Transitioning

Posted on Wed Jul 14th, 2010 @ 12:22pm by Lieutenant JG Jerreck O'Connor & Commodore Samantha York

1,933 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Transitions
Location: USS Calypso, Ready Room
Timeline: Current

Jerry almost got lost on this ship, baffled by the size of it. He'd never been on a Galaxy-class starship before, mostly smaller ships like Nova or Oberth. Even the Olympic-class ship he'd been put on for the transfer via Starbase Typhon had been big enough for him to need the help of the wall panels to find where he was. So, he decided to make use of that wonderful technology once he was onboard the Calypso. He tapped a wall panels. "Computer, where's the lift at?"

"Request acknowledged. Please follow flashing blue lights on commpanels."

"Sounds like a plan."

He walked through the halls, his uniform jacket hanging open. Since he hadn't been on duty within the last day (transfer preparations), his facial hair was starting to grow, and while he was mostly groomed, there was a general 'unkemptness' about his entire person that one couldn't put an exact finger on. He smiled when he saw an Ensign in mustard colors. "Hey, babe. I'm new here. Feel like meeting me later and showing me 'round the joint?"

Unfortunately, on-duty Security officers are not the most personable lot, and his comment was only met with a withering glare that made the half-Betazoid back away very quickly. One didn't need to be an empath to see what was clearly written on her face. And he had no desire whatsoever to end up in a brig, first day on a new ship. "O-Okay. So, drinks, maybe? When you're off-duty? I've gotta go meet up with our CO, but I'll be back to look you up."

Another withering glare and he scurried off to the Ready Room, running a hand over his face before walking in, trying to gauge how many people are in the room and what they're feeling. He could sense some stress, but nothing else. But something seemed to hang at the edge of his perception - like feeling a probing similar to his own, simultaneously confusing and annoying him. He walked in with a slight smile on his face. "Greetings, Commander. Jerry O'Connor reporting for duty. What's up?"

Sam had been expecting him. If she hadn't already known he was a Betazoid, she would have noticed as soon as he got off the turbolift. "Hi," she said, standing. "Have a seat. I'm Samantha York."

Connor nodded and sat down, leaning back in his chair. "Sure, sounds like a plan, Skipper. So, did I show up at a bad time or something?"

"No, it's not a bad time at all. We'll be leaving Typhon in a day or two, so your timing is quiet good. Why do you ask?" His attitude was not what she expected.

He smiled faintly at her and shrugged. "Oh, no real reason. You're just stressing over something, so I figured I probably wandered up here at a bad moment or something. I'm good like that." He wondered for a moment at his chances, his emotions pretty much written on his face. Interest in her condition, concern for her stress, and a little bit of anxiety about this new gig. Or at least what wasn't hidden, which was all of the self-loathing and insecurity.

Sam thought she'd kept her emotions well in check. She'd have to do some Vulcan meditation to fix that. Or... she smiled as she buried that thought. "Just the stress of changing ships. We were on the Orion until last week. We should be heading out again soon." She shrugged. "I've read your personnel file." She looked at him. "Tell me something about yourself."

He smiled back at her, enjoying the look on her face. She was definitely not a bad-looking woman, that was sure. And it was clear enough from her eyes that she was Betazoid. Probably a half, like him. "Like what? Don't have much to tell you. I mean, I like walks on the beach at sunset, good food, and good talk. I'd love to show you when we're off duty."

Sam sat back and gave him a cool look. "I don't want your entry to a singles database. For the record, I expect honest answers from my crew. So, shall we try again?" She didn't feel the need to mention that she was in a committed relationship. Her private life was just that. Private.

He smiled at her reaction to his comments - mostly because he didn't have any other response at the moment. She was definitely controlling her emotions, but for a moment it was like there was a flicker of something, directed at someone else. Of course; how could he be so stupid!? Of course a babe like that with any kind of intelligence or rank would have someone she spent her time with already. But he didn't know where to go from here. He didn't want to tell her anything, and the discomfort would probably come out in a way that didn't show up on his face. "Ah, but that was honest, Samantha. Too bad you're not in a mood to find out, though. Not much else to tell you, really. Got a bunch of degrees, 'cause it put me closer to the girls. Bummed around, then got told it was either Fleet or a real job. So, here I am."

~I know better,~ Sam replied telepathically. She'd met his type before. She wasn't impressed. "As for academic degrees, I could probably match you. I'm more interested in how you can serve the Calypso. I'm the former Chief Science Officer and I'm a little picky about who runs my department," Sam said, her voice frosty.

The telepathic communication caught him off-guard, and his eyes opened a little wider than usual for a moment before he settled down again, pulling out a PADD and skidding it across her desk. "They told me it was publish or perish. Wrote that in a night before getting transferred onto ship duty from base duty, they refused to publish. So, I perished. Unless I need to keep at the writing here and can't just keep up every week, we're good. You plannin' on running into the wild, wooly, and weird? I'm your man."

If she looked down, she'd notice that it was basically a stream-of-consciousness essay that started off about SETI and similar contact efforts on other worlds, and the shrinking range of communications that similar organizations and NGOs operating in the Federation were using - simultaneously arguing a return to a wider spread and a basic definition of intelligent life that wasn't biologically centered. However, roughly around the 6th page of the 13 page essay, his entire topic switched from that to a discussion of a specific system which had only recently been in contact with anyone, having just achieved a very basic FTL drive, but still using laser weapons and basic light-speed radio communications. From there, he pointed out that the system was a binary system, which then led him off on his final tangent, which was a very well-constructed argument for using the radio emissions of various known pulsars, categorized not by right ascension and declination, but by their time cycle and radiation ranges, as an official astrogation aid in case the Federation network were ever taken down or interrupted (say, by the Borg or another large-scale war like the Dominion War). Of course, there was very little tying the topics to one another; while the ideas were perhaps compelling, the information presented sound, and so on, it showed the personality of a man who was more concerned about showing off his finalized ideas than actually going through the time and energy to explain them.

Since he'd gone to the effort to pass her the PADD, she felt obligated to look at what was on it. She read his introductory paragraph, scanned through the body of the paper, skipping sections, and reading his conclusion. It was... interesting. "I understand the need to publish, Lieutenant. Although in my field it's more important to find something to write about. Writing scientific papers, however, is not one of the goals of the Federation. The Calypso is an explorer. We will frequently go into the wild, woolly and weird." Sam passed the PADD back to Jerry. "I've done a number of modifications to the science department. All experiments run off a secondary database that has its own power supply. This ensures that the on-going experiments won't be affected should the ship suffer a power drain. Lizzie and I also recently renovated the arboretum. She's the botanist in charge of the arboretum and the test labs associated with it."

Jerreck took the PADD back quickly. "I like the idea of the second database. It's simple, it's inspired, and, you know what? It's as beautiful as the lady who came up with it. And, I know that Starfleet's not about writing papers. That's why I joined up. Plus, sounded like a good idea at the time. But, she's cool with the greenery? I'm not gonna mess with her thing, that's her thing, I got my things. Sure, I'll help when she yells - I can imagine it now, 'Jerry! Get in here!' - but, as long as she's good to go, what does she need me stickin' my nose in for? You need results, I need results, she gives results. Seems like a good thing to me." His voice was getting faster, and he was licking his lips more often. She could feel that he was being as honest as possible, but if she probed deeper (whether she would or not was up to her), she'd notice a primal terror that he was keeping hidden - the same one that was causing her to hit on her again suddenly, speak faster, and generally do everything but squirm.

Sam didn't need to probe. She simply sat back and watched the meltdown. Maybe this way she could get to the real person without having to use her telepathy.

Jerry looked at her and tried to get control of himself. He took a breath and looked at her, and the Commander would feel that he was forcing himself under control, and he smiled. "So, yeah. I'll stay out of her way, and I think we're all good."

"She generally does have things under control," Sam agreed, trying not to chuckle.

He nodded with a smile, getting back to normal. "Sounds good to me, then."

"Take advantage of the shore leave to get settled. We'll be departing shortly," she said. "Is there anything you need from me?"

Jerry smiled and shook his head. "Not right now, but I'm gonna bet on needing your forgiveness at some point. So how 'bout you start stockpilin' that now, and we'll call it even, alright?" He stood up and took a step back.

"I just dealt with an Article 15 incident involving security, Lieutenant," Sam said. "At the moment, telling me you're going to be another troublemaker is not a good way to start."

The Scientist grinned, obviously trying to salvage a good mood. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not that big a pain. But I'm sure I'll need it for something. It's inevitable."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," Sam said with a tired smile. "If there's nothing else, you're dismissed." She was grateful she had an evening with Damon to look forward to. This was not one of her better days.

He nodded and started to head out. "Sure. If you need anything, I should be down in the lab. See ya."

OFF

Lt. JG. Jerreck "Jerry" O'Connor
Chief Science Officer, USS Calypso

Commander Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso

 

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