A Complete Oversight
Posted on Thu Oct 5th, 2023 @ 10:24pm by Lieutenant Commander Chester Ripley & Commander Rylen Lyo & Lieutenant Desha
1,225 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
First Contact
Location: USS Intrepid: Shuttlebay
Timeline: MD1: 1700 hours
Lieutenant Commander Chet Ripley ran down the hallways of the USS Intrepid’s corridors, glad the half the crew was on lunch and the other half was either coming or going from shift, so they were mostly empty. Stopping just outside of the shuttle bay, Chet had a thought that hit him like lightning!
Tapping his combadge, Chet said, “Lieutenant Desha, there’s been an oversight! Lieutenant Commander Reid is leaving us on the shuttle you came in on. Her replacement, Lieutenant Commander Lyo is coming aboard. Would you like to take care of her security check-in?”
Chester tapped his badge, waiting on the reply as he bent over, trying to catch his breath and stem the sweat from running while in his full uniform.
A gentle wind swept through the treetops of Tellar Prime as a lone Denobulan sat on the edge of a rock face. Desha had just finished her tour of the ship, and had immediately loaded up one of her favourite holoprograms - normally she'd climb, but right now she just wanted the peace and solitude.
That is, until the message came in through her combadge. She tapped her own combadge and asked "Commander, are you running?" - the situation couldn't be that urgent, could it?
“Me?!” Chet asked, his breath coming more evenly now. “Uh, no…why would you ask that?” Chet responded, trying to keep his cool. It was a stupid situation to be in, but it was his. ’Too much to do, but that’s what I get for giving one boss the day off while the other spends the rest of her shift on an alien spacecraft cataloguing animal types and biomes! Oh boy! Max is gonna kill me!’
"No reason, Commander. I'm on my way", Desha stated. Even without training in tactical psychology, it was pretty clear that he was in fact lying. 'I should probably get down there as soon as possible before he has a heart attack', she thought to herself. "Computer, end program."
The rocks and trees and sky vanished, replaced by the holodeck grid, as Desha made her way to the shuttlebay. As she walked down the corridor, she borrowed a PADD from an ensign and pulled up the new operation's officer's record. The royal connection was mildly surprising, to say the least.
The doors to the shuttlebay opened, and Desha walked in. She immediately started looking for any sign of a shuttle - or Chet.
Chet raised his hand to indicate his position to the Denobulan. By this time, he had already used his handkerchief to mop up his sweat and had long since caught his breath. “Over here!” he called with a smile and a bit of laughter.
Desha made her way over. "Pleasant walk, I assume?", she said with a smile.
The small, sleek class ten shuttle was temporarily ringed in pale blue as it made transit through the atmospheric containment force field of the Intrepid. Its passenger was grateful to be rejoining his Starfleet comrades following nearly three months of leave.
After having lost over four hundred crew mates and his assignment decommissioned, Rylen Lyo could not help letting a small smile creep onto his fair features. The pilot landed the craft without incident and the side hatch opened with a slight whooshing noise. The Kriosian Lieutenant Commander stepped off the ramp and away from the craft; he was a little disappointed that he did not recognize anyone from the personnel dossiers he had reviewed.
Chet was stood with the other new arrival, Lieutenant Desha, waiting for the newcomer. As shuttle arrived and the new Chief Operations Officer stepped out of the transwarp shuttle he and Desha made themselves careful around the other shuttles, sure not to be landed on by one of them, Chet looked to his right and spotted the Kriosian. “Lieutenant Commander Chet Ripley and Lieutenant Desha from Security. Hi! Welcome to the Intrepid!” Chet extended his hand in a very human gesture. ’This guy looks like a Trill to me,’ he thought, wondering at how the universe seemed to make copies of itself many times over.
Rylen glared at the offered hand for a long moment. Don’t forget you’re among Humans. Remember their social niceties, he said to himself. He grasped the offered hand firmly and shook it up and down several times. “Thank you Commander Ripley, Lieutenant Desha,” replied Rylen, nodding toward each of them individually as he said their name. “I am pleased to be serving on one of the most advanced vessels in the Fleet.” He produced a PADD from his back pocket. “My transfer orders.” The Kriosian held out the PADD toward both of them, curious as to which of them would take the offered data storage device.
Noticing that Desha had her own PADD, Chet took the offered device and pressed his thumb to it, accepting the transfer. He noted the odd pause before the handshake, but then remembered that the Kriosians were empaths. He probably created some social faux pas with the new Commander. ’How does Max do this?’ he wondered.
"We're glad to have you aboard, Commander. Please excuse the informal welcome party - much of the senior staff is currently preoccupied", Desha stated with a Denobulan smile on her face. 'Best make sure that Chet doesn't cause a diplomatic incident', she thought to herself.
“I’m just anxious to get to work,” said Rylen with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm. “I have been out of the loop for a few months after the Excalibur was decommissioned. Nonetheless, I look forward to meeting all of the crew. Do I have time to see my quarters before I’m expected on the bridge?”
“Of course!” Chet answered a little too quickly. Touching the controls on his PADD, he brought up the room assignment from the quartermaster. “Looks like you’re on deck three, with most of the senior officers. I can lead the way?!” Chet offered, he was going back to the bridge before things got any more beyond his control.
"We'll beam your belongings up to your quarters once they've been cleared. You should have plenty of time to get settled", Desha added. 'Unless something goes wrong', she thought, but decided it was best unsaid.
Although not fully telepathic, Rylen’s empathic senses were unusually strong for a member of his race. And he felt the Denobulan’s uncertainty; nevertheless, he kept his thoughts on that private. “I would be happy if you would accompany me, Commander Ripley.” He cocked his head to one side. “A pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant. See you on the bridge.”
"Same to you, Commander", Desha smiled, before heading back towards the way she had come from. As she turned away, her smile faded slightly - empaths tended to put her on edge, and even though the commander seemed pleasant, she didn't like the idea of anyone being able to see through her.
Chet twiddled his fingers in front of him, a small nervous habit. “Well, let’s go find your quarters,” he said to the Kriosian, feeling a bit intimidated by the new Ops chief. He was intimidated by the last one, so nothing new.
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