Lost for words

Posted on Friday May 26th, 2023 @ 10:20am by Lieutenant Commander Rachel Williams & Commander Sam Perkins & Ensign Penny McTaggard

1,218 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Science Lab,Engineering
Timeline: After Engineering Meeting
Tags: Shore Leave, 2395, Character Development

[ON]

-Science Lab-

Sam closed his eyes as the microscope hit the ground.

“ Norman, I swear I’ll prune you one day!” Sam shouted

“EEEEEEEEEE” Norman replied.

Sam felt like putting the plant in the naughty corner. But then he remembered that the new Chief Engineer was taking over from Sharpe today.

“ I can take that to Engineer if yer like Commander,” Said Ensign McTaggart.

“ No no no. I’ll take it.” Sam said

He placed Norman back on the shelf near Susan. Then picking up the broken Microscope he left the lab. No sooner had he left Susan and Norman started to argue. Their tentacles waved violently, almost hitting Penny. Her pet Chihuahua sensed his mistress was in danger. Jumped up onto the lab bench and started to bark and snarl.

“ EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” Susan and Norman shrieked

“ Yip yip yip yip yip yip!” The wee one barked.

“ Oh, dear…..” Penny said

-Engineering-

Sam moved into Engineering carrying his damaged microscope. He looked around for a new face. A voice behind him made him almost drop the Microscope.

“ Sorry. I am looking for…….Commander Williams..” He stammered

Hands at parade rest behind her back and her hair is up in a ponytail Rachel comes into view "I am Lieutenant Commander Williams, and who Commander are you?" She asked politely.

oO Wow she’s nice….now Sam she is just a fellow officer with a few curves and lovely eyes……Oo Sam thought.

“ Broken Microscope I have a damaged Sam Perkins….um um no no Sam Perkins. Chief Science Officer sorry got a little tongue-tied there. Yes hello, I have this broken Sam Perkins. No, I mean broken Microscope.” Sam said

Rachel holds out her hands with a smile oO I bet Paul never got that reaction! Oo she thought to herself "Hello Commander Perkins, may I call you Sam? please hand over that Microscope, I will have one of my team look at it" Williams said.

“Microscope?” Sam said confused.

*rolls her eyes* "The one in your hand, I assume that is why you brought it to me so that it can be fixed?" She asked amused at the officer's befuddled state.

“ Microscope…Microscope? Oh yes, Microscope yes broken, broken. Sorry, yes this was broken and I wonder if you could fix it, please? Sam asked

He wished at that moment to be like an Ostrich and bury his head in a bucket of sand.

Looking at Sam with some sympathy "I do not bite you know Sam... Well not much and never on duty" she said taking the item off him and handing it to an Engineer "Please fix this asap, thank you" she said the engineer nodded and left with Microscope in hand. She turned to Sam "Come join me in my office and we will have a quick chat while you are waiting for your microscope" Williams said and headed to her Office.

Sam stood watching her move away. Slowly his legs began to remember how to function. He followed her into her office but stood in the doorway.

“ So……..so……..how, how are you fitting in?” Sam asked.

*looking at Sam* "Relax Sam, I am not to be feared, as for fitting in, that remains to be seen, I arrived on this crate while you were all still on Risa and got a good look, Paul did a fine job and I read his reports and he left stuff out probably because he is better at doing than explaining must speak with the Captain about that. So I did not have a chance to assess my team properly, yet the first time on a ship that has cadets on though" she said

Sam slowly took a seat looked around he spoke quietly.

“ What about the Cadets? What do you think of Cadet Raymond?” Sam asked

*Looks at Sam puzzled* Who is he? I have not yet met many people, I have met my Senior Officers but none of the Cadets, yet, why are you asking Sam?" Rachel asked as she sat back in her chair and crossed her legs.

“ Hang on. Do you mean he has not reported to you? He’s down as Chef/Engineer. Why has he not reported to you?” Sam wondered aloud.

"Nope, then again during the Engineering meeting I had my number two and Lieutenant Kord had some engineering Cadets be assigned to tasks they had, so he was probably snapped up by one of them, but if you see any of the engineering Cadets mention that I want to see them all when they are completed with their tasks," Williams said.

Sam knew this was not his job to start investigating Cadets. But the science department would be one of the areas a Romulan spy would just love to poke their altered nose in.

" This is not my job to go running after possible spies. But my department and come to think of it yours too would be the first place. An altered Romulan nose would love to go poking into. We must find a way to spot trouble before anything gets passed on." Sam Said

"Not asking you to investigate any of them Sam, all I am asking you to do if you see any of them before I do is to simply pass on my message, I am not the CoS so such events are not my department" Williams responded.

“ Yes, I understand that fully. But what I was asking is what protocols have you set up just in case. I just wanted to hint at this possible problem. After all for all we know it could just be me being a worrywart.” Sam said.

*puzzled look* "What protocols? and what problem?" Williams asked honestly curious.

“ Well if the computer in the science department is hacked into. It locks up tighter than my Great Uncle Peter when my Great Aunt finds an empty bottle of spirits hidden in his potting shed. The problem we have is the Tal Shiar will do anything to get a spy into our respective departments.” Sam explained

*nods* "Get with Security and address those concerns with them, I can enhance the ship's computer systems security, but only Security can improve the security protocols," she said to Sam. Just then the engineer she handed the scope to arrived with it in hand and passed it onto her, she nodded her thanks and held it out to Sam "Here is your science thingy Microscope I think it was, please be a bit more gentle with it in future" she said waiting for Sam to take the device off her.

“ Great….great… anyway better toddle off it’s Normans feeding time. If I am later it starts throwing things around the Susan starts. Then it’s tentacles everywhere and things flying around.” Sam said.

Rachel smiled at this, she had heard how the plant had dragged a heavy Gorn into the tubes as Kord had some type of ointment on him that appealed to the senses of the plant. "okay, see you around Sam" she said to the CSOs departing back, shaking her head in amusement she returned to what she had to do.

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Sam Perkins
Second Officer/Chief Science Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lt Cmdr Rachel Williams
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Poseidon

RSS Feed