Going Down the Rabbit Hole

Posted on Sat Oct 26th, 2024 @ 11:17pm by Captain Rylan Gray & Lieutenant Stormy Knight & Chief Petty Officer Gildran Trusk
Edited on on Tue Nov 12th, 2024 @ 3:59pm

1,137 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: A Silence of Friends
Location: Captain's Ready Room, Deck 1, USS Thunderbird
Timeline: MD001 - 1200

Rylan sat on the sofa, boots off to the side, feet propped up on the coffee table as he read through the intelligence gathered on the Bajoran resistance movement, both before and after the Cardassian withdrawal. A cup of half-finished Yorkshire tea sat among a pile of PADDs and a blanket was draped over one end indicating where he'd been sleeping of late. He'd been working long nights since ... well ...since. With the ship being docked at the starbase and the crew on shore leave, that left him without immediate responsibilities. And because work kept him from thinking about ... things ... he settled in to his Ready Room expecting to be left undisturbed.

Though a Captain left undisturbed and uninterrupted was a rarity, and one that would not happen on the Thunderbird. A firm knocking of knuckles to metallic alloy was a peculiar sound in the 24th century, and it was coming from the other side of Rylan's Ready Room doors. Evidentially, the door chime was not getting used.

"Enter," Rylan said. He made no move to slide on his boots though he did return his feet to the floor as he looked up to see who was entering.

Trusk looked at the panel with the button to use to signal the occupant inside, a chiming noise. "Nothing wrong with it, looks fine. I don't make normal entrances," the Chief Yeoman said with a chortle and snort. "Never have. Never wiil," he added.

The man's sense of sight may not have been as keen as a full Humans would be, but his sense of smell was like a blood hound. "How long have you been in here? Why are you working so late?"

"There are a few unanswered questions from the last mission," Rylan said. "I'm taking advantage of the crew's shore leave to go through intelligence and try to work out something that I can't seem to let go. Why? Did you need something?"

"Yes," replied Trusk moving into the Ready Room and looking around. It would pass inspection, but not his. "I need you to call it a day. Overworked Captains make mistakes."

Rylan stared at Trusk for a long moment and then, relented all at once. "Alright," he said slowly. "But I won't promise any longer than the rest of today. There are things I want to get done. And if you haven't figured it out yet, I don't do vacations."

"Well, I don't do excuses," Trusk quipped and grunted looking at the man, not satisfied until they both exited the Ready Room. "You'll need to take some at some point. You may have a short reprieve while we are without a Ship's Counselor, but eventually, you will have one. If not, then Doctor Ryan will ensure it."

"There are limits," Rylan said as he raised one finger. "You have a point, which I have conceded, but I'm far from overdue in that respect. See you tomorrow then, bright and early. And Trusk?" Rylan smiled, knowing his yeoman's habits all too well. "See that you spend some time off ship as well."

Trusk nodded. "There's a watering hole with my name on it. I'll take my time, rest assured."

[Science Department]

Rylan, having been ousted from the Ready Room headed down to the Science Department to see if Lieutenant Knight were available. He stepped in the main door and stopped to look around. While they were docked at the starbase, there would be a minimal presence on the ship which meant that he was unlikely to find her but still, he checked.

Stormy chose to spend the day on the ship so she could send the rest of her department to the station for some much-needed relaxation. As much as she wanted to spend time with a certain gentleman, her needs were secondary to those of her scientists. She was in the main science lab, running a series of diagnostics and cleaning out unnecessary files when she heard someone enter. She turned to the door, surprised to see the captain. "Hello, sir. What can I do for you?"

"There's something I'd like you to check on," Rylan said, and then, realizing that this shift would also be due for shore leave amended, "when you have a moment, of course."

"What would you like me to check on?" She hoped to spend time with Tyler, but they hadn't made any specific plans and she did have things she wanted to do on the ship. Adding something else wouldn't be a problem. Besides, she was curious to find out what it was.

"I want you to do an analysis of the mining operation on Quasinon," Rylan said. "What were they extracting and in what quantities." He shifted position slightly, resisting the urge to pace. "I'd like to see it extending back to, let's say, the start of the occupation on Bajor. If the database contains records that go back that far. And along with that, do your own analysis of the planet. Was there something significant that they weren't mining."

There was a flash of interest in Stormy's eyes before she regained her professional demeanor. That was something she would love to find out. She was fairly certain it had something to do with their botched rescue, but since she still had questions herself, she wasn't going to ask. Better not to risk irritating the captain. At least until after she had some answers. "Okay. I'll look at the official records as well as any preliminary scans of the planet, if they're available. It's likely I can find other sources that might give me an idea of quantities and profit margins for usable minerals that we can use as a comparison."

"There's no need to interrupt your plans," Rylan said, "this can certainly wait the twenty-four hours we'll be here. Once you know, please come find me."

"I will. I hope you can enjoy some shore leave as well." She planned to start looking immediately so she could take a break when Tyler was free.

"I already am," Rylan said, smiling politely. "Enjoy your time off ship, Lieutenant. And as I said, come find me once you've completed your analysis."

Stormy nodded. "Yes, sir." She looked forward to both. Doing some research and having a day of shore leave were both things she looked forward to.

With that done, Rylan headed for his quarters. He and Mitz had a chess game scheduled for later but between now and then, he thought he might stretch out with a good book. He would leave the starbase for the crew; what he needed was time alone. Time to think.

A Post By:

Captain Rylan Gray
Commanding Officer
USS Thunderbird

and

Chief Petty Officer Gildran Trusk
Captain's Yeoman
USS Thunderbird

and

Lieutenant Stormy Knight
Chief Science Officer
USS Thunderbird

 

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