My Feet Want To Go Places

Posted on 07 Feb 2016 @ 10:12pm by Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant JG Lenaris Marika

1,246 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1, Main Bridge
Timeline: MD 18 - 0320 hours

[ON]

It was a nervous habit. He hardly even recognized that he was doing it until he was already in motion. Andreus Kohl's hands drummed out a one-two-three pattern on the arm-rests of the command chair approximately four seconds before he rose to his feet. This time was exactly like the others.

For another fleeting second, Kohl was struck with an irrational fear that this might be the last time he would ever stand from the command chair. Perhaps he would be killed in action before he had another opportunity? Or perhaps he would be stripped of his title and responsibility when they all realized they'd given command responsibilities to a glorified nurse? But such stomach-churning terror only ever lasted for a second, or so.

Kohl slowly paced around the command well, arcing through an indirect path of travel towards the forward science station. It was the only active science post on the bridge at this time of ship's night. Based on the duty rotation, it was Ensign Marika Lenaris who had ended up with bridge duty, rather than laboratory time. Having grown familiar with her excitable nature, Kohl affected a gentle tone to ask, "Anything to report, Ensign?"

"Does stardust and barely registered comets count?" Turning around to face her superior officer, Marika smiled warmly. "I guess that's a no then." Fidgeting in place, the young Bajoran attempted to remain calm. This was her first time on the bridge, and everything looked so shiny and interesting. "Is the chair comfortable?"

"You should ask the chair," Kohl said in a deadpan. He braced his palms on his hips. He explained, "I feel as if the chair is the one sitting on me, sometimes."

Unable and unwilling to stifle the giggle that came to her lips, Marika's laughter echoed across the bridge. " I can always have a word with it if you like. Scold it for being so unfriendly. beg it to be nicer?" Giggling some more she glanced at the chair and imagined in her mind, Andreus, chair sitting on him, sighing in resignation.

"Oh no, you can't scold it," Kohl said in an entirely amused manner. "I take it as a compliment when someone wants to sit on me. But I'm not the only one in a new chair." --He swept a hand in her direction-- "How does the seat of Science One suit you, Ensign?"

Fidgeting some more as if she was attempting to get comfortable, the young woman beamed him a smile. "It's fine. I just have difficulty staying on it. My feet want to go places. I think my mind is trying to do the same. Constantly have to slap it back into place. How do you stay in place?"

Wincing at Marika in sympathetic pain, Kohl replied, "I don't. Command prerogative. ...Why do you think I'm puttering about over here like this?" He raised his palms up in an expression halfway between a shrug and a demonstration of his point.

Another giggle escaped her lips as she beamed another smile on her superior officer. "So, how do you keep yourself occupied? You can't be spending your time looking over your subordinates shoulders. I hear that turns people insane. Wouldn't want an insane crew now would you? Unless you would? Is that part of you master plan? Turn everyone here coo coo for coco puffs?" Shrugging slightly to indicate she had no idea what she had just said, she continued after having taken a quick breath. "I never did get that one. Guess it's an earth thing. but I always found it sounded funny, and funny is good. Hey! if you're crazy, and everything is funny, then you wouldn't mind now would you? If you turn me crazy, let me be happy crazy please!"

Pursing his lips tightly, Kohl shook his head at Marika. "I can't say they trained us on the diagnostics for happy crazy in medical school," Kohl remarked. Turning his head away from Marika, Kohl glanced back at his LCARS console, trying to suss out how many lights were blinking for him. "I speak from limited experience, mind," Kohl said in answer to her earlier question, "but command is feeling like interpersonal Operations Management to me. Sort of. So far.

"We've got something like a hundred someones on this tough little ship," Kohl explained. He braced his palms against the science console and he leaned towards Marika. "Every one of those someones are just trying to do their jobs. About a fraction of their duties require approval from their boss, and every boss has a boss. A lot of those bosses come to me, looking for me to take accountability for their decisions and their subordinates' decisions. I make decisions about resources and allocation, half of which I'm hardly qualified to fully understand. It's a bit thrilling.

"But I'll probably change that answer," Kohl added, "In a week."

Giving her superior officer an unconvinced look, the young woman leaned in slightly. "So... what's the official bridge rule about peanut tossing? Is it permitted? Could I, hypotheticly, if I ever were to ... get bored, throw a peanut at someone and see what happens?"

"Inadvisable," Kohl was quick to answer. With a lopsided frown on his lips, Kohl shook his head at her. "Peanut-tossing is admirable sport in a pub, but, in the workplace, it could be categorized as violence." Moving around the fore of the science console, Kohl stood to face Marika directly. "If you're truly worried about getting bored, how would you feel about warming the seat behind mine?"

Turning her head to the said seat, which of course was nonexistent, as the tactical station stood there, Marika frowned for a moment. "Tactical? Well standing up would spend more energy, and I was decent enough in randomized simulations at the academy, but I'm not sure I understand why you'd want me there.." Turning back to Kohl, she gave him an amused smile.

"I was thinking Operations Management," Kohl said. He raised an index finger to point at the other Bridge console, away from Tactical. "There's more to sensors that calibration and catching sight of the astronomical anomaly that caught your eye. You start giving more electro-plasma, more processing power, to that sensor pallet, it's got to come from somewhere. Your actions can impact the entire ship, especially in a fire fight. It would be useful for you to know which strings to pull and which strings to leave be."

The young Bajoran turned back to look at the OPs station. "Isn't that more like sixty odd degrees to your right? Unless you meant behind you now?" Giving him a broad smile she quickly pressed on. "Yes! Count me in. Operational learning would be awesome! Would be a fun challenge. I could learn things! I love it. That's a yes. Definite yes."

Kohl spread his arms wide. "Fan-tastic," he exclaimed. "I'll send you some reading to do," Kohl vowed, "before your next bridge rotation. It should clarify your responsibilities, if you haven't touched at an ops panel since the Academy."

Bouncing on her chair, Marika failed at containing her excitement. "Awesome! I can't wait!" Glancing over at the OPs station, she winked at it's present occupant and giggled in glee. Suddenly, spending the rest of the shift on her chair didn't seem as daunting.


[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Second Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

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