<USS Avalon> "Newbies Reporting In"

 Newbies Reporting In 

*by Sergeant Major Greg Williams and Ensign Vevay Davis*

The bacteria multiplied and writhed as it was supposed to. Greg smiled as he 
stood up and stretched. The young cadet had bounced off to report to the 
Main Bridge with Greg waving him off. He liked the boy, he was cheerful and 
enthusiastic for the most part. There were definitely times when he could 
see himself in John's eyes.

"Ensign Lombardo, Sgt. Major Williams, and Ensign Vevay Davis, please report 
to the battle bridge. This is not a drill."

The order drew him up short. *Report to the Battle Bridge? What on Earth 
for?* Shaking his head, Greg pulled his uniform straight, shut down his 
tricorder and began packing the rest of his equipment away. Even though an 
order was an order, he would not be forced into sloppy procedures by an 
over-enthusiastic CO. Once he was happy, Greg made his way to the turbolift.

Vevay shifted from foot to foot as the lift doors opened AGAIN! *Dear God, 
does no one walk places anymore?* Trying to smile at the middle aged man 
that stepped on, she couldn't stop the butterflies in her stomach at the 
thought of reporting to the Battle Bridge.

The pretty, young brunette winced at him, so Greg offered her a huge smile. 
"You wouldn't happen to be Ensign Vevay Davis, would you?"

"Oh God," she said, her eyes going wide, "You're not another Betazoid, are 
you? Because sometimes I think this ship is populated by them." She blew out 
a breath and hugged herself. "Not that I have a problem with Betazoids, you 
understand. I'm sort of seeing one. It's just that, for once, it would be 
nice to have a conversation where my inner thoughts aren't open for public 
debate."

Greg chuckled and shook his head. "No, love, I'm not a Betazoid, one hundred 
percent human, that's me."

"Good," she said. "That's good." Staring at the walls, she started to roll 
back and forth on her heels. "So... that would mean you're either Ensign 
Lombardo or Sergeant Major Williams. And from the badge on your collar, I'm 
going to hazard a guess at the Sergeant Major."

"Wow," he winked, "what an impressive leap of logic."

"We don't have many Sergeant Majors. It's not a normal rank, even for an 
NCO, is it?"

"Nope. In fact, I do believe that I'm the only one aboard, though I could be 
wrong." He glanced at her out the corner of his eye, seeing how nervous she 
was. "Relax, is this your first time on a Bridge?"

"Yes," she whispered, hugging herself again.

"Mine too, so we can be newbies together."

"Seriously?" Vevay stared at him, open-mouthed. "But you're *old*, how come 
you've never been on duty on a Bridge before?"

"Hey," he chuckled, "enough with the old, I'm only forty two."

"Almost twice my age," she grinned back.

Flinching, Greg rolled his eyes. "Are you even old enough to be out of 
nappies?"

Vevay stuck her tongue out, giggling lightly. "You haven't answered my 
question. How come such an old-timer has never done Bridge duty?"

"I'm a scientist and a marine, I've never had need to before. In fact, I've 
never served on a ship before."

"Never?"

"Never. I've never needed to. I mean, why would I? These aren't the days of 
Jean-Luc Picard and the Final Frontier, science isn't exactly a Starfleet 
priority anymore."

"Err, yeah. And this isn't exactly a science-led ship either. What exactly *
are* you doing here?"

Greg shrugged. "The Powers That Be decided in their infinite wisdom that I 
needed to be."

The doors swooshed open, revealing the Battle Bridge, half a crew gathered 
already.

"Here we are," Greg said cheerfully. Leaning down, he whispered in Vevay's 
ear. "Don't worry, love, you'll do fine."

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