Lowdown on the Expanse
Posted on Sun Sep 9th, 2018 @ 9:48pm by Lieutenant Jeremiah Gilbraith IV & Commander T'Prynn
1,651 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
E1 Only The Beginning
Timeline: MD01 1537
With just over an hour or so until the ship departed for her maiden cruise under the leadership of Captain Terax and the new command team, the ships Executive Officer was continuing with a mission of her own. Her endeavour to be as supportive as possible in her new role had already seen her meet both the Operations and Intelligence Chief's, but her next target was someone that she was, as much as possible, really looking forward to discussing things with. She was strolling along deck six when she tapped her commbadge. "=/\=T'Prynn to Lieutenant Gilbraith," she called out, nodding briefly to a passing civilian.
Hearing the Executive Officer calling him over the comm surprised Jeremiah. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Gilbraith here," he said, looking over his shoulder. One side of the bed was occupied by an attractive dark-haired woman.
"=/\=Your presence is requested in science lab one at your earliest convenience," the voice of the Vulcan XO echoed around his quarters.
Probably not time for another round then, he thought. "Understood, Commander. Give me ten minutes." He hoped that would be enough time. He needed to find his clothes, figure out where on the ship he was, and get to the science lab. At least she's sleeping. Makes leaving easier.
"=/\=Ten minutes. T'Prynn out," she confirmed over the comm before it cut out.
Slowly, Jeremiah slipped out of the bed and went about trying to find the various pieces of his uniform. It took a minute or two, but he was soon mostly dressed; just his boots and jacket were left. His host was still asleep, her naked curves exposed. Spotting one of his boots, Jeremiah headed towards it. He made it several steps before he felt intense pain in one of his feet. "SHIT!" he exclaimed before he could stop himself. Looking down, he saw something small and shiny in the carpet. He bent over to pick it up, only to discover it was an earring.
"Trying to sneak out?" a feminine voice asked from behind him.
He turned around and offered his host a smile. "Duty calls," he said simply.
"Fine. But you were trying to sneak out," she replied, getting out of the bed. She approached him, her tan skin still uncovered. "You weren't even going to say goodbye."
She's not wrong, he thought. Opportunities to slip away without having to get further involved with women presented themselves infrequently, so when they did happen, he took advantage of them. "The XO needs me for something. I was going to come back," he lied. She was very attractive: dark curly hair that framed her youthful face, appealing curves, and soft, bronze skin. His eyes moved over her nude form as she stood there and, for a moment, he considered blowing off T'Prynn and trying to fix things with this woman. But he couldn't make an impression like that with a new XO. Especially so early in his tenure on the ship.
"Get out," she said firmly, extending a finger towards the door.
Jeremiah took a step towards her, hoping to get one more kiss, maybe one more embrace. If he could smooth things over well enough, he could keep the option for another rendezvous open.
Instead, his advances were met with a stern look. "I said, get out." This time, she punctuated her order with a slap.
Grabbing his boots and jacket, he sprinted from the room, leaving her standing, still unclothed, in the middle of her quarters.
A short while later, T'Prynn was silently perched upon a stool in the science lab she had indicated to the Lieutenant and was pouring over some information on a data PADD whilst she waited for him to arrive.
Gilbraith had used the turbolift trip to step into his boots and shrug on his jacket. As he entered science lab one, his jacket was still open. He saw the Vulcan Executive Officer was already present.
"Sorry for the delay," Jeremiah offered. "How can I help you, Commander?"
"My knowledge of this region is somewhat lacking," the Vulcan revealed as she rose to her feet from the stool. "I would like your expert analysis of the Expanse we will enter and what awaits us," the Commander directed.
He gave the Vulcan woman a friendly smile. "I can give you excellent information about multiple things, but the Expanse is not one of them. I have a doctorate in applied physics and I've parlayed that into a successful tactical R&D resume. The Expanse is not quite in my wheelhouse."
"You are the Chief Science Officer of this vessel, are you not?" the Vulcan queried despite clearly knowing the answer. "I am told that the Expanse is an area of great interest to the scientific community, so I suggest you make sure you move it into your wheelhouse, Lieutenant." If she had been of any species other than her own, she would have been flabbergasted at the idea that the science officer would know so little about the area of space they would be travelling into. There was a definite tone of some form in her voice, perhaps irritation or annoyance?
"Perhaps you should take some of your own advice. Let me know what you find out," he replied. "Now, if you'd like to discuss the R&D cycle of tactical systems, the capabilities and tolerances of forcefields, or even the fine details of the current generation of Type-X phasers, let me know." Jeremiah crossed his arms in front of his chest. "If there's nothing else, I'll be in my lab," he said before turning to leave.
"Lieutenant Gilbraith," the Vulcan spoke, her hands clasped together behind her back and her left eyebrow raised somewhat. "It is clear to me now that you, unlike many Terrans, failed to... read between the lines of my 'suggestion'." The Vulcan found this man to be most frustrating, or at least would have if she allowed herself to get frustrated. "Perhaps you would benefit from a transfer to an alternative department? Security and Tactical for example. Your skill set clearly lacks the necessary requirements to carry out your duties. If you are not capable of performing your required duties as Chief Science Officer it is within my remit as Executive Officer to suggest to the Captain that we find an alternative member of the ships compliment to assume the role," the woman concluded, her tone never deviating from the monotonous, understated manner she was accustomed to.
Jeremiah chuckled softly as he turned back around to face the woman. "I won't tell you how to do your job; if you want to try to transfer me, I can't stop you. I will say that you'll mostly likely be disappointed in reassigning me to Security. I'm not much of a fighter. And while I do know quite a bit about the tactical systems of Federation Starships, having worked on the development of several of those technologies, I doubt you'd be satisfied with my abilities in using them to protect this ship. But, the decision is yours." Again, Gilbraith turned to leave.
"Is it your intention to try and provoke me into a form of emotional response, Mr Gilbraith?" the Vulcan asked again, her stance unwavering as she watched him, again with a raised eyebrow. He was definitely an odd individual. "Or do you need further instruction on how to carry out the wishes of a superior officer?"
"Lieutenant or Doctor," he corrected. "Either will suffice." Turning around, again, Jeremiah looked at the woman coolly. "I don't care about your 'emotional response' to anything. Vulcan emotional triggers also fall outside of my area of expertise." Looking down as he crossed his arms, he quickly picked some lint from his uniform. "I don't see any superior officers here. Just a higher ranking one." He didn't bother trying to leave this time; it was clear the Vulcan wasn't going to let that happen. "At some point are you going to allow me to do my job? Or are you planning on wasting everyone's time trying to assert dominance over me?"
"You show a blatant disregard for the chain of command, Lieutenant. The Captain will hear of this," the Vulcan told sternly. "A full report regarding the expanse and its possible effects on the ship is required by the start of Alpha shift tomorrow. If it is not completed to a satisfactory standard, I will place you on report for failing to complete your duties appropriately. Is that understood?"
"Resorting to making threats now? Brilliant," Gilbraith replied. "Let's review; you summoned me to one of my labs and told me you expect me to provide an 'expert analysis' of something that is not my field of study, which I informed you of. Your response, at the end of the day, is to threaten discipline. I'm not sure if your act is typical Vulcan superiority complex or if there's something more, but whatever it is, for your own sake, and that of the ship, you might want to tone it down." He unfolded his arms and hoped that all of this useless performance would be over soon. "Is there anything else? I'm sure we both have better things to be doing right now."
"You have your orders. A full report regarding the expanse and its possible effects on the ship is required by the start of Alpha shift tomorrow," the Vulcan stated again, opting not to engage in his petty argument any further. "Good day, Lieutenant," she remarked before heading for the doorway.
She's a real treat, Jeremiah said to himself as the Vulcan exited the lab. Some choice words also went through his head, the larger thought being that the Executive Officer was going to be a pain in the ass to work with.
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