Reporting In

Posted on 01 Dec 2012 @ 11:40am by Captain Jonathan Holliday
Edited on on 01 Dec 2012 @ 11:41am

1,487 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 4; Chief Science Officer's Office
Timeline: MD 04, 2200 hours

Finally having a good deal of spare time, Maenad was in her office surrounded by the stacks of books she had sprawled all over the floor and tables. She was sorting them on the large bookshelf she had set up behind her work desk and was taking a lot longer than she had expected. Every time she put one down she spent five minutes looking through it, looking at handwritten notes she'd scribbled in the margins and at the tops and bottoms of pages.

A few days ago Athlen and Liyar had combed through them; Athlen having borrowed her Hur'q translations, which she had momentarily forgotten and spent several frustrating minutes looking for them. It was a tough job, too, going through all those books. She was working up a bit of sweat, walking to and from one side of the room to other, lifting and sifting through piles over and over again. It was a good thing she didn't need to be in uniform.

In a pair of simple black form-fitting trousers and a white blouse, sleeves rolled up, she stood behind her desk holding a book she had found on Vulcan mythology. It was just an introductory reading, but she was skimming through the pages anyway when the sound of her door chime distracted her.

"Come in," she said monotonously, still looking at the pages.

The evening was the perfect time to get work done as far as the ship's XO was concerned, in fact, he relished the chance to get off of the Bridge and knuckle down with some of the other tasks of the day that would build up during his command shift. As the doors parted in front of him, Holliday stepped into the room, PADD in hand.

"Lieutenant Panne I presume?"

John wasted no time in waiting for a reply, he knew exactly who the officer in front of him was and why he had made a detour on his way to his own office to call past the science department instead.

"You know it's usually protocol for new department heads to report into the First Officer upon arrival..."

Maenad looked up from her book, seeing a man who was very clearly a tough guy standing in the entryway. He was quite tall, serious, and... overbearing, she thought. She was conflicted by scar on his cheek, uncertain whether he'd won it in a heroic battle or out of sheer belligerence. "Hello, commander," she said simply, softly closing her book and gently sliding it onto her self. She turned around to face him fully, clasping her hands behind her back. "I reported in to the captain the moment I got here. By now, I thought you were off on shore leave. I was going to formally introduce myself once we had been recalled."

"Sadly shore leave takes lower importance than ship's duty...I will however be going offworld for a short while in a couple of days..so I thought I would check off my to do list by dropping in on our new Chief Science Officer. How are you settling in?"

The XO replied as the doors closed behind him. The room was loaded with paper books, something that he hadnt seen since he had last been on Mars in the library contained within the walls of his parent's house. They were quaint, if a little obsolete at times.

Maenad wasn't sure what the commander intended by reminding her that duty comes before fun, but she decided not to get defensive about it. She ignored it altogether. "I'm doing just fine, thanks," she said softly, walking around her desk toward him. She offered her hand to with a courteous smile. "So, where are you going?"

Taking the offered hand, John returned her smile, at least, to a degree, of course it would be inappropriate to lower his rank-related defences so early on having only just met his new department head. His exact whereabouts were not something that he had any desire to give away at this point, so he decided to stay vague.

"I have some personal matters to attend to - nothing worthy of conversation really - but it does mean that I'll be relying on my department heads to keep Galileo ticking over."

Maenad wasn't sure she liked Holliday. For a first impression, she felt strained. He was definitely different from the captain, at first glance. Maybe he was just nervous himself, she offered, despite her gut instincts telling her otherwise. "Yes, sir," was all she managed to say. After a few seconds of thinking she raised her eyebrows, trying to keep the conversation going. "Lieutenant Cho is definitely an asset; I am glad she is part of my team."

"Just as I'm glad we have a senior staff that know what they're doing." John replied. He was well aware of the capabilities of each and every member of this crew, and after the recent Sienna mission, was thankful for their unique skillsets even more than he usually would have been.

"I trust if you need anything you'll let me know without too much delay? I doubt Starfleet will let us have much downtime on Vega once we've been repaired, there's always another nebula or star system waiting to be charted."

"Probably," Maenad agreed with a nodding awkward smile. She leaned against her desk, half sitting. "Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, tea?" she asked.

"Nothing thank you Lieutenant - as I say...places to be, things to do. I've invaded your evening for long enough I think....unless there's anything you require of me?"

John replied with a smile. His brain was only just catching up with the late hour. For him of course, this was normal, the beta shift wouldn't finish until midnight, but for those on alpha or gamma, this was their downtime, and the last thing anyone would have wanted would be their XO storming in and demanding to take over their replicator. He was more than content to allow the Lieutenant to return to her own activities should she so desire.

"No, thank you," she shook her head. "But you are welcome to stay," Maenad told him.

As pleasant as her offer may have been, John knew full well that he still had two whole hours of bridge duty to complete - and simply wandering off wasn't exactly the best example for the second most senior officer on board to be setting to those around him. Taking one last look around at the collection of books in front of him, surrounding the Lieutenant, he smiled before backstepping towards teh doors.

"Very kind of you Lieutenant but someone has to be sat in the big chair...perhaps another time. I'll let you get back to reading...whatever it is you're reading....a paper book? I haven't seen those for a long time?"

John knew that he had to leave, but the presence of such antiquated materials was enough to pique his curiosity. There had to be a reason that someone would shun a PADD in preference of these relics.

Maenad smiled with her teeth, glad that Holliday was interested. "Yes, there is something to be said for reading a bound book. I like to make handwritten notes in them, which is easier to do with a pen," she didn't mention that her notebooks were all handwritten too. "Especially with a novel, paper is more... intimate," she grinned. "And the smell is wonderful. If you haven't done it, I strongly suggest that you do. You can even borrow one of mine, if you like," she was still leaning against the side of her desk, but now Maenad turned to look over the piles and mess she had made, then looked back to Holliday. That was enough, she thought; she could wave written a book of her own on why paper books were better. "Once I get this place a little more organised, of course," she smiled.

"Perhaps I will take you up on that offer Lieutenant - once you've had time to attend to housekeeping. Just...don't get lost amongst all that paper."

With one last smile, the Commander turned on his heels and headed out of the door, content that the officer he had just met would live up to his expectations of a senior member of staff. There would be time for more conversation later, but right now, John had work to attend to.

Maenad let out a genuine and unexpected laugh. She was glad to have been proven wrong about Jonathan. After he had left, she looked around the office and thought that he was right; it was a disaster in here. She shook her head with a smile on her face and went back to what she was doing.

[OFF]

Cmdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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