A Close Shave

Posted on Fri Sep 21st, 2012 @ 12:58pm by Captain Alexsa Kendrick

491 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Sowing the Seeds
Location: USS Dubai
Timeline: Mission Day 3, 1615 hrs

As soon as the view screen turned back to the view of the Ranger, Jenner felt an unnerving thought that someone was watching him, and closely. He wasn't wrong. "May I have a word with you, captain?" S'Von asked in a pleasant enough tone for a man who had less emotional tendencies than a toothpick; that was until recently.

Jenner almost jumped at the sound he was not expecting to hear so soon, or so close. "What's on your mind, commander?"

"In private, if you don't mind, Sir."

Jenner nodded and the two vacated the bridge with a simple, "You have the bridge, Lieutenant." The doors to the commanding officer's ready room shushed closed and the atmosphere changed immediately.

"What on Earth was that?" questioned a stern looking Vulcan visage. "Invite them for dinner? We have work to do, captain, and I for one do not want any delays. We have a lot of people on board who are feeling the same way; trapped in this sector."

Jenner sighed. "We've been working too long now. We need a break, and the Ranger is the perfect means to allow us to take some time out, to get back to civilisation." countered Jenner.

"And trying to exclude the Ranger's Executive Officer to take part in this frivolous gathering? I'm sure that she would appreciate some 'time out' as you put it as much as anyone else." S'Von stepped forward and around the desk to look out the window just in time to catch a fleeting glimpse of the aft section of the Ranger. "Captain, I'm not trying to tell you how to run the ship or the mission," S'Von started again without turning around, "but if you really want to go through with this dinner exercise, you need to put a better face on things."

"What do you mean?" Jenner asked, genuinely curious, as he turned and paced back toward the desk and his first officer.

S'Von turned back to face Jenner. "For one, your general appearance is unbecoming a Starfleet Captain. You've become slack at your personal upkeep regimen, and you're nervous disposition is carrying across into your demeanour; it's making the crew nervous as well." S'Von approached Jenner virtually passing him for the door, "I guess what I'm trying to say, captain, is get a grip, and get yourself cleaned up before dinner."

At that, the Vulcan headed back out to the bridge, leaving Jenner even more nervous than before. It was as if he was serving with a different man than he first hired as his first officer. S'Von's increasing malcontent was disconcerting at best, threatening at worst, and it was certainly not something Jenner wanted to continue dealing with. He aimlessly brushed his hand through his hair, rubbed his eyes, then went down his nose and stroked his chin, thinking that maybe his Exec was correct in one thing; he at least needed a shave.

 

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