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LeftEar JoNs

"Off the Record"

01.11.08

USS Excalibur NCC-2004 C

“Off the Record”

 

Left Ear JoNs, satisfied with the completion of at least half of her workload, had decided to grab some refreshment in the main lounge. Truly, she seemed to spend quite a good deal of free time there as the lounge atmosphere seemed to relax her. Upon entering the establishment, the Caitian visually searched for an available nook, cranny, or table to claim as her own.

 

Sitting at one of the small tables by the view port, Mreh was sipping at a frosty glass of water. Working a split shift today, he'd just handed over the helm to the number two navigation and flight control officer. Deciding he'd spent too much time hunkered down in his quarters on his last stint on Excalibur, he'd decided to head to the lounge to relax and socialize. Having a good view of the lounge entrance, he saw Lefty enter and smiled, raising a paw in her direction.

 

A fanged grin greeted the paw. Score! It would be agreeable to speak with her fellow Caitian. JoNs nodded in his direction and then headed over to the table. "Lieutenant - mind if I join you?"

 

"Commander," he said with a nod. "By all means." Gesturing to the seat across from him, he smiled. "I take it the Captain finally made his way up to the bridge?"

 

“Aye, but I am due back there for the next shift or so." A sigh escaped the brown female cat. "What with this "unknown planet" that popped onto the sensors, we need to be a bit cautious." JoNs focused her attention on a waiter long enough to order a drink and some food, and then turned her attention back to Khal. "So, Mreh. I must say that you seem to be settling into the Akira helm pretty well."

 

"Yeah, she's a beauty to fly. Much more maneuverable and..." he waved a paw around as he thought of the proper word. "Intuitive than any other class I've flown." He grinned. "And better than the Sovereign by far. A plate and a tin can with two overlong sausages attached. If it can't use it's firepower as an advantage in battle, it's nearly impossible to avoid major damage. Can't say I was surprised by all of the hits it took. Speaking of settling in, how's the view from the top treating you?" He asked, his gold eyes locking on to hers.

 

Left Ear’s gaze went to the view outside the port window before actually replying, schooling her thoughts carefully. Finally, her own green eyed gaze locked back onto the male feline, and she decided to be truthful. It probably helped that he was a fellow countryman, and she dropped her defenses a bit. "It is quite the learning experience, but, hey, I did go through OCS training and so I always knew that command was a possibility. I just thought I'd be a bit...older? when I did finally accept some sort of executive command position."

 

Mreh nodded, and then a wicked grin spread across his face. "I'll never forget the look on your face when you opened that assignment order. It's probably a good thing I didn't have a holocam on me at the time."

 

An equally wicked grin matched his. "Even if you did have a holo recorder, it would have long been confiscated and shot out an airlock by now." Left Ear chuckled and sipped at her own drink of Altair water. "I do have one question Lieutenant - between your medical expertise and your legal medical license, as well as your piloting skills, you could find employment out along the frontier planets and make some serious credits as either a pilot, medical doctor, or a combination of both. I read up on your last assignment as an ambulance jockey? It seemed an interesting duty station. Would you do it again, as I said?"

 

"Ha," Mreh said, twirling his water glass on the table. "I certainly hope I never have to pilot ambulatory shuttles ever again, that was about as boring an assignment as I could imagine." He smiled, as his eyes closed, searching inward for the answer to her question. "I have a feeling I haven't treated my last patient, though I expect that it will be a case of 'lucky I was there' than anything planned. I plan on sticking with being a helmsman for now... Plus the operations and science 'side' bits that I have with the department structure here.”

 

"Maybe I'll try command training later on." He grinned and laughed aloud. "Can you imagine that? A biologist, piloting medical doctor in a command position?" His amused eyes twinkled in the moderate lounge lighting. "That's a long way down the road though. As for being in the private sector... Nah."

 

JoNs knew it was probably the ease she felt with a fellow feline, but it was nice to drop the command act for a bit. "That would give whole new meaning to the term multitasking, indeed." She took a bite of her sandwich, chewed a bit, and then asked another question of Mreh. "How are the navigation jockeys holding up? Have you heard any below decks muttering, or rather, do you think the junior members of the crew realize what it is exactly we are searching for?"

 

"As far as the rest of my staff is concerned, they seem pretty satisfied with the 'Peaceful Exploration of the Gamma Quadrant' angle. Though it probably won't last long before people start scratching their heads and wondering. Of course, I only know the bare minimum myself. I'm sure many of the junior officers will catch me up soon enough. Though being on the bridge, I'm sure I'll continue to pick up tidbits." He twitched his ears and grinned. "Can't help it with these comm arrays."

 

"They do come in handy, do they not? Everyone wishes they were a feline."

 

"So..." He angled his head to look at her better. "If this is out of line, just pretend I didn't ask, but... I was wondering how you're getting along with the Captain? It is a very... unusual command combo, species-wise, after all."

 

"To be honest, we are getting along fine. A feline and a canine are not the two most exotic species to ever command a starship, I am sure about that. But I will say that anyone who cracks a derogatory cat and dog joke in my or his presence will find themselves scrubbing the intake manifolds, no questions asked. And yes, you may spread that rumor around by all means." A wicked and dangerous grin exposed her fangs.

 

"I will," he said, laughing. "I'm glad there are no problems. Those between the command crew would cause a lot of morale problems for everyone else." He showed his own fangs. "Then of course, there's the fang brigade on this ship too..." He used a barely extended claw to scratch his chin. "Though I can say I'm concerned with some of the other... personality conflicts on this ship."

 

Her one ear flipped back. "Is this an official complaint? If so, you need to file it in writing to me accordingly. Otherwise, I'm all ears - pardon the pun - but it's off the record. Savvy Lieutenant?"

 

He nodded and smiled. "I hate to say that Commander Teykier is most of it. She's been shooting sarcasm like quantum torpedoes lately. You saw some of that earlier today on the bridge. And whatever it is between Commander Tekyier and Victria... I keep expecting bolts of lightning to shoot between their eyes whenever they're in the same room. I heard that the Ell-Tee actually used her fangs at that party. I'm afraid it might get uglier if it's not checked."

 

It was only a matter of time before the below decks gossip started. "Aye. I was there at the party and let's just say the two of them are not on my happy list right now for their little public display of bloodsucking. It depends on the ladies, really. Either they put aside their differences and play nice, or I step in." A tail lash punctuated the statement.

 

"Glad to know it's under control so that I don't have to worry about it... except for being caught in potential crossfire." He grinned. "Think we can install a lightning rod on the bridge, just in case?"

 

"Just duck under the Helm console."

 

"I will," he said. Looking out of the view port at the stars streaking by, he sighed. "At least it's a distraction. I have a feeling this search isn't going to end without more of the same... death, destruction, pain. I hate this quadrant."

 

"And I don't care for the Vorta, nor the Dominion, nor the Founders. But, like you, I'll do my job and deal with it all." Her own gaze went to the outside star scape. "It's all we can do...and hope we don’t get knocked six ways to hell in the process." A low growl punctuated her words. Commander JoNs turned her gaze from the window, mentally pushing away the darker thoughts that were rapidly encroaching, and instead picked up her glass in a gentle paw, offering it in toast. "Lieutenant Khal, here's to the Excalibur and the crew. May all our future endeavors be successful."

 

Mreh reciprocated the gesture. "Hear, hear."

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