Beetlejuicing

Posted on Fri Aug 28th, 2020 @ 1:59pm by Lieutenant Lily Marlow

Mission: End of Line
Location: Deck 9 - General Mess
Timeline: MD 01
2425 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure

With the negotiations with the Sozon Empire concluded, the Majestic steamed towards Starbase Adna for some well deserved rest and relaxation for the crew and to resupply the depleted stockpiles of fuel and supplies for the ship. The decision to continue to Sozon and complete negotiations had not been an easy one for the command staff to make, especially considering the amount of stress that everyone had been subjected to in the temporal anomaly. However, as Commander Hanover sat over a steaming mug of tea, even though the end result had been a rejection of Sozon's application to join the Federation, the diplomatic team had performed admirably, giving nothing less than their best performance during the Emperor's sideshow of debauchery and turpitude.

As the ship ticked off the lightyears, Jared found himself with a little bit of downtime. Very few disciplinary issues needed taking care of, so he had made himself available to the crew by idling in the lounge or mess hall and engaging in whatever conversation might come up. Between himself, Captain Saulitis, and the Chief of the Boat, the ship's "triad" had been thrown into the thick of things right from Jared's arrival, but had emerged a more cohesive group.

Hanover's train of thought was derailed by a notification that appeared on his PADD of a transferring officer. He saw a familiar name attached to an unfamiliar face staring back at him as he tapped through the personnel file. The Bureau of Personnel had assigned yet another Chief Medical Officer to them, a position that had been somewhat of a revolving door due to what the BuPers loved to refer to as operational necessity.

"Lieutenant Lily Marlow, huh?" he muttered to himself between sips of tea. "Gonna have a whole bouquet of Lilys by the time we're done here."

The steam rising from his tea evaporated into the air. No sooner had he placed his mug back on the table than the mess hall doors slid open. For a moment, Jared wondered if he had accidentally summoned the doctor somehow, because the woman that walked through matched the description in the file exactly. With a shrug, he stood up and took a few steps over towards the entryway.

"You must be Lieutenant Marlow," Hanover greeted her with a smile. "What a happy coincidence, I was just looking over your transfer orders when, voila, you appeared in the flesh. I'm Commander Jared Hanover, XO, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Lily felt like a tourist from the country, seeing a large city like New York and gawking at the differences between the USS Nighthawk and the USS Majestic. Over her shoulder Lily had her bag which contained the apples and oranges given to her by her sister and her aunt.

When she heard someone call her name, Lily turned finding herself face to face with... The XO! With a practiced eye, she scanned over Hanover's physique, giving a mental nod. He was definitely in good condition.

With a warm smile, Lily replied, "It's my pleasure as well,Commander." then she said with a twinkle in her eyes "You must have triggered the summoning spell that's attached to my orders. Captain Rutherford of the USS Nighthawk said almost the same thing to me, when I was transferred to his ship." she chuckled, "You see, I had my cadet cruise on that very ship."

"Ah yes, the Nighthawk. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Nebula class. Never served on one, but I had a friend named Glover who took a command on one not too long ago. But I digress, lieutenant, that's a story for another time. We're certainly glad to have you here with us on Majestic. How was the journey from Earth? Any unexpected hiccups or interesting stories to tell about your trip?"

"A few months prior to my journey to here, that had its hiccups." Not going into details, for that would be in her report. "The trip here, you could say it was interesting. Perhaps to the crews point of view. I didn't stay put in my quarters so to speak, I instead explored the ship, got to know some of the crew. Walked all over the Captain of the ship."

At this, Jared raised an eyebrow, but he remained silent knowing that their new CMO would give an explanation if she saw fit to. In the silence, he took another sip of tea.

Lily stopped, as she realized what she had just said. "Hmmn.. that may have sounded a bit strange. Let me back it up there for a moment." she explained "When visiting the ship's bridge, I noticed the underlying signs of being under a great deal of stress, and the way he held himself there was something going on with his back. Never a good thing for anyone to have that happening. I offered to help, was able to persuade him in allowing me to use Ashiatsu upon him."

"Ashy...Ashia-zu?" Hanover wrinkled his nose because he knew he was butchering the pronunciation. "A thousand apologies for my untrained tongue, but what is that?"

"Now, Ashiatsu is a method of deep tissue massage, using the feet. The practitioner utilizes two parallel bars that are attached to the ceiling allowing him or her to determine how much pressure to place on the back. Its almost like dancing when using the techniques." She finished, then chuckled. "Sorry, I went into teacher mode there. I had given some lessons, and left a holo program with instructions for the medical staff on the freighter."

"Well that certainly gives new meaning to the phrase 'walking all over someone.' It actually sounds kind of nice, even though deep tissue massages can be kind of painful in the process, they always seem to be worth it," Commander Hanover nodded as he motioned back to the table he had been sitting at. "Well, Lieutenant Marlow, if you've got a minute of free time, care to join me for a moment so we can finish up your transfer?"

"I'd be delighted." Lily stated, following Hanover to the table."I can set up an appointment for you to have a massage. And the deep tissue massage, shouldn't cause a lot of pain. If it does, then its been done wrong." taking a seat, setting down her midsized duffle bag upon the seat next to her. She looked at it then at Hanover. "I do have a question for you before we finish my transfer process. Do you like apples or oranges?"

"Ah, good question. Let's see, I'd say that I like a tart apple and a sweet orange, but if I had to pick one, I'd go for an apple," he nodded, taking a seat across from her as he returned his attention to his tea and his PADD. "Tangentially, doctor, while the point is relatively fresh, I implore you to never apologize for going into 'teacher mode.' We thrive on the spread of knowledge from the experienced to the learning, and as I'm sure you've figured out, sometimes the exchange can be the other way around as well. On a ship this size, I think interdepartmental communication and cooperation is essential."

"I agree," then Lily dug out a tart apple, as well as an orange from her bag, placing it on the table, next to Hanover's mug of tea. "I am very glad to hear about exchanging learning and teaching. Unfortunately, there are those who do not believe in that sort of thing, and I've had a few chastisements." giving a bit of a shrug.

"Mind you, that didn't happen on the Nighthawk. I was also told by an instructor whom I greatly respected, to...how did he put it..Tone down my enthusiasm in sharing my knowledge. People can be overwhelmed by an onslaught of information."

"Well then, it is good your instructor respected you enough to give you honest feedback," Jared smiled warmly, taking the orange in his hand. He gave it a deft spin before placing it gently back on the table next to a bright green apple. "And thank you for these. They smell delicious! You are very kind."

"You are most welcome." she responded with a smile. "i can tell you about them at a later time."

"Now, let's see," Commander Hanover returned his attention to the display on his PADD. He manipulated the controls so that the ship's manifest populated the screen before inputting a sequence of commands. Shortly thereafter, Lily's name appeared under the medical department; Jared nodded in satisfaction. "Operations will have your quarters assignment. Lieutenant Vannan may be receptive to requests, but you didn't hear that from me. Make sure you stop by and visit Commander Sommers for your security clearances. All the normal rigmarole. Oh, and for the continuing qualification training, you'll be placed on Gamma cycle, which is the same that you had previously. There's no cause to needlessly change a routine," he nodded, concluding his spiel.

"And finally, any questions, Lieutenant Marlow? Ship, mission, crew, which holodeck is best, who can hold their liquor? Ask away," Jared grinned.

"Who can hold their liquor, and is it all right to have the real stuff on the ship? Some of my elixers have an alcohol base, as well as the real vanilla beans I have have soaking in bourbon and some in vodka. Makes a really good vanilla used for cooking. As for crew, I have met Sekat as well as Murphy. Murphy was kind enough to give me a tour of Engineering. Sekat, I feel we are going to be a good team in Medical."

"Oh, there's probably a few, but we don't really have an issue with overindulgence causing problems. A young man from Operations by the name of Ward seems to be the enlisted's champion of inebriation," Commander Hanover mentioned, skipping the specifics related to the matter. "But no, we have no policies separate from the standard protocols related to flammable liquids. We try not to micromanage. I have found that when given the space to do so, people tend to be capable of a modicum of common sense and self discipline."

"I am glad to hear that, and relieved. If you have any other questions for me, ask away." Lily stated.

"Very well. One professional and one personal. Feel free to answer. Feel free not to answer. Who or what do you attribute to having the biggest influence on the way you approach medicine? And what would be on the menu if you somehow knew you were having your last meal ever?"

"My mother and her work is the biggest influence in how I approach medicine." smiling. "And as for my last meal. It would be the one my dad made me the evening before I was to report here. It was a medium rare steak cooked to perfection, as it melted in the mouth like butter. Oh so tender. Sauteed Mushrooms, with perfectly carmelized onions. A salad with an vinegarette made with honey, olive oil and apple cider vinegar, homemade croutons."

"I can smell it all. Go on, anything else?"

"A side of sauteed shrimp cooked in garlic butter. Fresh homemade rolls which are warm and easily melting the butter. Mashed potatoes and gravy, with a dollup of sour cream. To wash it down Mint Iced Tea, with a slice of lemon. And last but not least, mixed berry pie with a scoop of vanilla icecream starting to melt from the warmth of the slice of pie." she sighed in rememberance, "That would be my last meal request. All of that was made from scratch with my father's loving hands."

She turned her gaze towards him, "Honestly, I would like to hear your answer to those same questions, if you so choose to answer either of them, or both."

The executive officer rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. A faint smell of orange peel wafted up and piqued his sense of smell, calling forth the memories of many mornings spent at Starfleet Academy during his tenure as a professor. Smiling fondly at his recollection of those early moments in the San Franciscan dawn, Jared reigned in his attention and brought it back to his conversation with Lily.

"My professional approach? I've forgotten really, I'm too old to attribute it to any one person," Hanover winked. "But my daughters have been the defining characteristic of my adult life. So in a way, I suppose they are a major influence on my decision making process. Being a parent... it changes the way you approach things. As for the technical aspect, I'm an engineer by trade. A fool of a captain who I call a good friend decided that I might be cut out for the command track after a three decade track record of what is frankly best described as mediocrity. I had a choice between a career and being a father.

"As for the food? That one's much less complicated. I had the most delicious meal I've ever had on the east coast of the North American continent. Freshly caught lobster, crab, scallops - the lot. Paired with the right chardonnay, and you're halfway to my final meal request. The rest of my request would involve the company in which I would partake in such a meal. It's just food unless you're with the people you love."

"I highly agree with you on that." Lily giving a nod. "Being with the people you love, adds to the flavor."

Feeling a wave of homesickness, Lily pulled out an orange from her bag, and began peeling it, the scent of it wafting its way into the air. She also pulled out a small bag, placing the orange peels inside to use later.

"I miss my family right now." she said quietly, then a smile appeared after she ate a section of her orange, "but, I am open for adopting a new family, and it seems like I will be able to do so here on the ship. Camaraderie, friendships to develop. Something I look forward to. " a pause, another slice of orange. Then Lily stated, "I should get going and get the rest of the paperwork done. Later on, I'd like to hear about your family, you know, swap stories, hear of your experiences in life. That sort of thing."

"Sounds like a plan. Once again, welcome aboard lieutenant. Dismissed."