Introductions

Posted on Mon Sep 7th, 2020 @ 10:23pm by Lieutenant Avery Paxton III & Senior Chief Petty Officer Taazk

Mission: Once Upon A Time on Risa.
Location: Engineering

0600hrs, Avery’s alarm went off. Being a morning person, she quickly hopped out of bed and headed for the sonic shower, already fully awake and ready to start the day. After a quick shower, she threw on a freshly pressed uniform and made sure that she looked militarily perfect. Satisfied that she was presentable, she left her quarters for engineering on Deck 14.

Avery wasn’t required to report in to engineering until shore leave was over, but she felt that it would make for a better impression if she showed up early to at least meet the Chief. She had a tendency to be a workaholic anyways and her only other plans during shore leave were to review the engineering specs again (even though she practically had them memorized at this point) and look at the crew manifest to familiarize herself with the new crew.

Taazk was in his office when Avery arrived. His back was to the door and from where she stood, it looked like he was reading something on his console. She walked up to his desk. “Good morning Chief. Lieutenant Avery James Paxton III,” she said, extending her hand, expecting him to turn round. She continued, “I know I’m not required to report in until after shore leave, but I thought I would stop by and introduce myself.” Another pause and no response. "Chief Taazk?" She moved around the side of the desk, "Chief?" She leaned in, his eyes were shut, and his mouth, slightly open. A small nodule of fluid had formed in the corner of his mouth.

Is he dead she thought? He looked like he was still breathing. Maybe he was asleep? She didn’t want to call sickbay with a medical emergency if he was just asleep. She would be the butt of all the jokes and come under the XO's scrutiny until someone else made an even dumber mistake. It would be like serving with Commander Sito all over again. No XO could be as bad as him though, could they? She decided there was only one thing to do. Avery raised her left arm and pointed a "jabbing" finger towards the Tellarite. Maybe a good poke would wake him up.

"If that finger touches me you lose the hand that goes with it!" A gruff voice answered. Taazk's eyes opened and looked straight at Paxton. "Tellarites are known for their sensitive snouts and I picked up your scent before you entered the office!" He let out what she could only describe as a chuckle. Not having much interaction with Tellarites she was slightly taken aback by his disposition.

He spun round in his chair and stood up, straightening his uniform. "So Paxton, it says in your record you know your way around a star ship engine?" She nodded. "Well, there is no time like the present, the dilithium matrix isn't going to align itself! Lead on Lieutenant."

It took her a minute to recover from his response. She hadn’t intended on working this morning since she wasn’t actually due to report in until after shore leave, but she also loved engineering enough that she’d never say no to getting her hands on an engine, or any part of one for that matter.

Avery nodded, then turned and headed towards one of the engineering consoles. She ran a quick diagnostic to check for any issues. When no issues were reported, she turned to Taazk, “I’m going to recalibrate the antiproton injection seals first. That’ll ensure there’s no leaks in the matter/antimatter containment system while we realign the dilithium matrix.” She stated plainly while she continued to type away on the panel. Avery vaguely remembered that Tellarites tend to be grumpy and liked to argue so she figured there was no point in trying to sound nice.

“Chief, If you picked up my scent before I even entered your office, then why didn’t you say anything until I threatened you with a finger?” She asked, not taking her eyes off of the screen as she continued the realignment process.

He scratched his greying beard and thought about his response. "I have served with many officers through my career Lieutenant, some good ones and some very bad ones. The bad ones do not like the responsibility of solving problems and call for help at the earliest opportunity, passing the buck, and blame, if something goes wrong, to someone else. The good ones grab the bull by the horns and look at a problem and find a way to solve it. They overcome, they adapt. I wanted to see what sort of officer you were Lieutenant? And so far, you are one step closer to being on my good side."

“That’s fair,” she stated, wondering what else she'd have to do to get on his good side. Avery loved engineering and definitely wanted to impress the CEO seeing as how they would be working together for the foreseeable future.

A few moments later and the process was complete. She double checked her work, then stepped aside for the chief to inspect what had been done.

He scrolled through the results of the diagnostic, all things were in the green, even a couple of improvements over the scan he had completed a few days previous. "Um, not bad Lieutenant, but I expect better next time." Taazk turned and walked back to his office. "Taylor" he called, "Show the Lieutenant around."

"Aye aye Chief" Ensign Beth Taylor replied. She walked over to where Avery was standing and smiled. "Welcome to the family Lieutenant."