Another Chance to Make a Bad Impression

Posted on Thu Sep 9th, 2021 @ 8:59am by Captain Kelly O'Connor & Lieutenant Commander Amaya Capac

2,466 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Mission 8 - A Blast from the Past
Location: Captain's Office
Timeline: 2296/03/12 1415

ON

After leaving the avian Captain, Amaya found her quarters and was relieved to find that not only were two uniforms waiting for her, so was a trunk from her family. A note from her mother informed her that her transfer orders went there a week before they were sent to the dig.

That reminder from home made her smile. Later, she'd unpack a few things but right now she needed to change and report back to the Captain. This time, she wouldn't have Cyrus beside her to lend support--and deflect some of the Captain's ire. So far, she knew the Captain didn't like or trust academics, but she wasn't sure why. She wasn't even sure she should ask. She'd have to play it by ear.

She changed into a clean uniform, ran a brush through her hair, and headed back to the Captain's office. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and rang the chime.

O'Connor had been fumbling with her newest toy again. Nothing seemed to make it work and she just knew! Just knew if she had enough patience that the thing would work! However, it was not cooperating, so in a fit of rage, she called out, "Come!" and then hit the thing she was working on just in time for Amaya to see it scatter and break into a thousand pieces as it hit the floor.

"I'm sorry. Can I help you pick up the pieces?" she asked, looking at the pieces on the floor.

"Don't worry about it," O'Connor responded gruffly. "It is a pet project and I merely got a bit frustrated." She looked at her new first officer and asked, "So, what do you have to report, now that you're properly suited up?"

"While the Captain does have an unfavorable impression of the Federation, we have an opportunity to change that," Amaya said. "He wants to go home. If we complete repairs to the ship and help them get home, it will open the door for more dialog. In addition, scientists will want to study their native language and cultural hierarchy." She smiled. "They believe you to be male, Captain, because of your colorful plumage."

"You will need to check with our lazy Chief Engineer to see if he is done with the repairs." She then stopped and asked, "Did you say I'm male because of my plumage? That's what they think?"

"I did. Males have the colorful plumage while the females are plain ." She wasn't going to mention that they thought Cyrus was female.

O'Connor threw her head back and erupted with a belly laugh. She opened up a chest to the side of her desk, took out some Irish whiskey and two glasses. "This deserves a toast. My brothers would probably agree with them."

Maya was glad she hadn't upset the Captain yet again. "That sounds more like a problem with stereotypes over abilities."

"Which part? My brothers? The aliens? Or my whiskey?" O'Connor furrowed her eyebrows, trying to ascertain Maya's meaning.

"Your brothers. I really don't know enough about your whisky," she replied, smiling.

"Well, it is Irish like me," she informed the XO. "I always make sure to have plenty sent onto the ship when we get home. Cures most ills. Now, as to my brothers, well, they're older and being the baby and only girl, they tried to pester me too much. I eventually trained and fought back. Isn't sibling rivalry grand? They don't mess with me anymore." She gave the XO a crooked grin. "So, what's your story?"

"I'm from the Andes region of Earth. That's where I first fell in love with languages," the Latina said. "I also have older brothers. I got into sports so I could compete with them."

"How did you do against them?" O'Connor asked, her eyebrows raising curiously.

"I can hold my own with shooting and fishing. Not too bad with fútbol." Amaya said, grinning. "I had to earn their respect, though."

O'Connor nodded. That was a point in her favor. She poured the whiskey in the glasses and handed one to Amaya. "To kicking men's butts?"

Maya raised her glass. "To kicking butt."

O'Connor, with a practiced ease, slung back her shot glass and swallowed all of the whiskey whole. She waited to see how Maya would handle her drink.

Recognizing this as a bit of a test, Maya tossed back her drink. She wasn't much of a drinker, but she did have occasion to drink with other archaeologists and could handle a shot or two.

"There's some hope for you," O'Connor concluded. "You don't seem like my last XO who also was a Chief Communications Officer, but I will continue to reserve that opinion. I have not been overly impressed with the XOs that Starfleet sends me. In my entire time Captaining America, I've only been permitted to choose one and that was only because it happened due to that XO suddenly becoming unable to serve."

That was a small victory, and Maya would take it. "In my experience, most Captains don't have the luxury of choosing their first officers. At least, not from what I've seen. For the rest, I'm not your typical first officer. Time will tell if that's a good thing or not."

"You don't know what to make of me, do you?" O'Connor asked forthright.

"No, I don't," Amaya said, equally candid in her response.

O'Connor smirked at her XO. "There are those in Starfleet that would call me 'That Red-Headed Devil.' I will tell you that I came through the ranks of security. On this ship, in fact. I was an ensign here, originally. I'm not a diplomat. I'm a woman of action." She turned her back to Amaya, her red hair swaying as she did so. "I had another XO just like you. Chief of Communications. If I was permitted to beat him within an inch of his life, I would have."

"Really? May I ask why?" It would be nice to know what set off the Captain. Well, more than being a linguist, scientist, academic, and breathing, but she wasn't so sure about the last one.

"Let's just say that he was more than just a cunning linguist and leave it at that," O'Connor replied, a scowl in her voice and her eyebrows furrowing. "I just want to know what kind of trouble you're going to be for me. Starfleet never sends someone simple to me. There's always an agenda."

"I'm an archaeologist, linguist, and historian. I like ancient cultures, including their history, archaeology, and literature. I have a tendency to get wrapped up in my work and I will probably want to spent too much time gathering information if we run across ruins or a new civilization. I don't indulge in hanky panky just because I can. However, in the spirit of full disclosure, I like Cyrus and hope to get to know him better. Neither one of us are the type to let that interfere with our jobs. My agenda is I want to learn and I want to explore. I may also write a paper on something we find. From what you've said so far, I'm pretty sure that will annoy you."

"I don't have a lot of interest in the past," O'Connor replied with a grumble. "Like this ship. It should be scrapped and used as a garbage scow. Giving me an Excelsior. The lines on that ship.... The warp speed.... The instruments...." O'Connor's face lit up when she started to talk about the Excelsiors. "Those are real ships...."

"I'll let you gush about modern starships if you'll let me gush about ancient civilizations," Maya said, smiling at the Captain. "At least once in a while. I don't want to bore you too much." Nothing against O'Connor, but she preferred to talk history with like-minded people.

"Gush about history to those who are interested. If it is relevant to a mission, I'll expect to hear about it...in summary." She took a slow deep breath before continuing. "After all, the past is gone. Can't do much about it.... Now, the future...."

Amaya chuckled. "There is an ancient saying that says, Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. I believe that the future is built from the past. However, I will not gush to you. I will keep my reports brief and only include what I feel you need to know."

O'Connor nodded. "So, you and Cyrus, eh? Well, at least you have good taste in something. Treat him wrong and you might find him in another bed," she told Amaya bluntly. "But that's all I'll say on the matter."

"There aren't many men like him," Amaya admitted. She really hoped things worked out between the two of them. Even with the little time they'd known each other, she couldn't imagine her life without him. "Is there anything in particular you want me to focus on as First Officer?"

"Given your strengths, not at the moment. But, that being said, you should meet all of the Chiefs. I think you will definitely need to work on our Chief Engineer. You will find him a bit...well, I will let you experience him first hand. I should not like to ruin your experience. That being said, I think we are going to find ourselves in a position where we will have to go down to these bird creatures' planet. If the Romulans have infiltrated this side of the Neutral Zone, we must get proof and potentially prepare for battle."

Maya nodded. "Oh, speaking of going down to the planet, I mentioned to the avian Captain that since they've achieved warp, a team of scientists will be coming to help them, but I couldn't tell them what that help would entail. They seemed quite excited about that."

"You did what?" O'Connor asked flatly, her eyes dilating and her eyebrows furrowing.

"When a species achieves warp, and from what I was told these did, a team is sent out to make first contact and observe. Correct?"

"Often times but you said, 'coming to help them.' That has very different connotations. If what I suspect is true, the Romulans have been helping them way too much and interfered in their society. They're probably expecting the same from us. I'm not a diplomat but that seems rather obvious."

"I admit that while I was accurate in what I said, I purposefully kept my comment vague and that could lead to misunderstanding. We cannot help them above their own level of technology. And we can't give them something they have not discovered on their own," Maya said. In hindsight she should have been more specific in the type of help they could give and that she couldn't make any promises on behalf of the Federation. "At the same time, we don't know what the Romulans have said or done to get them to this point. If we do nothing, we leave them to whatever plans the Romulans have and we can't do that, either. The Captain did agree that we could visit them on the planet and talk. I can try to clear things up then."

"Your word choice may have led them to expectations that we cannot fulfill," O'Connor replied, her face starting to turn more pink. "And you trying to clear things up might make matters worse. Not to mention that you cleared none of this with me! You haven't been here more than 10 minutes and you might have caused a first contact incident. Honest to Betsy, what do they teach at the Academy nowadays?" She paced over her debris. "At least they will let us down on the planet. Now, whether they kill us or not when we get down there...."

O'Connor was right in that she should have been more careful about her word choice. But when they saw the holographic Romulan and got so excited, she just...blurted. "They only want to know how to have holographic images. We've had that technology for centuries. But you're right. I didn't think of the larger picture, just the opportunity to keep them away from the Romulans. The Captain also said that our willingness to see what we could do changes everything."

The Captain grunted at the apology. At least her new XO had the humility to admit her error. The last XO who was like her most likely would have gone on about how his way was the right way. Perhaps there was hope for this one, yet. "Just watch yourself for the future. At least you got them to see what he could do for us and that changes some of the equation. I just hope that he does not want us to follow through on some quid pro quo, because if he does and we do not, we have a bigger problem on our hand."

Maya nodded. "It's my hope that a trip to the planet will give us the answers we need going forward." She was hopeful, and she was curious. Not only about the avian species, but what role the Romulans play in all this.

"We have not been invited yet," O'Connor reminded Maya. "But hopefully, we will get that permission. If not, we will have to make some more complicated decisions."

Maya nodded. "I hope so, too. I guess it all depends on what happens when the Captain and his crew get back to the planet."

"That it does," she concluded turning on Maya and heading back to her desk. "Once Engineering has patched up that ship, we'll let them go and have a briefing to plan our next steps. In the meantime, I want all information about that planet and anything historical regarding this area, no matter how small it might be. So check on our Chief Engineer and crack the whip if necessary."

"Yes, ma'am." Maya would enjoy the research. She was curious about the planet and the area. She wasn't so sure about engineering. But she'd have a talk with him and see what she could do. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

Competence? The Captain shook her head slightly. "Not at this time. Once you know the situation with Engineering, set up a meeting just before we say farewell to our feathered friends."

"Yes, ma'am." Now was not the time to point out that the Captain's attitude was patently obvious--especially to a Betazoid. O'Connor oozed animosity. "I will let you know what engineering reports, and when they're almost done with repairs." She saluted and turned to get out of the office where she could breathe.

O'Connor smiled the moment that Maya left. Perhaps there was something to work with in this XO.

 

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