<USS Avalon> "After Hours"

After Hours
by Petty Officer Vevay Davis, Warrant Officer Alexander Gibson and Lt.
Jayden Cross 

Peering up from the interview notes he was reading, Alexander flinched when
he saw the look of sheer ire on Vevay's face as she exploded through the
office door.

"All men are assholes!" she stomped. Glancing at Alexander, she forced a
smile through gritted teeth. "Not you, of course."

"Nice of you to exclude me in your mass generalisations." He picked up his
PADD again and continued perusing it. "And what has led you to this
marvelous conclusion?"

"Ketchum is a dull, mindless, arrogant bastard." She flung herself into her
chair and pushed a few things around until the fire ignited again and she
surged to her feet, pacing. "He dismissed me! He sodding dismissed me!"

Hearing the commotion from the outer office, Jayden couldn't help but stick
her head out the door to see what all the fuss was about. It was pretty late
and Quinn was long gone. He was definitely a morning person, in the office
at ungodly hours, whereas Jayden would rather stay late and sleep in. She'd
trained her staff to pretty much operate on the same hours.

The door opened and she stood in the frame, arms crossed and leaning
causally against it. A smirk played at the corner of her lips. "Who's the
poor bastard on the receiving end of this one?" she asked Alexander as Vevay
tore about the room, arms flailing.

"Apparently our Captain did what all Captains do and dismissed her when he
was finished with her." Alexander didn't even bother looking up. "She is
under the impression that he was supposed to fall at her feet or something."

"I am not!" Leaning against a desk, Vevay pulled herself to sit on it. "I
just think he was rude. He dismissed me as if I was an insignificant squib."

Brow furrowed, Jayden mouthed, "Squib?" to Alexander as Vevay continued her
rant.

He shrugged as he caught her eyes. "No idea," he mouthed back.

"Can you believe it?! I'm not just some wet-behind-the-ears yeoman! I'm an
NCO. An officer! Okay, so I'm not commissioned, but I worked for my rank!
Damn hard, I'll have you know."

Oh no, Alexander flinched, not the enlisted tyrade. "And so did he."

"Hah!" Vevay folded her arms and stuck out her bottom lip. "He's still a
rude asshole."

Jayden nearly laughed out loud at that statement, but bit her lip to contain
it. Yes, she really had wanted to accept the Captain's dinner invitation,
but she also knew what it meant. Information. Granted, she could've used it
to her advantage, but felt the true advantage was making him squirm a bit,
giving him time to mess up. Besides, this wasn't a permanent assignment
anyway, so it wouldn't do her any good to get in good with Ketchum. No,
she'd be better off completing the assignment and then making a name for
herself back on the starbase.

Vevay had gone in her place and she couldn't say she wasn't amused by the
outcome. Holding up one hand, she examined her nails and then buffed them on
the sleeve of her uniform as she let Vevay continue. It was a sick, twisted
pleasure she derived from it and the odd thought occurred to her that Quinn
would probably be amused as well.

"He is technically our commanding officer," Alexander pointed out.

"Only technically. Mostly he's a prick. We have to nail him with something."
A light came on in her eyes and she grinned evilly. "Hey, even if we can't
find that he's done anything wrong, maybe we could pin something on him."
Her laugh cackled out. "Hah, up yours, Ketchup! Tomato sauce to you!"

"Vevay," Jayden spoke firmly from the doorway, straightening herself to
proper height. "That would be the opposite of our orders from on high. You
really should respect the commanding officer of this vessel. It is your duty
as a Starfleet officer yada, yada, ya." Leaning once again into the frame
and returning her arms to that usual crossed position, she smirked, "Okay,
official reprimand over, carry on."

Vevay nodded respectfully at Cross and then grinned. "You sure we can't dig
up some unsolved case we can throw at him? Please please please please?"
Sticking her bottom lip out again, she slumped back to her seat. "And who
has a name like Ketchup anyway? It's what you have on your bacon sandwiches
first thing in the morning."

Nose wrinkling, Jayden glanced at Alexander again and silently asked,
"Ketchup?... On sandwiches?... In the morning?"  A look of disgust clouded
her features and she shivered with the thought.

"No, it's what you have on your bacon sandwiches in the morning. The rest of
us eat normal things, like toast or cereal." Alexander could smell the
grease even now, it made his stomach turn. He shook his head sadly at
Jayden. "It's quite disgusting, really it is. The whole quarters smell of
it."

"No one asked you to share with me," she continued to pout.

"We were assigned to those quarters. Trust me, if it had been a matter of
choice then there is nothing in the known universe that could make me choose
to share my living space with you." He looked up at Cross again. "Seriously,
sir, she's a slob. She never tidies up after herself, she leaves dirty
laundry all over the floor and the state of the bathroom..." He shuddered.
"Wet towels, need I say more?"

"Then ask to be moved if it's that bad!" Vevay was beginning to feel picked
on and she didn't like it one bit.

"I would, but I dread to think what those rooms would be like if I did." He
raised himself to his feet and took the two strides to stand in front of the
secretary. "Vevay, look at me." He lifted her chin until their eyes met.
"You should not let the pettiness of commissioned officers upset you." With
a sly smile to Jayden, he said, "They are all so far up their own arses,
they can see out of their ears."

"Hmm... on that note, I think I shall retire for the evening. I've processed
what I've done today and I expect the two of you to get on those interviews
I assigned you, as well as digging up all the information on Forester.
Remember? Quinn wants his friendships, relationships, family issues... all
of it." Jayden stretched her back and tipped her head from side to side.
"And Vevay? He's just a man. They aren't worth it, you know."

"But he seemed so charming at first," she whined. "I don't get it."

Jayden shrugged. "If I was him, I'd be trying to seduce you to find out
what's going on, how much we know, and what we're after exactly. But he's a
respectable Starfleet Captain, so I'm sure that's not it," she added dryly,
rolling her eyes in that trademarked way.

"Well exactly. That's what I was expecting. He tries to seduce me, I let him
and then fleece him for information when he's not looking." She shook her
head and then leaned it against Alexander's immaculate shoulder. "Maybe I'm
losing my touch. He was just so sweet to start with. It was actually
beginning to catch me out. I've never met someone who could do that before."
Her thoughts flicked briefly to the Ensign with the stunning blue eyes and
her knees went a little weak. "Well, maybe one other. But that's beside the
point! If he wanted to seduce me, he was doing a damn fine job of it. Why
stop?"

"Maybe he had an attack of conscience, who knows. I'm going home and to bed.
You two should probably call it a night. No doubt Quinn will be calling me
at some horrid hour of the morning and this time I'm waking both of you up
as well. We are really going to have to train him to our hours," Jayden
mumbled as she headed towards the door. " 'Night."

"Night, sir," Vevay mumphed.

"Good night, sir. I will wake Vevay early so that she is at least
presentable."

"Hey! I'm always presentable. I'm just not a morning person."

"Ain't that the truth," Alexander said in a mock american accent.

Vevay's response was to stick out her tongue as she lifted her head from his
shoulder. "Meany."

"Yes, I know, big and blue, right?" Alexander laughed as he draped an arm
around her and steered her toward the door.

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