Take Two

Posted on Fri Aug 16th, 2019 @ 1:58am by

Mission: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Location: USS Majestic, Security Offices
Timeline: MD06, 0800
2342 words - 4.7 OF Standard Post Measure

A quick, determined stride carried Sullivan down the corridor towards the security offices. Her originally scheduled recurrency training had been derailed by a series of departmental meetings the day before, so she rescheduled for the next morning. Lily shook off the image of young Patrick O'Malley's sliced fingers mixed with the memory of her own mishap with Commander Sommers's honour blade as she passed through the doors and entered the office.

"Good morning," she smiled broadly at the petty officer working at the desk. "My name is Lieutenant Sullivan. I rescheduled some recurrent small weapons training for this morning. Is an instructor available?"

"Oh hi ma'am," the young woman answered brightly, "I'm Petty Officer Wells. Yea I think the command is waiting for you on the range. Or he should be anyway..." She pointed ahead. "Right through there ma'am."

"Thank you Miss Wells, much appreciated. You know, I think I've seen you in passing around the ship, it's nice to be able to put a name to the face. How are you finding life on the Majestic? Is this one of your first assignments out of the Academy?"

"Yes ma'am," Hannah replied, "first tour in space." She tilted her head a little as she seemed to study the woman. Hadn't Gregory said he'd seen her come out of one of the guest rooms? "Yours too?" she asked carefully, not sure whether that was appropriate to ask from a commissioned officer.

"Uh yeah," Lily chuckled, "something like that. It's not my first tour, but it is my first time attached to a ship on a diplomatic mission. I've quite enjoyed getting to know our fellow crewmates over the past few days."

"So I've heard," the girl blurted out, upon which her face turned scarlet. "I mean... Gossip travels fast ma'am." She hesitated before mumbling a "and not just about you" afterwards.

The statement caught Sullivan off guard, but apart from a brief look of confusion, it would have been difficult to tell. She stood silent for a moment, trying to recollect any moments from the past few days that could be construed in such a way. A brief sigh escaped her lips as she remembered the incident at Arcana with Alta Saulitis - the gift that just kept on giving.

"Well Miss Wells, I would warn against gossip, but what's the point? I remember being your age - it wasn't that long ago - and being new on a starship. Yeah, rumors spread quickly, and they are a helluva lot of fun sometimes," Lilith shrugged, admitting the point. "Oblige me, what's the rumor? What's the most salacious thing you've heard about me?"

"People have seen you with the captain's dad, rumour has it that you slept with him," Hannah murmured, ears burning. "There's a lot of gossip going around, about people leaving quarters where they don't belong." She shrugged. "My boss proposed to the captain's mom...she's like...twice his age?"

"I so did not need to hear that," Sullivan's palm came up to meet her forehead. Before continuing, she lowered her hand to cover her mouth, lest she say something unwise. A moment passed in silence. "As for Alta," she sighed, relaxing her arm, "believe me, he would've if I would've agreed to, but nope, nothing happened. That's a funny rumor though, could you imagine!? Sleeping with the captain's dad! I'd have to transfer immediately, and by immediately I mean steal a shuttle and disappear to live a life on the run for the rest of my days," she cracked up into a fit of laughter.

At that precise moment the doors to the range opened and the Romulan security chief appeared in the doorway. "I wouldn't recommend stealing a shuttle or a craft of any other kind," he offered somewhat seriously, "I can tell you from experience that it has consequences."

"Ah, good morning sir," Lilith straightened up and turned to face Lhaes. "I was just sharing a joke with Petty Officer Wells here. She was just filling me in on a few current events," she shifted her weight ever so slightly, changing the subject as she did so. "Apologies for having to reschedule for today Commander, I had some things come up that I had to deal with with a few pilots, and I didn't feel that requesting something after hours was fair to you."

"After hour is my time," Lhaes agreed with a small smile, casting the younger woman at the desk a sideways glare. "Gossip is unbecoming Miss Wells," he admonished her, before looking up at Sullivan. "The range is ready for you." He gestured ahead, motioning for her to go first.

Leading the way down the corridor, Lilith tried to remember the basics of firearm safety. As a survival, evasion, resistance, and escape instructor in the Academy Flight School, most of the training she had done with small phasers had been as defense against predators as well as non-traditional uses of the tool. Most students quickly found use of phasers as a fire starter, but even broken down into its constituent parts, the sarium krellide power packs could be used for a myriad of things.

"You know, long ago when I was just a wee lass," she began as they approached the firing range, "I took two attempts at qualifying to join a target shooting team at Stanford. I missed the cut, and ever since then, I've been using phasers as heat sources and firestarters more than an actual aim and shoot weapon. But I guess I need to be qualified just in case I ever get picked for an away mission, huh?"

The Romulan nodded as he picked two phasers from the cabinet, handing one of them to her. Showing her how, even though a hand phaser wasn't his own weapon of choice either, he went through the basic instructions of use and safety. "Always look where you are pointing your weapon," he continued as he stretched out his left arm, the nozzle of the phaser aimed towards a static target. "Never point it at a person unless you are intent on stunning them. There have been accidents using training, so always keep the safety on if you're not intending to fire."

Keeping both eyes open, he perfected his aim then pressed down on the trigger with his thumb. "The phaser is an extenion of your arm," he finished. "Use it as such."

"Noted. The five tenets, right? Point in a safe direction, treat it like it's loaded, keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire, know your target and what's behind it, and wear PPE when applicable. Sounds like there's a story there behind that accident, care to share?"

"A crewman got confused about which end was the business end of the phaser," Lhaes explained, "he had, apparently, never even held a phaser before. He was severely injured, point blank stun can be dangerous." He nodded towards the range. "Show me what you can do, and if your score is up to par, we'll move to moving targets."

Stepping up to the table, Sullivan held her phaser up at arm's length and closed her right eye. Being left eye dominant meant she aimed and shot using her left hand primarily, despite being naturally right handed. Sighting her target, she exhaled and depressed the trigger, scoring a hit. The next target appeared and before she could reset and control her breathing, she rushed the next shot which resulted in a miss.

"Crap! Computer, pause simulation. Commander, do you have any tips on how to control your breathing for shooting in rapid succession?" she asked as she placed her phaser back on the table. "I usually tend to exhale and then take a shot, but sometimes that isn't an option."

Lhaes shook his head. "No I'm afraid not, that's something you'll need to figure out for yourself. As I already indicated, this is not my weapon of choice." He paused. "I do recommend keeping both your eyes open. That way you have an eye on your current target and one on your possible next."

"Uh, I'm not sure how that'll work with binocular vision, but maybe I can make it work. Let's see," Lilith stepped back to the table before nodding. "Ready."

The computer beeped, signalling the start of another round. Similar to her first attempt, the first shot went off without a hitch. Making a conscious effort to use her field of vision, the next target appeared and Sullivan quickly drew and fired another successful hit a split second after the first. Targets three, four, and five registered successful hits in rapid fashion.

"Well, this is going better than the gym," Lily smirked as she lowered her phaser. "It kinda gets the competitive juices flowing. I know that thing's keeping score."

"Well it's supposed to keep a score," Lhaes chuckled, "just remember this is no OK Corral shootout, and you only have the one weapon, not two. Is left your dominant hand of use?"

"Yes. Mostly just because my left eye is slightly better than my right. Easier for me to focus."

"I see. I have always learned to use both eyes. But then, my background is different than yours." He grinned boyishly at her. "I'm supposed to be aware of my surroundings at all times."

"Oh without a doubt. Situational awareness is something we teach our pilots too. I suppose it's sort of similar, I mean, we both have to keep an idea of where we are in relative time and space compared to everything else," Sullivan nodded in agreement, before turning to lean on the edge of the table. "You know, I have to ask about Miss Wells. Do you think she's underutilized in her current position? She seems to have enough idle time to spread some rumors, including ones with you and me. Separately," she added.

"Separately," Lhaes mused, glancing past the woman out towards the range, "she's young and inexperienced, and we can't control what she does in her spare time. I know she spends her time with a few friends, and girls do like gossip, don't they?" He frowned as he put his phaser down on the table. "What kind of rumours?"

"Well, from one department head to another, they're pretty salacious in nature. I've been linked with Captain Saulitis's father because I shared a drink with the man in the lounge a couple of days ago. The only thing that happened is we left and took a walk. I guess someone interpreted that as me leaving the bar with him," Lilith rolled her eyes. "Crazy stuff going on all over the ship it seems. I can't help but wonder if it's all intertwined somehow."

"For reasons I can't yet discuss, I do believe all might be connected." The Romulan's frown remained. "I've been seen with the captain's mother, though in all honesty I don't care about having been seen with her. What I do in my own time is my business." He nodded towards her. "And what you do in your time is yours, as long as it doesn't compromise ship's security, but that counts for me too."

"Right, right, nothing that compromises or appears to compromise the chain of command. JAG would have a field day if that were to be the case," Lily crossed her arms, thinking about what effect the implications of the Commander's statements on the implants might have on their mission. "I'm still single. Seems like I'm in the minority on this ship though. Just a statement, no judgment involved."

"Officially, I too am single. And unfortunately I can't just go out and date anyone I want. I have three children to consider and I can't just bring anyone and everyone home either. My daughters lost two mothers already, they don't even remember their birth mother. My son may well never remember his mother either... I have to consider them first."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Commander, I had no idea. You had mentioned something about it before but, I..." Sullivan paused, words failing her. She walked over, stood next to him, and placed a hand on his back. "I'm sorry to bring up such difficult memories."

The Romulan stiffened at the sudden touch, even though her hand didn't touch any of his skin. "Don't be.. Family is important and my family must come first. It is very important to me to do right by them. Like my parents have done for me." He smiled softly, taking a small step sideways to move away from her hand. "You'll understand when you have children of your own."

"Maybe one day," she murmured, shaking her head softly as she walked back over to the shooter's table. "What's left to do before I can be signed off?"

"Your score is sufficient to qualify," Lhaes answered as he picked up a PADD and reviewed her scores. "You're certified now to carry a hand phaser while on away mission."

"Awesome! Thank you Commander, here," she replied, handing her phaser back to him, "I believe these are yours. I appreciate the time this morning."

Taking the weapon back, he restored them safely to the cabinet he'd taken them from. "Thank you."

"Oh, and before I go," Lily turned to face him, "if any of your kids are interested in flight, bring them by sometime and me or one of the instructors can take them for a ride in the simulators. Just something to keep in mind, sir."

"Perhaps when they're a little older," Lhaes chuckled. "My girls are six years old, my boy is three.."

"Oh, well," Sullivan laughed, imagining her six year old self trying to peer over the console. "We'll agree on a rain check then. Thanks again Commander."

Lhaes just nodded. "Just ignore the gossip lieutenant. It's just that...gossip. Only you know what is truth, and what isn't."

"Ha, yeah, don't believe everything you hear."

---

Lieutenant Lilith Sullivan
Redshirt Available for Away Missions
CFCO

LtC Lhaes Sommers
CTSO