The Inactive Forgotten
Posted on Thu Mar 3rd, 2011 @ 12:01pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell
696 words; about a 3 minute read
Mission:
Triad
Location: Chief Diplomatic Officer's Office, Deck Six
Timeline: Current
ON:
Sitting around and waiting for the reports to file in from the flood of officers that had (hopefully) drowned the QAR vessel, Elsie felt restless and not in control. Feelings that both irked her and worried her. She stood up from her ready room chair, smoothed down the front of her slightly charred uniform and made for an officer she assumed would be paddling that same boat. Since her appearance on board the Ranger, Elsie had little work to occupy Junior Grade Lieutenant Adalyn Mailloux and little to converse with her about. This was a Seek and Recover mission, not a Sit Down and Play Nice. The captain rode the turbolift down the sixth deck and made the short walk to the Chief Diplomat’s office.
Ringing the chime on the external side of the door, Elsie waited.
Adalyn was sitting at her desk, reading a communications bulletin from Ambassador Neyev's office. She was living vicariously through a report that an old academy colleague of hers had submitted concerning a minor crisis that had been resolved on Theta Prime, a human colony that the colleague had been stationed on.
The ringing of the chime was so unexpected that Adalyn actually jumped a fraction of an inch in her seat. She took a moment to turn of her viewer and make sure that her desk was neat and then said "enter."
As the doors opened and she recognized the woman standing there, Adalyn jumped to her feet. "Captain!"
Elsie greeted the woman with a warm but muted smile and nodded her mutual respect but then quickly shot up her hand in an ‘at ease’ posture and shook her head subtly. “There’s no need for the formal greeting, Lieutenant,†she said quietly, now stepping into the office and strolling up to the desk. “This isn’t an inspection.†She looked about the small but perfectly formed room and nodded. “I actually don’t think I have been down here since we started for the Archimedes.†She paused, relaxed her face and then looked directly to Adalyn. “I don’t suppose there’s been much call for is since we left. How are you doing, Lieutenant?â€
Anyone who had as little experience in dealing personally with the captain as Mailloux had had, presumably didn’t comprehend how out of character such enquiries were to the woman. Even to Elsie herself the words formed uneasily in her mouth but, in times of crisis and trial, she recognised the benefit of personal interaction amongst the ranks. Especially the officerships. She paused, arched her next back a little and then smiled again.
"I am fine Captain, thank you." Adalyn responded. She wasn't sure what else to say. She couldn't tell the captain that she was feeling under worked, she couldn't tell anyone that. If she did, she knew that's when things would turn around and there would be too much work for her small department to handle. And the captain seemed to know that the diplomatic department was pretty slow, from her comment about there being no need to visit her in a long while. "Are you well?"
“Antsy,†Elsie replied honestly, unknowingly sharing in Adalyn’s unrest. “But this will pass, no doubt.†She paused suddenly and then with wide, unfamiliar eyes, locked onto the lieutenant’s. “It always does.†She flashed a brief smile that lit up her slight face but it faded as quickly as it appeared. “Once the QAR vessel is secured and everyone is back on board, I’m sure that everything will return to normal. But, until then, even if you don’t have mountains of work to complete, I’m sure that I do.â€
Elsie turned and headed for the door without a word but then stopped. “I’m on the bridge should you need me, Lieutenant.â€
OFF:
’The Inactive Forgotten’ brought to you by
Captain Elsie Halliwell
Commanding Officer
USS Ranger
Junior Grade Lieutenant Adalyn Mailloux
Chief Diplomatic Officer
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