in, held it just long enough to feel the tension in her shoulders loosen, then exhaled smoothly. A subtle grounding exercise, but one she returned to often. Her fingers twitched toward the crochet hook resting in her lap, and she allowed them to start moving, the rhythmic feel of the needle through yarn a balm to her racing thoughts. Knitting and crocheting were more than hobbies; they were a lifeline. Tactile, repetitive tasks that gave her hands something steady to do while her brain explored a dozen threads at once.

For a moment, Elen let herself simply be...the warm tea in her hands, the soft music around her, the steady rhythm of the yarn. This was the calm she sought between bursts of chaos, the quiet moment where she could gather herself before the demands of tomorrow’s shift.

The door to her quarters was sealed, the outside world muted. Here, in this small corner of the ship, Elen found the space to centre herself, balancing the firefly storm inside with a gentle, steady light.

And like all things, it didn't last forever.

**

Elsewhere on the ship, Cressida Vale’s mind was traveling a parsec a minute. It had happened! Her hard work and dedication, recognized by her peers and superiors, meant she was now Second Officer. Second Officer!

Just two steps removed from that dream of hers: command of a medical or research ship or station. A domain to truly call her own.

Her first stop had been to see Alina. She had been so excited she picked her wife up by the waist and twirled her around in the middle of the lab — much to the amusement of onlookers, who no doubt gave the botanist a hard time after Cressida left.

She went back to sickbay, but Dr. van der Blij had everything under control and suggested (urged, really) her superior officer to leave, her excitement likely not translating to either medical treatments, research, or paperwork being done all that well.

Her next attempt had been to write up a plan of attack for her training. But her mind was wandering too much. After an hour at it and having only typed ‘talk to Chief Engineer’, she decided she needed either the gym or a friend.

She opted for the friend, one who might share her excitement and also help with her next steps, and found herself outside Elen’s door, pressing the chime.

Elen’s eyes blinked open...the music was still playing. She looked down to where she’d left off. A rose. Well, technically, a gradient rose, the yarn shifting from blush to deep wine as it curled beneath her fingers. At the moment, it was 52 chains long, edged with double crochet stitches, petals forming if she rolled it just so.

The door chime.

“Come on in!” she called, setting the yarn down with practiced care. She stretched, arms overhead in a lazy arc, before unfurling from her cross-legged sprawl on the floor to standing in a single smooth motion; all grace and muscle memory.

The moment she caught sight of Cressida, her face lit up, eyes warming to honey-gold as she grinned. “Hey, you! D’you want something to drink? Eat? Wear? I’ve got extra socks...or fingerless gloves, if your wrists get cold! Computer, music off.”

It all came in a rush, her voice and hands moving in tandem, like the conversation had already started before the door had finished opening. She bent to tuck the hook neatly into the skein, so it wouldn’t vanish on her, though that had never stopped it before. Her needles and crochet hooks had turned up all over the ship: the mess hall, the holodeck, Engineering, tucked inside Jeffries tubes, even once (embarrassingly) in the ready room. At this point, they were practically on the inventory list.

Bouncing lightly on her feet, Cressida waited for Elen’s needles to be tucked away before coming in and pulling her into a big, tight hug. “I got some amazing news, Elen! And after Alina you’re the one I wanted to tell next!” The squeeze continued. It did not relent.

Elen hugged her back, squealing at how tight it was. Cressida’s enthusiasm swept Elen up, sending her into a happy tailspin. “What is it? What is it?” she asked, practically bouncing with excitement. Then, softer, “Aw, I was the person you went to right after your wife? That’s so lovely. Love you too, bestie!”

“I got a promotion!” Cressida squealed. She cleared her throat, released her friend from the hug, and presented herself mock seriously. “You’re now looking at Dr. Cressida Vale, Chief Medical Officer and Second Officer.” Then her grin returned.

Elen let out a gasp so loud it could’ve triggered internal sensors. “No. Way. Shut up! Wait, don’t shut up! That’s amazing!” She bounced once on the balls of her feet, then threw her arms around Cressida again for a brief, happy squeeze. “Second Officer? That’s just, Cress, that’s huge! Like, one XO sneeze away from the bridge chair!”

She pulled back, grinning so hard her cheeks ached, her hands flitting between excited gestures and dramatically fanning her own face. “I mean, I knew you were brilliant, but—gah, you’re officially brilliant with rank stripes and everything! Do you get a different chair in sickbay now? One with lumbar support and a little plaque?”

She spun around, walking to the replicator, then stopped, turning to look at her. “This calls for proper tea, or cake, or at least replicator nachos. Actually, cake and nachos. Celebratory carbs! If you got time, if not, just tea! Sit, sit...tell me everything, tell me how it happened. Did someone faint dramatically and they needed leadership in the moment?” Her eyes were sparkling, thoughts spinning so fast it was a miracle she was still following the thread. But she was, and beaming with pride. “I’m so chuffed for you. Properly, madly proud.”

"Well, tonight, Alina's organizing something down at The Green Kiss to celebrate, so come along! Apps and drinks and loud music and a crowded sweaty dancefloor! And as for the chair and plaque, I don't think it comes with it but now I want one so we'll need to figure that out." Cressida shifted a bit in her seat. "But I'll also want your help. I'm tasked with familiarizing myself with all the parts of the ship I don't know, and I'm beginning with Engineering. This'll be led by (insert chief engineer name), but I'll want a study buddy and I can't think of anyone better."

“Study buddy for engineering and systems? Stars above, yes!” Elen bounced in place, grinning like she’d just scored a goal in some half-made-up game. “Okay, how deep d’you want to go with it? Like, full-on repair level, or more just how it works and what to do if you need to jettison the core or whatever?”

She paused, then laughed, properly laughed. “Holy shitballs, Cress, you’re actually the Second Officer. Does this mean I’ve got to salute you now? I mean, I know we don’t salute, but… you know… respect and that.”

Her smile wavered, just a touch. “Does that mean I’m not allowed to sneak you treats in sickbay anymore?”

There it was...just a flicker of worry, tucked behind the joke. That things might change now.

That last question made Cressida laugh. "Quite the opposite. I now order you to continue sneaking me treats in sickbay." Then she dropped her voice into a conspiratorial whisper. "But, ah, technically I outranked you already so I think you were always suppose to salute-but-not-salute." She winked at her best friend and then squealed. "I don't know yet about my curriculum for engineering studies. I guess it'll be the same that any non-engineer who becomes Captain would know. More than the basics, less than being a specialist. I'll let you know."

“I’ve got you covered...high level enough to follow what we’re on about, but not so technical it turns into white noise,” Elen said, nodding with the sort of confidence that came from knowing exactly what someone needed. Maybe not what Cressida wanted, but what she’d thank her for later. “Sort of like a level up from Introduction to Engineering and Warp Cores back at the Academy.”

She gave a quick grin, already buzzing with the possibilities. “And I am definitely going to help you. I used this brilliant holodeck programme at the Academy to get my head around it...it’s all scaled down, so you feel like a giant! Like stomping through a warp field diorama. It’s absurdly helpful. And fun. And possibly mildly educationally irresponsible. But still fun.”

"You are absolutely showing me that," Cressida said. "That sounds helpful and super fun. But not today. Today, we eat, drink and dance. Twenty-hundred hours, The Green Kiss, dress to impress because we. Are. Celebrating."

“Dress to impress? I’m there,” Elen said, already running through her wardrobe like a fast-forwarded montage in her head. "Magenta dress? Gorgeous, but maybe too ‘look at me’...and can I dance in that? Tight trousers and boots? Classic, but maybe a bit too practical for a celebrating party. Electric blue crochet top? Definitely fun, definitely me... though, last time you took me to The Green Kiss, I woke up hungover in the storeroom...like, full-on passed out behind boxes and whatever else they stash back there. Seriously, who does that? Me. So yeah, maybe this time I should aim for the dance floor or at least somewhere people can find me before I become an urban legend again.”

"Oh people stopped talking about that after only a week," Cressida joked, mock-waving the concern off. "Electric blue crochet top, those tight black trousers, and the good boots. The ones from three months ago that made people spread the rumor that you went home home with me and Alina that night."

Elen raised an eyebrow, her grin going full throttle. “Oh yeah, that rumour! Honestly, I was sort of flattered. I mean, they weren’t wrong about taste, just wildly optimistic about logistics.” She gestured vaguely, like gossip was just cosmic static. “But really, who wouldn’t want to go home with the hottest power couple on the Guinevere? I just had better boots and worse judgement.”

She twirled a bit on the spot like she was test-driving the imaginary outfit. “Good boots it is. Electric blue crochet top. Statement trousers I have to squeeze into. I’m going to wear it until it falls apart mid-dance move and someone has to replicate me a new one on the floor.”

Then she leaned forward, practically vibrating with pride. “But seriously! How excited are you? Like, on a scale from one to warp core breach? Because I’m at about a nine just being near your excitement and I didn’t even get promoted.”

“On that scale, I’m above warp core breach,” Cressida said, bouncing excitedly. “Supernova levels. Second Officer! Eeeeeee!”

Elen let out a delighted squeak and fanned her face again, mock-dramatic. “Supernova levels?! Right, we’re officially past containment failure. We’ve hit full-on gravitational-wave-of-joy levels now!”

She bounced on the balls of her feet, practically buzzing. “You’re not just Second Officer, you’re second-to-command-of-the-whole-flaming-ship. That’s like… one dramatic bridge walk away from full-on command presence! Please tell me you’re going to announce it in sickbay with dramatic lighting and some kind of slow-mo entrance. Or at least a badge that says ‘Still Got It’ in sparkly letters,” she added with a mischievous grin.

That made Cressida laugh. “I actually think Alina told a few of them already,” she said. “Revenge, I think, for embarrassing her in the science lab. It’s like an excited girl can’t kiss her wife and twirl her around in her workplace or something.” She laughed again, warmth and energy in her voice and lighting her eyes. “One of them kicked me out of sickbay because I was so excited I couldn’t focus.”

“Oh stars above, can you imagine? Like...‘Congratulations, Cressida, you’ve just dermal-regenerated someone into a skeleton’.” Elen pulled a face, hands flaring out like she was acting the whole catastrophe. “It’s all fun and games until someone’s eyebrows are gone and you have to explain to Medical why a patient now has negative skin.” She grinned, her whole body practically swaying with her words. “Honestly, I’m glad they kicked you out! You deserve a shift off to be completely, unapologetically celebratory and just... bounce around the ship in a cloud of glitter and ambition.”

She tilted her head with sudden curiosity. “So! Who else are you inviting to this glitter-drenched dance-fuelled event of the century? And is there a guest list? Do I need to put in an RSVP or just show up with cake and emergency glitter patches?”

"Just show up," Cressida answered. "Glitter patches welcome. You, me, Alina, a few other friends from across the ship, especially from Medical. Probably ten or twelve total, but probably not all at once."

“You know I’ll show up,” Elen said, meeting her eyes and holding them for a heartbeat longer than usual. Her voice was softer now, but steady: firm in a way that cut through all the sparkle and chaos. “Glitter patches, dodgy boots, probable hangover incoming... I’ll be there.”

A half-smile tugged at her mouth. “Because it’s you. And when it’s you, I always show up.”

Cressida pulled Elen into another tight hug. “I can always count on you,” she said softly. It was followed by something higher pitched. “EEEE! Second Officer!”

“Eee! Second Officer!” Elen squealed, laughing as she threw her arms around her again, heart leaping with joy: for her friend, for the milestone, and for the fact that they’d still be sharing the same ship.


———

Commander Cressida Vale, MD
Chief Medical Officer and Second Officer (!!!)
USS Guinevere

Lt. JG Elen Rell
Engineer
USS Guinevere

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