Won't Steal Your Thunder
Posted on Sun Mar 24th, 2024 @ 8:24pm by Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox
Edited on on Tue Mar 26th, 2024 @ 7:26pm
1,631 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Opening Moves
Location: Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD0020 - 1430
Daegan had barely dropped his things in his new quarters when the computer let him know he had a message. Speaking to the empty room, "The XO is on the ball isn't he? Well nothing like getting straight to it." Dropping his bag next to the crate of effects that had been beamed to his room, he grabbed his padd and headed to the ship's observation lounge.
Stepping out onto the bridge, he immediately looked out upon the center seat. Unlike most, the lifts here were at the front of the bridge. For years, ship designers had ignored a centuries old tactical concept, Never sit with you back to the door. Whether they would continue this, remained to be seen.
The Captain was elsewhere and he knew the XO was in the observation lounge waiting but he took a moment to walk up to the tactical stations. He ran his hand over the edge of the console; he grinned at the view and glanced down at the officer currently occupying the captain's chair. One day, he thought to himself. Moving to his right, he passed the secondary tactical station and headed off to meet the XO.
Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox was already hitting the ground running in his very new capacity as First Officer, Rylan Gray's right hand man. Before this, Harrison Knox knew the 'simplicity' of being Security Chief and Chief Tactical Officer aboard the USS Ark Royal. As many dedicated offices that were on the deck listing for the starship, the designers clearly did not care to give the First Officer one. That however did not prevent the resourceful Knox from making it work with what he did have, an observation lounge. It was there that he had requested Lieutenant Daegan Baas to meet with him. Running slightly behind schedule, which was a mild irritation to Knox, he entered to find the man looking out, taking in an enchanting view.
Knox cleared his throat. "No matter where we go, there's never quite a sight like these ol' fleet yards" he said tip-toeing into casual conversation. Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox stood beside a replicator. "Beverage?" he asked the man who he could see had the distinctly identifiable markings of a Trill around his temple and dancing along his neck.
A Trill thought Harrison. That made no difference to Knox. He could have queued up the man's personnel file. It would have been advantageous to do so, but Knox had a different approach. He wanted to go into this blindly. Baas already had the job, the position was his. What Knox was fixing to find out was what kind of man Daegan was.
Daegan was now in the lounge about to have a drink and the 'getta know ya talk' with the Exec. From the vibe he was getting, he was half tempted to ask for bloodwine but decided to hold off on the humor until actually getting to know his superior officer. "Thank you, yes, Terran sweet tea will be fine, Sir."
Harrison was intrigued by the beverage of preference at least in this case. "Two sweet teas from earth, cold," the First Officer said leaning closer to the replicator which prompted the device to produce a noise best described as perplexed. It then began to rattle off about there being over two dozen sweet teas from Earth and began to list them. Knox sighed and looked at Daegan. "You ask for sweet tea and you get a sermon on it," he said with a smirk.
"Computer, two sweet teas, iced. Knox sweet tea number nine." He gave a more precise order from his own 'menu' of items that he had added to the ship computer's food and beverage database. Two glasses soon materialized on the small replimat. "Word of caution, don't ask it for tomato soup. There's about fourteen varieties programmed," he added as he approached the Trill and handed him a glass.
In the moment, Harrison felt like he was looking at a mirror. No, the Trill did not look remotely like him, but he was looking at an officer in a crisp goldenrod and black uniform. Daegan gave of a certain vibe that security and tactical officers just do. "Where does a Trill go about acquiring a taste for sweet tea?"
Taking a sip of the tea, Daegan immediately pulled back whistling. "Now that's some sweet tea. I like mine a little less sweet but ya get what ya ask for. To answer your question; one of my previous hosts had spent quite a bit of time on Earth. So while I was at the Academy I revisited some of his favorite spots and checked out things for myself. Sweet tea, North American barbecue, steak, fried chicken, seafood boils, corn bread, chili, burritos, Italian and Chinese food...well lets just say I had to put in extra time in the gym after I would good exploring Earth's food options."
"Next time we are in the neighborhood, we will have to pop on down to New Orleans. There's a fantastic restaurant in the French Quarter of the city, Sisko's Creole Kitchen." Knox took a seat and studied the man.
"I've been in your boots, Lieutenant. Not too long ago either."
Daegan set his tea aside after taking another drink. "Oh yes, that's right. You were a Security Chief as well, worked your way up the enlisted side as well. Not planning to micro-manage me are you, Sir?"
Knox smiled. "You've been studying," he said to the man. "Good. I appreciate that, but rest assured, Lieutenant that I won't be stealing your thunder. I'm First Officer of this starship. My responsibility is to the ship and to Captain Gray."
Knox took a sip of tea. The sweetness was homecoming. "Your duty is the safety and security of this crew. If I put them in jeopardy, I want to know. I need a Security Chief that I can depend on to keep me at bay. Once a Security Chief..." Knox let those words linger. "There's some reckless bones in my body. Do not under any circumstance let me put myself at risk unnecessarily, and I want a firm gentleman's agreement that you'll ensure no harm comes to the Captain. If you should ever have to make a life and death decision between him or I, you keep him safe."
"Well I'd like to say nobody we won't lose anyone under my watch, but that's just wishful thinking. I'd be nice but...but not being realistic." With a sharp nod, "But like you said, the Captain comes first, whether he wants it that way or not. As far as keeping you in check, don't you worry, I have no problem calling out a senior officer," adding with a grin, "especially if they're wrong." Picking up his tea for another, he raised it slightly, "but never in front of others of course."
"I certainly appreciate the tact," replied Knox regarding not calling out senior officers publicly. "These are strange times. Our courtships with both the freshly liberated Bajoran people and with their Cardassian oppressors makes for tense conditions. Do you have any discomfort with either side?"
"Truthfully, Sir, I don't have any first hand experience with either race. While my previous host had met a Cardassian delegation during some negotiations, they weren't a primary stakeholder so his dealing with them was very minimal. I know there is a lot of distrust out there towards the Cardassians and after the Cardassian war, the reports coming out of Bajor, and the current issues with the various colonies now inside Cardassian space, ya can't really blame people. As far as the Bajorans are concerned, they've just went from fighting a guerrilla war to trying to get a society back on it's feet. It remains to be seen if they can properly channel the aggression from one to the unity needed for the other."
"So personally, no, no issues. Officially, we know the Cardassians can be a threat so if we have any dealings with them they have to treated accordingly. Likewise, if we have any dealings with the Bajorans; help as needed or directed, but make sure we don't let their passion get used in a way that might endangered the ship or crew...unnecessarily."
Knox had his own feelings about everything, the whole tempest. "Many of the Bajoran people view the Federation in a pale light. Our principles and non-interference stance when they were occupied for decades does not make them want to open their arms for us."
He did not even know what to say about Cardassians. "I'm not found of getting in bed with Cardassians, but the Federation needs to keep the peace."
Deciding to test the waters a bit Daegan replied jokingly, "I would hope no one wants another war, but I don't know I hear those Cardassian women can be rather wild..."
"They certainly have quite the reputation," commented Knox. Not that he had experience with any Cardassian women. "I'm looking forward to serving on this ship with you, Lieutenant. I have a feeling it's going to be enthralling."
Well that sounded like the end of things to him so Baas took one last drink before he stood. "As do I sir. With your permission I'd like to familiarize myself with the bridge stations, verify the status of our tactical systems, then of course look over my department to see how things are shaping up."
"Granted. By all means, please do. Explore a bit and get yourself acquainted with the starship" replied Knox. "If you need anything, I'm just a comm call away."
Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox
Executive Officer
USS Thunderbird
and
Lieutenant Daegan Baas
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Thunderbird
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