New Spook Arrives...

Posted on Sat Jun 24th, 2023 @ 2:05pm by Lieutenant William Henderson & Captain Charlotte Rhodes & Lieutenant Commander Ryan Knight

2,749 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 1S: Shore Leave
Location: USS Defiant, Docked at Starbase Arcadia
Timeline: MD 1 / 1005 hours

Looking over the Constitution Class vessel, William took a moment to admire his new home. While the ship was relatively new, she was already making a name for herself. He hoped that his contributions only continued that trend for the better.

Picking up his bag, he made his way through the connecting tunnel between the starbase and the ship. Upon reaching the open hatch, he handed the PADD containing a copy of his transfer orders to the enlisted security Crewman posted there. Once he was cleared through, he asked the computer for the location of the CO and XO. Upon learning they were both in the Captain's ready room he grinned. It seemed that luck was with him so far.

After making his way to the nearest turbolift, he stared his destination, then rode the car deeper into and higher up the ship.

Once the lift doors opened, he stepped out onto the bridge, pausing a moment to take in the scene. Then, shaking himself back to the present, he moved over to the closed doors that led to the ready room. He placed his bag down to the right of the door, then stood back up and straightened his uniform. Once he was ready, he reached up and pressed the door chime.

---Ready Room---

"...and once we've finished offloading for leave, I have scheduled to have the stations' engineering crew come aboard and finish outfitting one of Cargo Bay 4 into a modular bay. If we're going to be heading into the nebula, I'd like to be able to adapt the ship to whatever is about to come at us," Rhodes said, settling back in her seat. She folded her arms, playing absently with the folds of her green command wrap. She was about to get sidetracked on another topic when the door chime range out. She swiveled her chair, situated at the end of the conference table, to face the door. "Enter."

Upon hearing the Captain give the order to enter, the computer unlocked and opened the door leading out onto her bridge.

William straightened up a bit more, involuntarily. He then moved inside and stopped a few paces in front of, and centered on, the Captain. "Morning, Ma'am, Sir!" He said, nodding respecfully to the Executive Offcer. "Lieutenant William Henderson reporting for duty as your new Chief Intelligence Officer." He handed over the PADD he was carrying. "My transfer orders and personnel file, Ma'am."

Charlotte's face brightened. She had nearly forgotten about their new arrival. "Lieutenant Henderson. Welcome aboard! You'll have to forgive me. I had planned to welcome you more formally, but the day has gotten away from me. I'm Captain Charlotte Rhodes. And this is my first officer, Lt. Commander Ryan Knight."

Ryan stepped forward and shook William's hand. "Welcome aboard Lieutenant." He glanced back at Charlotte before returning his gaze to William. "My fault I gather. I brought a list of modification work orders and in port watch bills for crew rotations. Trying to maximize the time folks can have for liberty call."

William took the offered hand and shook it properly. "A pleasure, Sir." He then released Ryan's hand and looked back to the Captain. "I thank you for the offer to serve aboard your ship, Ma'am. I give you both my word," he looked between the two senior officers, "I will give you and this ship everything I have. I won't betray the trust you are showing me."

The Captain bowed her head in recognition. "I'm sure you'll serve admirably. And I hope you find Defiant to be be a place you want to call home," she said with a smile. "On a more relaxed note, care to join us for a few? We can bring you up to speed on what's been going on in our neck of the woods."

William nodded as the Captain spoke. While he hadn't been in Starfleet long, his gut was already telling him that Captain Rhodes was an extremely competent officer and leader.

She actually surprised him with the offer to join her and the Exec in having a few drinks. "I'd be honored, Ma'am," he said with a soft grin. "Thank you."

"I don't usually bring the good stuff up to the Ready Room, but we're in dock for a bit," the Captain replied with a smile. "Got a drink of choice?"

William thought about it for a beat. "Depends on my mood actually, Ma'am. If I'm just relaxing, it'll be a mojito. Angry? Heh, that's a white sambuca on the rocks night. At a party, I'll do a Malibu and pineapple. Course, that leaves beer, Belgian or Italian, for when I'm done working and need to cool off." He took a moment, realizing he just made it sound like he was an alcoholic. His eyes went wide as he stuttered.

"I..I..I mean...I d-dont drink heavily or anything! Th-those are just my d-drinks of choice, d-depending on the situation, Ma'am!" His cheeks grew dark with embarrassment. A part of him just knew that he had just lost his billet on the Defiant.

"I sure hope you're not so easily spooked on assignment," Charlotte replied letting out a laugh. "Relax, Lieutenant. You're fine. In fact, I'll make it an order in necessary...and a mojito."

William recovered from his stuttering with a grin. "No Ma'am. It just suddenly felt that I was claiming to be a raging alcoholic, which I'm not, and I didn't want you, either of you, to have any doubts about my posting here." He then grinned a bit more. "No order required, Ma'am." He sat down in the nearest empty chair and relaxed, somewhat. He was still having a discussion with his new CO and XO, afterall.

Ryan pondered what he was up for at the moment. He finally shrugged and nodded to Charlotte. "Surprise me."

“Fair enough. You’re getting a Cardassian Sunrise,” Charlotte replied, as she made her way across the room. The hidden compartment in the Ready Room wall opened with a soft pop, and condensation formed in the air around the refrigerated compartment. The Captain began to gather the supplies as her eyes drifted back toward the duo. “So, Mr. Spook. Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are we entrusting all our secrets to?”

William took the offered drink and held it, waiting for the Captain, as senior of the group, to drink first. "Well, Ma'am, first and foremost, I am a boomer. I was born and grew up on my family's freighter, the SS Wanderer. Because of that, I am a very hard worker who is also loyal, to my friends, ship and Commanding Officer, of course." He grinned as he spoke.

"I remember everything I am exposed to and scored nearly off the charts when I took the exam on which discipline I should study, back at the Academy." He took a sip of his drink once the Captain did so first. "I like to engage in martial arts, fencing, rock climbing, swimming. orbital skydiving, plus I am a damn good cook." He smirked slightly at that.

"Always appreciate having a fellow cook aboard. I'm no expert myself, but like hosting crew from time to time. I've got quite the nice kitchen set up in my quarters," Charlotte said, settling into her chair, nursing her own drink, a mint julip today. "So a boomer, huh? Your family still running routes?"

"My Grampy is the chef on my family's ship. You'd be amazed what he could put together, even when all we had was deep space rations." He grinned warmly. "He taught me everything I know." He took a sip of the mojito and raised his eyebrows in approval. "Very nicely done, Ma'am. Thank you! And yes, my parents have an old, New Zealand Pearl Class freighter, though, they've been thinking about upgrading to a Bucephalus class from the Starfleet Transport Command surplus."

"For the past few years, they've been on the supply run out to Station K-7. In fact, when last I spoke to my parents, they had just received the contract to transport grain to the station."

"That should be a pretty consistent flow of work. Not the friendliest territory though, along the Klingon border," Charlotte observed. "Though I'm sure at this point, your family knows how to handle themselves pretty well."

Nodding slightly, William replied. "Yes Ma'am. We've had minor scrapes here and there over the years. Everything, Mom and Dad get us through it with the other guy running away with a black eye." He smiled softly as he rembered a few of those instances in particular.

Ryan took a sip of his Cardassian as he listened. "What fencing style and weapon preference? I am partial to French style and the rapier myself. Perhaps we could have practice sessions together."

William grinned slightly. "I guess I should have been a bit more clear there. I prefer the Saber, and I only know one way. The way my Grampy taught me. Although, I also enjoy practicing my karate katas, both open hands and weapons. And of those, I enjoy the katana and bo."

Ryan nodded thoughtfully. "Rapier versus saber is a traditional match up for sure. I would be interested in seeing how a katana versus rapier would work out. Perhaps we could get a fencing club started aboard the ship."

William made a slight grimace as he replied. "With respect, Sir. Firstly, they are two vastly different weapons requiring equally as vastly different skills and training. Secondly, the katana would cut through a rapier like tin foil." He then worried that that last part may have seemed disrespectful, so he quickly added, "Sir!"

Ryan chuckled. "Not necessarily Lieutenant. Advanced metallurgy is a wonderful equalizer in regards to swordsmanship these days."

"Maybe more of just a standard sparring club of sorts then. We have room for it in the rec," the Captain added. She'd had a bit of close quarters combat experience, though finesse hadn't exactly been the style she was versed in. Her past experience had been more of the hack and slash style of survival fighting. Klingons were not especially known for their subtly. "Have you made much use of that in actual combat or more of a hobby?"

Pausing a beat before replying, William remembered that his past mission was deemed classified, Admiralty eyes only. So, instead, he simply replied, "As I've been studying Okinawan style Karate since I could stand, I'm not really sure, now that I think of it, that it would be a hobby, Ma'am. Perhaps more...just a part of who I am, I guess." He smiled politely as he finished speaking.

"A fair point," Rhodes said, raising her glass. "On that note, I've noticed a few sections of your service history are still classified, even with my access codes. That's fairly understandable. That said, I trust that should any of that information become a life or death matter for the ship and its crew, you'll read me in?"

William knew this point would come up eventually, though he had to admit being impressed by how the Captain reacted to it. Now for the uncomfortable part. Leaning forward, he placed his partial consumed drink on the very edge of the Captain's desk, after pulling out a cloth from his right front pants pocket and using it as a coaster. He then straightened up in his seat and cleared his throat.

"Captain, as you said, parts of my service history are classified. In fact, the copy you are seeing now will erase itself in few seconds, and the personnel file for me that will be on file here will not even include those redacted lines. I asked that you, at least be allowed to see that much, so you aren't fully blindsided by anything. However," he grimaced here. "I won't insult you any by telling you a lie. I was instructed, by individuals much higher up than we are, that under no circumstances am I to reveal anything about my operational past." He took a breath, as if considering his next words very carefully. "That said, I give you both my word of honor that I will give my life to protect this ship and crew. Of course, should you choose to request my reassignment now, I would not blame you, Ma'am."

Rhodes looked the man in the eye for a moment, as she let his words sink in. She knew he couldn't really commit to what she'd asked, but she also knew that sometimes things were classified because keeping things secret was simply more convenient. When she found her words, she replied in a measured tone. It wasn't Henderson's fault after all.

"I understand and I appreciate your honesty. I'm not a stranger to secrets. Hell, I dated an Intelligence Officer for a few years. I get the idea. It was a bit unfair of me to make that request, at least in that way," Charlotte said holding a hand up in apology. "That said. There are times when our systems, as well intentioned as they are, are wrong. Secrets can be a powerful tool, but they can also lead to mistakes that could be avoided with better information. So I'll instead simply provide this guidance, and not ask for a commitment."

She looked out the window, choosing her words carefully. "As Starfleet Officers, it is our duty to protect our fellow officers, our fellow Federation citizens, and those beyond our borders who aren't able to defend themselves. It's important any time we are making a decision that will impact those lives, that we always make sure our decision is the right one, not just the proscribed one. Our institutions get things wrong sometimes. And an order, even from the brass in Intel or from me, could be the wrong choice. I'll trust you to use the information you have at hand to weigh what the right choice is."

The young officer took a few beats to fully consider his Captain's wording. He could already tell that she was one of the good ones, possibly even one of the great ones, that legend are made of. He felt that he could and would, learn much from being member of her crew.

Finally, he nodded and replied, his words simple, yet powerful. "I give you my word, Ma'am. I will ensure that any and all the information I give you is as succinct and timely as I can." He hoped that would be enough. For as good as he was at verbal sparing, it was obvious that Captain Rhodes was far better.

Rhodes sat back and the genuine smile that spread across her face may as well have broken the tension in the room immediately. "Sounds like a plan. I promise, no more business talk for the moment. Sometimes, I'm bad at this whole shore leave thing."

"I believe that that is something that every master and commander of a Naval vessel has been afflicted with, since the very first sail, Ma'am." William grinned broadly as he finished speaking.

Ryan finished his drink and set his cup down. "Well, if you will both excuse me. I still have a few work orders to submit, packing to do, and a wedding to finish planning."

Charlotte pointed a finger at her First Officer for emphasis. "Remember to get some sleep too! You don't want to be an exhausted mess for your wedding day. And let me know if need me to pull an strings to get anything you all need for the ceremony."

Ryan gave a hearty laugh. "I'm not so worried about duty rosters causing sleep deprivation. More along the lines of an insatiable fiance." He allowed his expression to grow more serious. "I will get my rest and relaxation in Captain. I am planning on being fully alert for the big day."

"Well in that case, dismissed. See you around, Number One," Rhodes said.

Ryan came to attention before turning and exiting the Captain's Ready Room. He had a number of things to accomplish before heading off ship for liberty call.

Turning back to the Intelligence Chief, Charlotte gestured to the door. "So, interested in a tour?"

William smiled and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am," he replied pleasantly. He then collected the drink glasses and returned them to the replemat alcove. After the glasses were recycled, he turned back to the Captain and gestured towards the door leading onto the bridge. "After you, Ma'am."

~OFF~

 

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