When your CO has seen you grow up
Posted on Tue Sep 22nd, 2026 @ 1:45am by Lieutenant JG Jessica Bluegarden & Vice-Admiral J.T Carlson
694 words; about a 3 minute read
Mission:
1x01 - Homecoming
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: Prior to end of Ark Royal 1x04
J.T had several meeetings, met with the Engineer and Science officer and that was all before lunch. He still had several stacks of PADDs with status reports and diplomatic cables for Sector 813. He was also trying to do it all on a working lunch of salad with mixed greens, various cheeses and bacon bits with a rroquefort dressing. He was taking another bite when the chime to his ready room sounded.
He looked up as he called up "Come in!"
The doors parted and in stepped a young blonde woman in an Operations uniform. Her rank pips displayed that she held the rank of Lieutenant JG.
"Lieutenant Junior Grade Jessica Bluegarden, reporting for duty as ordered, sir." Jessica stated her business.
J,T hadn't seen Jessica for some time. She grown up some from the last time he saw her and now she was a new commissioned officer in her own right.
"Jessica" He greeted warmly as he wiped his mouth, got up and came around the desk.
"It's good to see you again." He beamed.
"Just to be clear, sir:" Jessica maintained her professional tone. "If you've got me here expecting my mama, now's the time to sign off on transfer orders. It was hard enough for her to convince me to take this posting, as she knows how I feel about being 'known'."
"If I had wanted your mother, I'd would have transferred her from The Sullivans and appointed her Captain of Security. Though I doubt she would have come." J.T humorously retorted.
"Now give me a hug, that's an order"
"Okay...?" Jessica said uncertainly as she moved in to hug J.T.
Jessica had heard stories from both her parents about J.T. when they had been stationed together in Sector 813. In her younger years, she had genuinely believed them, but as she grew older, a cynical voice had developed that made her question their authenticity and believe that her parents were embellishing the details.
J.T gave her a small hug before letting go of the hug.
“I’m very glad you’re here. You file says you have a remarkable gift for starship piloting and I wanted the best. I hope that being able to pilot an Excelsior Class fresh out of the line won’t get to your head.” He said with a smile as he gestures to a chair in front of his desk.
"Well, you're lucky my mama commands an Excelsior-class ship." Jessica said with a smirk. "And she's let me have some practice on it to understand how they maneuver."
"Then you got the homefield advantage." J.T said as he sat at his desk.
"I can tell you, we'll be making a stop to Sector 262 to meet with the Ark Royal before we head back to Earth. Just a small road trip to shake her down."
"Ark Royal?" Jessica asked curiously when the name of her temporary assignment had been brought up. "I wonder if that Korean boy is still aboard. Jin-oo or something like that?"
“Captain Zuburg and I will be debriefing Captain T’Kal before we return to Spacedock. I do want our navigation systems and control checked and double checked.”
"Yes, sir." Jessica nodded. "Though... Will we be running through any training exercises with Ark Royal as well?"
"Not this time. It'll be a meeting lasting no more than an hour and a cargo transfer." J.T spoke.
"Understood." Jessica nodded. "Is there anything else that needs to be brought to my attention?"
"Not at the moment. I do want you to familiarize yourself with the sector charts. But I'm sure you will perform your duties well." J.T softly smiled.
"And I will... But I should probably get my physical with Dr. Zuberg out of the way first." Jessica admitted. "Wouldn't want me to go through the effort to prepare for this assignment without a clean bill of health, right?"
"Then Thank You, Ms. Bluegarden. You're dismissed." J.T gave her a smile as he dismissed her.
Posting by
Vice Admiral J.T. Carlson
Commanding Officer
USS Tigerfish-A
Lieutenant JG Jessica Bluegarden
Chief Navigator
USS Tigerfish-A
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