We Have A Guest?

Posted on Thu Dec 11th, 2014 @ 7:12pm by Commander Rylie Cattmor & Lieutenant Eden Zayra

1,360 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: What Dreams May Come
Location: XO's Office
Timeline: Before the mission

Eden had just finished her talk with the Quartermaster, which had followed her meeting with the Captain, and figured, if she really wanted to get a feel for how the Ranger ran, then who better to ask then the XO? After all, from what she'd learned from the captain, Cattmor had at one point been an engineering officer before her promotion.

As the steaming mug of coffee slowly emptied, Rylie put her current PADD down on her desk, sat back and stretched. It had been too long since she last took a break. If she had've known that stepping up to the Executive Officer's position was so much proverbial paperwork, she would have had a lot more pause about taking it on. Not that she was actually given any choice in the matter. It reminded her of the workload she had taken on with the refitting of the Venture... yep, the job of the XO was still a larger one. She stood with her mug in hand and placed it back in the replicator for disposal, contemplating against better judgement, and perhaps medical advice on getting a refill when the door chimed. "Come in, Lieutenant Zayra." she said, getting a very clear image of the person on the other side of the closed doors.

Stepping into the quaint office space, Eden smiled warmly and said, "Lieutenant Commander Cattmor. I..." Then it dawned on her that the XO had addressed her by her last name. Pausing she chose her words carefully, confusion written on her delicate face.

"Excuse me, but how did you know it was me?"

Cattmor's welcoming smile quickly diminished and was replaced with abject embarrassment; she'd done it again. She never meant to let it happen. Sometimes the thoughts emanating from those around her, even on occasion those in another room across the hall and three sections over were too loud and clear for her to tune out, especially when they dealt with meeting someone for the first time, usually an unnerving experience, and people tended to practice things to be said over and over, even introducing their own name. Her eyes almost seemed to glaze over a moment, not focussing on anything specific as Rylie removed her hand from the customary handshake gesture, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant," she said before she blinked and continued, looking Eden in the eye, "I really am, sometimes it just creeps out, and in turn does the same to other people. I'm a telepath, not usual for a Frian, not that you've probably met any, but my rating is... well, it's quite high." she said with a touch of modesty, laced in apprehension.

"I see," Eden responded, immediately thinking of Lieutenant Foster. "Lieutenant Foster, who is a good friend of mine, has a similar ability to your's. I half-expected as much." She smiled a bit, hoping she hadn't offended the XO with her comment.

She turned back to the replicator, "Can I get you anything?"

"Masala chai, please. And thank you."

"Computer, one coffee, double strong, half sweet, and one Masala chai please." she ordered before turning and taking a seat, offering one of the visitor settings to Zayra, and handing over her drink as she sat. "And no, I'm not offended, Lieutenant. I've had to deal with it for a long time. People's minds tend to wander, even if they themselves don't realise it. More often than not, it's just a wall of noise with broken parts of clarity, but every so often, people let out a clear picture of their intents. It can be hard to tune it out, even through a bulkhead."

Rylie had always been a little self-conscious of her telepathic ability and especially her personal quirks of airing the thoughts of those around her before they did; it was still a little embarrassing that she was unable to curb her tongue on occasion, so she decided to change the subject and get down to more of a business tone. "I trust that everything is in order on your appointment to the Ranger? Orders received, quarters assigned?" Cattmor asked.

"Yes sir, quarters have been assigned and my orders are very clear. I'm to familiarize myself with the Ranger and all her components and to help with determining any operation effects the cloud may have on the ship's systems." Eden took a sip from her tea, awaiting to see what the XO would ask next.

"Good," Rylie replied, unsure where to go next. Her own appointment as Executive Officer was almost as new minted as Zayra's appointment as Chief Engineer, and all this was also new to her. "I understand the reasons behind your appointment to the Ranger, did you have any questions regarding the arrangement?"

"Seeing as how I was originally posted to another Intrepid-class vessel but was not able to rendezvous with them for another month at least, I asked to temporarily be assigned to the Ranger in the interim. I know that you already have a Chief Engineer assigned, I just wanted to get an on-hands feel instead of just going over the specs. I'm just curious to know where to start in Engineering and if there are any quirks I should know about?" Eden responded.

Cattmor smiled warmly. "I know you've been out of uniform for a while, and that your posting as a Chief Engineer is your first, so allow me to explain this to you... you're going to be the Chief Engineer of a starship; in general terms, orders concerning the running of the engines or status of repairs will be filtered from the command staff through to you, whether you're on duty or not usually," she accented with a further light smile before going on, "and that is basically it. Engineering will be yours to run and organise as you see fit, providing the duty rosters are ratified by the Executive Officer in the first instance."

"Now, as far as your appointment to the Ranger is concerned," Rylie continued after a short breath, "Lieutenant Darkmoon is the chief engineer on the ship, you will work alongside him in all aspects of doing his job; duty rosters, repair schedules, attending senior staff briefings, and I would advise not stepping on his toes. After you're all settled, I'd make my way to Engineering and familiarize yourself with the operation and setup, and make some introductions. You're going to be with us for a little while so people may as well know your name."

Rylie paused slightly, "I know what you're thinking, that you already knew this stuff and it was part of your plan already, and that I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know." She paused again, the corner of her mouth twitching to an extremely slight smile. "Truth is, I was in Engineering all of a week, before I was made Executive Officer by the late Admiral. I've not been here long enough to get to know any quirks. Apart from Frezha and Ashmore; they're trying to keep their on-again-off-again relationship a secret..."

Smirking just a tad, Eden responded, "On-again-off-again relationship? Well, I won't say anything to upset those particular crewmen, ma'am. As far as working alongside Lieutenant Darkmoon, I'm sure we'll get along just fine." Finishing her tea, Eden got up and returned the empty cup to the replicator. Turning back to face Cattmor, she said, "Well, if there is nothing else, I shall head back to my quarters to finishing setting up and then make a trip down to Engineering and meet everyone."

"No, I have nothing else to add." Rylie replied. "If you have no further questions, dismissed and good luck." she said standing with a smile, and offering her hand once more.

Standing a second later, Eden took the offered hand with a smile. "No more questions, but I will say I look forward to my time here on the Ranger."

"Welcome aboard." Cattmor smiled, before they released hands, Zayra nodding and moving off through the exit.



Lieutenant Commander Rylie Cattmor
Executive Officer
USS Ranger

Lieutenant Eden Zayra
Chief Engineer to be

 

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