Orienteering

Posted on Sun Jun 7th, 2026 @ 2:40pm by Bellamy Ghazi & Lieutenant JG Electra Drake

2,233 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Prologue
Location: School Room - USS Guinevere
Timeline: Before 'First Contact'

Bellamy Ghazi pushed some hair back that had fallen into their face as they sat in the classroom. They had removed the light jacket, put it over the back of their chair, not because the room was warmer than usual but because they had spent time re-arranging the classroom. Not the rows that had been there originally, but still orderly, done more by age groups. They let out a breath, the sleeves of their shirt rolled up to the elbow. It looked better...but not great. They moved to their desk, pushing it, changing the angle a bitter so that the board at the back was unobstructed by them should they be sitting down. Satisfied, they glanced at the time for the next pupil they'd meet.

The doors opened and Electra Drake led her young daughter in, holding her hand gently. She led her towards the teacher, feeling the slight reluctance at the slight pull on her arm. "Hi, this is Lucy Drake, we have a meeting?"

"Yes," Bellamy turned to face them, giving a small smile. "I'm Bellamy Ghazi. It's really nice to meet you two," they said and looked at Electra, and then Lucy.

Lucy looked up to her mother with a not convinced frown before looking directly at her new teacher, her jaw set stubbornly. "School is noisy."

Bellamy looked at her before they gave a small nod. "It can be," they agreed, tilting their head a little at that. "And I take it you don't like it...noisy. Or chaotic?"

"No, it hurts my head," Lucy replied honestly, but her familiar serious little frown was back on her features with it.

Lex met the teacher's eyes, watching with question as to whether they had read Lucy's file yet, but she suspected they had.

Bellamy met Lex's eyes, giving her a small nod before they looked at Lucy. "Well, I want to make sure that it is never too noisy here for you," they said and sat down. "Come and sit down, Lucy. Maybe we can talk about the things you like and how to make this...a place you like going to."

"Go on," Lex encouraged softly with a squeeze of the girl's hand at seeing the way her frown was threatening to turn into a pout. "I'll pick you up later."

"Hm..." Lucy hesitated a moment longer before finally moving over to sit with Bellamy, tucking her hands into her sleeves as she settled in the chair.

"I'll let you know when we're done," Bellamy said to Lex, smiling before they looked at Lucy, watching her. "Maybe I should tell you a little bit about me...and then you can tell me about you?"

"Okay," Lucy watched them intently...not their eyes...but their clothes, their hair, their hands...cataloguing this new teacher.

Bellamy nodded, smiling gently as they shifted. "So I'm Teacher Bellamy...I'm nonbinary, so...they and them. I grew up on starships. I...love reading. And history. My favourite subject to teach is ancient history and astronomy." They paused, remembering Lucy's file. She liked facts. "People are made of stars. Oxygen, carbon, iron...were created inside stars and spread across the galaxy after supernovae..."

Lucy's eyes lit up with the words and she started to melt a little. "Stars are....different colours...if they're hot or cold..." she offered a fact of her own in return.

Bellamy smiled, nodding as they watched her. "I forgot about that," they admitted, giving a nod. "What do you like, Lucy?"

"I am Lucy Drake...I'm just me...." the girl started down the same list Bellamy had, but got confused over the binary they and them. "Er...I grew up on ships too...and I love reading...my favourite subject is science and maps...and...iron goes rusty with air and water..."

Bellamy nodded, taking a deeper breath. "Maps are beautiful," they said, because it was the truth. The fact was nice too. Yes. They should see how it would work well for her. "Did you know in ancient times...they had paper maps in classrooms, to pull down when they were teaching about the planet?"

Lucy looked to them with wide eyes, taking in a deep breath which was pretty close to a gasp. "Can we have one?"

"I think we should," Bellamy said with a small smile, nodding. "What do you think...Federation space? Or the core planets on rotation?" They'd replicate it properly, paper maps to hang and pull down rather than on screens. It would give instant colour to the room as well.

"Federation space..." Lucy bit her lip with excitement, looking around as if to try and figure out the best spot for it. "There....there!"

Bellamy stood, nodding as they reached for their notebook and pen. They wrote down, by hand, 'Map of Federation space', then tore the paper out and put it on the wall. "There...placeholder, until I get it replicated."

Lucy settled with that, able to let it go now that it was labelled and named. "I don't like it when the other kids argue."

"Neither do I," Bellamy admitted and looked at her, before they nodded in agreement. "I will always try to...not have the others argue. But when they do, what helps you?"

"Going away," Lucy said bluntly, her legs swinging lightly all the same as she tucked her hands away.

Bellamy went to sit down, watching Lucy before they gave a small smile. "Ah...I'd like to see if we can find a way that keeps you here. Now...I will try and stop arguments, but it may take a few minutes. And during that time, I don't want you to wander away."

Lucy bit on her lower lip in thought, frowning as she watched her with uncertainty. "My...ears?"

Bellamy smiled reassuring, thinking. "What do you mean?" they asked, with gentle eyes. Because they knew Lucy had the answer...she just needed to tell.

"My ears..." the girl patted the ears in question, her nose wrinkling with it. "Not my real ears...my quiet ears...I put them on when it's loud..."

"That is a really good idea," Bellamy said with a nod. "We should keep some here. It'll...also be good for when you need some quiet when there isn't any arguments going on but you want to focus....or it just gets too loud with normal talking?"

"Am I 'llowed?" she asked with hope. A previous teacher hadn't let her, saying she had to 'stay in the room'. She could trace her mistrust in teachers to that precise moment.

"Yes," Bellamy said with a nod, giving her a reassuring smile as they watched the red-headed girl. "I'd rather have you put them on when you need then to get frustrated. But...I'd like for you to take them off if I am teaching at the front, okay?"

Lucy pursed her lips thoughtfully, titling her head as she watched her carefully...but she finally gave a nod. "Okay," she agreed.

"Thank you," Bellamy said softly, giving a nod back. "And I think we will have a lot of fun too. It is my hope anyway."

"You like to have fun?" the girl asked cautiously, finding it hard to believe from a teacher. They were always so serious. And full of rules. In a big pair of bossy boots.

Bellamy nodded with a warm smile, laughing softly. "Of course I do. I love reading. And art...I am not good at making it, but I like to try. I also play the clarinet...it's an Earth instrument. And...I like making lessons fun, at least now and then."

"Do you like the holodeck?" Lucy asked with a curious quirk of her head to the side. "It's like magic. Space science magic."

"I do...I like to be in nature there. Climbing..." they watched Lucy before leaning closer, not into her space but to lower their voice. "When I was your age, I really liked The Adventures of Flotter...even if it was a bit silly."

Lucy's eyes widened and she shook her head briskly from side to side. "You're so brave. That place is like a nightmare...."

Bellamy looked at her with a small smile, tilting their head. "Is it because it's...silly and doesn't make sense? Doesn't follow...reality rules?"

"It's because trees have faces and talk. And Flotter looks like a sea jello monster," Lucy replied quickly, completely serious and meaning every word as she met their eyes. "It's a very scary place."

"Alright," Bellamy accepted the argument, giving her a small smile. "What about you? What do you like to do on the holodeck?"

"Hm..." Lucy looked away thoughtfully, biting her lip as her legs kicked absently. "I like the beach. And the woods. And marshmallow castle land."

"Marshmallow castle land?" Bellamy smiled at that, because it was a glimpse into her imagination. "Is it fun? Does it bounce?"

"Yeah!" the girl brightened up at that, wriggling to the edge of her seat with a smile. "Everything's soft and bouncy and pretty colours...you can bounce on the bridge...on the walls...in the castle...."

"That sounds amazing!!" Bellamy said with awe, laughing as they gave a nod. "Maybe one day you could draw it for the room? I'm planning on us all to be able to put up art work here."

"Can I draw a map for the wall? I like drawing maps," Lucy blurted out, not even having to consider it.

"Yes," Bellamy didn't hesitate, giving a nod as they watched her. "I would really like that, if you wanted to do that, Lucy."

"Yes," Lucy gave a firm, decisive nod, her jaw setting with determination. "I can make it...bigger than ever before."

"Well...how about we start with normal paper size? But...now I know what project to give you," Bellamy said with a warm chuckle. "Now...it was really nice talking to you, Lucy. I look forward to having you as a student. Do you want me to walk you to your Mum?"

Lucy considered before nodding, pushing herself up to stand. "I went on a magical mystery tour when I walked by myself..."

"Did you?" Bellamy asked with interest as they took the PADD, to double check where Lucy's quarters were so they could walk her there.

"Yeah...but I found Jace," she gave them a shy smile, craning her neck to be able to look up at them. "He's a soldier. Doesn't like noise. Makes star maps on metal."

Bellamy gave a nod and a smile back. "It's good to find friends," they said softly, and this soldier sounded like Lucy's sort of friend. Maps and adverse to noise. "I used to explore the ships I lived on too. And...sometimes, I got lost in places I wasn't meant to be."

"Puter helps me sometimes," Lucy had to admit, tilting her head from side to side, as if she wasn't pleased to need help.

"Same," Bellamy admitted with a smile, looking at the girl for a moment. "It's okay you know...to ask for help now and then. We all do."

A frown settled on the girl's serious little features at that, and she pursed her lips doubtfully. "Don't like not doing things right."

"It's not about...not doing it right. Everyone needs help at some point," Bellamy said with a small smile, raising an eyebrow as they studied her. "How else can we learn? And...you must know how useful you feel when you help your Mum?"

"Hm...I do like helping," the girl conceded thoughtfully. "Getting stuck...it makes me cross..." she tapped her chest, where she felt it.

Bellamy nodded and led her to her quarters, before they crouched down to look at Lucy's face. Not meet her eyes, no soul searching. Just down on her level. "It's not a nice feeling," they agreed softly. "Want to know a secret? I get that feeling sometimes when I can't do something right. That...ball of anger right in the chest."

Lucy nodded, her frown deepening as she rubbed over her own chest, as if she could feel it. "Makes me want to scribble. So I count my numbers."

They gave a small nod as they watched her, noticing the frown deepening. "I think counting numbers is genius. I do this..." they took a deep breath through the nose, held it...and then slowly blew out through their mouth, but with their cheeks. And it did make a little noise, a funny noise.

A giggle escaped the girl at the noise, and she immediately gulped a deep breath in an attempt to copy her.

Bellamy nodded, smiling warmly at her doing it. "Just like that...and it helps me here..." they tapped their own chest. "Can't be too cross at myself when I make such a silly noise."

Lucy nodded with approval, able to see the logic behind such a clever plan. Maybe this teacher wouldn't be so bad afterall...

Bellamy winked and stood, moving to the door and ringing the chime. They looked down at her and smiled. "I am really looking forward to being your teacher. I think we will have a lot of fun, as well as learn a lot."

---

Lucy Drake
Civilian Child
USS Guinevere

Lieutenant JG Electra 'Lex' Drake
Counsellor
USS Guinevere

Bellamy Ghazi
Civilian Teacher
USS Guinevere

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