Off Duty & Slumming

Posted on Tue Nov 24th, 2015 @ 7:30am by Captain Charybdis MacGregor
Edited on on Tue Nov 24th, 2015 @ 7:31am

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Taking Chances
Location: USS Bonne Chance, Deck 11, Enlisted Mess
Timeline: 2265
Tags: lesbians,messhall,mystery

By 1400, Charybdis had changed the duty rosters of the department after realizing that some shuffling would need to occur in order to keep the Science station bridge shifts covered, with the departure of the former Chief. She wasn't authorized, but it had to be done and she was the officer on duty, so better to do the job and seek forgiveness later than to leave it undone and proudly point to the fact that she did not have authorization so she did not overstep her bounds.

Logic told her that she should have learned that lesson with the last Chief Science Officer. Her own grasp of practical reality told her otherwise, and as usual, she opted to listen to her instincts.

She debated cancelling the triple check of the sensor relay, but it seemed to be progressing faster now, as the crews were becoming better acquainted with the systems and they were going to be through within a few hours. I wonder if that had been part of his plan, she mused, but somehow Charybdis doubted it. Didn't seem that logical... but then, most of her former supervisor's logic didn't seem to make sense to her.

She supposed it was because she was just not 'enlightened' enough to see it the way that he did.

With the weight off her mind of her domineering and controlling supervisor no longer being an issue, she was amazed at how relaxed she was. That conflict had cast a pall over everything she had been doing aboard the Bonne Chance until now, and with his absence, she was now free to comport herself like a regular person and not watch her back every step of the way and plot strategy.

He would likely try to stir up trouble for her at Starfleet back on Earth- Vulcans claimed to not hold grudges, but they claimed a lot of things that proved untrue in her experience. But Starfleet, while allied with the various races of the Federation, was based on Earth for a reason; because the humans were the primary directors of the burgeoning star power. And they were definitely the primary directors of policy... and quashing emotional Vulcans who were doing their jobs were a low priority, she strongly suspected.

The new bridge watch schedule was easy to set, and while she was at it she also outlined the duties and schedules for the department to do constructive tasks that actually needed to get done, and sent memos to Engineering asking for cooperative efforts in some cases to make mixed teams to get systems up to par faster and more efficiently, rather than having one department follow another on tasks as it was currently assigned. She submitted the duty changes to Commander Ak'Ahar, who looked them over, made a recommendation that she implemented, made another that she defended, then approved the schedule.

At the moment she was not in charge of the department, but that didn't mean that she was about to sit idly by and watch it fall apart, then point the finger to an absent officer. That, to her mind, was militarily and criminally negligent, and while she was many things, Charybdis was no malingerer.

She contacted Ensign Fisk, whom she had assigned to the 1500 shift, apologized for the abrupt change in schedule and reassignment, and asked him to please report to the Bridge to cover the midshift. He showed up five minutes early; she went through the shift change handoff with him, expressed her appreciation for him coming on short notice with a smile, and assured him that he would get an additional liberty shift while they were in spacedock with the Starbase for the inconvenience. He seemed surprised by her manner and demeanor, but accepted it gracefully, then started his shift with a smile.

Charybdis liked happy endings, and she was departing the Bridge with a spring in her step, only to encounter Gunny O'Neil and Chief Dover at the turbolift entrance, where they had been observing while they waited for her to finish.

"Nicely done, Lieutenant. You went a little above and beyond there for the Ensign, huh?" said Dover as the turbolift doors shut behind them. Charybdis cocked her head slightly and raised an eyebrow with a half-smile. "What do you mean, Chief?"

"Well, it's just that covering shifts unexpectedly is all a part of duty... you didn't have to bribe him too, but you gave him an incentive after he did his duty that wasn't required. Any reason for that? Not that we're criticizing, just curious," the Gunnery sergeant replied, hands held up in gentle defense.

Laughter came easily to Charybdis, and she shook her head. "Well, I'm not authorized to change the duty roster, so in truth I am acting with no authority here. So sure, I can just club him with rank and order him to do it and expect it to be followed, but better to ask him, extend a little appreciation, and then I can cover one of his shifts later in the week myself to insure that he gets that extra liberty. So the next time I ask him to do something like that he'll be even more likely to step to it and do his duty happily rather than grumble and curse the Vulcan she-bitch's name."

Chief Dover shook her head with a chuckle. "You really aren't like other Vulcans, are you Lieutenant?"

"You have no idea, Chief," Charybdis replied enigmatically.

The turbolift stopped on Deck Eleven, and the trio made their way to the enlisted mess. "Hungry?" Gunny O'Neil asked, and Charybdis nodded.

"I could eat a rock right now if it had some duck sauce on it. Couldn't sleep last night, didn't have much of an appetite this morning, but if I don't get something in me soon I might have to resort to cannibalism," she joked, and they made their way to the line to the food dispensers.

One garden salad, one Cobb salad and one double cheeseburger with the works, a baked potato and an Andorian salad later, the three found an empty table, sat and started eating. Dover and O'Neil exchanged glances over their salads, then Chief Dover commented. "So... not a vegetarian either, huh?"

Between mouthfuls Charybdis managed to hold up a finger and chew sufficiently to swallow, then nodded. "Most are... and they are all rail skinny with no curves, either. I'm an omnivore... my philosophical beliefs don't exclude eating animal protein and frankly, I need a lot more than a salad to keep all this moving!" She shimmied her shoulders a bit at that, producing a seismic reaction from her prodigious bust, which in turn drew a bit of attention from more than just their table, and she laughed.

Gunny O'Neil leaned in a bit and spoke in a conspiratorial tone. "So what you were saying earlier on the Bridge... about doing your job and learning what's expected of you aboard the Bonnie... what did you mean by that?"

Her head cocked slightly and an eyebrow raised up, then Charybdis shrugged and speared some more potato to be sacrificed to her hunger and leaned in to speak in a very even and quiet tone that would be difficult to hear any further than a foot away. "I got the bright idea to impress my superior by tackling a difficult job and pushing through to get it done, thus proving that I might be unconventional, but I'm competent. Didn't work out so well... in my last command my Captain appreciated initiative like that and I had a lot of free reign, but I haven't gotten a very clear impression of how this command works yet. Except that the former CSO didn't care for me or my initiative, but now that he's gone, I don't know what might be the case insofar as the barometer of this ship might be."

Chief Dover leaned in as well, looked around to insure that no one was eavesdropping and added her own thoughts. "Honestly, there really hasn't been much to go on. The Bonnie's a Constitution class and she's mostly assembled, but we were almost shoved out of the shipyard for this mission that was supposed to have critical urgency, then we stopped cold to put in here at Starbase 4 for refits and crew changes. The Captain really hasn't been seen much, so he's pretty much an unknown commodity. The XO has already changed once since we left Planitia Utopia, apparently the CSO has changed twice now, and I haven't seen the Security commander since we got to Starbase. It kinda looks like the CMO is running an alien commune in Sickbay, and overall, there is a whole lot going on aboard this vessel that has left most of the crew confused. Morale isn't exactly high, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that we appear to be the unwanted stepchild of the fleet, or the first Flying Dutchman of Starfleet."

This actually slowed down Charybdis' eating as she took in all of what the NCOs were telling her. This was bad... very bad. Is this why I finally managed to get an assignment aboard a Constitution class? Because the ship is being set up for failure? Cahr's brows furrowed together sharply at the bridge of her nose, as her fork tapped gently against her plate.

"I assume that the Captain knows, and he is dealing with it as best he can... obviously the NCO's are working on it from their end, if you are bringing it to my attention. It seems we have a threefold problem; we aren't ready for mission status yet, the crew is being kept in the dark and off-balance, and the officers are being rotated faster than a warp speed centrifuge, so there's no real leadership available. It all sounds quite queer... I wonder what's really going on beneath the surface of this situation?"

The two NCOs exchanged glances and looked back to the officer. "We don't know, Lieutenant. But if you can figure it out and let us know, we'd appreciate it. We have a lot of personnel who are looking for a way off this boat right now, and it isn't going to get any better if they don't get reasons to stay. Not everybody can call a vice admiral for an immediate transfer, but we're already well below operational strength on this vessel, and getting lower by the day."

Hooking a thumb over her shoulder Chief Dover commented, "Surely you must have noticed how empty the corridors are on your little strolls, Lieutenant?"

Taken aback, Charybdis arched an eyebrow at the blonde pilot. "How did you...?"

The Gunnery Sergeant and the Chief both chuckled at that. "Please, Lieutenant, don't be coy. You've made a regular habit of strolling Deck Six, so everyone has seen you doing it. Between that, your initial little chess match with Lt. Suval and your fifty-two hour stretch in Engineering, combined with the fact that you're a Vulcan with a sense of humor who knows how to smile, you're not exactly an unknown commodity on this boat, ma'am. Pretty much everyone has some idea of who you are, and your reputation so far isn't so bad. With all due respect," the Gunny added hastily.

"Food for thought," Charybdis said with a chuckle, then turned serious once more. "I'll try to figure out what's happening Chief, Gunny... and I will let you know, I promise. I haven't really gotten the pulse of the crew before now, but now that I have a bit of a greater understanding of the situation I'll see what I can do."

"That's all we can ask," the Chief replied, and as the salacious science officer cleared her tray and departed the enlisted mess, the two NCOs exchanged glances.

"Think she'll be able to make a difference?" asked Chief Dover.

"We'll find out within a few days..." replied Gunny O'Neil. "Let's hope so, or else we all might be getting transferred to new commands soon..."

Gunny O'Neil and Chief Dover vanished from the mess hall three minutes later. No one even noticed them disappear.

Three hundred forty-seven crew accounted for.

 

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