Promotion Through Reassurance

Posted on 25 Feb 2015 @ 8:13pm by Lieutenant Asahi Kita & Lieutenant JG Grayson Jones

969 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 7, Engineering Office
Timeline: MD 44 - 1124 Hrs

ON

It was peculiar to sit and watch his owner pace, walking back and forth in the same exact circle, with seemingly no direction or reason for doing so. But there he was though, at it again, nose in one of those weird, rectangle-no-no-frisbees, muttering to himself. He sounded upset, but every time Hojo tried to console him, he ordered the pup back into the corner.

It was quite peculiar.

"Bird of prey, bird of prey... is this even the right ship? I should be conferring with Lirha on this..." It had been ten minutes since the engineer had left the cargo bay and almost locked himself in the confines of his office. Not his office, not for the moment, but Grayson's. He spent thirty seconds behind the desk before jumping out of it, reminding himself for the umpteenth time that he was going to be behind a different desk for awhile.

He spent about two minutes gathering up some things here and there, finding his personal PADDs and miscellaneous tools strewn about. This office was a mess, and if Grayson was going to be expected to maintain Engineering as Chief, the least Asahi could do was make sure the office was less of a mess.

The pacing around the room began shortly after that, as Asahi had plucked up a device and dove into research. Klingon starships were something they taught in Academy, but only briefly. Either that, or Asahi had fallen asleep for the whole of the lesson. Had he expected he was going to end up rising in the ranks in such a strange manner, he may have actually paid attention.

Taking longer than expected left Grayson in a rush, he hated rushing. Many people had come up to him, asking how he was feeling to be left in charge for this mission, the usual pleasantries, but had left him hard pushed for time.

Approaching the Chief's office, still in his uniform best all be it with some hairs out of place, Grayson began with, "Hey Chief, or should I say Captain? Congratulations!" He was most sincere.

Both Asahi and the dog nearly leapt up in surprise, the latter yipping a couple of times at Grayson as he came through the door only to settle upon realization of who had entered. "... Is it Captain in this case?" He paused, shaking his head and placing the PADD on his desk. "Thanks?-er... Yeah, thanks. You too, by the way..."

"Well at this rate, it can't be too far off now," Grayson smiled. "Thanks. I do promise to keep the ship in one piece and not arrange a mutiny for your return." Grayson smiled.

Asahi stared at the younger engineer, vaguely registering the comment as a joke. The expression on his face, however, did not look pleased. It took another skipped beat before he chuckled in an awkwardly robotic tone. "I'd like to see you try to arrange a mutiny. We've got great engineers, but even I have to admit they're not the best organized. Nature of the beast, yeah?"

"Very true. Sometimes with that many parts needed or laying about, I'm surprised we haven't lost someone or accidentally installed them into a bulkhead or something."

At this, Asahi gave a more genuine laugh. "I think all we'd need to say is 'free beer,' and they'd all come running." After a nod, he added, "You'll do fine, Grayson. I don't have any worries knowing that you're in charge of our little motley crew."

"Thanks, that means a lot." Grayson blushed slightly.

"Well I mean it too." Asahi couldn't help himself from smiling at Grayson's expression. "I've seen you out there; you don't tolerate shit from anyone who pushes back, and I'm pretty sure you have the technical terms down more than I do. As it stands, it takes me a few minutes to look up a pneumatic cylinder just to file it properly, and I'm pretty sure if I say 'thingie' one more time, someone out on the floor is going to throw a spanner at me."

"The way I've divvied up the work between the pair of us, all you'd really be doing is more paperwork and fewer repairs... and making sure everyone's behaved, of course. I have full faith you can take on this job." He paused, attention now off the PADD. "The bonus to this is that you're just dipping your toe in the water, not taking on the whole job for a full ship assignment. Most Chief Engineers don't get that advantage. And you have K'os as back-up if you need some help with admin or repairs. He's a hard-worker, and he knows the ship just about as well as Quinn does. Don't be afraid to use either of them as resources... I'm starting to sound like an overbearing mother, huh?"

"Just protective of the ship," Grayson smiled. "They are both good men, I am sure they will keep me right. I think my problem might be letting go of really getting my hands dirty," With that, he laughed a little. "I'm sure your going to do great as an XO, even for dipping your toe in the water. You'll know the ship better than most and how to push her to her limits, and beyond."

Asahi chuckled, leaning against the edge of his desk, nerves ignored for a few moments. "I hope so. Hopefully it won't be as bad as I think it'll be... but I'm sure we'll both do alright. We both make it through this, and drinks are on me?"

"Drinks on both of us, I have a feeling we are going to need them."

OFF

Lieutenant Asahi Kita
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Grayson Jones
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

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