A Brief Exchange

Posted on 03 Feb 2014 @ 12:08pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Petty Officer 1st Class Oliver Morris

1,012 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Starfleet HQ - 2nd Floor, Auxiliary Briefing Room #5
Timeline: MD04 - 1345 hrs

[ON]

Once everyone had left the briefing room except for her new yeoman, Lirha swiveled in her seat and turned to the young petty officer. "That went better than expected," she mused to him. "I think with all of the upgrades and personnel changes, Captain Holliday and Commander Blake will be busy for quite some time." It was a relief to not have to deal with all of the command issues herself, for a change.

"It does seem that they'll have their hands full Madam, or Commodore." Oliver blushed. "How is it you want to be addressed? I don't want to misspeak."

"Actually, you can call me 'sir'. It is naval tradition, after all," she answered, then rose from her seat to procure a drink from the replicator. "Coffee? Tea?" she offered him while a mug of hot chocolate materialized for herself.

"Black Tea, cream and sugar. Thanks sir." Oliver took a seat and tapped a few commands on table console. "I am glad we get a chance to speak together before we things become crazy. My last assignment I was thrust into battle the next day."

Lirha returned to the table and handed the man his requested drink. "What was your previous posting?" she asked, wondering what ship(s) he had spent time on prior to Galileo.

"Actually, sir, my last posting was on the Tiberius as Admiral Ro'Ig's Yeoman. It was a long 6 years but it was worth it. It was sad when that ship went down. But by then I was ready to move on." Oliver replied with a short smile.

"Change often brings new opportunity and progress," she thoughtfully commented. "Losing a starship is often a traumatizing event for those who serve aboard her...a similar situation happened to USS Venture during our last mission, and we were able to rescue many of the survivors. But not all, sadly."

"I read that on my way from Starbase 332." Oliver sipped on his tea. He allowed the silence to pass a brief moment before continued the conversation. "I can't wait to see the ship. How is the refit coming?"

She lightly shrugged, seemingly not too concerned with the ship's construction. "Well enough, I suppose. Refits are rather uneventful processes and so far the dockmaster has not informed me of any delays. According to my logs, the refit should be complete within the next three weeks."

"That's good to hear," Oliver finished his tea and walked to the replicator and pressed the reclaim button. He tugged on his uniform tunic and adjusted his collar. "I have spoken with the Quartermaster he had asked me about your office. Since the Galileo doesn't have a VIP office I took the liberty of adjusting a part of your own Quarters so that you may have some space to work in separate of your living space."

"Excellent. Actually," she paused as she pulled out her PADD again and began to browse through the new deck listing the yard engineers had provided her with, "I believe there is a new administrative office on Deck 2 being installed. It looks to be across from the XO's office at the bow of the ship." Her green fingers lightly played across the slim device then an image of the workspace manifested on the large wall-mounted LCARS screen for Morris to see.

"I do not mind working from my quarters and it was prudent thinking to arrange extra accommodations. This new office will be our official work space for both you and Mister Jaquen, as well as myself and our second officer," she explained. "That way, you do not have to come to my quarters every time we need to speak or exchange documents."

"Excellent," Oliver nodded. "Do you wish me to cancel the request? It's a quick fix. The Quartermaster will be roommate. Between you and me, I think he likes me."

Lirha smirked and gave the man a small, private smile. "I am sure that will come in handy sooner or later, no?" she jested, then lightly shook her head. "No, no need to cancel it. The more work space I have, the better. We can always adjust some of the logistics and hardware at a later point if it turns out to be too redundant."

"Good," Oliver smiled. "Besides Sir, I am not a fan of hanging around my Commanding Officer's private area. I prefer to keep in my own space unless summoned. It would be a gross invasion of your privacy." He then paused at the replicator and walked toward the table. "Is there anything official you need of me before launch? Honestly I've been in four meetings since I've arrived and, despite my chance meetings with other crew members, been rather bored. I am ready to get to work."

She thought about his offer for a long moment, and her mind raced through all of the different things which she thought she might need on board Galileo. Finally, with a bit of a hesitant shake of her head, she declined the offer. "No...nothing I can think of right now. But that is not to say something will not pop into my head. If it does, I will be sure to let you know. When the refits are complete, we can board the ship and take a look around to finalize our plans."

"Good, Sir." Oliver stood up. "If there's nothing left to consider may I be dismissed? My mother wanted me to contact her once I arrived on Earth and well I've been here for three days."

"Yes, of course," she answered, giving him a wave of her hand to indicate he could leave whenever he desired. "Mothers do not like to be kept waiting," she added with a wink.

Oliver thanked Saalm and they shook hands. As he left the conference, Oliver felt confident. With this crew, he thought, Oliver could see a great adventure ahead.

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

PO Oliver Morris
Senior Yeoman
USS Galileo

RSS Feed