A meeting of minds

Posted on Fri Apr 30th, 2021 @ 1:57pm by Captain Henry Crow & Warrant Officer Michael Joustra

Joustra was working in his office. He had spent the last few days drilling the security teams and going over reassignments and transfer requests. He looked up as his office lights started to flicker and his desk console shorted out. He had enough and decided to head for the bridge and give who ever was in charge an earful.

Having encountered the same situation, Henry exited the Ready Room and crossed the bridge. Stopping at the OIC he informed them he was headed down to the lounge and he would appreciate if Engineering could *finally* get a handle on what's been happening. When the turbolift opened he glanced at it's occupant.

"Captain," he said gruffly. "I was just about to yell at anybody in charge up here. I just lost hours of work. What is going on with this ship,sir? "

"That's still under investigation but if you want to yell at me, do it over a sandwich." He stepped into the lift.

" Might as well, sir. Haven't had lunch nor breakfast yet." Michael said as he took a step back.

They took the ride down in seconds. Henry led the way into the lounge. "How's the department shaping up? I figured it might be awkward with Stewart's return."

"Oh I play the right uneasy bastard. Rather they hate my guts so I can get them up to standards. And in a few months time she can take over and I get my next assignment. " Joustra said as he took a seat at a table.

Henry gave a nod to some passing crew. "When I was at the academy your reputation led to all sorts of wild stories. Is it true you fought off three Cardassians with two broken arms?"

"Stories change over the years. Broken arms, legs, nohing but a spoon to defend myself. I even heard I knocked out a klingon with my own severed limb." Michael chuckled.

"I would say don't put any stock in it, but if it sounds moronic or plain stupid... in my case it could be 50/50 that I did do it. Never fought off Cardassians.... you kill them before they kill you."He grimaced.

Henry nodded his agreement to the last statement as he tapped the menu control ordering a meal. "Well just be prepared for my daughter in law to ask for your autograph given the stories. She loves that sort of thing."

"It's kind of weird. You get good in doing your job and for some reason you get know for little things which happened along the way. A dozen commendations for administrative excellence . I wrote the revised rifle maintenance regulations which cut back injuries by 30% and saved countless lives. I rolled up smuggling rings. Yet I'm the guy who is know for a mere footnote in the whole Dominion war. By holding off a Dominion squad capturing a cardassian gul in the process and buying enough time so my team could beam out. " He ordered his usual sandwich.

"Well to be fair it's pretty damn impressive. I miss getting my hands dirty like that. I didn't fathom how much sitting in the middle chair would change that."

"The big chair is what every ensign aims for, bar my granddaughter who joined starfleet just to drive a whole new group of people besides her family nuts. It's the person in that chair who has to be a warrior, diplomat, engineer, scientist all rolled into one. And with a ship like this.... well it ain't a Sabre class, cap'n." He smiled. " She was built to replace the Excelsior class, a mid range ship of exploration with a bit of firepower."

Henry took a bite of his meal. The other man's summation of his duties as Captain was on the mark. "Have you been lured into the Counselor's web yet? She can be...persistant."

"Not really, sir. I tend to stay away from the Boys and Girls in teal, sir.... they tend to be more insane then the engineers." He grinned taking a sip of his coffee.

"You said it, not me."

"Is there something I don't know, sir? Because the counsellor is like a blip on my tricorder." He raised an eyebrow and looked at Crow.

"She's tenacious which normally wouldn't be something you'd say about a conselor but she's good at what she does. She just doesn't let go until she pulls out whatever you're trying to hold onto. When she finally corners you about an evalulation just go with it and get it over with, that's my advice."

"Yeah, good luck with that I would say. In 40 years I think I got a handle on counsellors. I just lie about being beaten or being bullied as a child, they eat that stuff up,sir" he grinned.

Henry got a good laugh from that as he finished his meal. "Well, I figure I better get back up there before they think I wised up and I'm not coming back."

"Oh, one more thing,sir. I would suggest bumping up lieutenant Stewart,sir, few more weeks you'll have the toughest and meanest bunch of security officers this side of the sector and I'll be assigned somewhere else. She seems capable,sir and a security department needs to be run by an officer,sir " Joustra was checking his sandwich as he turned his gaze to the captain.

"We'll certainly find the best spot for everyone." Henry nodded, making his way out of the room.

Joustra finished his sandwich and looked around the mess as he sat back. ' i could get used to this ship.' He thought to himself.

Warrant Officer Michael Joustra
Chief Security Officer, USS Mercutio

Captain Henry Crow
Commanding Officer, USS Mercutio