Security Checks In

Posted on Wed Apr 24th, 2019 @ 4:02am by Captain Kelly O'Connor & Lieutenant Raine MacLeod

1,496 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 6.5 - Obtaining New Crew
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: 2296/02/13 - 0910

With the crew on shore leave, it was just a matter of getting the formalities over with which meant reporting in to the Captain. Raine had taken a moment to toss her gear into her new quarters before heading up to the Bridge. She offered a commiserating smile to the officer who had the duty as she crossed over to the door to the Captain's Ready Room. She pressed the chime and waited, already thinking about the mischief she could get into before she had to report back.

O'Connor had returned from the bar and figured that she would get some paperwork in before she met with an Admiral who would undoubtedly send them on some wild goose chase that would not result in them doing what the original mission was. She furrowed her brows at the thought and wondered why things could not be more straightforward.

Worse, she had to break in a nearly entirely new crew. Somehow Pendragon and T'Pruk managed to stay. Roommates and if the Ticker Tape was to believed, there might be something more going on. O'Connor found it highly unlikely but there was no accounting for taste. So far, Pendragon had ended up with two feline species. Why would he not try a Vulcan? Of course, T'Pruk seemed like she was hard and fast on the logic scale and seemed to take great pleasure in reminding anyone who would listen about how illogical a human could be.

Hearing the chime, O'Connor called out, "Come in, whoever you are."

Raine entered, taking in the room and its occupant with a practiced gaze, then walked over to the desk, moving with the easy grace of the warrior she sometimes was, "Lieutenant Raine MacLeod reporting for duty, Captain." She wore her long blonde hair pulled back into a simple ponytail, as a nod to the formalities of reporting in, and there was little about her appearance that could be called either fussy or feminine. She had no interest in makeup, unless it was as a way of disguising herself for a mission, and her uniform was neat though showed signs of travel. She handed over the physical copy of her orders, a backup because computers had yet to achieve perfection, and then waited.

O'Connor rose from behind her desk and strode up to Raine. The dirty blonde was over a half a foot taller than the redheaded O'Connor. Regardless, O'Connor carried herself with a certain presence and certainty of her position. Her green eyes scanned Raine, learning all that she could from her initial glance and Raine's reactions. "Welcome, Lieutenant. May I inquire as to why you are handing me paper orders? Do you not trust the computers?"

Raine stood her ground, not being the type to back down easily (if at all), as she said, "It's not a matter of trust so much as having a backup plan and understanding that I've got about a fifty-fifty chance. Half of command prefers computers and the other half prefers something in hand. Either way, I'm here and I'm your new Chief of Security."

O'Connor gave Raine a crooked grin. "Chief of Security, eh?" She walked closer to Raine. "My old position and department," O'Connor told her simply. "I will be expecting great things from you then, MacLeod. Tell me, MacLeod, what's your ancestry?"

"My ancestry," Raine repeated, her tone going flat almost at once. "Started out on Turkana IV but I suspect that's not the part you're interested in. Ballantrae ... that's Scotland."

The crooked grin got wider. "I think we are going to get along just fine. I would hate to think that you would be a stuffy Brit. Always mucking things up taking over the world, weren't they? Anyways, that's ancient history. Care for a drink?" she asked her Chief.

Raine nodded her approval. "Aye, ancient history it is and certainly, I'd love a drink." She put her hands on her hips, head cocked slightly to one side, and offered a smile backed by a mischievous glint in her eyes. "What are you serving, Captain?"

"Whiskey," O'Connor answered. "Irish whiskey," she asserted, as if it was redundant. "I do have some more water downed or inferior alcohols, if you desire," she replied with a certain arrogance, yet absent boisterousness.

"Oh aye," Raine said, chuckling as she did so, "whisky would be grand but failing that, I'll take some of your Irish since you're of a mind to share, Captain."

O'Connor took out a bottle and poured two shot glasses full of Irish whiskey and handed one to Raine, "To America and whatever is beyond!"

"This is one the old grandfather in the family that took me in taught me," Raine said. "May the moose ne'er lea yer girnal wi a tear-drap in its ee. May the best ye hae ivver seen be the warst ye'll ivver see." She laughed as she clinked the shot glass against the Captain's. "Had the same look on my face when I first heard it. Translates to -- may the mouse never leave your grain store with a tear drop in its eye. May the best you have ever seen be the worst you'll ever see."

O'Connor laughed and then downed her drink. "I understood most of that without the translation. I don't know what that makes me." Her tone changed to something more serious. "I hope that you're ready for trouble MacLeod. I seem to always find it."

"You and me both, Captain," Raine said as she downed her own drink. "I'm always ready. Always."

"Then you came to the right place. So what did you have to do to get punished to land on this ship?" O'Connor asked curiously.

"The captain on my old ship suggested the change to me," Raine said as an ever so slight smile curling up one corner of her mouth for the less time than it takes to blink an eye. "He said that the Vanguard was headed for calmer duty and that I could be of more use here than with him."

"And yet, they put the elite on the newer ships," O'Connor complained. "Or the so called elite, anyways. I should have an Excelsior," she complained.

"Well then, here's to their mistakes because I'm here and not there," Raine said. "As for the ship, not something I can help but its always been my belief that its more about brains than tech. And from what I hear, you've got that."

"I would be very interested in hearing who said that," she told Raine. "Not that it isn't true," she replied carefully, a crooked smile appearing on her face. "I just have people in the top brass that do not seem to appreciate me. Say that I'm reckless and my temper is a detriment to the position." She clucked her disapproval. "For an Irish lass, it is not horrid," O'Connor told Raine. "So, it may be a wee bit on the fiery side.... I'm a redhead! Does that not come with the territory?"

"Aye," Raine said with a soft chuckle. "And being a blonde, I'm without a proper excuse. As for who said what, I am forbidden to say though the individual in question indicated that a good bottle of whisky might be headed your way and that would be all the clue you'd get."

"Really?" O'Connor sounded interested, a crooked smile on her face getting wider. Did Jayme have the good sense to send something even if he was not returning to Starbase One when she was here?

"So I heard, Captain," Raine said. "Before we leave. Those were the exact words, I believe."

O'Connor gave a nod of respect to Raine. "Well, I suppose that I must wait for the surprise as to whom until then." Changing the subject back to duty, O'Connor asked, "Do you have any questions for me, while you're here?"

"None that I can think of, Captain," Raine said as she set the glass down. "I'll know more once I've had a chance to get myself acquainted in Security." She paused then. "Wait, I do have one or two. When are we scheduled to depart and did I hear something about shore leave?"

"Right now we are on shore leave but I expect it will be short. We will leave within the week, so if I were in your shoes, I would prepare each day as if we are departing tomorrow."

"Understood," Raine said. A thousand things ran through her head, competing for attention, and she dragged her focus back to the Captain through force of will. "Permission to get busy with shore leave and with preparations?"

"Permission granted. Enjoy what you can of shore leave, MacLeod. It is always too short."

"Truer words, Captain," Raine said with a slight grin, "Truer words." And with that, she headed out to get settled and maybe squeeze in a little shore leave.

O'Connor returned to her paperwork, furrowing her eyebrows at thoughts of her future mission.

 

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