It's Not A Ship Without the Rookie
by Eleni

Ensign Kassidy "Kassi" Dandridge walked down the inclined pier to the new ship with a back-crippling duffle. Dumb luck, her first officer assignment on an actual submarine was on the seaHawk, part of the seaQuest class of subs. She was expecting to get on an older model sub, like the Orlando or the Merrimack. But, here she was, stepping into the future, oddly, with a ship so huge, she could only dream of it. Kassi rounded the corner and saw the massive submarine only partially submerged. She was taken aback by the sheer size of it, her breath caught in her throat. "Wow," she heard herself mutter. She realized the clasp to her necklace had turned all the way down to her cross. She picked up the cross, kissed it, and turned the clasp around to the back of her neck. Her mother always said, today is the first day of the rest of your life. With a deep inhale, she started down the ramp to the launch bay.