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Posted on 25 Dec 2012 @ 11:53pm by Commodore Da`nal of the House of Varal & Lieutenant JG Reese Chance

1,574 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: M9: Rest, Recovery, and Reflection
Location: SB 80

On:

[Shuttle Bay 8]

Da`nal and Ayren's shuttle landed in the station's shuttle bay. Another 2 weeks had past and it was the XO's turn to enjoy her leave as Da`nal stood watch. The routine was working well and things were proceeding smoothly. Almost too smoothly.

The landing sequence complete Da`nal opened the hatch and shoulder some of their supplies. It was obvious that he had gotten some sun and he wore tan tank top, and a pair of shorts.

Ayren had Garath and Ariella in tow as the family exited the shuttle.

Lance stood next to the Commander as they watched and waited for the Commodore. He leaned in towards her, "is it just me or does he look like he is REALLY enjoying his time off?"

"It seems he does...." Ciara answered as the couple approached. They looked happy and rested. "Maybe it will keep him in a good mood," she added. It would be her turn to enjoy some time off and she needed it. Then he could deal with Oakheart.

"What do you think he's going to do when he hear's ahout the power issues on the LDS?"

Grinning at the imaage that popped into her head. "With as long as things have taken; he'll probably hang Oakheart by his tool belt from that new nacelle of his."

Chuckling Lance stepped up to his boss. "Welcome back sir."

"Thank You Lance," Looking to the two, "Anything new?"

Lance nodded. "The new Chief of Security, Lt. Chance, and the new Chief of Intel are both on the station and there is a tour of the ship scheduled for tomorrow."

Da`nal noticed his yeomans use of 'tour' and not 'inspection', but grunted all the same. Handing the bags he carried to his Yeoman. "Lance, take these to my quarters and have Lt. Chance report to my office in 15 minutes. Shall we Commander?"

Ciara nodded as they started to walk.

[Promenade]

Reese hadn’t realized how hungry he was until his olfactory senses had been overloaded by the aromas wafting around the eateries on the Promenade. He’d wandered around for a while until he came upon an establishment that he had to patronize. The sandwich board sign outside advertised authentic hot dogs. Reese couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a decent hot dog.

As he walked up to the counter, the vendor greeted him warmly, “What can I get for you?â€

Reese responded succinctly, “Chicago Dog with everything.â€

“Regular or pickled tomatoes?†The vendor asked.

“Pickled,†Reese replied.

“Coming right up,†the vendor said as he worked his way down the counter. Within minutes, he was handing Reese one of the most improbable food combinations on Earth. A towering, precipitous bundle, loaded up with so many condiments that it's twice the volume of the dog itself. It threatened to fall apart, to be so absurd it forgot its provenance as a hot dog. It's misguided, it's madness. Yet it's mad enough to succeed brilliantly.

Reese turned the hot dog in his hands. It had everything that a hot dog needed: mustard, chopped onions, pickled tomato slices, relish, hot peppers, an entire dill pickle spear the length of the hot dog itself, celery salt and no ketchup. Reese cocked his head to the side and took bite. It was amazing; the cacophony of flavors took him back to his childhood days growing up in the Midwest. He was halfway through the dog when his commbadge chirped for his attention. He tapped the badge, “Lieutenant Chance here.â€

=^=Lieutenant Chance, this is Senior Chief Nelson, Commodore Da’nal requests your presence in his office.=^=

~That’s just a nice way of saying the skipper wants your butt in his office now~, Reese thought to himself. “Roger that, Senior. Is he keeping office on the ship or station?â€

=^=On station, sir.=^=

“Thank you, Senior. I’m on my way now.â€

Reese wolfed down the rest of the dog as Senior Chief Nelson gave him the Commodore’s office location. He wiped his mouth and threw his trash away. As he turned toward the nearest turbolift, he did a double take as he thought he saw someone out the corner of his eye. ~Was that who I thought it was? It couldn’t be. I haven’t seen her since the Valley Forge.~ He scanned the crowd trying to find her again to no avail. He didn’t waste any more time and headed to his meeting with the Commodore.

[Flag Officer's Office Level]

Da`nal, now in uniform, picked up the padd with the lieutenant's service record. "Have you reviewed this yet?"

"I have," Ciara said. "He has more experience than the previous chief," she commented carefully.

Da`nal huffed, that wouldn't have taken muck given the manner in which the last chief was appointed. Cracking his knuckles one by one as re reviewed the Lieutenant's service record. Nodding here and there, noting areas to question him on his arrival. Of particular note was his previous service in the enlisted ranks.

As he continued to read the chime to his office rang and he continued to read as he spoke. "Enter." He didn't look up as the Officer entered.

Reese waited for the door to open completely before entering the office. He strode in immediately scanning with his eyes. The first person he saw was the female commander. He recognized her as the Achilles’ Executive Officer. He’d gotten a chance to check out brief bios on his new chain of command. The only other person in the room was seated behind a desk looking down at a PADD. The officer, who wore a commodore’s pip, was obviously the Commanding Officer. Reese noticed that the Commodore didn’t even acknowledge that he’d entered the office. Reese approached the desk but came to a halt at the exact prescribed distance when reporting to a senior officer. ~Nailed it~, he smiled internally. Reese spoke in a clear voice, “Lieutenant junior grade Reese Chance reporting as ordered, sir.â€

Glancing up at the officer. "Have a seat Lieutenant."

Reese nodded, “Thank you, sirâ€. He stepped over to the chair in front of the desk and sat down. He sit at attention but rather leaned forward slightly in his seat, resting his elbows on the armrests and lacing his fingers.

"I see you're no stranger to combat. Excellent." Da`nal pushed back from the desk looking at him directly. "I'm curious Mr. Chance, why did you choose to attend the academy when you did. Most human officers your age are at least a Lt. Commander at this stage in their lives. Do see any difficulties keeping up with the younger officers and crew?"

Reese had been asked this question before. It usually came up when someone found out he was a Mustang. Most people beat around the bush though. He was impressed that his new CO was up front with it. “I spent several years training men and women of all races to become the best officers Starfleet has to offer. In the those years, I’ve been asked many a time, usually by some plebe with penchant for torture, what qualified me to train them to be officers. I usually responded by telling them that I was cursed with ability to polish a turd and make it shine. Then I followed that up with a rigorous physical training evolution. I hadn’t given much thought on it until one of my first cadets returned from the Fleet and looked me up. He actually thanked me for kicking his butt in the academy. He also said he knew why I was qualified to train officers. He said I was training them to be someone I would proudly serve under. But he added that if I was good enough to make officers that I was good enough to be one.†Reese paused for a second before continuing, “As far as keeping up with the younger personnel, I don’t see that being a problem, sir. Some may have a problem keeping up with me though.â€

Da`nal looked to his XO and back to Chance, he had gotten the answer he had been looking for. "You sound like a valuablee man to have. And we seem to have followed a similar career track. While I was always an officer to had been an instructor as well as a Chief of Security. I think you will fit in well here Lieutenant."

Standing he offered Chance his hand, "Welcome aboard."

Reese stood, grasped Da’nal’s offered hand, met his eyes and shook it twice before releasing. “Thank you, sir. I’m glad to be aboard. Speaking of which, when will we actually move back aboard the Achilles? I see that she’s in the repair docks.â€

"Most of the Internal renovations to the ship are coplete, though some systems and structural repairs remain. Quarters have been made available on the station but feel free to check with the shps quartermaster to see if your quarters aboard ship are available."

"Thank you, sir. I should get settled in and introduce myself to my department."

"Very good Lieutenant, you are dismissed. Once you are settled you can consider yourself on shoreleave."

Reese stood to attention, "Thank you again, sir." He turned and left the room smartly.

-------------------------------------

Commodore Da`nal
CO

Cmdr Brannagh
XO

Ltjg Reese Chance
CSec

 

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