Hands On

Posted on 17 Mar 2015 @ 11:05pm by Commander Andreus Kohl & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amon Mormont

1,116 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Nautilus - Deck 1, Bridge
Timeline: MD -02 - 1020 hours

[ON]

"Have I mentioned," Kohl asked, "how relieved I was to learn you had been assigned to Nautilus?" Andreus Kohl had turned away from his console, when he asked the question, and considered the Tactical post at the aft of the Bridge. He took the handful of steps required to close the distance between himself and Amon Mormont, to speak with the tactical officer without shouting.

Amon met his eyes, giving a small smile before shaking his head. "Not mentioned, but I appreciate it. I am happy to be here...enlisted rarely get the chance to see the bridge," he said and patted the console, almost like it was alive. "This is a good ship. She will fire well."

"Okay, I am relieved to hear that too," Kohl said in boyish enthusiasm. He approached the opposite side of the Tactical console, but made sure not to stand between Amon and his light of sight to the viewscreen. "Before I left Galileo, I kept hearing whispers from our shipmates about how Miranda-class starships are only good for blowing up."

"Nah, they're solid ships," Mormont said with a small smile, shaking his head. "Usually come with a Marine detachment, which is why we have one staring at us. I think it takes a lot to hurt a Miranda-class. But they're older so...not as sleek."

"I don't think we need sleek," Kohl remarked, scrunching up his face as he did. "Nautilus is solid and experienced. That's what we need. That's why I'm relieved to see you too. I'm going to be leaning on your tactical experience. Heavily leaning."

Mormont chuckled as he watched him, nodding. "Well, my tactical experience will be more...hands on than what the officers get," he admitted softly, searching his eyes. "But I will do my best for us to win. I do not want to let Blake down."

Although Kohl had reviewed Mormont's service jacket, he couldn't profess to recite it line by line. Kohl's posture shifted, and he plainly looked Mormont over. "How hands on," Kohl asked obliviously, "is hands on?"

Mormont watched him for a moment before tilting his head, his eyes shining. "Mr Kohl...are you flirting with me?" he asked, playfully, before chuckling. "Enlisted rarely get bridge time. I've read up on these things and done...various things on the holodeck for a bridge situation, but this is my first time doing it for real. Well. Semi-real."

"Mister Mormont," Kohl said, and he let the moment hang there. Disappointment could be heard in his inflection -- but perhaps it was in jest. "It would be highly inappropriate for me to be flirting with you while we're talking about killing people," Kohl said. For once, he hadn't been flirting. Even so, he said, "And yet. Here we are."

Mormont chuckled softly, nodding as he watched him. "Sorry, my bad, Sir," he said easily, clearly not minding much either way. "It is theoretically killing Klingons. Could be a lot worse if you ask me."

"If we're to make light of killing anyone, it may as well be hypothetical Klingons... Makes sense to me!" Kohl said, as if he'd been thinking his way through a logical progression the whole time. He leaned on the tactical console between them. "Why don't you educate me, Mister Mormont? What does a Tactical officer do, if he's never on the Bridge?

Mormont chuckled as he watched him, his eyes gentle. "Well, he goes over tactics," he teased before shaking his head. "Mr Kohl, I am a Security Officer at heart. I can use this to aim, fire and calculate...truth is, I am going to have to read up on how to use it properly."

As earnest as a cadet studying for his exams, Kohl said, "If I'm understanding you rightly, you know which ships to target" --he was talking with his hands now, his index finger dancing through the air as if he were doing long division-- "You're just not accustomed to pressing the buttons to make the torpedos go ba-doo."

"I believe that sums it up nicely," Mormont said as he watched him, with easy warmth. "Although I suspect the button pressing will be the easy bit. It will be interesting regardless...a ship and a new CO."

"That's just it," Kohl said knowingly. "That's my excitement, my anticipation and my fear, all in one. Our new Captain and my new self, we don't have hands on experience of starship tactics of our own." The palm of Kohl's hand lightly touched his upper chest; as he did so, his fingers brushed against where his rank pips sat on his unfamiliar crimson collar. Kohl hadn't decided yet if he had the skin tone for a Command division uniform. "Mind you, our Captain is a marine at heart, and I am naturally scrappy..."

"I think it suits you," Mormont said softly as he looked down at the console. "I think this will test our metal. It shall be quite interesting to....experience it. And we will be fine. We have our skills, our advantages," he met his eyes, with meaning. "We will shine."

"I think you're probably right. We will shine," Kohl replied, far more boldly. "Perhaps our naivety will make us all the more unpredictable to those Klingon warhawks?"

"Hey, anything that helps," Mormont teased, his eyes shining as he watched him with warmth. "Confusion is also a good thing to throw at them. I have plans, Sir. Big plans..."

"Oh, do you now?" Kohl asked in guileless interest. He leaned against the console between them. "Confusion would be... strobing all the running lights on and off, or launching a shuttle out of the bay like a torpedo?" Kohl asked, trying to imagine what would cause confusion from the exterior. "What have you been planning?"

He chuckled as he watched Kohl before looking down. "Nothing special. We have size and power. It might be what we need to stay strong against the Klingons. We're ready to work together as a fleet...or equally stand one on one. That's up to the COs."

Kohl smiled at Mormont, but it didn't come as easily as it usually did. It was a smile of fear. At the mention of their CO again, Kohl affirmed, "I do not want to let Blake down either."

Mormont reached out, to touch his arm with a grin. "We won't. We will do fine, Sir. Promise. Just have faith in it."


[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Executive Officer
USS Nautlius

&

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amon Mormont
Sec/Tac
USS Nautlius
[PNPC Markos]

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