New Assignment

Posted on Sun Apr 28th, 2013 @ 1:28pm by Lieutenant JG Joycelyn Westbridge & Captain Jacob Lambert

1,119 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 2 - Whispers in the Clouds
Location: IKV PaQ, USS Unification
Timeline: Day 1 - 1800

Jocelyn sat in her quarters aboard the Paq, the dim lighting making her sour mood even worse. She reflected on the events of the recent weeks. Foremost in her mind was the memory of her lover being torn apart by three Jem'Hadar. As she allowed herself to wade through her memory the COMM chirped, issuing forth the voice of the captain, "Lieutenant, there is an encrypted message for you from the Federation, transferring it to your quarters."

"Understood," she replied before the interface on her desk lit up. She entered her personal ID code and the screen switched to a listing of orders. She quickly scanned her orders, but a line of code at the bottom caught her eye, she re-read it and quickly recognized the code for SI. She typed in another code, known only to herself and two others. Another set of orders scrolled across the screen quickly before the entire console went dead.

Jocelyn though for a moment before activating her subdermal communicator, "Captain, I have received new orders. I am to report to the USS Unification at New Bajor."

"Understood Lieutenant," came his reply, "I will contact the Unification to confirm the rendezvous, report to the bridge."

"On my way."

Jacob sat in the big chair on the bridge going over his orders. He really hoped that the Galavant was just broken down at some point on the way. He looked up, as if by instinct, before the communications officer had even mentioned an incoming transmission.

"Sir, we have a Runabout requesting to transport our new intelligence officer aboard." She seemed to sense the Commander's frustration at this news from the look on his face.

"Why cant they never arrive before we leave orbit. Dam spooks. Permission granted." He stood up and headed for the entrance of the bridge. "Escort them to my ready room once they are aboard." He left the bridge and headed through the common area between the bridge and his ready room.

Jocelyn reviewed the PADD in her hand. On it were the specs for the USS Unification, the small diligent class that she had been assigned to. It was much smaller than the USS Katana but it still hold its own in a firefight, or run if need be.

Also on the PADD were the personnel records of everyone currently aboard, which she had yet to review. The incident the helm indicated that permission to board had been granted and she stepped into the small transporter alcove in the back runabout. Within moments the haze of the transporter replaced interior of the runabout with the small transporter room of the Unification. She turned to the crewman manning the transporter console and spoke, "Permission to come aboard?"

"Permission granted," he answered, "Report to the captain in his ready room."

She quickly made her way through the small corridors to the turbolift. Within moments the lift deposited her on the bridge, and she made her way to the ready room. She pressed the chime on the door and heard the muffled "Come in." Before stepping in she adjusted the pistol on her hip so that it was less visible; quickly stepped inside came to attention and spoke in a quick clipped tone, "Lieut. Westbridge reporting Sir."

"At ease Lieutenant." He took a second observing his new officer. One thing that Jacob has always took pride in his observational skills. His thoughts right now would form an impression of this new officer that would last for quite some time. "Welcome aboard the Unification." His smile faded. "Now why didn't you arrive before we left New Bajor?"

"Apologies sir, SI had me on temporary assignment to the IKV PaQ. We were tasked to take out a Ketracel factory, and the OP took longer than expected." Jocelyn paused, the pain of her recent loss creeping up, and quickly cleared her face of any emotion, hoping that the captain hadn't seen her lapse. "I was following orders, and thank you for the welcome."

"I was aware of your previous assignment and I appreciate that you told me honestly what it was. Ill be honest with you Jocelyn-" calling her by her first name without asking reminded her who was in charge"- I don't enjoy working with intelligence officers. They keep secrets and secrets can get people killed. Now I appreciate that there will be, at times, things you are not at liberty to discuss with me. However I expect to be kept in the loop of every single thing you find out or discover. I do not tolerate being kept in the dark. Or someone walking around with a weapon on their person, unless I have authorised it."

Jocelyn shifted her weight slightly before speaking, "I understand sir, and you have my word that any intel that is not classified will provided to you as soon as I receive it. Even classified, if it is a danger to the ship I will willingly take flak from my superiors at SI." She pulled a miniature PADD from under her holster and set it on the desk, "This contains my private COMM frequency," she said giving her jaw a slight tap. "And may I maintain my pistol, and knife? I offer both for your inspection."

"You may maintain them both, within the restriction of your quarters. I do not want such archaic weapons to be roaming around the ship." He picked up the mini PADD and transferred its data to his terminal, before promptly handing it back to the waiting Lieutenant. "I really do dislike all this cloak and dagger routine. Why must every intelligence officer be so...I was going to say secretive, but alas that is part of the job.

"Understood, sir," she said, hiding her displeasure. She felt almost naked without a weapon of some sort on her person, but she was sure she could find a way to remedy the lack of one. "I dislike the secrecy as well, but there are times it is necessary. With your permission sir, I will report to the quartermaster for my bunking assignment so I can get settled in."

"Very well Lieutenant." His expression softened just enough to put her at ease, but not enough for her to completely relax. "Dismissed."

Jocelyn turned on her heel and departed, immediately heading for the quartermasters office. After what seemed to be an eternity of registering her personal items she was directed to her quarters, where she unpacked her small bag and replicated several hygiene items. Soon she settled into a chair for the evening to decide how to arm herself in a way that would be OK with the captain, It was going to be a long night...

RSS Feed