The Needs of the Few...

Posted on 04 Jan 2014 @ 7:48pm by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ellsworth Hudson & Petty Officer 1st Class Oliver Morris

1,686 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Starfleet HQ, Earth
Timeline: MD 10 - 1620 hrs

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Ellsworth had his nose buried in his PADD trying to keep track of the Commodore's yeoman; he seemed to be on the move within the labyrinth that was Starfleet Headquarters, probably heading from one meeting to the next or out on some meeting for his designated flag officer.

The walk up and down corridors, trying his best to avoid officers, gave him plenty of time to think, and he found it difficult to envision the life of a yeoman. Ellsworth had been forced to fend for himself for so long that it had imbued him with a fiercely independent spirit and being someone's personal assistant seemed like it would be a poor fit for him. He had a hard enough time with all of the "Yes, sir" and "No, ma'am" he'd endured thus far in Starfleet; fetching things for a member of the brass was a foreign, unappealing concept.

Following the directions from the PADD brought him into one of Starfleet Headquarter's rotunda junctions. Across the rotunda he could see Morris's tall, muscular frame moving at a good clip around the circular rail protecting passersby from the shaft exposing a roof at one end and the bottom floor of the building at the other. If he ran, Ellsworth thought he could catch him. If he yelled, he might stop. Neither seemed within keeping to acceptable decorum, but the Betazoid was getting tired of following him.

"Petty Officer Morris!" Ellsworth shouted, throwing his voice with the practice of an amateur performing artist.

Oliver idly walked along the rail, people watching from above. His wandering mind woke from it's reverie when his name was called from across the rotunda. Skimming the crowd with his eyes he saw a short young man waving at him.

Thankful that his shipmate stopped, Ellsworth jogged around the rotunda railing toward him. When he finally stood before him, he realized the trick that perspective had been playing on him: Morris stood half a foot taller than Ellsworth and his muscular build made it seem as if he could account for two of the petite Betazoid. Morris immediately reminded him of a Kriosian athlete whose muscular frame practically engulfed his whole body when he hired him during visits to Risa for competitions.

Despite the physical disparities, the smaller crewman seemed not the least bit intimidated when he stuck his hand out in greeting; though dwarfed, he still flashed a smile that conveyed an inner confidence.

"Hi, I'm Ellsworth Hudson, the Galileo's new quartermaster."

"Nice to meet you." Oliver waved a hand toward the center of rotunda where a set of benches where just vacated. When they sat down Oliver said, "So how can I help you Ells?"

Ellsworth flashed a beguiling smile and looked downward, giving a coy reaction to the natural use of his nickname. He glanced up from the PADD he'd been holding, fixing his colleague with black eyes. "Well, I was hoping you could help me with an issue I've come up with while tryin' to assign quarters. We don't really have a designated room for the Commodore, and I didn't wanna just stick her anywhere, y'know?"

He shifted on the bench closer to Morris and brought up the ship's schematic on his PADD so they could both see.

"I was thinking we could re-purpose the VIP quarters on Deck One, so she's close to the captain and the bridge. But I doubt they're really suitable for her purposes at the moment. Do you have any thoughts?" he asked, turning to look up at Morris and noticing for the first time he was wearing glasses. Despite his best efforts, he was sure the surprise registered on his face.

Though obvious to Hudson's flirtation Oliver ignored it and looked down at the PADD and ran a hand over the picture on the screen allowing it to zoom in. "I think if you talk with the Dock Master and those who are working on the Refit that a plasteel partition to separate her Office with her quarters would suffice. The old Excelsior Class ships had something similar for VIP Quarters along with a separate entrance."

"That way she can receive official visitors away from her living space and I won't have to encroach on her private time." Oliver looked up and put away his eye glasses. He blinked to allow his eyes to adjust. "She also asked for a king Sized, four poster bed." He laughed, "Regulation of course."

Ellsworth resisted the urge to pry telepathically. He knew some of his people saw little problem with it, using it as an advantage in negotiation, romance and interpersonal relationships. He'd always found that to be ethically questionable, as was his flirtatious behavior, he was loathe to admit. He doubted it was something becoming a member of Starfleet...even if all his raging, ever-present Betazoid hormones were screaming at him from the celibacy of basic and advanced training.

"Hm, the partition would work but that bed is going to definitely make things cramped," he replied, turning his attention to the floor plan on the PADD. "But I'm sure it will be easy to requisition, especially for a flag officer."

"I was kidding Ellsworth. She'll have the standard bed size as anyone else. I would also requisition a standard desk, a wall mounted monitor so that she could keep tabs on the Galileo and the rest of her deployments. That's all I can think of."

Ellsworth's cheeks turned a dark red and he immediately looked into his lap to avoid the further embarrassment of eye contact. What kind of telepath allowed themselves to miss a joke?

"I'm new to Starfleet," he admitted. "I'm, uh... New to society, too, in some respects. So I don't know where the line is with humor." He stopped, obviously wanting to continue his thought but too concerned about babbling. "It was a good joke. Orion woman, big bed. I get it." He grinned, hoping to alleviate some of his own embarrassment.

"No need to apologize. You're a Betazoid and young. You'll work it out. My Academy room mate was a Betazoid too. He had a tough time with humor too. It wasn't until he met me that he figured it out." Oliver smiled.

Ellworth smirked. "Yeah, it's something I could work on... So, I haven't started on enlisted quarters, but do you have a preference for deck and bunkmate?" He deactivated the PADD and moved to a more "professional" distance on the bench.

"I have no preferences. Just a warm bed." Oliver nodded. "As for my room mate as long as he or she or it doesn't mind me exercising at 6 in the morning then I'll be fine."

"Someone on Alpha shift for sure then," he nodded. Recovering some of his confidence from his early embarrassment, he sat the PADD to the side. "Do you have a certain routine? The ship has a workout room, I believe. I try to exercise every day, whatever random selection the computer makes. I'm guilty of missing more than a few days, though. Thankfully I have good metabolism, too, otherwise I'd be waddling around like a Tellarite with all the sweets I eat."

"I get up two hours before my shift, do an hour of Body Weight Exercises; push up, sit ups that sort of thing. Just to get the blood flowing and then head to the gym for an hour of weight lifting. I work out everyday and on my days off I try to head to a holodeck for a game of LaCrosse, or run a 5k to keep myself busy." Oliver spoke while he fixed a wrinkle in his tunic that had been bothering him since he sat down. "And having a good metabolism I also can eat like a raging targ."

"A 5k just to keep busy? Well. Your dedication certainly shows," Ellsworth said, sparing a look at the other man's arms and demonstrating some restraint in not gushing about it. "I don't think my frame was really meant for all that. It's hard for me to even imagine. I just goof around in the holodeck. I've never even played lacrosse. Or seen a match. I think they used to host tournaments on Risa, though."

"Well, I guess we should remedy that," Oliver winked. "And a 5k isn't that bad. I think you can handle it. With the right training."

"Oh? Is that a challenge? I may not be as big or as fast or as athletic as you... But, uh. Well." Ellsworth grinned sheepishly. "I'll probably lose, let's just get that out on the front end. I'm pretty sure I could take you in an ice cream eating contest, though."

"Running marathons aren't about beating a challenger. They're about challenging yourself. Doing something that you thought you could never do. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, won the Academy Marathon in his Freshman Year. But was a runner in his High School years as well he said that he even surprised himself by shaving off four minutes from his time." Oliver stood up. "Is there anything else you need? I am not pressed for time, but my mother is waiting to hear from me and might need to speed off to a Comm Station soon."

"No, no, that's all," Ellsworth said, snagging his PADD and standing up. "Thank you, Mr. Morris. And anytime you're ready, I'll see you on the lacrosse...um. Court?"

"Field, and if you want, put me down for your bunk mate and call me Ollie." Oliver smiled and reached out to shake his hand. "I think we'll get on fine."

Ellsworth shook his hand as firmly as he could manage and gave a crooked smile. "Perfect, Ollie. Oh, and just Ells for me. See you on the field!"

He gave him a wave as he departed, tucked the PADD under his arm and set off on the next task feeling rather pleased at taking care of so many things at one time.

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PO1 Oliver Morris
Senior Yeoman
USS Galileo

&

PO3 Ellsworth Hudson
Quartermaster
USS Galileo
[ PNPC - Mott ]

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