Executive Officer's Quarters - Deck 1

The Ensign smiled at Cmdr Sladek as he walked towards the doorway…

Ens Montoya: I guess we’ll start in Engineering first, Commander. Then work our way up from there and end on the Bridge, if that’s okay with you, Sir?

The Yeoman started through the door and down the corridor to the Turbolift and together with the XO, they went all the way down to the Engineering Pod between the Warp Nacelles. They exited together into the large Engineering area that was bigger than the Engine Rooms of the Sovereign and Nebula Class Starships. Gus saw the Chief Engineer at his console and brought Cmdr Sladek over to meet LtCmdr Meridius.

Ens Montoya: Lieutenant Commander Meridius, this is Commander Ulric T. Sladek, our new Executive Officer. Captain Bennet gave me permission to give the Commander a tour of Eureka since he’s never been on a California Class Starship before. So I thought it best that we start right here in Engineering.

Gus stood there smiling between the XO and the Chief Engineer, waiting on LtCmdr Meridius to welcome Cmdr Sladek to the heart of the Starship Eureka. When it came to getting the ship out of situations that required amazing feats of engineering prowess, this was the man that often saved the day for everyone aboard the California Class vessel.
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Ensign Gustavo R. Montoya
Yeoman, USS Eureka

Main Engineering - Deck 18

Maximus saw the large man with Nordic features enter Main Engineering with Yeoman Montoya beside him, literally towering over the boy. Since the Ensign was so kind to introduce the XO to the Chief Engineer, LtCmdr Meridius held out his hand to shake the Commander’s in order to welcome him to Eureka’s Engine Room.

Lt. Commander Meridius: Welcome to Engineering, Commander Sladek! I am Lieutenant Commander Maximus Decimus Meridius, I’m part of the officer exchange program between the Federation and what’s left of the citizens of the Romulan Republic. Chief Engineer of Eureka. As you may have noticed, the Engine Room of a California Class Starship is much larger than what you may have seen aboard Galaxy, Nebula and Sovereign Class vessels. This is due to the need for many secondary missions this class of Starship gets assigned. Most of which is required for setting up a power grid on a planet to assist with Second Contact missions. If you have any questions, Commander, please do not hesitate to ask. I’m all ears!

The Romulan Chief Engineer smiled at being the butt of his own joke regarding his pointed ears. Maximus knew virtually nothing about Commander Sladek so he expected the XO would fill him in on whatever the Executive Officer felt LtCmdr Meridius needed to know about him. The Chief Engineer did not get to see Ens Montoya that often, so when Maximus saw Gus, he was always happy to see the Yeoman.
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Lt. Commander Maximus D. Meridius
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Eureka

Ulric shook the hand of LtCmdr Meridius with a grin as he told the Chief Engineer a little about himself. What the Romulan Exchange Officer said about being ALL EARS was hilarious, but the Commander kept his composure as to not look too unprofessional.

Cmdr Sladek: Hello Mr. Meridius, I'm originally a Security/Tactical Officer by training. My questions would be beneath you since your brain power out does mine. I'm more of a psychical and diplomatic type. As you may have surmised, I'm from Norway, current Scandinavian games champion and former Security/Tactical Officer aboard the USS Sutherland before becoming Captain Bennet’s XO. I am looking forward to being part of the Eureka family. I hope you don’t mind me picking your brain with a question, what is the maximum Warp Core output of a California Class vessel?

The XO stood there waiting for LtCmdr Meridius to answer his inquiry regarding the Eureka’s Warp Core output, as Ulric looked around at the enormous Engineering area of the ship. From the outside of the vessel, it didn’t appear to have an Engine Room this large. But sure enough, it most certainly did.
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Commander Ulric T. Sladek
Executive Officer, USS Eureka

While grinning towards Cmdr Sladek, Maximus revealed the maximum amount of power the Warp Core could supply in a situation that called for it. The Lieutenant Commander didn’t feel this inquiry was beneath his brain power at all, especially since the Commander was not an Engineer.

Lt. Commander Meridius: At any given moment, our Warp Core can put out a maximum of five million TeraWatts of power, which is slightly more than a Galaxy Class. The maximum safe velocity of the California Class is Warp Eight. I could exceed this speed for short bursts, but at the risk of severe structural damage. So I wouldn’t recommend it, Commander Sladek.

The Chief Engineer was very happy to have visitors in the Engine Room! Maximus showed them around Main Engineering, paying special attention to the Warp Core which was the pride and joy of LtCmdr Meridius. After the tour was completed, the Lieutenant Commander arched his eyebrows to indicate that he was ready to answer any other questions the XO had for him.
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Lt. Commander Maximus D. Meridius
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Eureka

Ulric shook the Chief Engineer’s hand and stated he had no further questions for LtCmdr Meridius, before speaking to Ens Montoya.

Cmdr Sladek: Thank you, Mr. Meridius. You answered my only question. It looks like we’re done here, Mr. Montoya. Where will we be going next?

The Commander looked over at the Yeoman and wondered where the young Ensign would be bringing him next on his tour of the California Class Starship. Ulric was fascinated about the size compared to that of the USS Sutherland. There was a lot of punch packed into a small package. The XO was amazed about Eureka so far and pondered what other wonders it held. Ulric really looked forward to knowing more about what the weapons output was, since he was a former Security/Tactical Officer aboard a Nebula Class vessel.
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Commander Ulric T. Sladek
Executive Officer, USS Eureka

Gus looked up at Cmdr Sladek and figured that the XO had never seen a Cetacean Operations area before, since they were only on California and Galaxy Class vessels. With the Commander following behind him, they walked into the Turbolift together after waving goodbye to LtCmdr Meridius, and took the lift up to Deck 9 where Cetacean Ops was located. When they reached their destination, the two officers exited the Turbolift and went down the corridor to the entrance of their next stop.

Ens Montoya: This is our Cetacean Ops, Commander! This is where two beluga whales operate as our astral-navigators! They are extremely proficient at navigating in three dimensional terms. They have names and ranks too!

Tapping the call button on the side of the aquatic tank, Gus called the two whales over to greet Cmdr Sladek.

Ens Montoya: This is Ensign Montoya, calling Lieutenants Keiko and Tilikum! Come meet our new XO, Commander Sladek!

A few moments later, the heads of the two beluga whales surfaced above the water in the aquatic tank. Since both whales had built in translator units, it was easy for them to communicate verbally with anyone that wished to speak to the Lieutenants.

Lt. Keiko: Hello Gus! Is this the new Executive Officer we’ve heard about?

Lt. Tilikum: By the looks of the Commander, he appears to be Norwegian in origin.

Ens Montoya: Commander, this is Lieutenant Keiko on the right and Lieutenant Tilikum on the left. They operate our astral-navigation department. Only Galaxy and California Class Starships have a Cetacean Operations center so the whales can assist with all of our navigational needs.

The Yeoman thought it best for Cmdr Sladek to introduce himself and acknowledge his place of origin to Lt. Tilikum, that way they could bond over it. Gus was pretty sure the XO had never spoken to a whale before so this was going to be interesting, to say the least. Whenever the Ensign had some free time, he would come down to the Cetacean Ops and hang out with the Lieutenants. They all got along well and Ens Montoya really enjoyed being in their company.
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Ensign Gustavo R. Montoya
Yeoman, USS Eureka

Cetacean Operations - Deck 9

Ulric looked into the aquatic tank at the beluga whales and thought this was extremely fascinating!

Cmdr Sladek: Hello, Lieutenants! I'm Commander Ulric Sladek, the new XO of Eureka! It’s a pleasure to meet you both!

The Commander pat their heads right behind there blow holes, before continuing…

Cmdr Sladek: I'm from Norway, it’s a wonder you have here! Please tell me more about what is happening in this department! I'm intrigued by the use of whales! It is a wonder of Starfleet! Whoever trained you both must have been a genius! Please, Ensign! Show me more of the rest of the ship, if it is anything like this, it’s going be a pleasure working here!

The XO was completely in awe of the beluga whales and their abilities to astral-navigate! When Ulric had the time, he was planning on reading up on the Cetacean Ops areas that are used aboard Starfleet vessels. From what the Commander heard, they were only aboard California and Galaxy Class Starships, which had to be why he never knew of such a service. Had Ulric known about the use of whales in astral-navigation, he would’ve requested to serve aboard a California or Galaxy Class vessel years ago!
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Commander Ulric T. Sladek
Executive Officer, USS Eureka

Gus smiled as he looked over at the beluga whales in their tank, explaining what they do to Cmdr Sladek. Both Lt. Keiko and Lt. Tilikum spoke at different times but got their explanation across to the Commander, so the XO would understand why they were aboard Eureka.

Lt. Keiko: We assist Eureka’s navigational computer with the computations for creating the courses requested by the Flight Control Officer on the Bridge, Commander!

Lt. Tilikum: It’s because our brains can easily see space on a three dimensional plane, which is the same way it is in the oceans back home on Earth, Sir!

With the inquiry from Cmdr Sladek to the cetacean officers answered, it was time to continue their tour to the Squash Court in case the Commander was interested in playing a game sometime with someone. They said their goodbyes to the Lieutenants and moved down the same deck to the location where crew members challenged each other to a game of squash.

Ens Montoya: This is the Squash Court, Commander. Members of the crew challenge each other to games and even have tournaments here. Do you play, Sir?

Due to the Ensign’s size, he was too small to play with the adult members of the crew so he never participated in any of the events on the Squash Court. Gus was unaware if there was a facility like this on the Nebula Class Starship the Commander had come from. They probably played all their games on the Holodecks aboard large vessels like Sutherland. But since Eureka was a smaller class of ship, they used a Squash Court in order to keep the Holodecks available for another needs should they arise.
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Ensign Gustavo R. Montoya
Yeoman, USS Eureka

Squash Court - Deck 9

Thanking the Lieutenants for their time before the two of them left Cetacean Ops, the XO wondered where they were off to next. When they arrived at the Squash Courts, Ulric knew of squash as something to eat, but not as a sport too. Some of the Commander’s feats were hammer throwing and things like shotput. So, when the Yeoman asked if Cmdr Sladek played squashed, he answered the boy as honestly as possible.

Cmdr Sladek: Before this moment, I thought squash was just a food. Do you play squash in junior tournaments or practice with the other kids on board, Ensign? What kind of sports do you enjoy, and do you play them on the Holodeck?

The XO stood there watching the four crewmen playing squash and couldn’t imagine where this sport originated from. Perhaps the Yeoman knew since Gus seemed like an encyclopedia of information. Ulric wished the Star Cadet program was around when he was a child, he would’ve joined the program in a heartbeat and got a jumpstart on his career in Starfleet. That way the Commander most likely would’ve been a Captain by now with a Starship of his own.
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Commander Ulric T. Sladek
Executive Officer, USS Eureka

The Ensign was disappointed to tell the Commander about the apparent lack of children aboard Eureka since there were no families aboard and Gus being the only Star Cadet on the California Class Starship. Ens Montoya would love for there to be others on the ship that were within his age group, but he was sure to make friends once they docked at SB34. As for sports, there was only one that this young Mexican boy was good at, and often practiced on the Holodeck whenever he had some free time.

Ens Montoya: I’m the only child on Eureka since there are no families aboard as well as being the only member of the Star Cadet program. There are no junior tournaments, but I do practice playing soccer on the Holodeck when I have free time and it’s available, Sir.

The Yeoman heard there were Star Cadets on all the ships of Gamma Fleet, so Gus was looking forward to meeting them when they arrived at their home in the Gamma Quadrant. The Ensign even hoped there were a few soccer players among the other Star Cadets, so he would have somebody to practice with, or even play in a match with other children that live on SB34 with their families. Either way, Gus looked forward to their arrival at the Starbase, so he could mingle with all the children living there and get to make new friends.
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Ensign Gustavo R. Montoya
Yeoman, USS Eureka