Room for a Little One?

Posted on 16 Apr 2015 @ 9:49pm by Commander Norvi Stace & Cadwyn Lane & Petty Officer 1st Class Pieter Van Zyl Ph.D. & Ensign Arandon Khnailmnae Ph.D.
Edited on on 21 Apr 2015 @ 3:38am

2,381 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Galileo - Botany Lab
Timeline: MD 1 - 0930

ON:

Stace and Cadwyn rounded the corner and entered the Botany lab only to find it empty. Stace cut a sideways glance to her friend and then crossed her arms over her chest in silence.

"Not here then, no?" Cadwyn asked of her with a flourish of his fair brows. "And here I was thinking that you were meant to be in charge of this tin can."

Stace dropped her features into one that expressed her disamusement, but then the corners of her mouth turned slightly upwards. She snorted a laugh and then returned her attention back to the door, perching the edge of her rear onto one of the stools. "They will be. I only asked for them both a moment ago." She then let out a little chuckle.

"What is it?" he asked, now sharing in the wide smile.

"'Tin can,'" she parroted, shaking her head. "It's what I call this ship. Well, not outwardly and certainly not in front of any of the command staff. But it's funny. How long we've spent growing up together."

"Er... I think you'll find that you were majorly grown up when I came to work for your family," Cadwyn corrected, a mock offense in his stance and tone.

"It was before I was Joined though," she added, and Cadwyn conceded by breaking eye contact and lowering them to the ground.

Suddenly, the doors to the lab parted.

Arandon had been on his way to see that the Arboretum was drying nicely from the downpour he had ordered earlier when he received a message from Commander Stace, the first since their first meeting a week ago. He would return to see that the water had either been absorbed or drained properly when this was over with, whatever this was. Walking down the corridor, Arandon pressed his hands over his uniform, making sure it was straight. It was a force of habit but he also knew Commander Stace appreciated such things. Only as he pulled down his uniform jacket he briefly lost his balance over his lanky body and made an uneven step and tumbled a bit before recovering.

It was those few inopportune moments that showed to the crew that physically he was still an awkward teenager still not quite in control of his own body. Breathing for a moment after his incident, Arandon kept walking the short distance to the door to the botany lab and glided in as the doors opened to meet his approach. They revealed Commander Stace, a bit relaxed compared to the carriage he had observed in their earlier encounter, her tempo was a bit more upbeat, a bit more playful. The man next to her stopped Arandon dead in his tracks. His mind zipped at a speed that outpaced what his mind could truly comprehend.

New person, new person. Replacement? Part of him whinced at the notion, which surprised him greatly. Subordinate? No. Yes! No. Arandon just ask them! With a sharp look off to the side that slowed and silenced his thoughts. Surprises were not things he handled particularly well and they made him more than a bit anxious. "Hello Commander," He said, breathing unevenly and mumbling in parts. "good morning." He said, not regaining some of his mental composure, which was not doubt reflected in his shifty carriage.

Stace furrowed her brow a little in a confused yet reflective way. She shot a glance to Cadwyn and then righted herself a little, standing more formally and rigid. She adopted one of those smiles that she found she had drawn from her past. It was more of a wince than a genuine smile and as soon as she caught herself wearing the mask, she dropped it. "This isn't anything formal, Ensign. Just some introductions but we'll get to that once the doctor is here. I trust you're well?"

Cadwyn clasped two hands behind his back in silence. He could read the youth on the ensign's face like a freshly printed book as he then looked to Norvi. His stonewash jeans and pale blue shirt seemed to glare out between the two uniforms like a lighthouse beacon.

Moments later, the doors to the Botany lab opened once more to reveal the more put together image of Petty officer Van Zyl. Pieter did a quick once over of the faces in the room, his face showing very little surprise, although he was curious about the civilian. They seemed to be popping out a lot on Nova classes, he thought. Going to stand next to Arandon, he gave them all a brief, respectful nod. "Commander, Ensign, Sir." Despite the obvious youth of the civilian, Pieter figured Sir to be the safest bet before finally placing his hands down in front of him.

"Thank you for joining me," Stace smiled widely. "I don't mean to keep you both long, but I just wanted to introduce you to a new face that you'll catch about the labs and the arboretum." She turned to Cadwyn and with a gesture, introduced him. "This is Cadwyn Lane, a gardener by trade, and a family friend of mine." He nodded his greeting and then smiled boyishly at them both. "I've asked him along to mainly tend to the plants in the arboretum on the ship, although you can utilise him here if your workload is a little too much. She paused and then flicked both eyebrows up. "I'm not sure if it's gone unnoticed, but my rapport with anything green and growing isn't great. I can't even keep a house-plant in my quarters for more than a month. So Cadwyn will mainly be assisting me with anything I need for research projects. Particularly when it comes to growing anything."

Arandon had indeed noticed the Commander's lack of acumen in the horticultural department, but that was a trait replicated across the board on the Galileo. Still, the thought of a replacement of sorts, an addition, when he was barely a week into his job was a bit of a twist of the knife for Arandon. Another part of him did the math about the allocation of resources on the Galileo, the better part of him silenced the two and looked at Commander Stace. "Is such...." Arandon hesitated for a moment, trying to word things delicately, he was nothing if not professional, though is continuing tone was a bit soft and not reflecting of his tense, academic syntax. "I did not know my work did not meet to your approval Commander. It has been a week but I've found the cause of the problems in the pond, replanted the flower beds, rejuvenated the trees, hydrated the grasses...." He continued to go on before he was cut off. Falling back on his robotic, formal, officer instincts made it a bit easier to function and regain his composure.

"Your work is absolutely not in question, Ensign," Stace reacted without missing a beat. "And in all honesty, with taking command of the ship since our departure from Starbase Eighty Four, I haven't had chance to review any of your work, but by all accounts," she added, referring to the list he had just reeled off, "it sounds like you're doing splendidly." She paused and then noticed Cadwyn's postural shift. As he straightened his back in discomfort, she flicked a knowing look to him. Without betraying the real reason her confident was aboard, she attempted to further placate the nervous botanist. "Cadwyn may also assist you in anything you need also." She smiled from the corner of her mouth. "Think of him as an apprentice."

Cadwyn's shoulders immediately dropped as he craned his neck over to glare at her. "I'm not exactly debilitated in this arena, Ensign," he cut in, squinting to the Trill before settling his gaze on Arandon softly. "But I'm around to help you should either of you need it."

If Arandon was capable of showing an animated look of displeasure and supreme annoyance, it was on his face now though it probably looked more like a look of disheartened exhaustion. "Apprentice?" He asked. First it was the Romulan kid, then it was Wintrow and now it was a Scottish gardener. At least Arandon thought he was Scottish, he had trouble telling Human accents apart. "I.... am not qualified to teach Commander."

Pieter had stayed silent during the short exchange but, seeing Arandon's reaction, he decided to politely intervene. Something felt like it was building in the air of the usually peaceful Botany lab and Pieter felt he needed to help defuse the situation.

"I think we can both agree that an extra pair of hands in the lab and the Arboretum is always welcome." He gave Arandon a discrete look. From Pieter's experience, he knew that senior staff didn't often pop up in a lab with a civilian, so clearly the man was going to stay whether they liked it or not. Pieter was the first to complain about overcrowding in such a small lab, but he wasn't about to mouth off to the Commander about it five minutes after the introduced the man. Still, he attributed Arandon's hastiness in replying to be just a sign of his youth and inexperience. He would grow out of it eventually, Pieter hoped. For his own sake, if no one else's.

"He doesn't need direction," Stace then qualified, showing a warm, friendly expression to Cadwyn. She then turned back to Arandon and smiled. "I merely meant in the ways of serving on a Starfleet vessel. He's rather green-fingered already but lacking in protocol." Stace could sense that her presence was causing a little uneasiness with the botonists. Had she done the right thing in appointing Cadwyn a position on such a small ship? As Chief Science Officer she had the authority and did personally need the help. But as she churned the decision over in her mind, she quickly settled upon the real reason why she'd begged him to come: emotional support. And smoothed it over with herself rather quickly.

"I'm needed on the bridge, so I can't stay," she said as Cadwyn shot her a look that clearly intimated he thought that she'd stay. "So I'll leave you all to get acquainted. Play nice."

And with that she left the botany lab without looking behind. Cadwyn "erred" for second and then smiled widely. "Hi," he said again. "It's nice to meet you both."

Giving Stace a curt nod on her way out, Pieter finally turned his attention back to Cadwyn. "We were not properly acquainted," he said, wishing to defuse the situation. "I am Dr. Pieter Van Zyl," he signed before taking a step forward to offer the man his hand to shake.

Cadwyn openly smiled at the man and took his hand with a firm but friendly grip. "Cadwyn Lane, Pieter. Oh, or is it 'Doctor'?" He paused and then made a confuddled facial expression. "I'm not au fait with Starfleet policy, I'm afraid. I'm used to calling people by their actual names, but Norv has expressly told me to keep it formal. Which I'm used to but not a fan of - Commander Stace, I mean. Commander Stace."

Pieter nodded as Cadwyn corrected himself. "I prefer to keep things formal in the workplace," he told him, glancing at Arandon briefly. "But, in my experience, I seem to be in the minority in that," he added, his mind flashing over the number of people who were a little too familiar with each other on the job. He attributed it to living in close quarters with everyone on a ship like the Galileo. Still, it was no excuse for a civilian to call the Acting CO "Norv".

Cadwyn was stunned in silence a little and retracted his head back in a subtle action of disbelief. He half expected the botanist to allow a little informality since his grounding and training was strictly non-military. And although Cadwyn had rejected his affluent and houghty upbringing, it was moments like this that jarred him back to the traditions that were instilled in him from an early age. "In that case," he began almost with a playful tone, "I expect you to call me Mister Lane. We can't be having double standards, can we?"

It was a sentiment Arandon agreed with, at least for the time being. "No of course not Mister Lane, but professionalism need not lead to formality." Arandon said, his voice unusually clear. By saying something he had said nothing. "Have you seen the Arboretum yet?" He asked.

"I have, thank you - err - what was your rank again, sorry?" Cadwyn asked, not really bothered with the reply. It was a shame, he thought, that the experience of working on such a small ship would be stunted by etiquette. He'd spent his whole life on the more beneficial end of that handshake and he didn't like either side. But this was a Starfleet vessel. And he had to maintain its protocols. "It's a little different to what I'm used to. Rolling landscapes and the like, not a few square feet of grass and a puddle. But I'll try my best to help everyone."

"Ensign, but if you are to title me, please call me Doctor if anything." Arandon said with a light but crisp tone.

Cadwyn merely flicked his eyebrows up to the reply and then grimaced into a flash of a smarmy smile. He inhaled and then added, "I assume that you're both busy so I don't particularly want to keep either of you later than you need."

"We are," Pieter confirmed, walking by Cadwyn to pick up a large tray of samples. "Thank you for your consideration. Welcome to the Galileo," he told him before taking the tray and promptly leaving the room, eager to get back to his work.

"Thank you," he replied honestly with a smile. "I'm sure that I'll see you both around."

OFF:

Lieutenant Commander Norvi Stace
Commanding Officer / Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Cadwyn Lane
Gardener
USS Galileo
PNPC - STACE

Ensign Arandon Khnailmnae Ph.D
Botanist
USS Galileo

PO1 Pieter Van Zyl
Botanist
USS Galileo
[PNPC by Idris]

RSS Feed

Comments (2)