Meeting the Ship's Second

Posted on Thu Apr 20th, 2023 @ 8:49pm by Lieutenant Commander Alexander Espersen & Lieutenant Rebecca McMillen

Mission: The Interim
Location: XO Office

With meeting the Captain taken care of, and Medical under the proverbial belt, that left..... well it left everyone else, but the next in line in terms of importance would be the ship's second officer. A little digging through the crew list identified the current XO, and with that, Rebecca gave a tap of her diminutive commbadge. "Commander Espersen, sir, this is Lieutenant Rebecca McMillen. I'm the new science officer on the Chimera, and I was wondering where and when would be a good time to meet and introduce myself?" she offered, allowing him to set the time and place. Convenience for the higher ups, and a bit of walking in her future, it seemed.

“Why don’t you come to my office, Lieutenant McMillen?” Said the disembodied voice of the XO over the comms. “Deck Two.”

"Deck two, aye." she confirmed. This was going to take a while. This ship was enormous to her. So no time like now to find out HOW big, and how fast she could make it up there. Once she disconnected from the comm, she set out on her way.

It took about ten minutes. Ten long minutes. The system recognized her biometrics, a testimony to the frame she built. The system opened public doors and recognized commands she issued, another testimony to her work. The only thing she couldn't account for was the distance. Hence the extensive time of travel. She finally made it to the XO's office door, and it took a moment to send the command to the system to ring the announcement chime.

"Enter," Alexander called from his seat, prompting the door to open. He looked over and saw no one, making him frown. "Is this a joke?" he asked aloud, wondering if one of the ship's many kids was getting into trouble. He stood, ready to be angry, when he saw the diminutive frame of the new Chief Science Officer. "Ah, of course. Come in, Ms. McMillen."

"I apologize for the confusion." she had gotten accustomed to covering for her condition, entering the room as quickly as she could. "It took a little longer than expected to get here, I'll be workshopping a few workarounds for ease of access, but until then... she stood a little straighter, "Lieutenant McMillen, reporting in for duty."

"I hope my PaDD data transferred."

"It did," the XO confirmed. "I'm familiar with your case, Lieutenant. I was teaching at the Academy when it happened. A lot of us read the reports. A fascinating if troubling occurrence. I'd offer you a seat but I'm not entirely sure how you're reach it."

"I appreciate it, none the less. Having someone familiar with the event is a bit comforting, I won't lie sir. At least you won't think I'm some kind of pixie or something." she giggled. "Adjusting is rough, but we're not here to take the easy way out. Besides, they were all sold out of the Malibu Barbie Retirement Manor." another giggle. She took to her condition well.

"I won't lie, it was terrifying at first. I've gotten better, full psyche eval on record, and I have a few means of mobility and safety I've been working on. I'll be meeting with Engineering to get all the particulars in motion, since there are a few things that it does need low level access for. Biometrics and PaDD access, for example."

"Good, especially for safety," Alexander said, musing about how even the lowest current portions of the EPS grid would fry someone that small, even if it wouldn't kill someone his size. "Our Captain has given me a healthy dislike of paperwork, and the forms to fill out when an officer is injured by things like doors and Jeffries tubes are a pain."

"Trust me, I hate paperwork just as much. So I'll be extra careful not to get hurt." she echoed. "And yeah I do know that I'm a bit more fragile than a regulation officer. I can squeeze into spaces that other officers and crew can't, but that's not an excuse to take unnecessary risks." she nodded, understanding the notion. "I've met the Captain, she strikes me as the kind of leader that would dislike paperwork." there was a little giggle there.

"No, she doesn't mind it," Alexander said with a sigh, "because it gets passed to me, under the pretext of command training. Now, you're able to get around quickly enough? If it's the middle of the night and red alert is called, you can reach your duty station on time?"

"I've requested quarters as close to the science labs as possible for that, though I can't really clock myself at the moment. I'm working on a mobility aid to help me bet around, but I'll know more about how well that works once those are tested and in place. At the moment, the best I can assure you is I'll do my best to be available and ready should the need arise."

"I'll give you approval to use site-to-site beaming in case of an emergency summons to the bridge and you're too far," Alexander offered. "At least until your mobility aid is ready. I'll ask to take a look at that. More for professional curiosity than anything else, truth be told. I was an engineer until not long ago. A number of my Academy colleagues liked to speculate on what sort of tools you'd need to get around, treating it like a brain teaser to be solved. It was good mental exercise, actually."

Rebecca actually gave a bit of a laugh, "You know, I'd be curious to hear what they came up with. Being a scientific curiosity aside, I do have a number of concepts in mind but I have to talk to Engineering to see how many of them are... to use a technical term... practical." she offered, exaggerating that final term. "As stated, but that's a conversation for them. And I do appreciate the approval, I'll make sure to only use it if needed and I'll weigh those times as they arise."

"Did you have any questions for me, of me, sir?"

"Not right now," Alexander replied. "But if I think of one, I know how to find you. Even if I have trouble finding you," he added with a smirk.

Rebecca offered a giggle, "I'd start wearing a balloon tied around my waist, but all that would do is make me float through the halls." a pause to compose herself, "If there's nothing else, sir, it's a long walk to the Science labs and, well, I have one of the lower deck crew hands waiting as something of a taxi."

"I'd say the proverbial meter is running, but she's the patient type from the look of it." the diminutive officer offered.

“Who is your Lower Deck taxi?” Alexander asked. He knew he was keeping her and she was trying to go, but his curiosity was piqued.

"Cadet Angelica. She's looking to get into flight control so she has some allowances to be on the bridge, and since she's not part of the science division hauling me around isn't going to compromise her final assessment." Rebecca giggled at the notion.

The XO nodded and chuckled. "And honestly Cadet Angelica could use some experience like this." The last time her name had crossed Alexander's desk, it was in the context of the very public argument she and her roommate were having in the mess hall -- and then resolving in the equipment locker. She'd been assigned several weeks of cleaning duties, and a bit of 'assigned to carry this officer around' work seemed to fit the bill too. "Next time you see her, send her to find me. No rush though. Carry on, Lieutenant."

"Will do, sir." she straightened up a bit, not that it helped with her height but it was customary to stand at attention. She held that for a moment before, as dismissed, she turned and made good time headed towards the door out.