It's Not A Ship Without A Piccolo
by Maureen and Eleni

Azra Piccolo pulled her lunch box out of the back of the cab and went around to the trunk to pull out her two duffel bags. Her navy blue one, slug over her shoulder, was the official naval bag, holding her uniforms and any equipment she was issued with her orders. Her second bag was a smaller neon purple bag she held in her hand. It contained her personal clothes and posessions. The small metal lunch box held personal items as well, random doo-dads she had aquired and would put up to personalize her bunk.

She showed her ID to the security person at the dock before heading inside the huge ship to check in officially. She headed towards the shortest of the check-in lines and quickly discovered it was also the slowest. Sighing she dropped her purple bag and looked around in awe.

Although she had been on a submarine before, previously on the Hamlet, a much smaller ship, the sheer size of this one astounded her.

"Wow," she breathed. "This is amazing..."

A tall, blonde young woman was standing behind her, with a large duffle, a small tote, and a stuffed backpack. She turned to look at her. "Excuse me," she said, softly. "I think I know you."

"I'm Seaman Azra Piccolo," she said by way of introduction, gesturing vaguely to the patch on her shirt with her last name on it. She kicked her bag forwards as the line moved, she was now only third from the front.