The Thorn

Posted on Tue Aug 4th, 2009 @ 7:28pm by Lieutenant JG Drew O'Connell & Lieutenant Commander Kaylis Kirana

1,170 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Behind the Mask of Familiarity
Location: Chief Operations Officer's Office
Timeline: Current

Drew had spent the morning in his office, not a personal place he was used to having since departing Starfleet Command. There, he had been inundated with space, an office bigger than the quarters he now shared with Ian. Drew carried few mementos from his life, few ties to his past other than his flesh and blood, younger brother. Even his quarters were Starfleet standard down to the bad decor and worse wall art. He had signed onto the computer and arranged all his files, reading the full report from Crewman Yates. After he'd completed that, he grew restless, bored. He needed a diversion and he could think of nothing more fun than ribbing Shalie Montgomery.

Abandoning the tedium of his office, Drew left off his work and called it break time. Making a left out of the office, Drew traversed the quiet halls of the Archimedes. Like most other ships, the corridors were non-descript, grey on grey with Starfleet LCARS interfaces in case one got lost. Of course, Drew mused, If one got lost on a ship this small, they should go back to the Academy.

Coming to the doorway in question, Drew leaned in. "Settling in?" he asked knowingly.

Shalie was standing with her back to the door rearranging some boxes that seemed to be multiplying in the corner. When she heard Drew's voice, her eyes closed in a silent prayer that when she turned around he wasn't real. Just a figment of her imagination. Letting out a deep sigh she looked over her shoulder at the man who was using her for his amusement. Her black hair cascaded over her shoulders in a sharp contrast to her gold uniform. She turned back to what she was doing before answering him. "Just about...."

Shalie moved for a box and began digging though it, keeping her back to Drew. She had an amused smile on her face. She had learned so much about him, empathically, over the two days they had spent on the transport. Granted with his Intelligence training he was better at compartmentalizing his emotions then others, but she didn't push it. "So are you bored? Or do you have another secret office to threaten me with?" She turned to flash him a smile as she found the PADD she was looking for.

Drew smiled as he remembered the secret Situation Room on the USS Rook. If space was limited there and it could be so easily discovered, he could only imagine how long it would take to find the room on the Archimedes. "No secret rooms here," he replied casually. "So that leaves me with option two...bored. I think I've spoken to nearly all the senior staff. Nice bunch...mostly," he paused, remembering the adversarial Andorian. "Got my office set up and now....you pegged it, I'm bored."

Shalie stood as Drew was speaking and rolled her eyes at his last comment. She tapped the display on the PADD as she moved over towards her desk. She smoothly sat down at her desk and began paging though the files on the PADD. She finally looked back up at Drew before using the PADD to point to the chairs on the opposite side of her desk. "So why am I the lucky one?" She paused, "I guess our truce is over..." She added with a smile.

"Well, better known is easier to deal with than suspiciously unknown...You're like an old blanket, scratchy and annoying, but which one has formed some attachment to. Familiarity breeds comfortability. I guess I'm saying you're comfortable. It doesn't sound as good aloud as it did in my mind," He admitted with a shrug.

Shalie laughed as she listened Drew attempt to explain why he was willing spending time with someone he so obviously didn't like. She kept her attention on the PADD as he spoke but she couldn't prevent a small smile from crossing her face.

"As for the truce...I was getting bored with that too. Since Jasmine disappeared with the Rook," Drew said, suddenly getting nostalgic. "I'm in need of a new sparring partner. Know anyone else on this ship who would want to kick my ass? Yet?" Drew instantly thought of the Andorian. He would make an excellent sparring partner, though one of them might not make it out of the gym alive.

Shalie finally looked up from what she was working on. As it did the first time he inquired about her fighting skills, the idea of smacking that cocky smile off his face was quite alluring. "Well, I can't speak for anyone else as of yet, but I know I would love a try.." She set the PADD on her desk and leaned back in her chair. "It might be nice to knock you to the ground...like I should have back on the beach."

Drew smirked at the Orion woman. Tilting his head to the side just slightly, he informed her, "You could give it a try. You probably would have been more successful that night...I was drunk."

Shalie cocked her eyebrow at Drew's comment. "You keep using that as an excuse." She laughed as she folded her hands in her lap. "But I think I can be persuaded to give you a run for your money."

Drew nodded. "Well then, you can give it a go tomorrow morning. Oh eight hundred hours?"

"I think I can swing that." She replied with a flirty grin. She didn't care if he knew she was looking forward to tomorrow's match. She sat for a moment before leaning forward to retrieve the discarded PADD. She reviewed a few files, trying not to look up. She finally acknowledged Drew's continued presence. "Was there something else or you just gonna stare at me while I work?" She said with a grin.

Drew shrugged. "There are worse things I could spend my time staring at. I guess I should let you get back to your work though. I'll see you in the morning."

Shalie rolled her eyes are Drew. "Whatever...get out of my office." She smiled. "And yes...I will see you in the morning."

Drew walked away from the office. The game was starting to get fun...he wondered who else he might be able to annoy. The image of the Andorian security chief came to mind, but it would likely end up in a physical fight should be annoy that particular crew-mate. He'd already rubbed the blue skinned alien the wrong way. Drawing a blank, he decided he might visit Lucy Carter instead.

Shalie looked out her door as Drew left. She had do much work to complete and yet she was looking forward to tomorrow. She turned her attention back to her PADD of power allocations and personnel files as a small smile crossed her face.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lieutenant JG Andrew O'Connell
Chief Intelligence Officer

and

Lieutenant JG Shalie Montgomery
Chief Operations Officer

 

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