<USS Meridian> A Mundane Meeting
- From: Jason Ziredac <ziredac@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: ussmeridian@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 23:56:27 -0700 (PDT)
A Mundane Meeting
By Captain Kyle Pierce
&
Lieutenant Jason Ziredac
There was Jason, rhythmically knocking the wall of the hallway with the back of
his knuckles. It was a sort of ritual, his experiences on the Meridian: get
caught up in a mission, come home, sort out things with the fiancée, learn a
valuable life lesson, go talk to the captain about something. It never failed.
A conveyance to the bridge and a brief walk to the door of Pierce's ready room
and suddenly, Jason was ready to sight the conclusion to the ritual, and come
to a more deviant event in the life of Jason aboard the starship. Ringing the
chime, though, a clot, a mental occlusion nagged his thoughts and gnawed on his
being. Doing this was, quite informally, a pain in the ass.
The thoughts of the mission at hand had run through his head on so many levels.
The tediousness of having to deal with mounds of paperwork was appalling. The
life of a Starfleet captain was drastically overrated. Sitting behind a desk
where reports and reviews come and go leaves a lot to be desired, but people
don't seem to see that. Another such review was in his hands as the chime
rang. Not even looking up he called out, "Enter!" He really didn't care who
it was or what they wanted - the only thing going through his head was how to
get them in and how to get them out.
Monkey do. Ziredac crossed the threshold and stood, his hands behind his back.
He had seen this room so many times, having these quick discussions with his
detached and aloof captain, that an installation of instinct militated his
stance, and without thinking, he said, "Captain, I've come to ask you
something."
"What else is new, Lieutenant? You're more than welcome to take a number. As
a matter of fact I have thirteen written requests on my desk if you'd like to
pour over those," he made a fledgling motion to a stack of PADDs on his desk
that he'd not touched since he moved them to their current location. "How soon
do you need an answer?"
Ah, Ziredac said in his mind, how stress can influence a man's behavior to
another. Pierce's discourtesy effected him, even if mildly, and he
second-guessed the prominence of his question. His captain's boorish reply to
the simplest and most innocent of things to ask: the permission to ask
something else, made Jason think that asking another question might not be a
good idea. Then he pictured Jane Barin, sitting there in their quarters,
demanding an answer. Pissed off Captain? Pissed of fiancée? Pissed off Captain?
Pissed off fiancée?
"Sir, I'd like to request a leave of absence following our shore leave at
Earth."
"Everyone gets shore leave, Lieutenant."
Perhaps in the multitude of work he had poured on him, the captain didn't hear
the full request.
"Following shore leave, sir. For my honeymoon."
Stopping, Kyle looked up. Leaning over and tapping the console on his desk, he
ran a hand across his eyes. Sleep deprivation was getting to him and it was
becoming all to obvious. Sighing, he stood. "I apologize, Lieutenant. Yes,
of course you can. I completely forgot about the wedding. I'd still like to
participate if I'm still invited?"
"Yes, I would like you to participate," Jason said. "It will be held in the
White Chapel Hall in Boulder, Colorado. You know, if you want to get those
coordinates to the teleporter chief ahead of time."
"Of course," Kyle nodded absently, "how much time were looking for
post-wedding? I think our next mission has to do with some sort of Borg
technology dept in the Tekaris system. I don't know, however, how long it will
take us. We're just trying out some new anti-Borg technology. About two weeks
probably."
"Jane and I were thinking," Jason muttered hesitantly, "two weeks?" He
anticipated one of those deathlock glares the captain was infamous for
shooting.
Kyle looked Jason up and down and then nodded, "sounds good to me. I'm
assuming that Mr. Neromiger will take your place since he's the next highest
ranked officer in science, correct? Enjoy yourself on your honeymoon, though,
because it's never like that ever again. People say the honeymoon never ends,
but it does. It's the feeling of complete bliss that makes it sacred."
Not sure how exactly to reply to the second half of what the captain said,
Jason rather elatedly responded to the first half. "Yes, Mr. Neromiger is
prepared for his tasks and, in my opinion, will be a fine interim replacement.
He can be a little fastidious sometimes, but hey, who isn't?"
"Good point. Is there anything specific that I need to address at your toast?
I don't know you all that well so my material is limited to just what I've
observed in your guys' Starfleet records and personnel reviews," Kyle smiled
that devious smile, "and is there going to be a bachelor party? I know that
tradition dictates that I organize it, but I think you'd be better to choose
your own entertainment."
Bachelor party. It was then that Jason reflected and realized that if he
invited the guys on board the ship to a bachelor party, that it would be Jason,
Joe, maybe young Ensign Davis, and then the captain. "No, no bachelor party,
sir. And as for the toast, just say what comes to your mind. It would be more
than Neromiger would ever say."
"Whoa, no bachelor party? All right, your loss," Kyle made a couple of notes
on a PADD and then nodded, "I'll approve the leave of absence once we reach
Earth and the wedding will go without a hitch." Looking down at the redundant
information his expressions dampened again, "Is there anything else you need,
Lieutenant?"
"No sir."
Pierce looked up, nodding and giving a half-hearted smile, "all right, then,
you're free to go, Jason.?
---------------------------------
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