Back to Normal

Posted on Wed Nov 23rd, 2011 @ 7:24pm by Lieutenant Norval Tigan

=^= The Promenade =^=

The Promenade was bustling again, a good indication that when Norval got to Command and Control things would be ... well, under control. Emergencies had a tendency to clear the public areas of the station in a panic, and only when they returned to normal was the crisis truly over. Of course, there would still be plenty of requests for Ops to be handled and materiel to be delivered or replicated for repairs.

Still, everything was looking up as Norval sat in the Replimat, enjoying both breakfast - a pair of berry scones topped generously with orange honey butter - and the company.

Eric dived greedily into his breakfast plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and waffles, Norval barely managing to hide a grin behind his mug of raktajino. It took several mouthfuls before the Security officer even looked up, noticed, and emitted a sound that could have been 'what?'

It was enough to force Norval to laugh, which was a good feeling after the past few days, the business with Li and the emergencies that kept popping up. "Ah, nothing, nothing," he dismissed, still chuckling.

Swallowing, Eric needed to take a sip of his own black coffee before managing a normal conversation. "What's your day look like?" he asked.

Norval shrugged, setting down the raktajino. "I'm going to head down to the hangar to see it for myself, and give Darwin the Engineering reports. Then it's back to Control and hoping I see the Hammond and Takei somewhere on that horizon. I'm over being on top."

"You weren't last night," Eric said without missing a beat, in almost complete deadpan that had them both grinning. Norval reached over the table and the assembled food, placing his hand on Eric's. There was a light in his eyes that had too long been absent, since Commander Drake had effectively frightened Eric away in the Nexus.

"Aren't you worried about that, though?" Eric asked. "I mean, the rumors..."

"Won't be a problem," Norval said, sounding quite convinced. When his companion seemed not so sure, he went on. "Look, they're both telepaths. Sakkath'll know nothing happened before he even thinks to ask the question."

That seemed a satisfying response as the conversation lulled, Norval thinking over his tenure as acting Chief.

"I suppose there are some advantages," Norval said, going back to his raktajino. "Like knowing you and Oz are about to get a little bit busier." The Trill's smile was cryptic, but it was evident he wanted an excuse to tell.

"Well, don't make me beg," Eric protested, rolling his eyes. "Oh, and speaking of the Commander, she says hi."

"Oh, that's nice. Where did you see her, on duty?"

"Nah, I found her spider on one of my rounds. She was visiting Commander Hawke, so I returned her. Amazing how many people are terrified of a little bug."

"Well, I wouldn't call Iggy little," Norval objected, recalling those unsettling, unblinking eyes. "Even Tigan is a little afraid of her." ...even a worm would do, the thought echoed in their collective memory, making the Trill shiver just a little.

"Are you honestly referring to yourself by your third-person last name now?" was what Eric took away. Norval just threw a napkin at him.

"My symbiont, you jerk. She wanted to... ugh, nevermind, I'll let Oz spring your increased workload on you. C'mon, shift's about to start anyway." Norval stood, tray in hand as he headed for the recycler.

"Wait... wait, increased workload?" Eric whined as he hurried to catch up to the acting Chief of Operations.

Perhaps things on Starbase 900 weren't quite normal, but they were certainly better than they had been.

_______________________
Lieutenants (JG)
Norval Tigan & Eric Edwards