Reporting for Duty

Posted on 21 Dec 2016 @ 12:14am by Commander Langdale Wiggins & Lieutenant JG Rayze

1,687 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 12 - Recluse
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Outside Transporter Room 1
Timeline: MD -06, 1450 Hours

[ON]

"Langdale, wait up!" Rayze hurried down the corridor after the ship's first officer, dodged around a pair of crewmen that were walking by on their way to some duty, and slid next to the taller man smoothly. He matched his stride to keep up, though it didn't seem to slow down his ability to talk at all. "I wanted to say, I'm really glad to be part of your crew. I read up on Galileo's specs and her past missions on the way here from the Tethys. Totally impressed. There's been some really stellar events Galileo has been a part of, truly nova. Anyways, I figured, why wait until later and come by some stuffy office to do the whole official bit when we can get it out of the way now? So, right, Rayze, reporting for duty. And now that that's out of the way, I'm completely ready for details on our mission, what you'll expect outta me and the Security team, the whole rundown. If you got time, of course."

Wiggins slowed, but continued walking. It'd been a long time since he was called anything other than Wiggins or Commander so he nearly didn't recognize his own name when Rayze shouted for Langdale to stop. If the familiarity bothered him, it didn't show on his face at all. Instead he smile over his shoulder.

"Can you walk and talk, lieutenant?" Wiggins asked as he continued down the corridor.

"Oh, yes, that's easy," Rayze said, and fell in beside the man. "I might even be able to juggle, walk, and talk at the same time too if you wanted. If you like juggling, of course. Though...I don't have anything to juggle with right now. Maybe later." He took a deep breath, as if preparing to launch into another barrage of chatter, but fortunately this time he only asked, "What's it like, serving on the Galileo, like from your point of view?"

Instead of answering, Langdale turned briefly and walked backwards in front of Rayze. He unclipped his mini PADD, and tricorder from his belt and tossed it to Rayze. In one smooth motion he plucked a spanner off the tool belt of a passing technician and tossed that at the man as well. With a grin he waited for the juggling act.

Rayze snagged the PADD out of the air, then the tricorder, wondering what exactly was going on at first. By the time the poor engineer had his tool appropriated though, Rayze had figured it out. "Okay, but threes the limit. Never did practise enough."

With a look of intense concentration, Rayze started to juggle, first sending the tricorder up into the air, then the spanner, then finally the PADD. The arc was short, and quick, but since he was still walking, albeit much much slower now, he couldn't go for anything higher. It wasn't an elegant display either, what with the different weights and shapes, resulting in a few near misses and stumbles, and because true to his word Rayze tried to keep talking.

"I'm really...excited about this opportunity. I thought...for sure...my career was going to stay in...limbo for a while there. I...whoa, come back here...I meant to say...I want to impress you-" The whole thing fell apart as Rayze put his boot down wrong, pitching forward enough that he missed a grab, then another, leaving an open tricorder and the spanner on the carpet.

"And that lieutenant," Wiggins said holding out his hand for the PADD, "is what it's like serving on Galileo." Wiggins bent down and scooped up the errant tools. He clipped the tricorder to his belt and then handed the spanner back to the technician who'd been momentarily baffled.

Rayze handed the man's device back to him with a grin. "An interesting way to make a point, Langdale. I've read a bit about past missions and got a feeling that this little ship sees more than its fair share of excitement." He folded his arms over his chest and continued a bit more seriously, and earnestly, "I'll give you my best efforts, and do what I can to meet your expectations of both me and Security as a whole. So, to that end, is there anything I need to know before starting out?"

"I prefer being called Wiggins," he said smiling. "I did a lot of sports in high school and at the Academy. It's just something my friends and colleagues like to use. I've been 'Wiggins' for as long as I can remember. Other than that, I'm sure you'll hit the ground running." He began to walk again, conscious of the limited time he had to reach his destination. "Is there anything I need to know before startin' out?"

"Well..." Rayze pondered the question as he resumed his pace at the XO's side. Honesty came easily enough, and he did tend to share too much at times, but he figured he ought to be upfront about a couple of things just to be on the safe side. "One time I snuck a bottle of Romulan Ale on board the Odyssey. The Security chief caught me before I'd gone two decks. I got in a fight with a Klingon once during shore leave, a member of the House of Korath, and I guess he's sworn some kind of ridiculous blood oath. Really hoping that won't cause any issues for us in the future, and I swear Wiggins, I didn't know she was his sister."

Rayze took a breath and kept on going, "I'll probably keep going with some counseling sessions on board. Nothing you need to worry about, but I find that it helps with a lot of things. Oh, and just in case Captain Reanith called ahead to warn you guys or anything, I have every intention of keeping my horga'hn in my quarters." He really didn't need another citation on his record for causing a tripping hazard in the corridors.

Wiggins grunted out a 'huh' as if he were thinking everything over. Every day he was finding more, and more crewmembers that seemed to open up very candidly to him. While he appreciated the openness, he couldn't help but wonder what kinds of XO's they had in the past or perhaps it was just in their personality. He studied the other man's face as his own eyes subtly changed to a darker shade of green. He wondered briefly if the geniality from Rayze was a cover for his personal feelings. While he seemed quite open about talking about his exploits or boasting about them, he hadn't said anything about himself emotionally. The man had glossed over the counselling confession rather quickly, but detailed other things. "I shall keep that in mind if I see Captain Reanith's name come up in my message queue." He said, reluctantly putting his curiosity aside for the time being. "Any other confessions?" He curled the side of his lip conveying a sly amusement.

Rayze's return smile was equally amused, but also with a wry touch to it as well, "Not for now, Wiggins. The better stuff I like to save for nights spent exploring the ceaseless wonders of alcohol. If you're daring enough, I mix a mean drink and always enjoy swapping stories." As bold of an invitation as he figured he should make with his new superior; Rayze might have some issues with decorum and respect towards his betters, but he wasn't completely inept. If he'd not been paying so close attention to the other man, he might have missed the changes in eye colour. Curious, he studied them for a moment longer, then looked at the lighting in the corridor, which was the exact same as the area behind them now. "Are you wearing specialised contact lenses to do that?"

"Do what?" Wiggins quirked his head to the side. He chuckled when he realized what he was asking. Not many people noticed the changes or if they did, never seemed comfortable asking about it. "Oh, this?" Wiggins pointed to his eyes. "Genetic quirk as far as I understand it. Never knew my parents, so we're not too sure where or who it comes from, or even what the purpose is for it. I forget they even change half the time." They reached the XO's office. He entered his access code and walked into the room with Rayze in tow.

"That's interesting. I wonder what sort of evolutionary purpose they serve. Maybe some kind of communication or..." He trailed off on his amateur biology theorising as they entered the room. Rayze glanced around the office briefly, checked the corners out of habit, hands clasped behind his back. "I have some experience with absent parents," the Risian admitted freely. "Definitely not the same situation, but if you ever want to talk about it...Anyways, I have a lot of personnel files to start reading over, and I was hoping to start reviewing some of Lieutenant Gyce's logs tonight. Was there anything else I can do for you, Wiggins?"

The first officer dropped into his leather chair behind his desk. He leaned back and clasped his hands in front of his stomach and made an expression like he was thinking hard. After a moment he shook his head slowly, uncertain. Then he paused briefly to reconsider, then shook his head again, definitive. "No, not in this moment."

"In that case, it's been a pleasure meeting with you," Rayze grinned once more, sounding genuinely happy with the meeting. A few good first impressions were set, a great start, and he was eager to get to work even if listening to logs didn't sound like a lot of fun compared to conversations with his new shipmates. "I'll have the usual paperwork stuff sent your way ASAP; duty rosters, training schedules, so on. And I'll look forward to seeing you again soon."

[OFF]

CMDR Langdale Wiggins
First Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Rayze
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

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