Chance Makes a Choice

Posted on Sun Dec 6th, 2015 @ 1:50am by Cadet Senior Grade Chance Conradi & Commander Louie Rousseau & Cadet Senior Grade Eli Ziyad & Vic & Lieutenant JG Phoebe Chaelt

Mission: Further Challenges

* Academy Dean’s Office *

“Lt. Young?” Louie called out. He chose to bypass the comm since his door was open. Little Kahuna was perched on top of his monitor, looking down at the screen where Chance Conradi’s file was open. “Chance Conradi is due in a few minutes, you can send him on in when he gets here.”

There was silence for a moment, then Louie heard a shuffling sound. He looked to the door and found Lt. Young on his hands and knees, feeling across the floor slowly. This was one of those times he wondered how this young man had ever been promoted beyond ensign.

“Lose something?”

“Umm...well….I…..” The young man looked up and Kahuna was perfectly in his line of site. He grinned sheepishly. “Uhh...no. How long’s he been up there?”

Louie bit back a laugh. “Oh an hour or so. Why don’t you get upright and send Chance in when he gets here?” He motioned towards the outer office.

“Oh, yes, of course, sir.” Alan rose immediately, tried to wipe off his knees as he went and tripped over his desk chair.

Klutz, Kahuna commented and now Louie did give in to his laughter.

“Hey! I heard that,” Chance Conradi’s voice intruded into the office from near Young’s desk. He’d come into the outer office while the Lieutenant was dusting himself off; now, he peered into Louie’s office and said, “Kahuna, your mother would not appreciate you calling someone that.” Not for the first, or even the forty-first, time, he wondered where Ignatius was. Like all the other times, he promptly forgot her absence. Having somewhat smaller but still substantially large spiderlings running around the Station did that: let Chance forget that the largest of them all was missing.

“Come in Chance.” Louie motioned to the chair before the desk and his use of Chance’s first name was a good indication that this was a more casual meeting. “How’re things coming along?”

“Just fine. Not having Iggs around and being able to have her kids scattered around with trustworthy sitters means that I have more time to meditate and sit with Commander Sakkath and my father. Sometimes, things Lerius says makes me realize how much Sakkath has taught me; and how well.” Chance entered the room fully. “How are you and Cyrus settling in?”

Louie laughed again. “Well enough. I think I’ve only seen a fraction of this station, though. It could take years to see it all, it sometimes feels like. I’m glad to hear things are stable with you. You had one hell of a year from what I saw.”

“Eh. It wasn’t so bad: I was dead for some of it,” Chance said, laughing. Eli would not have been happy had he been present.

Louie wondered at the joke but often, humour was good deflection so he let it lie. “What I wanted to see you about today is the upcoming year. It will be your last as as such, less class intensive and more on the job. The question is, what job? Have you decided what area will be your focus?”

“I have no idea, Dean. None whatsoever. I think Eli is going to go off for Intel work, which will likely mean he’ll go off and do field work. I’m a bit concerned about what that’ll mean for us. But that’s not what you asked me about...,” Chance sighed. “I’m not adept enough at engineering to go that route, or medical, ...I just don’t know.”

“Well, your concern is a valid one.” Louie shifted in his seat and reached out for Little Kahuna, settling him a bit more securely on the monitor. “Intel is a difficult area for relationships, as Leto and Captain Hawke will tell you. However, as you likely know, it doesn’t make life impossible. Have you considered that department yourself? Your abilities certainly are suited for it.”

Chance watched the spider wave two front legs at him, but he knew he wasn’t actually waving. The spider was casting about for a foothold to move forward. Chance knew how the spider felt. “Actually, I hadn’t.” He blinked and shifted in his seat. “Am I suited to it? I feel like I attract attention wherever I go,” a cocky smile spread on his face, “particularly with the women.”

Louie began to laugh and shook his head. “There’s a lot to be said for that.” He lifted Kahuna gently and placed him on the desk. “Think about the people you know in Intel. Li, Leto, Commander Nalas….Edana. Are any of them unnoticeable?”

“Certainly not Li and Edana...,” Chance smiled. Leto... he couldn’t place her name immediately. “And Dae Nalas... I’ve noticed him. But those are the people who are openly in Intel.”

“When they are here, yes,” Louie answered. “What about Commander Nicolao? Also quite notable. The point is, when they are out in the field, you have no idea what they do. There are others here who are Intel as well and unknown to be such but still not the...shrinking violet type? It’s not the calmest life but then I don’t think that bothers you that much.”

“Not the calmest? As if my cadet life has been calm,” Chance chuckled. He was warming to the idea of being in Intel. “What courses would I need to complete for Intel?”

Louie lifted the young spider off the pad where he rested, then tapped the screen and passed it to Chance. “Intel officers need a broad base with skills in just about every area, which you have done. A jack-of-all-trades if you will. Some day that emergency medical training or that bit of engineering may save your ass. You’ve already gone through the advanced survival training, yes? I understand yours and Eli’s was particularly grueling.”

“Oz was in charge of ours..., so, yeah, she was pretty brutal because she knew we could handle it.” Chance read the list of courses. “I’m already a jack-of-all-trades, in a way. I could do this. There’s an old Terran character, James Bond. I suppose Intel’d be a little like his life.”

The reference brought a smile to Louie’s face. “Bond was still popular when I was teaching at the Academy,” Louie informed him. “Those courses there are what will be required in your final year. They will alternate with time in the field with various Intel officers. That also means an increased security clearance. If this is what you choose to do, that will take an hour or so to complete.”

Kahuna had paced slowly across the desk and was looking at Chance. “I do. This’ll work. Plus, then, maybe Eli and I can keep our security clearances in line and not have to worry about hiding things from each other.”

“There is that, yes. However, I don’t want you to count on always being sent out to the same places. I just want you to be aware, that’s all.” Louie turned to his terminal and began to tap the console. “This should be done shortly. Once it is, I will have Lt. Chaelt meet with you and issue you an access code for the Intel decks. You will need that since she is assisting with one of the classes. The other that you will do first I am teaching.”

“I expect Eli and I will be separated at some point. Starfleet can’t accommodate relationships,” he said. “I’m not sure if Eli’s thought about that, though. All right, I’ll go meet with the Lieutenant. Will you talk with Eli, too?”

“He’s already decided, as you know.” Louie studied Chance closely for a moment. “Or did you mean the warning I gave you?”

Pausing, Chance shook his head. “No. He and I need to have that conversation. It’s not for you to do,” he smiled.

“No, it isn’t but if it helps, he’s aware. Don’t worry, Cadet. You have plenty of time and even after you graduate, you can make it work. If you’ll excuse my being personal.” Louie was quiet for a few seconds as he held his hand out for Kahuna. “I can tell you first hand, having been a covert operative, that where there is a will, there’s a way. I was married for thirty years.”

Suddenly Chance grinned slyly, “What? And screw up being James Bond, the man who gets all the women?”

“You’ll learn…..” Louie began, then stopped. Beside him, the terminal beeped. “Looks like your clearance is done. Lt. Chaelt will see you as soon as you can get there. Her office, deck 31. The turbolift code should be in your padd now.”

“I’m off. Thanks Dean Rousseau,” Chance said, flashing a smile before he headed out and up to deck 31.

* Deck 31 *

Chance didn’t get far on Deck 31 before a petite, slender woman challenged him for his credentials and right to be on Deck 31. “Ah...,” Chance was amused by being stopped by her; she didn’t look like she could stop him if he didn’t belong there. Then he thought of Six and Reva and reminded himself that looks were very, very deceiving. “Cadet Conradi, ma’am, here to see Lt. Chaelt,” he answered.

She stared at him a moment longer than necessary then smiled and nodded, “This way.” She led him to Chaelt’s office where he rang the chime and entered when the door opened.

“Lt. Chaelt, Cadet Conradi, Ma’am,” he introduced himself.

“Come in Cadet, Commander Rousseau said he was sending you up.” She motioned to the man before her desk. “I believe you know Vic?”

Vic turned and flashed a smile at Chance. “Have a seat.”

Brows furrowing, Chance stared at Vic, one thought filtering through his head: What the hell? He took a seat. “I do know Vic, yes. That he’s in Intel, no, I didn’t,” he said.

“Mild-mannered bartender by night...operative by day. That’s lieutenant to you, Cadet.” Vic smiled once more, then offered his hand. “Welcome to the family.”

Recovering quickly, Chance smiled and shook Vic’s hand. “Thanks. I think.” He chuckled and asked, “Does Jackson know?’

Vic traded a glance with Phoebe, who smiled. “Umm...yes, actually. That would be Lt. Commander Banning, another grey collar. He’s actually scheduled to run your second field trip,” she said.

Chance blinked several times and asked a question he knew was stupid as soon as it left his mouth: “Does Oz know about that!?” Of course she knew: she was the Chief of Security and the man’s wife. He cleared his throat and muttered, “Nevermind. He’ll run my second field trip? Who will run my first one?”

“Nico. Nothing like jumping in with both feet. Don’t expect that to be easy...fair warning.” She smiled once more.

“I should go and leave you two to discuss. Pheebs, I’ll call as soon as there is word on Six and the rest. What you have now is as much as is known.” Vic stood and patted Chance’s shoulder. “Have fun.” He hurried out of the office and left them alone.

“Is this when I start to regret opting for Intel?” Chance was only partly joking.

Phoebe laughed. “Not at all. As Commander Rousseau likely told you, you’ll have two classes this first rotation. His will be infiltration techniques and I’ll be working with him on presenting a class on the technical aspects of bypassing security systems. For that we’ll be using the holodeck up here quite a bit.”

“Bypassing security systems?” Chance grinned. “I’ve been doing that for years - it drives Oz nuts, which is partially why I do it.”

“Good.” Phoebe grinned at him. “And do not tell Oz I said that. You’ll enjoy this then. We’ll have varying scenarios to get through, including some adversaries from some of Six’s holodeck training programs. They will not be easy.”

“Six has holodeck training programs?” Chance stopped and quickly followed that statement down the rabbit hole. “Six trains here? She’s an operative?”

Phoebe nodded slowly. “Yes. If she could convince you and Eli she had resigned, then she’s doing her job well. That can go no further, however. Her life could depend on it.”

“Right. No worries, I don’t have anyone to tell,” he said.

Phoebe passed him a padd. “There’s your schedule. Classes as well as other training up here. You’ll find that this year is almost completely hands-on instead of theory. There won’t be any exams, at least in the traditional sense but plenty of on the job tests to get through. You’ll have another endurance trial as well. This one in the field, not a holodeck. Any questions?”

“No, ...ah, wait, one: the petite woman who showed me here? I didn’t get her name,” he said.

“Chief Petty Officer Shin.” Phoebe laughed now. “Don’t turn your back on that one. She can make a knife materialize out of thin air, stab you, and make it disappear before you can blink twice.”

“Ah... good to know I didn’t underestimate her,” he nodded. “I’ll make note of my schedule; anything else, Ma’am?”

“That should do for now. You and Eli are scheduled to meet with me in two days at 1100 hours. Your first class with Louie is same time the day before. Until then, go have some fun.”

“Will do, soon as I find Eli,” he stood, grinned and took his leave.

* Chance’s & Eli’s Quarters *

“Honey! I’m home!” Chance called out, knowing the line was from some ancient media show, though he couldn’t name it.

Eli emerged from the small kitchen, a towel over his shoulder. “Hey, just finishing up dishes.” He swooped in to kiss Chance. “How was the meeting with old Louie Le Noir?”

“Oh, interesting. Learned a lot today, so much that I’m surprised my head hasn’t grown. How long have you known about Vic and Jackson?”

“Umm… two days? Just since they upped my clearance level.” Eli stopped, his mouth open. “Oh….you know. How?”

“I read their minds,” Chance deadpanned.

“Liar,” he laughed. “Tell me.” He took hold of Chance’s arm and pulled him into the kitchen. “While I finish drying my favorite coffee mug.”

Going with him, Chance laughed. “Aren’t they all your favorite coffee mugs?” Before Eli could answer, he went on, “While talking to Rousseau, I agreed to go for an Intel track. From there, I went to see the Intel folks and saw Vic there. He told me about Jackson and then Chaelt told me about Six.” He left that hanging.

“Oh...yeah. Interesting trip wasn’t it?” Eli looked thoughtful as he put the mug away in the cabinet. “For Six especially.” He smiled suddenly and moved over to sweep Chance up in his arms. “I think it’s a great choice for you. It’s perfect actually and will make all this easier.”

“All what easier? You know we might end up getting separated, right?”

“Off and on, yes, it’s a possibility. Not for the next term, not permanently. And later? You know as well as I do that they won’t keep you in the field without breaks. We can do this.”

“I know. It’ll be tough and we’ll have to discuss what we’ll do in the field,” Chance backed Eli up against the counter and kissed him. “For right now, though, I have an idea for something for us to do here.”

“Me too,” Eli whispered. “I’m glad you chose what you did and I think it’s the right place for you. You know, don’t you, that with all we’ve been through out here, we are likely to be tossed into the fire as soon as we finish? Instead of being safe on a base somewhere?”

“Safe? You mean safe like we are here? Do I need to remind you about the coins we found in our apartment? Or the now multiple attempts to kill one of us? Oh, and that one of us actually did die?”

“My point exactly. Do you want to stay out here once we graduate? I think it’s a likely possibility and if we do, then we’ll be less likely to be separated.” He hugged Chance tight. “But time to worry about that later.”

Chance agreed: time to worry later. “Come on, secret agent man, we have other things to do.”

“I’m with you.” Eli took Chance’s hand and followed him out of the kitchen.

*****************
Cadet JG Chance Conradi
Lt. Commander Louie Rousseau
Lt. Phoebe Chaelt
Vic
Cadet JG Eli Ziyad