New Spook

Posted on Sun Jul 3rd, 2022 @ 10:09pm by Commander N'Garzi Zora & Lieutenant JG Nayisa Wrea

Mission: Shore Leave
1892 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Nayisa hummed as she strolled down the corridor, giving a little smile to people as she passed. There was nothing too special about today, but she still felt lively. Perhaps it was knowing she survived yet another long-winded mission that finally ended about a week ago, and while she had been injured she didn't let her slight limp bring down her mood. Perhaps it was also being able to see a new ship. There was something exciting about seeing new halls and new faces. She gave the transfer orders in her hand a light drum solo with her fingers as she tracked down the person she wanted to see.

What was on her mind, though, differed from the bubbly exterior she was projecting. She was curious about what happened to the Athena's chief of intelligence, but there were no records that she could find about the Athena's mission after Ithaca. Maybe this transfer could help clear things up, though in her field she knew that some things would never see the light of day.

Rounding a corner, she saw who she was looking for. She recognized Commander Zora's face from her personnel file, and she strode up to the woman, putting a smile on her face. "Commander Zora, right?" She asked, double checking she got the right person.

"Last time I checked," Zora replied.

Nayi beamed and stood a little straighter. "Ensign Nayisa Wrea. Great to meet you! I just got transfer orders, but I heard that the intelligence department is um, currently lacking a chief..." Her smile turned sheepish, "so I figured you would be the next best person to report in to, given you're the first officer and all. So here I am, reporting in and introducing you to a new face. I'm starting to ramble, sorry. Hi." It sounded and looked like she said everything in one breath, because she took in an obvious breath when she was done.

"Breathe Ensign Wrea," Zora said as she held up a hand. She thought the short-haired woman looked a bit too old to be an ensign, but she chose not to comment. "I assume that is for me?" She asked as she looked at the PADD in the woman's hand.

"Yes'm," Nayi responded, offering to her. She realized she was a little over-the-top in her excitement and decided to tone it down a little. "I'll be your new infiltration specialist."

"Well let me officially welcome you to the Athena," Zora said as she read over the transfer orders on the PADD. "Infiltration specialist?" Zora repeated. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but aren't people in your position normally more ... reserved?" She asked, thinking of all the intelligence officers she had previously met during her time in Starfleet. "You seem like a ball of pure plasma."

Nayisa chuckled. "No offense taken, Commander. I actually get that a lot. I would call myself reserved, I just don't make it my entire personality like some of my colleagues. You'd be surprised at the things you hear when you don't have a 'doom and gloom' cloud over your head." She scratched the back of her head with a hand and shrugged, "also, with some of the stuff I've worked on, it pays off to keep a positive attitude."

Zora smiled, "I look forward to hearing about some of your adventures someday. For now, as you noted our previous head of department was recently killed on a mission," she paused, an unexpected lump had formed in her throat. "I'm sorry," Zora finally said, noticing that the woman was watching her; another skill for her field Zora guessed. "It's been a tough few weeks, but having someone like yourself onboard should help with morale, as well as the shore leave."

Nayisa gave a superficial smile at the mention of sharing adventures. Even if Zora had the clearance to hear some of the stories, some things would still need to be omitted. When the Commander's expression changed, however, Nayi's own smile faded as she read what looked like loss on Zora's expression. It confirmed her suspicion that the previous intel chief was killed. She wondered if this happened recently, given how choked up the woman got. Nayisa changed her own expression to one of sympathy, "there's no need for apologies, Commander. It's never easy to lose crewmates."

"Indeed it's not," Zora agreed as she composed herself. "It's the one part of this job that I truly hate. However, this is the life we all chose right? And all we can do is honour our fallen comrades and to make sure their deaths are never in vain." She gave the woman a half-smile as she changed her tone. "Speech over, as I mentioned most of the crew is currently on shore leave. Take this time to get to know the ship and her crewmates."

The silver-haired woman nodded, letting the subject change. "Aye, ma'am. I did start looking at the manifest to memorize some faces." A little smile crossed her features when she saw a familiar face on the manifest. While she and Didrea had kept in touch, they hadn't seen each other in person since the Academy. The Trill was definitely in for a surprise. "Since you're here, Commander, I could start by getting to know you. That is, if you're not currently busy?"

"I always have time for fresh faces. I was just about to get a quick bite if you fancy joining me?" Zora said, happy for the new distraction.

Nayisa gave a nod, her smile turning into a friendly one. "I would love to join you, Commander." She extended an open hand in a gesture for her to lead the way, "do you have a place in mind? I hear there are dozens of options in the station's promenade, as well as on the surface." So far, Zora seemed kind, and very laid back, a big difference from the other first officers she had worked under. The XO of the Pioneer seemed like the most laid back guy, but even he didn't dare invite Ensigns to lunch, something about tainting his image. In Nayisa's mind, a first officer who connected with their crew had a better "image" than one who acted like there was a self-sealing stem bolt in a certain location.

"There's a Romulan restaurant on the station I've been meaning to try if you're game?" Zora asked. Seeing the enthusiastic nod from the Ensign, she led the way to the docking hatch. It only took the women a few minutes to get from the docking bay to the
promenade and Zora was happy to see that the Romulan restaurant had seats. They chose some near the huge windows that overlooked the viewing deck of several docked ships. Zora watched as a few worker bees worked on the hull of a Bolian freighter and smiled, she loved the downtime and just being able to watch the universe go by. "Is there anything that takes your fancy?" She asked the young woman.

Nayisa followed along, keeping up with the woman as best as she could with a slight limp, and couldn't help a little sigh of relief when she settled into a seat. It was tiring to heal a bum leg. "After at least two months of rations, I'll eat anything," Nayisa said in a joking manner. Her eyes didn't quite match her lighthearted expression as she recalled just how... south everything went. The mission was not supposed to take as long as it did, and on top of it all, she got demoted. Again. Why was she taking the brunt of someone else's stupidity? "Perhaps some meatrolls?" Following Zora's gaze out the window, she gave a content little nod, not taking it for granted. "This is a gorgeous view."

Zora ordered their food; some meatrolls for the Ensign and a bowl of P'gondi pea soup for herself. "Two months on rations sounds like there's a story there? Does it have anything to do with your limp?" The Commander asked, her inquisitive nature getting the best of her.

A gentle nod came from the silver-haired woman as she folded her hands in her lap. "Yeah... the last mission was pretty long, and everything that could have gone wrong, did. The ship had to hide out in a nebula with no power for two months, and during our last space fight a bulkhead broke my leg in two places, hence the limp." It was an incredibly brief explanation, but it answered the Commander's questions. There was probably more she could have added, but by letting Zora ask questions, Nayisa could figure out how far she was willing to pry. Despite the story, Nayisa gave a kind smile, "doctor's orders are to take it easy for a week, and the Pioneer has been here for four days, so I'm almost back in business."

Zora nodded at the story, she was sure there was much more to it, something for her to pry into later. "Well make sure you are cleared for full active duty before you begin on the Athena," Zora said, "without a current department head, you might have to pull a bit more weight than usual. Up for the challenge?"

"Yes'm," Nayisa replied, both to a medical checkup and to an increased workload. She had already spent a good amount of time in a sickbay and wasn't fond of going back, but she knew it was necessary. "For obvious reasons, I can do more of the deskwork until I'm back on my feet. I plan to stop by the department soon to fet acquainted." She paused, then asked, "if I may, Commander, what happened to the department head?"

"She was trying to rescue a friend when the station they were both on was destroyed," Zora answered matter-of-factly. "She was an... interesting character," Zora added with a half-smile. "She didn't like the rules very much and liked to work in the shadows. As much as I respected the work she did, in my opinion, that's no way to run a department, especially on a starship with a clear chain of command. I trust that is something you can understand?"

"In my experience, a lot of us actually like to work in the shadows," Nayisa said with a shrug. She then gave Zora a wink, "our uniforms are dark gray for a reason. That being said, I do understand what you're saying." While tempting to ask Zora 'if the department does its job, does how the department is run really matter,' given what the woman told her, the answer would probably turn into a lesson. It sounded like Zora didn't like rule-breakers, which was going to pose a problem down the road. Anyone who read her file would see that some of her demotions were due to breaking the rules. But that was a problem for a future version of herself, not for the one who was about to devour the meatrolls that suddenly appeared in front of her. "Thank you for the meal, Commander," Nayi told Zora with a smile.

"You're welcome Ensign," Zora replied with a genuine smile. "Let's hope it tastes as good as it smells," she added as the aroma filled her nostrils. "Tuck in."