Reporting In (Or Not) (Part 1)

Posted on Sun Apr 21st, 2024 @ 6:40pm by Captain Rylan Gray & Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox & Chief Petty Officer Gildran Trusk

1,815 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Opening Moves
Location: Various
Timeline: MD022 - 1300

Lorut Vila was a busy lady. She was never idle-her need to outrun her demons caused her to be constantly on the move. If she wasn't actively working in the labs or her office, she was wandering the ship, getting her bearings, exercising, or working on her research projects. She also barely slept so she was hardly in her quarters, making finding the Bajoran an exercise in both patience and futility. She usually always had her COMMS badge on her, though, so if one needed her, she could be reached at the emergency channel.

Today, she was deep in the underbelly of the ships' hololibrary, digging through the archives to see what she could find out about a specific project she was working on. She was paging through pages and pages of holoreferences, pacing around the room as she did so, ignoring the rumbling in her stomach and the urge to use the bathroom. She didn't have time for stupid things like eating and peeing!

Simple task thought Trusk as the Captain had sent him off on an errand to locate the Chief Science Officer, retrieve her for him, and have her report to his Ready Room. It was too easy of a task for the Chief Yeoman. One that could have easily been handled by literally anyone including the Captain or First Officer. They could have used the communications system to open a channel to her quarters were she there, or used either of their communication badges to open a channel to her. Had they? No.

The one advantage of a quaint starship was that it was smaller, less decks meant less places one could be. He had consulted the ship's computer using the internal sensors and verified with the transmitting signal of the woman's dormant comm badge. She was presently in the hololibrary doing whatever it was that science officers did. Science thought Trusk as he stepped into a lift and scrunched his face. He was not a fan of science himself, but without it, they would not have a reason to explore. It were not as though the Federation was going to embrace the Klingon philosophy of imperialism.

He did tap his comm badge though, an attempt to hold her in place. "Chief Petty Officer Trusk to Lieutenant..." he paused for a moment. "Lorut Vila" he added stating both names. Which was her family name and which was her given name was a question he would figure out. He knew enough about Bajorans that they naming conventions placed the family name before the given, but the Federation namely Starfleet could bungle that up on service records and documentation.

"Lieutenant, please remain where you are. I am on official business from the Captain to see you" he stated confidently. "You are still in the hololibrary I presume?"

Vila was not in the hololibrary anymore. =/\=What does he want?=/\= She asked, a cool tone to her voice. =/\=I am headed back to the main lab. I have found what I needed.=/\= She kept moving, heading for the turbolift in the direction she'd come. She didn't WANT to see anyone. She just wanted to work. =/\=I know you have a job to do, Chief. I will meet you at the Captain's office on my way. =/\= She sighed deeply, but tapped off. She didn't blame the younger man for this. She had failed to check in, and it was on her. She wouldn't make his life miserable for her mistake.

For Trusk, this Bajoran woman was keeping him moving about. He had been tasked to do this by the Captain personally and he'd be damned if he was going to fail at the task. On your way thought Trusk. How was he going to accept her word on that?

He opened the comm channel once more and let put a very audible grumble. "Lieutenant, I was asked to personally bring you to the Captain. You may not require a chaperone, but you are getting my escort."

Trusk was beginning to understand the murmurs he had heard about Bajoran women. They were very independent if this science officer was anything to go by. He enjoyed the hunt. "You want to meet me somewhere? Then meet me on the bridge. Is that agreeable?"

=/\=FINE.=/\= She replied, her tone a bit cold. =/\=Meet me at the turbolift near the main lab. You have three minutes. =/\= She tapped off and made her way up the corridors and via Turbolifts to the Lab. She stepped inside, deposited her work PADD on the desk, grabbed her general PADD and headed for the Turbolift once more. These people weren't going to make this easy, were they?

Three minutes my Tellarite ass thought Trusk and he was not pleased with the close deadline, and insurmountable task given his location and not knowing the starship's layout as well as he had learned the Cairo's. Nevertheless, he was there on time standing at the turbolift with his arms crossed, a PaDD hanging from his right cloven hand.

"Lieutenant," he said addressing the woman. "Chief Petty Officer Trusk, Chief Yeoman. How delightful it is to make your acquaintance." The Tellarite was there to escort her to the Captain's Ready Room. How he managed to get to her in three minutes or less was a whole other matter. He was not breathing heavily, barely sweating, and just glowered in her direction. Trusk wore scowls like they were a timeless fashion accessory. They did go well with his uniform and facial features.

Vila's face was expressionless. "You found me," she remarked. "I am sure it isn't," she said. "And likewise. Let's go," she said, stepping forward, towards the direction of the turbolift to the Bridge. "Why can't the Captain come see me himself?" She grumbled.

Trusk scrunched his face and looked at the woman with disappointment. He was as offended for Captain Gray as he was for himself. "Because, Lieutenant, the Captain's place is on his bridge or in his Ready Room. It is not to cater to everyone else's beck and call or their whims" countered the Tellarite. "This a Federation starship, Lieutenant, not a scientific research center. Your laboratories and office are not the headquarters for the starship's operations."

As they stepped into the turbolift, Trusk attempted to hand over the PaDD he had carried with him. "Improper use of the transporter for a non-emergency site-to-site transport...blatant disregard to ship's official business, and neglectful use of communications channels" he said to her. "I was feeling generous this morning. So, I did not flag you for several dozen rules and regulations you've undoubtedly bent" he added with a smirk.

Vila shrugged. "Then he doesn't want to see me badly enough. He has a scheduled lunch hour, doesn't he?" She said. "Add that to your list," she said. "Computer. Stop please, at the earliest available stop," she said. "I don't have time for this right now. I am trying to break apart Tellerium," she said. She stepped out of the Turbolift. "But first, I have to use the restroom. I assume that's not against regulations, is it?" She said, slipping into the nearest marked refresher.

"Lieutenant, you have been in Starfleet for over a decade. Somehow long enough to make rank and ascend into the position of Chief Medical Officer" Trusk summarized. "You are not new to this. You are not new to any of it" he added.

Trusk shook his head. "Computer, hold" he said firmly. He stepped out of the lift momentarily to add "You may relieve yourself after you have spoken with the Captain. I would advise you not to delay this any further otherwise my recommendation would be to gather your belongings and prepare for a transport off the Thunderbird" explained Trusk. She of course ignored him. He simply was carrying out the instructions the Captain had given him.

Trusk waited for her though he did not like waiting, not for her.

Vila shrugged. "Actually, I have only been in Starfleet for over 8 years," she said. But yes, she knew the regulations. She just found them...limiting. "And MY recommendation would be to quit sassing a senior officer unless you want to be scrubbing my labs with a toothbrush, Chief PETTY OFFICER," she said, emphasizing the man's rank to make her point. "We're there." She stepped out of the Turbolift.

"Eight years? Are you sure? I have you down serving on the Starbase Falta II on 2359" stated Trusk.

Trusk's eyes fell upon her like daggers. "When you start behaving like a Senior Officer, you'll be treated as such. Right now?" Trusk scoffed. "My children have more respect for that uniform. I've chewed and spat out tougher food than you."

"Captain?" She called out. He wanted to see her? Then he could do so in the corridor. She, too, had things to do.

Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox had overheard enough to clear his throat and interject. "In his Ready Room, Lieutenant. Shall we?" He said gesturing towards the route to take to meet with Rylan. "He's expecting us both."

"Please," she said. "Thank you, Chief," she said, dismissing him with a nod of her head. "Well, that's good. He can't ream me out with someone else around. I failed to check in my first day," she said. "I've been busy."

Knox smiled stifling a chuckle. "Trusk is part Tellarite though I think he forgets he's not fully Tellarite. I don't think I offer much protection from the Chief Yeoman either," commented Knox.

"He's doing what he was tasked to do. The Captain sent him to find you and bring you to him. Once you task a Tellarite to do something, they are going to see it through." Knox brought her to the Ready Room and rang the chime.

"Enter," Rylan called out and used the moments between response and action on the part of the visitor to clear his workstation of classified material. The Thunderbird, it seemed, was being assigned to a particularly volatile region of space which meant a great deal of preparation on his part. To some degree, he wanted to understand something of the history of the worlds involved, their culture, as well as current events. And with the enormity of information at hand, he was beginning to think what he actually needed was a mission advisor.

Trusk had given the two space for a few moments but that was the only rest the lieutenant was getting from him. Chief Petty Officer Trusk advanced on Knox and Vila, giving a nod to Knox.

It would be Trusk entering first. "Lieutenant Commander Knox and the..." Trusk had wanted to say fugitive but held his tongue. "Her" he said with a grumble, stepping into the Ready Room and aside for the others.

 

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