Necessary Evils

Posted on Thu Dec 13th, 2018 @ 4:12pm by Captain Horatio Refelian

1,552 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 2: Into The Breach
Location: Captain’s Lounge, Command Hub
Timeline: MD04 - 0830 Hours

She'd never worked on a base before; been processed through and fought bureaucracy on more than one, but to actually work somewhere with natural atmosphere and no artificial gravity? Nice but strange at the same time; it hadn't taken long to know every millimeter of the Kitsunoke. Know and love. She'd liked having a job where her skills made a serious difference and hoped she wasn't in for a weeks and months of replicator repairs and personnel droning on about their sonic shower settings. She took a moment, just outside the door to the Captain's office, to marshal her thoughts (Not a Ready Room. Not a Ready Room ...) then pressed the chime and waited for a response. There had been that one Captain who liked to whisper just to frustrate potential visitors mostly because he enjoyed forcing the door to open and catching them with their ear pressed up against the door. Luckily not her Captain. She waited a moment, standing on one foot, with the other hooked around her calf, poised between what had been and what will be.

“Come in.” Said Refelian, who was sat on the sofa in his lounge reading the daily report from Starfleet.

She was for the most part equal measures of curiosity and brains barely contained in a not very impressive, petite package overlaid by natural shyness and the kind of caution that comes from living on a pleasure planet flooded by tourists intent on having a good time generally at the expense of culture and all too often, law. Though none of that was readily apparent as she entered the Captain's (not the Ready Room) office. At 5'4" and blessed with a fast metabolism that prevented weight gain, she was slender with long blonde hair that literally defied attempts at curling and intelligent blue-gray eyes that saw a whole lot more than she generally let on.

"Lieutenant Barden," she said in accented Federation Standard, "reporting as ordered, Sir."

Refelian looked the Lieutenant up and down before a broad grin crossed his face. “Ah, yes. The new Assistant Chief Engineer.” He said as he rose to his feet and offered the Lieutenant his hand to shake. “Captain Harry Refelian, a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant Barden.”

"Pleasure is mine, Sir," Rune said as she returned the handshake. Life on a pleasure planet had taught her a lot about how greetings from the many species who showed up. For humans, it was generally a handshake (firm not crushing) accompanied by meeting the other person's gaze (for a moment, not a staring contest). Easy enough to learn harder to implement but there had been 'teachers' among her friends who'd helped her get it right. Bending to the tourists was a Risan art form or so one of her uncles had once remarked over a glass of home brew.

The Captain pointed to the free chairs opposite him, “Please, take a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?” He asked as he made his way over to the replicator.

"Vulcan Yellow Leaf tea," she said at once as she hesitated in front of the seat. Best, she thought, to show him who I really am. See how its going to be. And so, she sat as she habitually did with one leg tucked up beneath her and the other crossed at the knee. "And maybe a cookie or two?" She was watching him with a look that was an odd cross between hopeful and hungry.

“An interesting choice.” Refelian said before ordering the drink at the replicator. As the drink materlised the unusual aroma hit his nostrils. Also hearing the request for cookies the Captain ordered a plate full of cookies. He picked both the drink and plate of cookies up and walked back over to where they were sitting. He gave the drink to the engineer before placing the plate of the small coffee table. “So, what made you choose an assignment like Faltan Station? Looking for a different challenge from Starship Engineering?” Refelian asked as he took his seat again.

She savored the aroma on a drawn in breath, subtle spicing and one of the more flavorful things in Vulcan cuisine, at least in her opinion, and then followed up with a cautious sip. "Excellent," she said softly and then, startling slightly, having been distracted by tea and cookies, she set the cup down and turned her attention to the Captain. "More like Starfleet thought so," she said as, her resolve to focus having already been forgotten, she leaned forward to snag a cookie from the plate. "I've been on the Kitsunoke for the past six years and when it came time to reassignment, Starfleet thought my experience needed some rounding out ... and ... here I am."

“I read that you were on Kitsunoke for a good few years. Working your way up to assistant Chief Engineer. That’s no small feat.” Refelian said as he crossed his legs. “I’m sure there will be plenty here for you to keep busy. Although we’ve just got the station operational there is also an engineering facility on Luna. Once we get that up and running we’ll be doing starship repairs and refits, which I’m sure Providence Fleet Yards will be glad about as we can ease their load.”

Caught in mid-bite, she paused and considered what he said then resumed chewing as she shrugged. "Was it? Not so much for that part of things. The work is what matters. I knew my job. Keep the ship running so it could take care of the crew and do its part in helping the mission succeed. If people noticed, it wasn't because of anything I said. As for Faltan Station, I'm happy to do my part here ... once I understand what you expect from me. What matters here."

“The same as a starship really, keep things going, but on a larger scale. You don’t need to worry about maintenance as Operations has that covered. You’ll probably be heavily involved with helping Commander Tendai run the department as you can imagine she has a very large team to manage which will get bigger with Luna being operational. What you’ll be doing day to day will be for you to discuss with the Commander.” He said with smile. “If there is a specific field you wish to concentrate on I’m sure we can accommodate you.”

"My specialty lies in computers, algorithms and programming, and holotechnology," Rune said as she reached for a second cookie, stopped took a long sip of tea, and then snagged the cookie. She settled back in the seat, tea in one hand, cookie in the other. "Though of course I'll do whatever's needed. I'm used to working under pressure."

“Well it sounds like we’ll be keeping you busy, especially in those areas.” The Captain replied in a cheerful manner. “There won’t be any pressure from me or Commander Tendai but understand the pressures of the job.” He said before a short pause. “Have you managed to find your quarters yet?”

"No sir," Rune said. "Came straight here. Figured I would get in-processing done first."

“I don’t blame you. At least once you’ve done all this, you can go and find and sort your quarters out.” Refelian said. “Just to let you know Commander Tendai is on the Minotaur answering a distress call at the moment. So you’ll have to speak to her when she gets back.”

Having finished her (second) cookie, she turned her attention to the tea, savoring the flavor as she listened to the Captain. "Yes, I understood there would be times when I'd be required to travel with a ship. I like the chance to learn new things .. to .. umm ... see new things. New technology. For the moment, I'll concentrate on getting up to speed with what's going on around here. Is it generally quiet here?"

Captain Refelian wasn’t sure how to answer that particular question. He let it hang for a moment or two before answering. “Quiet? I’ve had quieter assignments, but I’m hopeful the Station will simmer down now that the opening ceremony has been completed and the VIP’s and foreign dignitaries are finally on there way again.”

Rune listened as she finished her tea and set the cup back on the low table between them. She was interested in finding out what 'simmering down' meant and a wealth of other things, truth be told, but she understood that this was neither the time nor the place. "I see," she said and then added, with a impish smile, "well, maybe I don't but I'm sure I will before long."

Refelian chuckled, “I’m sure you’ll see what I mean once you settled in.” He said before taking another sip of his drink. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll let you carry on exploring your new posting.”

"Thank you, Sir ... I mean ... no, Sir ... nothing else." She stood, fluid movement though spoke of boundless energy. And with that, she was gone, eager to find her new home, to explore the base, and to let Edison out of his cage before he started dismantling it on his own.

 

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