"Breakfast for Two"
By: Commander Lyrr Tayla
Lieutenant Mark Thaine
Location: USS Sulu, Crew Mess Hall
Stardate: 57908.10, 07h39
***
Of all the variations of breakfast, scattered throughout the galaxy, Fried
Breakfast Variant #32 was potentially the worst of them all.
There were fried sausages (of an unidentifiable meat), fried bacon
(hopefully pork), fried egg, mushrooms, tomato and bread, with a pile of
steaming baked beans in tomato sauce to finish it off. The smell rising
off it was so rich in calories you could put weight on simply by
breathing in too deeply.
It was this meal that Mark Thaine deposited on the table, as he sat down for
breakfast across from Lyrr Tyla. The only addition was a large, steaming cup
of coffee (black - milk, no sugar). "Commander," he greeted her simply.
"Lieutenant," she responded in-kind, though with a restrained smile aimed at
his hefty meal. "Very...hearty," she commented. "It's a wonder you're able
to stand on your own two feet after consuming that everyday."
"Most days I miss breakfast," the engineer admitted, taking a sip from his
coffee, and then skewering a sausage on his fork. Thaine had never really
worked out what the juices that appeared from the sausages were, but
for some reason they didn't taste half as good without them.
"Too busy to eat?" she ventured, scooping a helping of the berries that had
tumbled off her canapé onto her fork. She consumed them, then gestured at
him pointedly with her utensil as she added, "Or still nervous about
Commander Zareb's presence?"
Thaine glared at the fork pointing in his direction, and then yielded,
making a half-hearted stab at the bacon. "I thought you said I had nothing
to be nervous about?" He muttered the question under his
breath.
Lyrr smiled. "I did, and you don't." She sighed and pushed her plate
forward to make room for her arms, which she folded atop the table. "Are
you still uncomfortable with his presence?" she asked, though not as
Commander Lyrr, but as an acquaintance not wholly a friend. "You know your
position is not at risk, Lieutenant. You're too important to this ship to
simply cast aside for a man we hardly know."
Setting his knife and fork aside for a moment, he gave Lyrr a quizzical
glance, and then nodded. "Thanks. I should know better than to listen
to rumours, anyway." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's just been one
of those weeks, Commander. You know how it is."
Lyrr sighed all too resignedly. "Tell me about it," she commiserated. "It
wasn't like this at all on the other starships." Lyrr held up her hands and
added quickly, "Not that I'm complaining or making any statement about this
crew. You're all good at what you do. It's just...things are very
different on the Sulu." She smiled awkwardly. "Or it could just be me...."
The engineer shook his head. "No, it's not...I guess every starship has its
individual traits, but this one..." He shrugged absently. "I guess we'll
see how it goes, huh?"
"Ah, the explorer's spirit," Lyrr mused. "I believe you have it,
Lieutenant. The captain's been afflicted with it as well..." She chuckled
and watched a red berry roll away as she tapped it with her fork. "If only
certain other members of this crew would occupy their minds with such
things, there'd be a lot less drama on board." With a pointed glance up,
she added, "But...you didn't hear this from me." Then softened it with a
smile.
"Engineering seems pretty quiet, as far as drama goes." Thaine shrugged
as he picked up his knife and fork. "And I don't get front line tickets
the way you do. Some talk filters down though, from time to time."
He scooped a few beans up on his folk, which he ate without looking at
them. It was always best to eat that sort of food without looking.
"You think I'm always the first to know anything?" Lyrr asked, then nearly
snorted. "The minute I walk around the corner, all talk stops. I'm the
last to know anything, and it's very disconcerting. I'm the executive
officer of this ship, and I should know everything." She sighed and set
down her fork, her appetite suddenly vanishing. "Well, I won't complain,"
she said calmly. "As long as it doesn't interfere with the smooth operation
of this vessel. That's why" --she looked directly at Thaine firmly-- "if
you have any issues working with Commander Zareb, ever, you'll tell me,
won't you, Lieutenant?"
"Other than that I think he's a spoiled brass of an engineer, and should get
the hell off my ship before he does something everyone regrets?"
Lyrr bit down on her tongue to stave off a laugh it would be imprudent to
emit, but the restrained grin tugging at her lips exposed her struggle.
"You really--" She paused and covered her mouth with a hand. A muffled
laugh was heard, then she audibly cleared her throat and sat up straight to
compose herself. "You really shouldn't say such things, Lieutenant," she
chided, but her smile lessened the severity of her admonishment. "But I
appreciate your concerns, truly. I don't know him any better than you do,
so I can't give you any assurances other than that he is a Starfleet
officer, and we can only hope that means he would never do anything to
jeopardize the lives of fellow officers." Her eyes were warm and gentle to
match her smile as she added, "But I trust you, Lieutenant, and I know if
there is any threat to this crew because of him, you'll be the first to
detect it and make sure we continue to stay safe. Though, please," she
continued, "do use some discretion. I can see that you're not too fond of
him, but don't let that colour your judgement and affect your ability to
discern between a real threat, and one that is simply an artifact of
jealousy." Lyrr quickly raised her hands defensively and clarified, "Not
that you're jealous, of course." Then she smiled and gave him a subtle
wink.
"Jealous?" Thaine snorted. "What's there to be jealous of? I'm the one with
the ship." He finished his meal, letting the knife and fork fall to the
plate with a clatter, and settled back into his chair while nursing his
coffee in both hands.
"Of all the ships in the Federation, why this one? We're exploring the Gamma
Quadrant; we're not a prototype testing vessel." He shook his head. "I
don't like him, and I don't trust him. But I can't see that he's done
anything wrong. Yet."
Lyrr sighed as she balled up the napkin from her lap and dropped it onto her
plate. "Well...all I can recommend is that you keep your eyes open and try
to work with him instead of against him for the sake of the ship." Lyrr
shrugged lightly and rose. "I appreciate your concerns, Lieutenant. And
believe me, I already have taken them into consideration." She smiled and
confided, "Just...be nice."
Thaine watched the Commander leave in silence, and finished his coffee,
staring at the door thoughtfully.
And then, Mark Thaine smiled. It quickly faded, but in his dark brown
eyes there could still be seen the trace of it, lasting through the rest
of the morning of the Chief Engineer's shift.
"Second Pip"
By: Lt. Commander Benedict T'Kal - Chief of Security
Lt. (jg) Taylor Bennett - Security Officer
Location: Chief of Security's Office, USS Sulu
Stardate: 57908.10, 10h45
***
Benedict looked at the little blue box on his desk and the small object it
held and felt sick. He'd never forget the night he was given his promotion
for the rest of his life. What should have been a joyful occasion had turned
into a ghastly horror. But then for others, this extra privilege and the
responsibility that went with it would be a happy occasion.
He waited for Ensign Bennett. He had called her from duty and asked for her
immediate attendance in his office. He'd made it sound serious. He had to
put on a happy face for the woman soon, but he pondered his troubles as he
waited.
When she received the summons, at first Taylor Bennett thought nothing of
it. As she stepped away from her station in preparation of going to the
security office, she reflected upon Commander T'Kal's words. As she reached
the turbolift, she felt a troubling queasiness settle in her stomach. He
had sounded...displeased.
The turbolift ride that usually took but a few moments suddenly seemed as if
it were taking weeks. She found herself wishing for her mother's
discipline, to help settle her unease. She satisfied herself with a quick
exercise she'd learned while young. It helped some as she settled her
breathing and heart rate.
With less of a feeling of dread than when she'd left the bridge, but more
than logic dictated she should have since she could recall nothing that
would require a reprimand.
With a long sigh, she decided that logically debating the issue with herself
would not lead her to any conclusions. Therefore, she put on a smile, and
strolled down the corridor to the security office. Outside of Commander
T'Kal's private office, she spent a moment fretting, then she touched the
chime next to the door. "One way to find out," she told herself.
"Come," his single word was a growl. He stood as Taylor Bennett walked
through the door. He allowed her to get all the way to his desk before he
held out a padd.
"New shift rotations for Alpha and Gamma watches," he said, his face
inscrutable. Taylor's name was listed against Gamma - as shift supervisor
and Bridge Tactical Officer. Lieutenant (jg) Bennett. He let her peruse the
data while standing with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Thank you, sir," Taylor said as she accepted the padd.
At first, she didn't notice. It was very subtle and her mind had already
made the corrections to the information it was being fed to make the data
make sense. But the anomalous characters next to her name sent a signal
through her mind that something wasn't quite right. She read again, and
that was when she spotted the discrepancy in one Sherlock Holmsesian moment
of discovery.
She tried to hide her smile, and did so passably well, but anyone studying
her face would know for certain. Usually she was able to hold a reasonable
"poker face," despite the fact that she'd never played that particular game
of cards. However there were occasions where the discipline instilled from
before her earliest memories could not hold up to the emotions that welled
up in a time like this.
Taylor forced the joy from her face and looked up to meet Commander T'Kal's
eyes. "Again, thank you, sir," she said as she indicated the padd, playing
along with his game that everything was normal and she wasn't bubbling over
with joy inside. "I will make certain I am...prompt for my duties." There
was a long moment of silence, but then she couldn't hold back any longer,
and a smile turned the corners of her lips up. "Sir, if there is nothing
else, I should leave so that I do not embarrass myself in front of my
direct superior. I believe it would be highly inappropriate for me to jump
up and down and make high-pitched screechy noises to express my elation."
He laughed then. The delight on her face was hard to miss. He chuckled as he
shook his head. "There's one more thing..." he said as he came around his
desk. "It's the one task that command allows with a certain satisfaction."
He held up the navy blue box with the UFP logo in silver etched on its
cover. Popping it open he showed her the tiny gold pin with a black centre.
He pinned it to her collar, making her a junior grade Lieutenant.
"Congratulations, Taylor. You earned this pip. Now you'll have to get used to
some responsibilities yourself. I have every confidence in you." He held out
his hand to shake. "And jumping up and down, making screechy noises is
perfectly acceptable behavior."
Taylor raised a hand and brushed it against the new pip adorning her collar.
She looked up at Commander T'Kal and grinned. The bouncing started almost
imperceptibly, but as she thrust her hand into Benedict's, she let out a
joyful squeal that was mixed with giddy laughter. "Oh wow," she said. "Oh,
thank you so much, sir. I...I won't let you down." As the giggling reached
its peak, she was truly bouncing as she'd said she would.
His smile widened and he laughed. "Go celebrate," he said. "Sorry to lump
you in Gamma shift, but that's the quietest, you can get a feel for the job.
You're in charge of my department on Gamma, and I'll be on the Bridge every
so often in the command chair, so use the time wisely. I used to be on a
Galaxy Class, Gamma is the best time to learn the ropes." He clapped her in
friendly fashion on the shoulder. "I'll not wish you luck - you don't need
it. Now get out of here and enjoy."
Taylor gave him a big grin and nodded vigorously. "I will, sir. Thank you.
Oh wow. Oh, thank you." To say she was beaming would be an
understatement. "I'm going to try to get a little party going tonight in
the ship's lounge, and I'd love it if you could stop by, sir. It'll help to
keep spirits up, and it's a good chance for everyone to celebrate. Oh wow.
I'll go now before I end up hugging you."
"I'll be there," he grinned. He stepped back around his desk before she
could act on her threat. "Dismissed, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir," Taylor said. "Thank you again, sir." And, with that, she
slipped out the door and even with the door closed, her exuberant
celebration could still be heard.
Benedict sat back into his chair and was happy that he'd made at least one
person happy today.