Crewman Hewitt
Posted on Wed Mar 11th, 2026 @ 2:24am by Commander Rhupert Tyree
770 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Operation Kakori
Location: Captains Quarters, USS Valiant
Timeline: After Back Aboard the Valiant
Rhu schlepped into his cabin aboard the Valiant and sighed.
He was home. Or as close to one as he had these days.
At his arrival, the computer activated his personal settings, with the light resetting to something akin to the sun nearing sunset near the shrine of the Three Rings on Betezoid. He’d kept quarters in one the Searchers cells there for nearly four years and his quarters aboard the Valiant reminded him of those.
His chrono told him he had six hours before he was due back on the bridge. With the bulk of the command staff gone, he and Harriet were running back to back bridge watches. Scrubbing at his eyes, Rhu covered a yawn and began to change. He slipped into loose fitting, sleep ware and sat on his bunk, deciding to meditate before sleep.
After about thirty minutes, the annunciator chimed and he opened his eyes. His mind was’t much calmer. It was too busy. “Enter,” he said as he moved to stand.
Crewman second class, Micah Hewitt bustled in with a tray and Rhu had to smile. The ratings enthusiasm radiated off of him as he stepped to Rhu’s multi-use table and desk and sat it down.
“Brought you some dinner, Captain,” Micah beamed. “Chef put together a Falafel gyro with salad and pickled turnips for you tonight, since you evaded the galley. The glass on the tray has that iced mountain you prefer. And there’s plenty, if you like seconds just ring.”
The man’s enthusiasm was contagious and Rhu smiled, “Thank you Micah. I appreciate you looking after me. Pity you’ll be leaving us at Earth.” Rhu moved to sit in front of the tray and took in the food, which he had to admit, looked amazing.
“Sir?” Micah heard his voice pitch higher and he couldn’t help the confused look on his face. “I…”
Rhu held up his hand and said, “It came through while I was gone. You’ve been promoted to Crewman first and your request for a slot to Culinary school came through. Congratulations.”
Micah’s pale skin went red and he stammered slightly before getting a handle on himself. “I…thank you Captain. That means I have to leave Valiant though?”
“Yup,” Rhu said, picking up his fork and taking a bite of the salad. It had been lightly dressed in a spiced Tahini and was excellent. “That’s the nature of the service. We’re going to miss you around here, Yeoman.”
“Thank you sir. But I thought..well I don’t have that much time in grade and it’s a small school…”
“You do good work and I called in a favor. Not much of a favor, really but a slot opened up so you have it. Do us proud, yeah?”
Beaming again, Micah couldn’t believe what the Captain was telling him and he fought down the urge to sing out. And his head was spinning. “I…yes sir. I will!” Shyly then, nearly toeing the carpet with his shoe, he asked, “Any chance I could come back after the school, sir?”
Rhu chewed his bite and put his fork back down. “Maybe. Look at your options, Micah. Fleets a big entity and there are a lot of berths for Culinary experts with experience.”
“And Valiant goes so many interesting places sir. Not to mention the security ratings…”, Micah argued, feeling his stubbornness kicking in.
“Just saying,” Rhu said. “I appreciate you like it here but see what’s on offer once you graduate and we’ll see. Valiant’s a working ship as well and Bu’Pers might fill the billet, even if there are hoops attached. Best I can promise. Like I said, you do good work and I’d take you back.”
“Thank you sir,” Micah enthused, “You just go ahead and eat your food while it’s hot. I’ll collect that tray after you go back on shift or you can just recycle it, if you like.” The young man stopped, realizing he was prattling on and the Captain’s food was getting cold. “By your leave, Captain?”
“By all means and thank you again for this. And the hard work. Make us proud, Micah.” Rhu said as he watched the Yeoman exit, then turned back to his meal.
His time aboard the Adelaide was and had been necessary. He was behind on so many things. First he began pulling up news feeds. Reports and the rest could wait.
END
A solo post by
Rupert Tyree
Master and Commander
USS Valiant
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