Rigmarole

Posted on Mon Jul 29th, 2019 @ 1:12am by
Edited on on Mon Aug 5th, 2019 @ 10:26pm

Mission: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Location: Deck 5: Security Offices
Timeline: MD04, 1400
1047 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

USS Majestic, Turbolift A
MD04, 1400

The sound of a well worn pair of boots marched down the corridor, joining in symphony with the nearly imperceptible hum of the EPS sending the ship's lifeblood coursing through a maze of conduits. Some five decks below the security offices in the USS Majestic, the comforting drone of the ship's engines joined in to complete the trio. Lilith Sullivan was finding her place in the symphony, softly humming the melody to a song that had become quite the ear-worm. She was working through what must have been the twentieth iteration of the same four bars of music as she exited the turbolift.

"Catchy song, innit?"

Sullivan looked up with a sheepish grin, knowing she had been caught.

"Yeah," she replied with an easy smile, "but it'd help if I could remember more than two lines of it!"

Simple chord progressions and catchy melodies aside, the time had finally arrived for Sullivan to report into the Chief of Security. Humans had always been prone to a strong imprint based on the initial impression, and by no coincidence, many of them focused on making a positive "first contact" with others. The whirlwind of events ever since her point of contact at the Bureau of Personnel informed her of the new assignment dominated her thoughts as she continued down the corridor.

It had only been a few days since Sullivan had arrived on the Majestic. The normal rigmarole had been interrupted by a vow renewal ceremony shortly after she had arrived. Most of the initial cadre of departmental meetings had taken place, but there were still a few people that she needed to meet.

"Could you point me towards the chief's office?" Sullivan asked one of the crewmen standing around. A quick gesture and she was on her way.

"Well, here we go," she spoke as she keyed her presence at the door.

"Come in, the door is open," Lhaes called out. His office was cozy and quiet though it showed some evidence of him being a family man. There were a few toys strewn around in a forgotten corner and there was a single photograph showing two identical girls and a smaller boy on his desk.

"Thank you sir." Sullivan stepped through the door. "Lieutenant Lilith Sullivan reporting for duty, Chief Flight Control Officer."

She stood at attention with her PADD which contained every pertinent document that Starfleet had on her. Whether it be her service record, logbooks, medical records, psychological evaluations - anyone with access to that PADD would know more about the ship's newest officer better than she knew herself.

"At ease lieutenant, before you sprain something." The Romulan security chief smiled. "I don't need your personnel file... you can save that for the CMO. All I need is a voice recognition trigger, and a retinal scan to confirm your identity and pass proper clearances over to you."

"Oh, of course," Lilith visibly relaxed and transmitted the necessary information over from her PADD. She took a moment while the files transferred and looked around the office. A quick glance was all she needed to realize that this was not going to be like her previous assignments on the big, flagship carriers of the Ninth Fleet.

"Oh, what adorable children!" she quipped noticing the photo on Sommers' desk. "What are their names?"

Following her gaze, the Romulan's smile softened. "Livinana, Evaste and Galan," he answered before looking up. "Do you have a family with you?"

"No, after being raised with three brothers, a little space is nice to have from time to time. Mom and dad are back on Earth enjoying retirement, and as for me?" Sullivan paused for a moment. "I never did get married. Been a career first sort of thing thus far. I don't mean to pry Commander, please let me know if I'm overstepping, but how about yourself? Is your family here with you?"

"My children are, yes. Their mother is not as she left when Galan was just a few weeks old." He seemed to look sad for a moment. "To keep us safe," he added, "she went back to the former Empire."

"Their mother sounds like a brave woman," Lilith replied calmly. She had clearly stumbled upon a source of anguish for the Romulan commander, but with their relative unfamiliarity with each other, Sullivan resisted her natural urge to inject some humor into the situation. The truth of the matter was, she struggled to relate to familial issues, having had no real history of strife, nor any personal experience in the matter herself.

Thankfully, a soft chime interrupted her train of thought and bailed her out from having to say anything else about the subject for the moment.

Lhaes briefly glanced at his screen and made a few adjustments. "Your clearances and codes have been updated. How are you on your small firearms qualifications?"

"You know sir, you'd think that leading a survival class would qualify for that type of training, but I seem to remember that due to some idiosyncrasies, it doesn't actually count for the recurrent training," Sullivan stroked her chin in thought, trying to recall all the pertinent information. "I, uh, guess that's a long winded way of saying that I'm current, sir, but only for a few more weeks."

"Then I would recommend you make an appointment for your renewal," the Romulan answered, "I do have a slot in my schedule for tomorrow evening if that suits you."

"Yes, that would be awesome, thank you for fitting me in so quickly," Sullivan quickly brought up her personal calendar on the PADD. "I'll be sure to mark it down here before I forget. What time specifically?"

"After dinner. I will make sure the children are settled for sleep and then I will meet you on the range. Is that acceptable?"

"I look forward to it Commander. Is there anything else?" Sullivan queried.

"Dismissed lieutenant. Don't forget to report to medical and command." He waved her off, eyes already drifting back to the report he'd been working on earlier.

"Understood sir, I'll get on it right away. I'll see you tomorrow."

---

Lieutenant Commander Lhaes Sommers
CTSO

Lieutenant Lilith Sullivan
Chief Flight Control Officer