Insider Knowledge

Posted on Sat Oct 27th, 2012 @ 4:10pm by Commander Gaius Ra-Xialii & Petty Officer 2nd Class Sophie Blaise

Mission: Klingons on the Starboard Bow
Location: XO's Office, Deck 2.
Timeline: Preceding 'Setting Sail'

His first morning aboard ship saw Gaius drinking a hearty Andorian Coffee blend and walking toward his office. He wanted to get some things organised before his shift at 0800. He checked the time, 0710.

"Perfect," he muttered to himself. He rounded a corridor and almost bumped into a rather attractive human female.

"Oh I'm terribly sorry Petty Officer," Gaius said apologetially. He recognised the face from the manifest he perused the previous night, "Petty Officer Blaise, we haven't met yet. I'm the new XO."

"Ah Commander Ra-Xialii, right?" Sophie replied, hoping she had pronounced that correctly. She had been told about his arrival and was pleased to see that he had arrived safely. "It's a pleasure to meet you. And I'm sure it's been said before, but welcome on the Endeavour." Although it was still early, Sophie was already up and running, making sure everything was in order before the alpha shift started. Yet, being a morning person, she was cheerful and full of energy. "So are you settling in all right?"

"Yes actually, never been this easy before. So you are the Captain's Yeoman, I guess you know most things in regards to shipborne operations?" Xialli asked, a tone of alterior motive evident in his tone.

"I try to stay up to date, as much as I can," Sophie said. Most of the general news went by her anyway, but it was too much to remember every detail. Especially when there was something very department specific. She did know what a warp core looked like, for example, but further engineering details would be lost on her. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I would like to know a little more about the goings on aboard ship. Just so I can acclimatize a little easier. Are you terribly busy? Could we take this to my office?" Gaius asked, gesturing to further down the corridor.

"Not too busy to inform the new First Officer about the current affairs," Sophie said with a friendly smile. There was plenty to do for her, but her schedule was still rather flexible. She had a meeting with the Captain later, but doubted that the conversation would last long. "Lead the way."

Gaius gestured to the door and allowed her to enter first. He looked around the office, it was actually the first time he stepped foot inside. It was bare, except for a desk, set of 3 chairs, a small couch with matching chair opposite. Finished off by a rather intricate table. The viewport offered a view of the Starbase and Cestus III still in darkness.

"Please have a seat," He said, taking his own behind the desk, "I will get around to putting up some decorations," he joked.

"It could use a personal touch," Sophie said with a wink, "but I guess some people like the bare basics." She let her hand rest on the back of a chair, but then located a small replicator. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Oh no thank you," he said, taking another sip of his coffee, "You certainly are accomodating."

A slight grin crossed Sophie's face. "Occupational hazard," she shrugged and sat down.

"So what information can you give me about the Endeavour?" Gaius asked, reclining in the remarkably comfortable chair, and taking another sip of his coffee.

"Well, that's a very open question." Sophie thought a moment about where to start. "There is a lot to tell. There have been many changes, of course, since we left Deep Space 19. Some people stayed on the station, some returned to the ship again. We've got a couple of new faces. We had some shore leave in between leaving the station and arriving here, so it's been rather quiet lately. We'll have to see how everyone will work together once the action starts." She paused a moment. "The word is that things can't go well much longer between the Klingons and Gorn. I hope they're wrong."

"Well thats a start, and yes it has given me headaches of late. I can no doubt see the Federation being drawn in," Gaius said, remorsefully, "How about the crew, anything I need to know about the captain?"

"If you're looking for gossip, you've got the wrong person," Sophie said, but with a smile. She took her job seriously and would never say anything to discredit or undermine him. Though that didn't mean she couldn't tell anything about him. "I haven't worked for him that long yet, only on the space station really, but so far we've been able to work together just fine. He's very clear in what he wants from me and I think that his officers feel the same way. I mean, DS19 was an absolute chaos when we arrived and the presence of the Tholians didn't really help, but it all worked out in the end."

"That is a good thing to hear, otherwise I wouldn't have this third pip on my collar right now," Gaius said, thumbing the golden pip, "So what goes on with the social scene on board?"

"As I said, there are a lot of new people," Sophie started to say. "So they're all getting to know each other and trying to settle in. And we've also just had shore leave, so I guess there isn't too much need for any special activities yet, but there are always some open holodeck games and activities if you're ever looking for one. And, of course, the Arboretum is absolutely beautiful, and always seems to attract some people. Luckily it's big enough, so it never really seems busy. I could give you a small tour later, if you like?"

"That would be delightful, thank you," Gaius' smile increased as a question came across his mind. One that could change the young lady's opinion of him, "So where is the ship's bar?" He chuckled.

Sophie grinned a bit, "the main lounge would be on deck three. Though unless you want to hit the bar at 7.15, I suggest we put that at the end of our tour." She smiled at him and tried to see if he could put up with her teasing. "So what do you drink?"

"I do like me a good nip of the Aldebran whiskey if I do say so myself, but my favourite is the Tokoth Meade," He said sheepishly, "Changing topic, tell me more about yourself, Petty officer."

Sophie laughed softly, but let the topic drop. "Well, I'm Sophie and I was born on Earth about 25 years ago. France, to be more precise." She didn't know how well he knew Earth, but it was just a detail. "Before joining Starfleet I did some travelling on my own. Just seeing the universe, getting to know different cultures and such. I studied intergalactic law for a while, but decided that was way too boring for me. I wanted to do some more travelling after that, but was out of money, so that's a bit how I ended up enlisting as diplomatic aide, before Captain Barlow made me her yeoman."

"Did your parents work at the Palais De Concorde?" Gaius asked, wondering if the reason she became a diplomat was to follow in parental footsteps. If they did work for the Palais, the Federation 'White house', then they would be important people.

Sophie shook her head. "No, not even close. They own a chocolaterie in the centre of Paris," she explained with a smile. "They're not that much into travelling and space faring. I don't know where I picked that up. I love Earth, but I just wanted to see what else was out there."

"I see, in your travels, did you ever get to Efros Delta?" He questioned, wondering if she had ever seen his home world. It usually didn't top the list of places to visit, being rather windy and cold.

"No, I haven't. I know I probably should, but there are so many places I still want to see. But if we're ever near it, I now know someone who could be my guide," Sophie joked. "How did you end up here?"

"Joined the first military I could, the Andorian Defence Force. Then jumped ship to Starfleet when I got the chance, haven't looked back," Gaius said curtly, there wasn't much to tell really.

"The Andorian Defence Force?" Sophie asked. "I have been on Andoria and those guys are supposed to be really tough." The yeoman seemed really impressed. She knew they didn't just let anyone it. On top of that she had never been a fighter in any sense of the word, so had the greatest respect for people who were in the front lines. "Why did you leave?"

"Well my first desire was Starfleet, so it was a time wasting measure," Gaius answered, chuckling, "Andoria is a rough place."

"It definitely is, though it's beautiful in its own was as well," Sophie said. "Though I can imagine that being in the ADF can be hard if you rather would be somewhere else."

"Indeed," Gaius replied. He went to speak, but was interupted by the comm.

"Alpha shift report for duty. Alpha shift report for duty."

"That's us," Gaius said with a small sigh. He stood and gestured for the door, "After you."


--- This has been a joint post by the following crew ---

PO2 S. Blaise
Yeoman

CMNDR G. Ra-Xialli
XO
USS Endeavour