Burnt Tongue, Bruised Ego

Posted on Mon Jun 5th, 2023 @ 12:51am by Ensign L'Nari & Warrant Officer Samual Johnson
Edited on on Mon Jun 5th, 2023 @ 1:34am

2,080 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 4 - Like a Thunderbolt
Location: Station Lounge

A good lounge made for a good assignment. L'Nari's flight instructor had told her that many, many times. Flying took up the largest bulk of a pilot's time and energy and, obviously, a reward was usually very much appreciated at the end of the day.

L'Nari knew nothing much about that, of course, but she did like to find out more about where she could go to relax after a long day, and so she'd found her way to the station's lounge to see just what the facility had to offer.

Suffice to say she wasn't disappointed. The lounge was large, spacious and had a lovely selection of drinks for her to pick from. L'Nari did like her drinks. She settled herself down in a comfortable lounge chair with a drink in hand, and sipped from it as she read over her assignments for the next day. Mundane stuff; perform preflight checks, ensure proper working condition of the shuttles' impulse engines, all the usual stuff she'd been trained to do as a pilot. No biggie.

Rook dropped his bag into an empty chair then sat heavily into another. His PaDD clattered to the tabletop while he sighed heavily and put his head in his hands. He checked his chrono before sighing once more. A notification was on his PaDD indicating he had a message from Jim. He dismissed the notification. He'd listen to the message later. When things were better.

In the meantime he picked up the menu hoping they'd have something appropriate. The drinks took up an entire side and completely dominated the available choices. He scowled. It was a lounge. They used replicators. How could - he sighed again. It was a lounge. On a station. But just another notch on the day.

The dull, heavy thump of his bag on an empty chair alerted the young Caitian; she turned her head to look at him, ears pricked up and listening attentively for danger. Such are the habits of Caitians. "Long day?" She guessed. People didn't just toss their bags down in frustration for no reason at all. This man was stressed about something; she could see it in his body language. "Did something go wrrrong on duty?"

"Ensign," Rook said, looking at the officer addressing him. "Did I disturb you? I'm sorry," he said as he finally spotted what he was looking for on the menu and inputted the order. "Wrong on duty?" he said with a scoff in his voice. "Can't have anything go wrong on duty when you don't exist."

Oof. Change 'go wrong' to 'go very wrong', it seemed. Whatever had happened to this poor man on duty, it had to be big. Her ears pinned flat to her head as she approached him and sat down next to him with her drink in paw without fear. If there was one thing she did that made her quite likeable it was her ability to listen patiently, or at least pretend to, when need be.

"I'm guessing it wasn't just a clerrrical errror... sirrr?" She tilted her head at him, tail flicking behind her and thumping on the floor. "Was yourrr name not on the rrroster orrr something?"

'Oh, no, ma'am," Rook said, looking over the Ensign joining him. She had the look of an Academy graduate then commission. Which means, well, fortunately for her she'd probably never understand. "it gets better. I'm on the roster and they see it. But in typical Starfleet bureaucracy I'm not scheduled to arrive to the station until sixteen hundred hours. Tomorrow. So, until then, I'm on my transport and nothing further will happen until then. I'll be able to check in, get my quarters assignment and be placed on the station's personnel roster so I can check in with my CO and get to work."

Rook sighed as he shook his head. "That I'm standing right in front of them doesn't count because the orders say I don't."

Not for the first time in her career with Starfleet L'Nari found herself incredulous. Sure, Starfleet had some incredibly nonsensical protocols and operating procedure, but this was ridiculous. "Mrrr. That's awful." She lamented with a purring sigh of disappointment. "Do you have anywherrre to stay the night? If not, I don't mind letting you stay in mine. As far as I can tell I don't have any rrroommates." It was only right, she reckoned. Poor guy, deprived of somewhere to sleep by idiotic Starfleet in-processing.

"My name is L'Nari. How about you?" She held out a paw for him to shake.

"Warrant Johnson," Rook said and surprised himself, "I'm usually called 'Rook'." He accepted the pitcher of kav brought by the server. He shrugged. "I've been this route before. I go to Ops and throw myself on the mercy of some overworked functionary who will, hopefully, find me some temporary quarters. Just means I can't get to work and I'm treated like a civvie." He gave a weak smile. "Happens to us enlisted quite a bit.

Enlisted? This man wasn't just any crewman. He was a senior enlisted member of the station's crew and deserved far more respect than he'd been receiving so far, she thought with a pang of anger in her chest. Just because he ranked below even the most junior of commissioned officers didn't mean that he got to be entirely at their mercy.

That being said, also because she technically outranked him, she knew what she could do to make this stubborn, cynical worker's life better.

"Well then, Rook." She smiled, mustering up the most commanding voice she could - which was kind of hard to do with the soft, sensual purr she normally spoke with. "In that case, as your superior officer, I order you to stop treating yourself like a workhorse that exists at the mercy of those who don't care for his value or to give him the respect he's due. Until tomorrow, when you can take care of all the necessary paperwork, you'll stay in my quarters for the night and leave that cynicism of yours outside when you do. There'll be no further discussion about this, is that clear?"

Imagine having to give her first command to a senior enlisted member of crew - someone who had years upon years, possibly even decades, of service on her, who had far more right to be throwing his rank around than she - but thank Starfleet for the technicalities in rank hierarchy, and for all the good things one could do with it.

"What?" Rook squelched on the single word. "Ensign...I...you..." his face was turning crimson as he subconsciously scooted slightly away from her. "You're...I...the night?"

He grabbed the pitcher and started to drink straight from it, ocmpletely forgetting kav is best served very hot. The liquid sputtered across the table as he tasted the superficial burn of his own tongue and mouth. He tried to swallow but found the lump in his throat was nearly impassable.

"I'm...sorry," he managed, his ears practically glowing as well. "You're...yeah...beautattractiful..." the word couldn't be more compressed than if it fell through an event horizon. 'But...regulations...fraternization...I..." His mouth still tasted burnt and the liquid sloshed inside the kav pitcher in his hands.

L'Nari acted swiftly, snatching the pitcher of strong alcohol out of his hands and putting it well out of his reach. Already her tail had begun to frizz with tension; if need be she would absolutely bop this guy and run while calling security if need be. Thankfully none of her male classmates, inebriated or not, had ever tried to get handsy with her (those she wasn't dating, anyway) but she wasn't about to take any chances today.

"To sleep, silly! And nothing else!" She hissed. "We've only just met! I don't take just anyone to bed! Come on, let's get you out of herrre-" She grabbed him by the elbow (his hands were probably a pretty bad place to put her paws right now, she reckoned) and began to drag him out of the bar, ordering a glass of water for him There wasn't a whole lot of strength in her little body, but she'd be damned if she didn't try to get him to sober up.

"Now come on. We need to get your head scrrrewed back on." She hissed. "I'm taking you to sickbay."

Rook did his best to pull away from her, especially as she seemed to be trying to lead him out of the lounge. But her last statement was the slap that helped clarify him. "Negative, Enthin," he said, scowling at the sound of it. "I don't need thickbay. I'm fine. Just..." he sighed. "I'm sorry." His face still glowed, however. "I'll just...it'll be fine."

So he was one of those people. The kind that didn't like going to sickbay because they asked too many questions or were extremely rude or hated hyposprays or anything other tiny conceivable reason. Or so she assumed. She'd met plenty of those as a cadet. Apparently that category also extended to senior enlisted personnel.

"Well, you do if you're going to be staying overrr - or to do any worrrk." She retorted firmly. She looped his arm over her shoulder and resumed dragging the man to the turbolift. "No buts. No furtherrr discussion. Clearrr?"

"No, Enthign, I'm fine," he continued to protest but it was a twig dam in the flood of her insistence. "My bag!" he said, understanding the rate of opportunstic crime on a space station was almost double the average of any other place. Especially in a station just opening. Plus, he thought as he ducked from under her arm and went back for it, it was a good chance to escape the insistence of what was beginning to strike him as a recent graduate.

Oh, for- L'Nari let out a trilling sigh of frustration and padded after him as he retrieved his bag. She should've grabbed it for him, really, it was only right, but she'd been in a bit of a rush and all. "You'll be properrrly fine when we've soberrred you up a bit. Now. Off to sickbay we go!" She insisted.

Rook slung the bag's strap over his shoulder, annoyed to find her dogging him like...well...like a brig officer moving an unruly inmate. But..."Shober up?" he asked. "Enthign, I don't conshume alcohol or intoxicanth. I'm not drunk. You think I need to go to Medical becausthe I'm drunk?"

"You mean you'rrre not? Why are you talking like that, then?" The Caitian seemed very, very confused indeed, tilting her head and fixing him with a quizzical blue-eyed stare. Humans usually spoke much more clearly than he now was - heck, wasn't he talking normally just a few minutes ago before downing half a pitcher of cold kav? Could it be a side effect? She'd never tasted any, of course, but something felt off to her. Definitely off.

"Becaushe the kav wath hot and hath burnt my tongue. Momentarily, I'm already feeling better about it. No need to bother even a nurthe with it." He straightened. "Thank you for your conthern though," he said. He made a show of checking his chrono. "I've got to go thee about temporary quarterth."

Wait a minute. That kav was boiling hot? Why'd he chugged it like he didn't care, then!? The inside of L'Nari's ears flushed deep pink upon realizing her gaffe, and she instantly took a half step back from him. Oops! "Oh. Oh! I'm so sorrry, I-" She wrung her paws together, and her tail wrapped round her leg in a sort of sad corkscrew. "Oh god. I won't stop you then, just- don't do the whole thing about thrrrowing yourrrself at some overworked people, alrrright? And um. My quarrrters are still open if you don't find any! I'll send you the details via PADD."

Rook frowned as he took several moments to think. "Then you weren't..." he muttered. Finally, he let out a sigh. "I think we both made thome atthumptionsh. Thank you for the offer, and if neshethary I'll contact you. But I'll check with Opth firsht."

"Of courrrse. See you arrround, Rrrook." She smiled a sharp-toothed feline smile at him and padded out of the bar with her tail flicking behind her.

 

RSS Feed