Ma'am, We've got a Problem

Posted on 14 Jul 2014 @ 2:54pm by Commander Scarlet Blake & Cadet Sophomore Grade Alenis Taban & Nesh Saalm
Edited on on 14 Jul 2014 @ 2:55pm

1,235 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1, Blake's Quarters
Timeline: MD 04 - 2240 hrs

[ON]

Their hike to find the Executive Officer wasn't nearly as frantic as the initial hike to Stace, at least, it wasn't from Nesh's end. Maybe it was because Blake was a woman and Nesh could relate to her easier, or it may have had to do with the fact that Blake wasn't pregnant and was probably seen, at least in the Orion's eyes, as less likely to rip her head off.

Taban had been on the planet with the XO and really thought he'd managed to make a good impression especially given it was only his second away mission. To say he was thrilled with the idea of undoing that good work with this calamitous piece of idiocy, for which he still entirely blamed Nesh, would have been plainly false. "I hate the idea of disturbing her with this." Muttered the Operations officer as they moved towards the door.

"Maybe she'll be in a good mood?" Nesh suggested, pressing on the chime. "... We could be catching her at just the right time."

The door to Blake's quarters opened, revealing the First Officer standing in the doorway with a flushed and crying little girl sitting on her hip as she held her. Scarlet looked between the two, her eyes narrowing slightly. A visit at this hour from a couple of cadets was unusual to say the least. "Yes?" she asked bluntly, before she let her mind wonder off on all the horrid possibilities.

Alenis shot a glare at Saalm, as if to scream at her with his eyes. 'You just had to tempt fate and say that, didn't you?' He thought. Turning back to the Commander and the squealing child he became aware that the girl seemed to be looking at him... and this only seemed to coincide with an increase in the child's distress. He was used to this from his last years at the orphanage as the newer arrivals generally found the strange Cardassian looks extremely scary. "Oh, errr, I'm sorry, Commander. Maybe I should go...." he muttered with his eyes turned to the floor, trying not to scare the girl any further.

Scarlet shook her head gently, her hand resting against her daughter's hair tenderly. "There's a reason you came. Come in, give me a few minutes..." she said firmly, already moving through to Lily's bedroom.

Nesh let out a small squeak, following Blake inside and depositing herself on the couch in the living area. She gave Taban a hopeless 'I'll try to make it up to you later, promise?' look, but it failed just as miserably as her other attempts did.

The part-Bajoran shifted uncomfortably as he followed Nesh in. He was painfully aware of the effect he had on children and just how much that alone frustrated him. As an orphan - especially one who had grown up in such an at times isolated and hostile environment - he almost felt a natural affinity with children, and the fact that they seemed terrified of him - just as many had at the orphanage, which directly led to his relatively lonely childhood - was certainly something he somehow resented deep down.

It took a few long moments for Scarlet to settle Lily on the bed with her favourite toy dragon and a film on the small screen. She knew it was just a fever, but she was only young still and it was difficult for her to understand and cope with. "Right...." Scarlet set her hands on her hips as she moved back out to the pair, looking between them with pursed lips. "So what can I help you with?"

Another squeak popped out of Nesh's mouth, before she glanced up at Blake for half a second. Her eyes shot down a moment later, and she barely managed to get her response out. "....... One of my tribbles escaped this morning, ma'am." She popped up with a start the moment the thought tumbled out of her mouth. "We've gone to Lieutenant Stace and Lieutenant Zhao before coming straight to you, and we're going to go right up till we get to Lir-ah... the Commodore, m-ma'am. I-I'm sorry. I should have kept a better eye on him."

Alenis remained quiet, seemingly distracted. The more he tried to push the disconcertion which had flooded over him at the sight of the young girl's eyes wide with terror on seeing him - or so he had internally convinced himself - even adding to preexisting distress, the more he seemed to focus in on it. His eyes remained fixed on a point in the far corner of the room where the bulkhead met the deck.

Scarlet's mouth fell open as she stared first at Nesh, then at Alenis, then back to Nesh. She, like most others, was fully aware of the legendary trouble that tribbles had caused in the past. She held a finger out at Nesh, her eyes narrowing slightly and her head tilting to the side with the sinking feeling that was washing over her. "Please tell me you have found it...right?"

Nesh paused, waiting for a very long, nearly overdramatic moment, before finally lowering her head and shaking it slowly. "... If we had found it, we wouldn't be talking to you now. I'm really really sorry."

Scarlet pressed her lips tightly together to stop herself from swearing. She shook her head, exasperated as she watched the two of them with disbelief. "Do you have any idea how much chaos those things can bring? Do you have any idea how much we do not need chaos right now in the middle of working with a Cardassian ship?"

Tensing, the Orion teen attempted to keep the fear from reaching her expression, with limited success. She snapped her eyes downward, unsure of how to respond to the XO's annoyance. It was understandable annoyance, she really couldn't put it past Blake to be so tense, especially with Cardassians involved, though she wasn't sure she understood why everyone was so tense to begin with. "I'm sorry, ma'am. We've ... we've gone to Lieutenant Stace and Lieutenant Zhao about... fixing the problem, so we... we have a plan, but we didn't want to leave anyone out of the loop... we thought it best to tell everyone personally."

"So what's the plan?" Blake asked sharply, arching an eyebrow as she folded her arms firmly across her chest, setting her gaze on her. Her look was clear; 'it better be good'.

Blake's intimidating glare wore down Nesh's near non-existent resolve, but she nodded despite this, taking a deep breath. "At this stage, Lieutenant Stace has suggested we gather Science, Operations, and Engineering together and see what we can come up with before the tribbles reach a level of unmanageable infestation, in as quick and quiet a manner as we possibly can, ma'am. The meeting should be taking place in the next twenty minutes, after Taban and I go see Captain Holliday and Commodore Saalm about this."

Scarlet gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She met her eyes again, giving a brief nod, licking her lips. "Then you had better get on with it. You can have the pleasure of informing the Captain about this...."

"Yes, ma'am."

***

OFF

Cadet [FG] Nesh Saalm
USS Galileo
Scientist's Mate
[PNPC Kita]

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

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