But Not Today

[DrDMatthews 0]

Another Joint Log by Commander Ridire and Dr. Matthews

 

       Debbie usually ate a quick sandwich at her desk. But there wasn't much going on in Sickbay this afternoon. So she slipped out under the guise of a quiet lunch in her quarters. Merina would hold down the fort until she returned.

 

       The truth was, Debbie needed to get away from her work environment. She hoped a change of scenery would help her put her latest problem in its proper perspective. After all, Petty Officer Simon Ljungberg wasn't the first crewman with an attitude that she'd had to deal with.....and he wouldn't be the last. So why did this whole thing bother her so much?

      

       Debbie thought about it as she made her way to her quarters. Ljungberg was so bright. She hated the idea of loosing him.  She even went so far as to consider some way of bribing him into staying. Of course, she quickly dismissed that as a viable option. If Ljungberg wanted out of Starfleet, there was nothing she could do about it. As a matter of fact, if he chose to leave, Debbie was determined to assist him in every way possible.

 

       The CMO leaned against the back of the turbolift and frowned. "What good is he to me if he can't shake that attitude," she thought silently. She'd asked herself that same question at least twenty times in the past hour. The answer was always the same. He would be of no use to anyone on this ship. It was best to let him go if that's what he really wanted to do.

 

       Debbie was praying he would choose to stay but what if he didn't? What if Simon wanted out?  Exactly how would she proceed if Ljungberg opted to leave Starfleet? That was a situation she'd never encountered before. The lift glided to a stop and the doors opened. A lieutenant from engineering stepped into the car. Debbie greeted her with a smile which quickly disappeared as she saw a familiar figure walking down the corridor just beyond the turbolift. It was Aidan Ridire.

 

       If anyone knew how to process a discharge, it would be Aidan. "Excuse me," mumbled Debbie as she hurried past the lieutenant and out of the lift. Ridire was walking away from her at a fairly good clip. Debbie had to run to catch up with him.

 

       "Commander," she called while still a good distance away. "Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about something....something important."

      

       He glances at her and nods slightly "Walk with me.  Was just heading to my quarters to get some lunch."  He turns and resumes heading for his quarters.  As she falls into step beside him he glances at her, wondering what she wanted to talk about.  Judging from the serious look in her eyes, it wasn't whatever she was hinting at the night previous. 

 

       Debbie considered how to broach the subject, grateful that Aidan had slowed his pace just a bit.  "A new Petty Officer was recently assigned to Medical," she began, her thoughts racing. She looked up at him and shrugged. "He may not be with us much longer."

 

       They continued walking as Debbie explained the situation. "He'll report back day after tomorrow. He has until then to decide whether or not he wants to stay."  The CMO sighed deeply. "My question is, how do I expedite his discharge?" she asked quietly, a tinge of disappointment creeping into her voice. "I hate to loose this one, but the odds are, he'll opt out."

 

       Aidan arches an eyebrow "You'll have to explain the situation a bit futher.  Why may he not be with us any longer..why he may opt out.  Either way the simplest way is probably for him to resign his commission.  It's not unheard of for people who have just graduated the Academy to decide that Starfleet isn't the choice for them.  The Academy is one thing...real life in Starfleet is quite another.  He'll probably lose whatever benefits he's accrued in the meantime and it may be a while before we can arrange his actual departure from the ship so he'd probably be stuck onboard for a while as a civilian.  Starfleet isn't exactly going to arrange an ship to meet with us just for a Midshipman.  He'll probably end up waiting til we rendevous with our next supply ship and that also means it will take quite a while for him to make it back to Earth or wherever."  He pauses momentairly then adds "And he'll have to explain why he's resigning to the Captain and it will go in his permament record.  He may face a difficult time for a while because of that mark against him."  He pauses again as they reach the door to his quarters.  "You can join me for dinner if you want.."

 

       Debbie smiled at the invitation. "Yes," she answered quickly. "I'd love to join you." She followed him into his quarters and walked across the room to the long wall of windows. "This kid joined up for all the wrong reasons," she said, while admiring the swirling, multicolored clouds of the nebula looming ahead of the Reaent. "His family was Starfleet and they expected him to maintain the tradition. So, he enlisted and has been in nothing but trouble ever since."

 

       She turned toward Aidan and shook her head. "He's so confused. I don't think he really knows what he wants. He's well suited for this job. But he doesn't understand that. He seems to think he was badgered into joining." Debbie threw up her hands in frustration. "Maybe he was, I don't know. But I'm afraid he may decide to walk and then, in a couple of years, he'll realize he made a big mistake. By then, it will be too late."

 

       Debbie plopped down on a nearby chair and stared out the bank of windows. A moment later, she looked at Aidan and grinned. "What do I have to do to get a view like this?" she asked, nodding toward the windows and the great nebula beyond.

 

       He sees to preparing dinner and setting the table as he glances at her from time to time.  He smiles "I doubt the view outside your quarters is any less in quality, Deb.  But if you want we can promote you once more and you can take over as Executive Officer so you can have these quarters."  He says the last teasingly. 

 

       The smile fades as he considers the other thing she said.  "As for Mr. Ljungberg, I knew one or two people who were in similar situations back when I was in the Academy and on the Venture.  Wish I could say they both stayed but neither one chose to.  Unfortunately it's his choice and there's really nothing you or I or anyone can do.  We can't make the choice for him but you know that.  But we'll have to support his decision whatever it may be.  Hopefully his family will bother to wise up and support him whatever he chooses as well."

 

       He pauses from setting the table as he says "What do you want to drink?"

 

       Debbie glanced at Ridire. "I'll have iced tea," she said and then quickly looked away. She hadn't mentioned Ljungberg's name but Aidan knew exactly who she was talking about. Why did that surprise her? There had been only one new petty officer assigned to medical in recent weeks. Simon's orders would have crossed Ridire's desk long before Debbie saw them. Still, she was a little taken aback that Aidan remembered the guy's name.

 

       Of course, there was another possibility. The Commander may have read Brian Smith's report. Debbie didn't know if Brian documented Ljungberg's insubordination in the final version and she made a quick decision not to ask. "I don't have this many windows in my quarters," she added as she stood and walked over to the table. "But I sure don't want anymore promotions. Rank may have its privileges but it also brings along problems....and I have enough of those already."

 

       Debbie took a seat at the table and leaned back in the chair. "I kind of hope he stays," she said quietly. "But if he chooses to resign," she paused and shrugged her shoulders. "I'll just have to request another medic." She didn't bothering mentioning that she was still puzzled as to why this particular situation bothered as much as it did. Instead, Debbie shook it off and smiled. "By the way, what's for dinner?"

 

       He brings her the iced tea she requested as he says "Well, I was going to have chicken alfredo but if you don't want that feel free to choose something else."  He smiles faintly and adds "While I consider myself a fairly good chef and it is something I do like doing, I wasn't intending to take the time to do so for lunch."

 

       His smile fades as he considers what she said about promotions.  "Yeah, you are right, being promoted to a high rank does present certain problems.  If I had known then what I know now I'm not entirely sure I would have let myself rise any higher then a department chief somewhere."  He shrugs "But then I guess everything has a price."

.

       "The alfredo is fine," quipped Debbie. "And I never meant to imply that you were going to prepare it yourself." She smiled brightly. "Perhaps one day, you'll invite me for one of your home cooked meals. Then I'll let you know what kind of chef you really are."

 

       As Aidan placed the food on the table, Debbie continued watching him closely, primarily because of his last remark...the one about everything having a price. Aidan Ridire had already paid dearly for his rank and position. And there was more to come. She quietly wondered if he would ever accept his own command. Perhaps they would talk about that one day.

 

       As for Debbie, she'd made a conscious decision that she didn't want to go any further up the chain of command. She was happy where she was and aspired to nothing more. Well, there may be one or two things she still wanted out of life but they had nothing to do with rank or position. She would have to talk to Aidan about that as well.  But not today.......

 

       He smiles faintly as he watches her start in on her lunch.  He shrugs "Pick a day.  It's not like I have a full social calendar at the moment."  As he continues watching her he wonders what was the thing she wanted to talk about the previous night.  He was curious to know what was going on in her mind and what she hinted at..but he wasn't going to press the issue.  She'd let him know in her own time.