Scrambled Brains..I Mean Eggs!

Posted on 16 Aug 2013 @ 5:58pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn

1,558 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Captain's Mess
Timeline: MD -01 - 0715 hrs

[ON]

Sitting at the large table in her personal mess hall which was attached to the side of the galley, Lirha forked a large portion of scrambled eggs into her mouth while humming softly as the early morning protein digested into her hungry stomach and provided her with much-needed energy for the day. She reached out with delicate green fingers and grabbed a piece of bacon from her plate, then began to nibble on it as she let out a soft sigh and looked at her COB who was seated across from her and also enjoying his breakfast.

The two of them had developed a routine over the past couple days; a private, early morning breakfast together in the captain's mess before Alpha shift where the two of them could eat and talk in private regarding any matters concerning the ship. As commanding officer, it was prudent to have her senior-most enlisted man update her on the status of the enlisted crew, which happened to compose roughly three-quarters of Galileo's personnel. And Lirha would also be lying to herself is she ever said she didn't enjoy Quinn's company.

Quinn had always enjoyed the Captain's company. The two seemed to understand each other...and she put up with his antics. He slide over a PADD with information detailing his accounts with the enlisted crew. "I'd like to implement a cross-training schedule for the enlisted bridge crew to work with the Quartermaster. I think a refresher course on Bridge etiquette and daily operations could be useful." He took a bite of his bacon and swished it down with his steamy hot coffee. "Also, I was thinking of keelhauling Willis for stealing my personal supply of home-brew." he said with a smile.

Taking a long sip of orange juice, Lirha nodded and began to skim through the contents of the PADD. "I think that is an excellent idea. I have noticed some of them have become rather lax while on bridge duty recently...I understand the atmosphere has been rather routine and monotonous over the past week due to the constant surveys, but we need to be prepared for any possible situation which may arise." she commented, then smirked at Quinn's mention of missing beer.

Quinn caught the smirk, and wasn't sure if she was in on the missing beer or not, but he'd address that in a moment. "Thank-you ma'am." Quinn enjoyed these meetings, and especially the food. "I'll get with the Quartermaster later today and have the retraining implemented immediately. Other than that...and my missing beer, and a couple of enlisted scuffles that I took care of, all is running smoothly. I know on my side of the pips, the crew has spent most of it's free time looking out the windows."

"Can you not just brew more?" she asked light-heartedly. "Perhaps you could start a business and make some extra latinum on the side during your off hours." she winked.

Quinn thought for a moment as he dished in more loaded hashbrowns into his mouth. After taking another sip from his coffee he nodded. "Skipper? That isn't a half-bad idea. Well, shit. Guess that's why you're the CO. I could call it....Saalm's Pale Ale. With your permission that is."

"An appropriate name, for sure." Lirha mused. She already had one comet named after her...why not add a beer? If her early years as a trader had taught her anything, it was the importance of having a name brand and the exposure which went along with it. "Yes...that will do nicely." she decided with a nod, then delicately shoveled more eggs into her mouth.

"How do you think crew morale has been lately?" she asked in between bites, changing the subject slightly.

Quinn finished the last of his bacon. "Well, considering we are exploring and finding new things, I'd say the extra work has been a blessing right now. However, some of the young ones are starting to miss mommy. Of course, that's expected. I'll have to get them involved in an artificial, essential appearing job. "

Lirha briefly pondered the time since they had been away from Vega Colony and realized it had been a little over a month since they had last put into port. Normally such a deployment was on the shorter side of the scale, but being isolated far away from the rest of the fleet was certainly a bit more stressful for some of the crew. "I was hoping to return to SB-185 as soon as our survey was complete, but it seems we will be stuck out here a bit longer while we try to find USS Venture. I hope nothing bad has happened to them." she thoughtfully replied.

Quinn nodded in agreement. "You and I both, Skipper. I just can't shake the bad feeling I get from this though. May be paranoia, or old sailor instincts, but something doesn't set right with me. I hope I'm wrong."

Lirha finished up her plate of eggs and grabbed a biscuit from the large bowl in front of them, then broke off a small piece and began to chew on it. She nodded slowly in thought at the chief's comment. "Me as well. I had a chance to meet Captain Sutherland while we were conducting our survey of the Rojar system...she is very professional and does not seem like the type of commanding officer to miss a rendezvous without any sort of explanation or warning. And should they have run into any trouble, without the saucer section they have limited combat capabilities." she paused to let out a soft sigh. "I hope this is just a matter of malfunctioning communications equipment. Or perhaps too much interference from the nebula."

"Yeah, I hope so." Quinn tapped his fingers on the table briefly, wondering if the next question was appropriate, but..."Hey Skipper? Can I build a brewery on board? It wouldn't have to be real big, but I have had a lot of the crew really like my homebrew and...well...it would keep Willis busy and out of my quarters."

Raising her eyebrows at such an unorthodox question, she couldn't help but let out a soft laugh of amusement. "That is honestly the first time I have ever heard such a request." she grinned, then took another bite of her biscuit while she contemplated the idea.

"I suppose I am not opposed to the idea," she continued after a short pause, "however I would not want it to encourage alcohol consumption more than it already is. I realize I am relatively lax with enforcement of Starfleet's policy, but as long as the crew is responsible and does not abuse it, I think it could work." she decided with a light shrug. "I am assuming it will be available to all members of the ship?"

Quinn smiled broadly as he leaned back in his chair. "Of course, Skipper." he answered, then paused briefly..."Unless they are in the doghouse as we Terrans say."

"The...doghouse?" she asked, perplexed by the strange metaphorical terms.

Quinn chuckled out loud. "When a husband used to get his wife mad at him, the joke was she would only forbid him from sleeping with her, but stuck sleeping with the family pet outside. Hence, in the doghouse."

"Ah...I see." she replied with a light laugh and a shake of her head. "An appropriate expression, to be certain. I have definitely wanted to send some of my ex-boyfriends to the 'doghouse' from time to time." she winked, then took a long sip of orange juice and finished her biscuit.

"Or, you can always send them my way Skipper. Willis and I would have fun with them." he replied with a smile before taking another sip of his coffee. "Anything you'd like me to relay to the crew, ma'am?"

Thinking for a brief moment, Lirha couldn't recall anything in particular that her COB needed to inform the enlisted crew of. "No, nothing in particular. But as I mentioned earlier, I would like for them to remain vigilant while we search for USS Venture. I get the feeling many of them might be looking forward to some shore leave...and so am I, but now is not the time to get complacent. We are very far away from the rest of the fleet and we need to perform our duties to the best of our abilities while we are out here."

Nodding in understanding, Markum clearly agreed. "Not a problem, Skipper. If anyone gets out of line, I can promise you they will regret it dearly."

"I am sure they will." she said, giving the older man a knowing look while finishing the rest of her juice. "Well, it is time to report for duty. I look forward to chatting again tomorrow morning." she wiped her mouth with her napkin then placed it on her now-empty plate and stood from her seat. A healthy breakfast was exactly what she needed to start the day and it had been made even more pleasant by the company of her COB.

"Back to the grind." stated the COB with a groan

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Master Chief Petty Officer Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

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