Vesta's the Best - Part II

Posted on Thu Sep 25th, 2025 @ 3:51am by Lieutenant Commander Rafael Montoya & Lieutenant Rynna Csira

1,483 words; about a 7 minute read

[PREVIOUSLY]

"That's a surprise. But first we need to get to the shuttle bay so we can get there on time. Afterwards we'll come back and get something to eat on the Promenade."

Xavier was all smiles and Sam was bouncing with excitement and grabbed Rynna's hand, "Let's go!"

"Okay." Rynn smiled at Sam, delighted by his enthusiasm. "Remember, you'll both have to be on your best behavior. So, no running off. We have some checkpoints to clear and I'd hate to lose you."

[CONTINUED]

Rynna and Sam led the way through the station to the shuttle bay, pausing long enough for the four of them to be checked through. "Do you have a favorite place to sit on a shuttle?"

Looking up wide-eyed, "Can I sit up front?!"

Raf was walking behind with Xavier, smiling as he watched the pair interact.

"That will depend on the pilot. They don't usually let people sit beside them unless they're helping. But," she looked down at Sam and smiled. "If not, I think we can get you a seat where you can watch the pilot and see everything he does. Would that be okay?"

Sam was all smiles and began jumping at the chance. "Okay."

Raf was grinning and shaking his head.

It wasn't long before they all made it to the massive shuttle bay and after checking in with the dock master they made their way to their assigned shuttle. It wasn't the regular type 9 shuttle but a Flyer.

Xavier had taken possession of the holo-imager earlier and had been clicking away but once in the bay he got distracted and fell behind.

Raf had stopped and turned to see him taking images of various shuttles as they took off or landed in the bay, "Xavier!"

Turning to see his uncle thumbing at the Flyer while Rynna was taking Sam on a tour of the outside. "OH yeahhh!"

Rynna could answer most of Sam's questions. She didn't have all the specs memorized, but she did know the basics. "I'll see if I can get a copy of the specs for you later. But wait until we're done with the tour so you can tell me which ship is your favorite."

When Xavier joined them, she had to repeat a few things, but she didn't mind. She loved their enthusiasm.

The door to the Flyer opened and the pilot stepped out. "Lieutenant Csira?" he asked, looking between Rynn and Raf.

"That's me. We're all set."

"Great." He smiled at the two boys. "You're welcome to look, but don't touch."

Raf clapped and rubbed his hands together before gesturing towards the entrance. "You heard him...Let's go."

Both boys took off like a shot to get a look at the inside of the craft that most civilians only knew from holograms. Raf smiled at Rynna and followed her into the Flyer.

Rynna smiled back before turning and boarding the shuttle. She was tickled by the boys' reaction so far--and by the uncle's.

Once inside the boys were herded out of the cockpit and both were arguing about who got to sit next to the pilot. Pulling Sam to the back Raf took a knee, "Let's let Xavier sit up front first and you can sit up front on the way back." Sam was about to fuss but Raf brought a finger up as he cocked his head..."Tell ya what...you can sit with me at the tactical station." His little head nodded and Raf took his seat as he glanced to Rynna.

She flashed Sam a smile. "I'll sit back here and make sure nothing breaks." She winked at the pilot to let him know she wasn't serious. This trip was for the boys and she wanted to ensure they had the best views. And Raf's suggestion to have Sam help him at tactical was brilliant.

As the pilot went through the rest of the launch prep he walked Xavier not only through the controls but explained the how and why things were done. It wasn't long and they left the bay and flew through the heavy traffic of Starships, not just those of Starfleet but ships, transports and shuttles of every type.

Once clear of the traffic they were joined in the traffic to Mars, eventually diverting with that official traffic to Utopia Planitia. Docking frame dotted the area with starships being repaired, refit, or in the final stages of being equipped prior to departing.

The pilot, to his credit took them on a tour of the area before they approached the lower dome were the really important construction was done. As they approached they were hailed by the Station. =^= Shuttle Tempest. Transmit clearance authorization. =^=

"Transmitting."

=^= Clearance confirmed for VIP tour. Disable all but navigational sensors before for proceeding. =^=

Raf looked back to Rynna with a smile, mouthing. "VIP tour?"

She just shrugged. It looked like Mike had pulled some strings for the kids. Or someone who knew Raf had. Either way, Rynna knew the boys would be thrilled. She had only been to Utopia Planitia a couple of times and was curious to see what had changed.

Their flyer circled the main pylon and into an area were starship were under active construction. They fell in behind a worker bee hauling several containers and as it pulled away Xavier jumped to his feet. There before them was the half complete hull of the elongated saucer section of one of the most advanced ship in the fleet. "THAT'S A VESTA CLASS SHIP!"

Their pilot turned his head, smiling. "You know your ships. That is the USS Valkyrie. Scheduled for launch in 2400." Dropping down vertically so they could get a view of underneath the saucer as well as the front of the engineering section. As they cleared the edge of the saucer they could see the main deflector being brought into place.

Sam had jumped down and was standing on the jump seat behind his brother.

Raf was grinning as he watched his nephew stare in awe as the ship was being put together piece by piece.

Rynn looked at Raf and the two kids, grinning as well. She was almost as excited as they were. "Is there anything in particular you want to see?" she asked the boys. "There's no guarantee the pilot will have clearance for it, but you can always ask."

They both shouted, "CAN WE GO ON THE BRIDGE!"

"The hull hasn't been pressurized yet," Rynna said. "See? a lot of it is still open to space. Because of that, there's no atmosphere on the ship and so none on the bridge. But maybe we can fly close enough for you to look inside. Would that be an acceptable substitute?" They might be able to get into the museum after if it wasn't enough.

Their disappointment was obvious but Xavier's came from understanding is the ship hadn't been pressurized yet it meant that only basic structure work was being done and none of the systems that made the Vesta class special had been installed. "That's ok...I understand. It's still cool just watching everything."

"The ship has at least another year of work before it'll be ready to launch. There's always a chance we can come back later. Or find another ship you can look at," Rynna assured him. "And there aren't many people who can say they've watched a starship being put together."

She turned to the pilot. "Can you get us in closer so the boys can have a look at the interior from here?"

As they neared the end of the secondary hull. "I can do better than that." Their shuttle turned slowly to port flying under the nearest nacelle and over the aft section that was the exterior landing pad of the Vesta Class. As they did the came to a stop and the shuttle rotated giving them a view of the ship’s shuttle/hanger bay.

The deck plating was already in place but the wall separating the bay from the rest of the ship had been left open allowing a unique view.

Even Raf had moved slightly to get a better view and when they thought they were about to move on...they moved in.

Rynn grinned. "You're right. This is definitely better. Thanks." She pulled out her PADD to take images of the kids watching as they went in. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The pilot slowly navigated through the ship and out the other side. Then he did a loop over the hull.

Raf was smirking, but the boys were ecstatic. "You're not going get in trouble for that little maneuver are you?"

"Probably. But hey, it's a VIP tour, right? what better way to end it?"

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Rynna Csira
Chief Operations Officer
USS Orcrist

Lieutenant Commander Rafael Montoya
CMO

Xavier & Sam Larson
Raf's Nephews
Played by Montoya

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