Engineering a Meeting

Posted on Thu Apr 28th, 2022 @ 11:39pm by Lieutenant Commander Nyx Valentine & Captain Temperance Harding

Mission: Mission 2: Chasing Shadows
Timeline: Before arriving at Lambetta

ON

The hydraulic double doors of Main Engineering parted parted ith the familiar sound. Temperance Harding stepped in, a scowl set in her face. It was one thing to not report in for a new assignment - the timing with their departure had allowed that little detail to slip through the cracks. Yet to send a junior officer as a proxy to a Staff Meeting! Harding caught a passing Engineer by the arm. "Commander Valentine." She said in a flat tone. Never a fun sign.

The Officer blinked, and merely pointed in the direction of the new Chief.

Harding gave the man a nod, letting him on his way. She squared her shoulders, and set herself on an intercept course. "Lieutenant Commander Valentine." The Captain called when she was close enough. The 'Leftenant' was an accidental by product of her birth. 'Val-un-tine' was 100% deliberate.

The dark haired woman in question was lounging in a comfortable chair at the em central ‘table’ console, apparently lazily reviewing a PADD as a 3-D image of a Nebula-class starship rotated in front of her, bits and pieces of the hull vanishing into a wireframe schematic before reverting back to the outer hull all in time to the tapping on the device by neatly manicured fingernails. The Lieutenant Commander Valentine in question was dressed seemingly to incite a riot, not wearing the standard uniform, instead it was obvious that it molded to her figure, what she wore of it, because the uniform jacket was hanging off the back of the chair. The tunic was a tank top and as the legs turned the chair towards the voice saying her name, it was obvious that the skirt she wore wouldn’t even approach her knees, much less go down to where her… Boots? Heels that were an inch and a half were on her feet, at least they fully covered the feet, with a pair of more regulation footwear tucked under the table. The tank to, it turned out, was tailored to provide a rather ample look of her cleavage.

Striking blue eyes flicked up from the PADD as there was a brief stir of motion from the hanging platform a couple feet from the ceiling, “Veil-en-teen.” The soft but firm alto voice corrected the pronunciation, “Captain. She let the PADD slide to her stomach, straightening up a bit in her chair, the act not doing much but make her appear a bit more perky, “It’s pronounced ‘Veil-En-Teen. But welcome to engineering, what can I do for you?”

Harding gave the woman a look. Her nose wrinkled ever so slightly. She didn't mind a certain level of informality, especially among the Engineers, but there was absolutely a line. She cast a glance around the room. She didn't want this conversation out in the open. "Could we talk? In your office, please?"

"Of course, ma'am." A pink tongue came out to lick her perfectly bright red lipsticked lips as Nyx stood and retrieved her uniform jacket, slipping her arms into the garment and sealing it. This brought it tight against her, but given how it was tailored with a plunge in the front that new seemed to have more emphasis, "Gigi." She said sharply, a purple and black lizard head poking out from the platform above at the name, which immediately dropped off the side of the form in a dive as Nyx gave a two-toned whistle, spreading it's wings out, revealing leathery membranous wings that spanned only two feet, it glided, then backwinged once and dropped onto Nyx's shoulder where the fabric on the jacket was thicker and the claws dug in, it's tail with a pair of spikes wrapping around her neck protectively. It raised it's head to check out the Captain and chirruped at her.

Nyx reached up to caress the tiny dragon-looking creature's head, which pressed it against her hand as she used the other to gesture towards the office, "If you'll follow me, Captain." She gave a bright smile, the heels clicking on the deck as she led the older woman towards her new home-away-from-home. The door slid open in front of her and as the lights came on, the whir of a fan also came on and on the pointing of a hand, the drakeling dove off her shoulder again, wings snapping open as it glided towards the desk, flapping twice until it reached the point where an updraft visibly pushed at the wings and the small creature used it and began to lazily circle until it reached a point of equilibrium and just coasted there in place, observing it's new kingdom and especially the two women as they neared the desk, Nyx perching on the edge of it and crossing her legs, "So, what can I do for you, ma'am?"

Harding had managed to keep her expression under control, and professional, upon learning there was... this creature in her engine room. "Okay, first, I'd appreciate it if pets were kept in personal quarters while on duty. This is an engine room, not a zoo."

The first look of dismay came across Nyx's face as that pronouncement was made, but she rallied almost immediately, "I honestly think that would be an absolutely horrible idea." She stated flatly, "Gigi, as you can tell, really shouldn't be confined in a crate or something just in case she needs to spread her wings and if left alone for significant periods of time, would probably tear things apart trying to find something to do." Nyx smiled up at the little dragon, who was watching them, then gave the same two-toned whistle as before, the drakeling diving down to her shoulder once again, "She's very well trained, but she's still a baby, really, only sixteen months old and already full-sized. I was given a hatching egg as a gift when we were on a diplomatic mission to Drussel, it would have been... Inadvisable to refuse it and Gigi here sees me as her mother. Would you like to pet her?"

Harding's expression remained stoic. "No, thank you." She replied, and took a deep breath. "I do believe we have a xenobiologist in the sciences department, whom I am sure would be thrilled at having such a creature to entertain during the day. Engineering is not the place for pets, trained or not. I am sorry."

"I don't think that would be a good idea, ma'am." Nyx wanted to glare at her new Captain, but that wouldn't be in her best interests, the ship's best interests and ESPECIALLY not in Gigi's, so while her eyes narrowed slightly, she forced them back open again, "From what the Drussellians informed me, and the manual for care, which I can provide to you, the drakeling should be in near constant contact with their adoptive parent for the first two years. 'Brief departures from their care, up to two or even three standard hours, are acceptable as they simulate hunting forays by the parent, however in the extended absence of a parent during their habit formative period, incidents of aggressive and even feral activity have been noted.'" She sounded like she was quoting from some manual, then softened it with a smile, "She does sleep an awful lot, which is why I've installed the platforms, to keep her out of the way. I do intend to take her around to meet people to help with the socializing aspect of her training, but she's used to being in an engineering setting already back on Hyperion and knows to stay away from open consoles and anything 'new'. The first few times experimenting with that taught her well, as well as the scoldings."

Harding gave a small nod. "Okay, Commander. You've convinced me. The first incident, though, and an alternative housing option is required. Can we agree on that?"

"Absolutely." Nyx breathed a sigh of relief, then leaned her head over to rub cheeks automatically with the drakeling, as if she did it hundreds of times a day by automatic rote, then extended her arm out and up, finger pointing towards another small platform attached to the wall a few feet from the ceiling. The drakeling immediately dashed up the arm, launched itself and with a pair of flaps from her wings landed on the platform and vanished from immediate view, "But I'm guessing that Gigi wasn't your original reason for coming to see me, ma'am?" She asked quietly, "I do apologize for not coming to find you to immediately report in, but things seemed hectic on board and I didn't want to impose on your time merely to meet your newest crewmember."

Harding waved away the woman's concern. "I can totally understand that one, Commander. I was busy myself, and it wasn't until time for the Staff Meeting that I realized we hadn't met." Her eyes turned to steel at that point. "Speaking of. You sent a junior officer in your place to the meeting. Explain?"

"Oh, that?" Nyx started a waving away gesture, but dropped her hands instead, making it look like a 'stop' motion that she grimaced as she realized it, "Lieutenant Dobrescu was more familiar with the ship status than I was and I didn't want to betray my lack of detailed knowledge if called upon. Besides," She gestured to her door to indicate beyond, "Endurance hadn't gotten the HoloCIC upgrades yet and I was working on the central console to bring that up to snuff. That's what I was working with when you walked in, it really does improve how quickly we can identify and diagnose problems with the ship when we can look at it in 3D and really dig into the specific areas. Damage control response has been proven on several ships to have improved by upwards of twenty-three percent on average with the ships that have the HoloCIC upgrades."

Again, Harding found herself facing reason, and had to accept the situation. "Okay, those are two good points. I would have appreciated a head's up ahead of time." Her eyes moved over the uniform, taking in the full appearance. "Final point. Not what I came down here for, but, while we're in private. Starfleet prides itself on a certain level of decorum. I am going to insist on the jacket to be worn while on duty - with the exception of extreme climate conditions, of course. That goes for more sensible footwear. Safety issue. Heels do not go well with rushing around an Engine room in a crisis."

"Which is why I've got more practical shoes for when the fecal matter hits the rotary air impeller." Nyx actually agreed with the last point, which was why she did have more regulation boots at various places in the engineering section, being very mindful of her words, "I can... Understand the jacket, but I do get hot pretty quickly. Of course, I've had to reinforce the shoulders on the jacket for obvious reasons, but I'll do my best to keep it on whenever I'm here, ma'am." She sortof relaxed that it was only that she needed to wear the jacket and maybe, maybe... "Commander Halloran and I had a discussion much like this on Hyperion, I can be out of these shoes and into proper ones in under thirty seconds."

"Fifteen seconds, and a fightercraft is strafing the ship. Torpedo impacts on decks 7, 8, 9, and 11. EPS ruptures, plasma venting, and you need to run out that door. You gonna wait another 30?" Harding's voice was cold. "Lose the heels."

"I can run in them." Nyx started, but stopped after those words only a heartbeat, the rest of her speech unspoken. She'd prepared for a skipper to argue about them, and then she'd mention how she wasn't like the rest of the crew, that she was special, that one of the relics of Betazed was in her possession. But that wouldn't fly and she already knew it. The bare heartbeat that had passed since the first words had come out of her mouth faded away, "But I'll not wear them on duty." She suited actions to words and slipped out of them, tucking them under the desk behind her.

Nyx then paused for a moment, "But if we're under that sort of attack, we're in more trouble than running in heels." She visualized the stated 'damage' that was intimated, "Primary damage fifteen decks above us and rupturing plasma conduits in engineering? That would require a weapon I can't visualize, and if we're talking running up there for damage control, that's why we've got teams stationed throughout the ship and I'd be best used in coordinating the efforts from here. Not arguing, ma'am, just reacting."

"I like an Engineer that asks questions, and thinks." Harding gave the woman a smile, wanting to lessen the blow of her reprimand. "Your record is professionally glowing. I think you'll do well here, Commander."

"I like to think that I will, Captain." Nyx smiled back, "I'll admit I'm not the one you want trying to change out the dilithium crystals in the middle of a fight, but I'm sure I've got someone here that can do it. I am, however, the one you want when there's a glitch in the system, or when you need a spider in a web. And I promise you, I'll make it to the next meeting. In person."

"Good. I'd hate to send security after you." Harding agreed with a chuckle. "Was there anything you needed from me, while I am here?"

"Not that I can think of." Nyx shook her head slowly, now having to look slightly up at the other officer rather than from basically the same height, blue eyes meeting blue eyes, "Just... If you ever need anything from me or my people, don't hesitate to ask. I'm available all the time."

"Thank you, Commander." With a nod and a smile, Harding left the office, letting the Engineer get back to work.

As the Captain left the office, Nyx gave a mournful look at the heels and sighed. She was tempted to put them back on to finish out the day, but she had her directions and while she'd miss them while on duty, as she got off, then they went back on. "All right, Gigi, let's get back to it." She gave the two-toned whistle and once again, dutifully, the drakeling dove from the platform and back to her shoulder before she padded out in her short socks back to the hologram still displayed, a Nebula-class ship in all her detailed glory. Her ship.. But perhaps she'd let Captain Harding borrow her from time to time.