Cobb checks in with his new Chief

Posted on 30 Nov 2017 @ 11:39am by Lieutenant Commander Kit'rin'e & Lieutenant Zachariah Cobb

1,257 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Errand of Mercy
Location: Chief Engineer's Office

ON:

It had taken him barely ten minutes to square away his meagre belongings in his new personal quarters. One of the few benefits of being offered an assistant Chief position was that he was not expected to share the space with anyone else, which was all the better for the rest of the engineering team. Cobb made as amicable a roommate as he did a social acquaintance, which was to say that most would probably rank the experience somewhat equal to a root canal without anaesthetic.

But now, as he sat alone on his bed, a freshly-drained tumbler of once-whiskey clutched in his hands, he found the silence filling with her. With Pris. He'd avoided her on his journey to the Redemption by smothering himself in a blanket of sleep. Now he needed another distraction to silence the torturous playback of his memories. A good time to check in with his new Chief, perhaps? Maybe even pick up a late night duty shift?

The path to the engineering deck was almost achingly familiar, one starship identical to the next until you began to poke beneath the surface. He could feel her presence beside him as he walked, her buoyant steps a counter to his own shuffling, apathetic gait. Her laughter still ringing through his ears like the stirring of the dawn chorus after a long and troubled night. Zachariah shook his head and ran a hand through his long, dark hair.
"Cease with the bloody nonsense, man," he chastised himself. If she really was here then it was as no more than a ghost. Eternal penance for daring to love one as cursed as Zachariah Cobb.

The engineering deck was a welcoming sight; the warp core thrumming steadily like an ancient heartbeat, the soft glow of energised plasma as it flowed easily through the networks of canals and conduits that it rode around the ship, the delicate blips and bleeps from clusters of terminals as they churned out a constant stream of deliberations and diagnoses. And for the longest time Cobb simply stood, unmoving, in the centre of the room and allowed all of it to wash over him like a tsunami, cleansing his body and mind of the last, lingering remnants of her.
"Aye, it's good to be home," he whispered, in danger, for one fleeting second, of feeling content.

He'd done his homework on the Chief. Caitian. Male. His age was approaching Zachariah's own, something that gave the wizened engineer a great deal of relief. In his experience there were few things worse than being paired with some snotty-nosed, over-excited kid fresh out of the Academy. He hoped for a more measured approach from Kit'rin'e. Perhaps even an element of weary resignation to compliment his own?

With a bottle of decently-aged whiskey in his hands, a peace offering to a man whom he prayed to all the gods enjoyed a tipple as much as he himself did, Cobb cleared his throat, took a moment to smooth out his usually crumpled uniform, and rang the chime.

Kit'rin'e was sat at his desk looking through recent reports and information that he didn't have access to on his trip to the ship. Everything seemed to be in order, which there in lay the problem. In order was one thing, improved upon was another. He'd also discovered some works had been 'completed' but left slightly short in that regard. The Captain had wanted updates and paperwork to be completed, half of which already was sat waiting. Then the door chime sounded, he was not expecting anyone but regardless. "Come." He stood, favouring it over sitting due to in no small part his tail.

Cobb shuffled slowly into the office, whiskey held aloft as if it were a shield to protect him from the Caitian's glare.
"Ah, Zachariah Cobb, your new assistant Chief. Reporting in, Sir," he announced, before heading, uninvited, towards an empty chair and settling himself into it.

Placing the whiskey on the desk between the two of them and hoping that Kit'rin'e would take the hint and provide glasses, he continued to talk.
"Newly arrived on the Redemption, Sir. Was hoping I could get checked in quickly and be put to work. I find it good to be kept busy, Sir. I don't have a great deal of care for smalltalk and socialising. And I seem to get on better with warp cores than I do with people, at any rate."

Reaching into a grubby pocket, the man pulled out a slightly battered PADD, then, after wiping a spot of grease from one corner with his sleeve, he handed it to Kit'rin'e.
"My duty orders, Sir. If you wish to see them. My file is on there too. But ask away, if you have any questions," he finished somewhat reluctantly, bound by duty rather than desire to open a conversation on his ragged and turbulent past.

Kit'rin'e looked at Cobb, mild surprise apparent. That surprise changed to mild annoyance at the casual nature the officer displayed when he walked in and sat down having put a bottle on his desk. He took the PADD in silence and read the duty orders, standard in nature, nothing particular of note. "Tell me Lieutenant, was your conduct casually similar on previous assignments?"

"Well, Sir," Cobb replied somewhat awkwardly, one hand running nervously through his hair even as the other longed to reach out and rescue the precious bottle of whiskey. He should have known better than to risk such a fine vintage on a complete stranger.
"The way I see it, we have enough to worry about with keeping a massive beast like this ship in good working order. Too much formality on top of that only serves to make men nervous. In my experience."

Zachariah locked eyes with the Caitian. Difficult, for one so accustomed to avoiding company, to recall the skill of perception. Had he been better-versed in reading moods and body language then he might have known from his first step that Kit'rin'e was going to be one of those officers who liked to do things by the book. Or at least, that was the fear currently churning his stomach and causing him to feel a desperate need to rework his lax introduction. With a sigh, he got to his feet, tugged at the hem of his tunic in an attempt to remove at least some of the creases and then, with his eyes fixed on a point above Kit'rin'e's head, he barked out, "Lieutenant Zachariah Cobb reporting for duty, Sir."

He managed to suppress, at the last, the urge to offer the man a salute to go with it, suspecting that the gesture might be received with every atom of sarcasm with which it was intended.

"And when you are the Chief Engineer, you can decide how those under you conduct themselves. If keeping this ship, irrespective of size, is too much of a task for anyone then they are of course free to request reassignment. I am not asking for too much formality Lieutenant, just common decency from a subordinate to a superior who engage in meeting each other for the first time." Kit'rin'e may not be atuned to Human customs but this was far from what he would consider acceptable. "I understand the meaning of the beverage however Caitian's do not take well to alcohol, as large and heavy as we are a trip or fall from intoxication can have very dangerous consequences."

OFF:

Zachariah Cobb
Lieutenant
Assistant Chief of Engineering
USS Redemption

 

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