First Steps

Posted on Fri May 15th, 2015 @ 4:45pm by Ensign Six of Ten & Commander Patrick Leroy

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: CO's Office

Today’s plan was to get familiar with this station, as Bryce had suggested. He would be showing her around later but just getting from her quarters to the Wormhole the previous night told her it would take more than an afternoon of following Bryce around to get used to this place. It seemed to go on forever in every direction. She had to admit to more than a little trepidation, however. She’d grown close to the crew of the Evariste and they’d accepted her - no stares, no prodding their friends to point out the ‘Borg’, no insults. Here, she was at the new crossroads of the Delta Quadrant and one hour on the station had already indicated how things were going to be initially. At least this place was big enough to stay out of sight if things got too rough

Six’s first stop had been Galileo Science Center.The doors opened and the sudden hush when she stepped in couldn’t be missed. Mostly the looks were those of curiosity and after a moment, everyone became obviously busy again, as if to cover the fact that they had been staring at her. A man with a pleasant face had stepped forward, introducing himself as Tess, the ACSO. He’d checked on his padd and, finding her transfer among the other reports, had informed her that Commander Leroy was, at the moment, the acting CO and had given her directions to that office.

Now on her way, she decided that this Tess was an okay guy. She wondered, too, if he’d chastised the rest for their initial reaction after she’d left the room. The turbolift finally deposited her on the correct deck and the computer was agreeable enough to point the way to the office. Now she stood in the outer office as a young woman, who’d introduced herself as Hope Beckman announced her. Finally the doors opened and after a slight hesitation, she stepped through to find Commander Leroy. She was a little nervous, she realized. Riley had described the commander and warned her that he could be a little intimidating at first glance (and generally every other one too). She had survived working for Commander Sovan on the Evariste and she figured if she could do that, she could handle Commander Leroy. She hoped. Too late she realized she had been standing before the desk and saying nothing. Time to start with the obvious.

“Ensign Six of Ten reporting for duty, sir.” She passed to Patrick the padd Tess had given her.

He took the padd she offered and, after a cursory look at the information contained therein, he put it on the desk to a side.

Leroy had been thoroughly informed in advance of the peculiarity of this ensign and had resolved himself to do his best to avoid causing any kind of embarrassment to her. Still he wasn’t prepared as he had hoped and found out that his effort to avoid having his eyes linger on the mechanical parts on her forehead and right cheek had been, at least in part, unsuccessful.

Coping with that was a thing which he… All of them, will have to get accustomed to in the briefest of times possible.

“Welcome Ensign, please have a seat,” he motioned her to the chair in front of the desk. “I’ll have a look in more detail later,” he continued then with a slight nod to the padd.

Six hastily sat down as requested. His long loon had not escaped her, nor the fact that her service record was visible on his terminal. So….Tess had called ahead. Interesting. His voice pulled her back to the present.

“As you see I’m receiving you in the most unusual of circumstances but this is only temporary and in due time I’ll be back to Science Department. Until then refer to Mr. Rutheridge and he’ll provide you with any information or support needed. Let me say as a premise that in my department tasks and deadlines are taken very seriously.”

With the last sentence Patrick stopped an instant to gauge her reaction.

Firm deadlines was something she was used to and Six nodded. “Of course, sir.”

“Once an officer is over with the assigned job for the day he will be allowed to conduct study or personal research using Galileo facilities and that is a great perk. Some equipment, though, is restricted and always need the authorization of a superior officer to proceed. Under no circumstances are dangerous experiments allowed within the premises of Galileo Center or Starbase 900...” …Like trying to open a rift in the continuum.

Leroy leaned back in his seat and observed her intently. “All clear?”

‘Understood.” She met his gaze, sitting quiet as he studied her. It was to be expected and she decided she might as well let him get an eyeful now and get it over with.

“I know that out here, well anywhere really, my presence may be a little...disruptive in the beginning. If you have any reservations, please, I’d like to hear them now.” Whether those reservations were about her past or her species and which was the most worrisome for him, she couldn’t guess.

“I’ll be frank with you,” Leroy responded leaning forward again, fingers steepled on the desk. “The Federation, and all people that are part of it, has no difficulty of sorts in accepting foreign cultures and races but… Those appendages you have, have a specific meaning. A meaning you should well know... Of potential threat and painful memories. I would like to say that all the people you’ll come to work with here will be nice in the first place but I’m not at all certain about this. At least until they’ll get used to your presence, bear with them and in due time you’ll find out they can be steadfast companions.”

“I’ve already had to defend my honor last night, not an hour after arriving,” she answered. “And to be frank with you, it’s nothing new. Even Starfleet still watches me with a wary eye.” She indicated her file on his viewscreen. “As you have seen, I’ve only been part of this world for three years. I was assimilated when only a few months old so all this is still taking some getting used to. If I am not fitting in or doing something right, please tell me. This non-Borg world is still rather confusing.”

“You’ll find it’s wonderful in its variety. And I’m sure there will be no need to correct you in your activity.” A fleeting smile appeared on Leroy’s lips before returning to his professional look. “There are no urgencies in Galileo at the moment. Take a day or two to get settled on the starbase then you’ll be ready to start.”

“There are two people I know here, that I’ve worked with before - Lt. Kendrick in Security and Lt. Sukotav in your...our department. They’ve offered to show me around a little.” Six paused only a second. “And thank you, you’re not nearly such a hardass as I’ve been told.” The instant the words slipped out, she covered her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

Patrick perked an eyebrow taken aback, but quickly recovered understanding the naivety of her comment. “Well... I see that some colleague has already started taking care of you… I’m not acquainted with Lt. Kendrick but I can vouch for Lt. Sukotav. Enjoy your free time and I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

“Thank you.” Pink still colored her cheeks and she stood, still embarrassed at her verbal slip. “I’ll see you then, sir.”

He nodded standing to accompany her to the doors “Welcome to Starbase 900 and to Galileo Ensign Six of Ten.”

*************************************
Ensign Six
Jumping Into The Deep End

Commander Patrick Leroy
Confronted By Innocent Truth