Meeting the Boss

Posted on Thu Aug 12th, 2021 @ 8:00pm by Lieutenant Commander Hamish Brott & Lieutenant Skye MacLeod

1,588 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Prologue: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

ON

Skye MacLeod wasn't sure if this was a promotion or a punishment. Either way, the assignment was going to prove interesting. She'd never been to a relay station, let alone worked on one, before. There would definitely be opportunities for science, which she looked forward to.

As soon as she found her quarters and made sure her personal items had arrived, she went in search of the Captain.

"Ah-ha!" exclaimed the Bolian walking down the residential corridor that connected the primary portion of the relay station's operations center to the living module that housed the two suites and the Commander's cabin.

He had encountered Lieutenant MacLeod there, exiting the suite and heading towards Ops. "You must be MacLeod, I'm sorry that I missed your arrival. I got stuck momentarily in one of the Jefferies tubes fixing some circuitry," explained Hamish Brott. "Settled into your suite? One of your suitemates has already arrived, Doctor Tanaka, the station's physician."

"Yes. I just saw the quarters," she said, going over to greet him with a handshake. "A pleasure to meet you, sir." At least she hoped it would be a pleasure. She tried to be an optimist.

The Bolian smiled. "The pleasure is all mine, Lieutenant. I assure you, I am positively ecstatic to have you here on this little relay station. I know that she isn't much to look at, and her reputation is lackluster, but we are going to do some very good work out here in the Ionite Nebula region."

Brott knew science officers. Though he was not one per se, he had to learn the basics of science out here on Bellwether. "Have you had the chance to see the Stellar Cartography lab?" he inquired. It was practically the only lab on the station worth mentioning.

"Not yet. I just found where I'll be staying." She intended to go walkabout and have a look at what the station had to offer, but she'd run into the Commander first.

The Bolian chuckled. "Oh I wish that I could say this place has a lot to offer, and I'd show you around, but I am afraid what you see is what you get." Hamish Brott smiled. "I'll still happily give you a bit of a tour, but it often underwhelms people that are assigned here," he admitted.

"It depends on what you expect." She shrugged. "If I have a good lab and can study the nebula, I'll be happy. Who knows what else may come our way?"

"Out here? Absolutely anything my dear, Lieutenant," Hămísh retorted. "You can study the Ionite nebula and the smaller nebulae within it intimately. We frequently have to venture into it by shuttle. What better way to admire the fierce awesome beauty of the nebula than up close and personal" he added.

"Sounds great." She smiled. "Would be nice to find a planet to explore in there, but I'll be happy with the nebula." She was a social scientist, after all. But stellar sciences were fascinating. "Also, what do you think of vertical gardens?"

The Bolian glistened with joy. "Oh my rutabaga! That's a brilliant ideas. I would love to have vertical gardens on the station, Lieutenant. Do you think that is something we could make a reality?" Brott was clearly thrilled with the idea.

"Of course. We'll need to set up soil and irrigation, but they're designed for small spaces like this. We could even grow some herbs and flowers."

Lieutenant Commander Hamish Brott clapped his hands together and beamed with positivity. "Oh fantastic! It will be nice to have plants growing around here. That could help keep you all fed."

"Well, maybe not fed, but it could definitely augment our food supplies. Fresh herbs and vegetables will be nice. Maybe some for teas and poultices. Anything more will take time," she said. But the idea of using fresh herbs to spice up the food or for teas and poultices appealed to Skye. She was quite fond of her tea.

The Bolian smiled warmly. "Oh so delightful. I definitely am glad to have you aboard, Lieutenant. Of the science officers that were being considered? By far hands down. You are the best choice." He practically swooned over the thought of herbs and spices, but his heart fluttered at the mention of teas.

Skye laughed out loud. "I'm not sure how many applicants you had, but I think working here will be a good opportunity."

"Admittedly? Not that many, a handful of scientist. One that was brilliant on paper...forgive the obsolete expression" replied Hamish. "Though upon further digging what he had in brains was plagued with questionable experiments and ideas that I were just exhausting. He was a Half-Tellarite. I had to pass on him, but I suspect I'll be grateful in hindsight."

"He sounds...difficult," she said, shaking her head. "I don't think I've ever run into him. Nor have I heard about any odd experiments. I guess they didn't go anywhere."

"You are fortunate not to," the Bolian replied. He sighed but quickly regained his chipper disposition. "You don't want to meet the young Doctor Bálor. I read one report and it was enough to make me move onto your personnel file. You probably haven't heard of a little agricultural world called Costa V, but let's just say they had a problem with their tomatoes after Bálor and the USS Kerebes made a stop there to assist the colonist with their blight."

"Oh, dear. No, I haven't heard of it." She knew of people like Dr. Bálor, and she was glad she hadn't met the man. At least, not yet. "There isn't a lot of information available on Bellwether. What sort of science facilities do I have to work with or can adapt?"

"Bellwether was constructed shortly after 40217.3 when the USS Stargazer encountered a then unidentified vessel. It was a Ferengi ship, the Seventy-Fifth Rule. This Subspace Relay Station was constructed initially to provide support and help establish a communications network in this region of space after the loss of the Stargazer. There have been many changes made to the station over the years, but it is very hodgepodge. The Stellar Cartography lab was a recent addition a while back. There are a few multipurpose labs that could be made into something scientific...between the two of us? I'm using one to store my wardrobe."

"We can't take away your wardrobe," she said, a twinkle in her eye. "You are the permanent resident here. I'd like an office where I can have a desk, workstation, and couch--I sometimes sleep in my lab. I'd also like a lab I can use for experiments. Other than that, astrometrics and some vertical gardens, maybe a tree or two, is all I need."

Hamish bounced his head shoulder to shoulder for a moment. The Bolian smiled. "Cucumbers," he replied. "You have it. I'll get you an office and such, whatever you want, but I want some cucumbers because I want to put them on my eyes when I do my facial routine...they get a bit puffy, Just make sure that your tomatoes don't come to life."

"Deal. I like both cucumber and tomato sandwiches. They'll work well in a vertical garden. Maybe some lettuce, too."

The Bolian gave a deep bellyful laugh, deep down in his gut. "Guess we have ourselves a 'dill'" he said with a pun and extended his hand to shake on it.

She shook his hand and grinned. "Definitely. Now we need to make our own pickles, too." A grapevine would definitely help with that. And maybe some peppers... "A sweet dill, indeed."

"Operations," he replied. "From the Ops center, you can see almost all the way up to the top of the station. Perhaps we could install lattice on the bulkheads....maybe for something that climbs."

"Yes. We could have climbing roses, or any of a number of flowering vines. There are even some varieties of bioluminescent fungus that could go along the ceiling."

The Bolian could practically squeal in excitement. "Now, I am absolutely fascinated. That would look so beautiful if we cut the illumination in Ops when that fungi have fully spread across the top. We could have a picnic under the fungi."

"We could. I'll draw up a proposal for your approval, then we can order the supplies," she said. She was going to have more fun on Bellwether than she thought. A nebula and now vertical gardens and bioluminescent algae. This was going to be great.

Hamish Brott smiled. He was seeing a change from when he had first met the woman not too long ago. The Bolian suspected that he had won the scientist over. "You draw up your proposals and I'll discuss it with our Ops Officer once they arrive. We shouldn't have any issues getting those supplies. I have some connections with the Ferengi, I'll haggle them until their lobes ring with my voice at night. They'll give us a deal."

"Great." She smiled again. "I'll go find Astrometrics and start writing up my proposals."

Hamish nodded. "Happy exploring, I'll leave you to it," he added. Oh I'm going to love this bunch he thought to himself. He was used to seeing faces come and go, but if Skye was an indication of how the others would be, he would hope they stayed with him a long while.

OFF:
____________

Lieutenant Commander Hamish Brott
Station Commander
RS Bellwether

Lieutenant Skye McLeod
Science Officer
RS Bellwether

 

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