Stay

Posted on Mon Feb 13th, 2023 @ 7:12am by Senior Chief Petty Officer Thral Skrit & Lieutenant Sturgis O'Connell

Mission: Character Development
Location: Chief Engineers Office. #NotMyChief! #FinnleyRules
Timeline: Prior to the bomb.
751 words - 1.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Senior Chief Petty Officer Thral Skrit. Sturgis read through his profile while he waited for the man to arrive in his office. His record was admirable and reviews from previous commanders seemed to indicate that he was a sound engineer. There were a few colorful spots on his resume, so to speak, but nothing to keep Sturgis from thinking he wouldn't be an excellent addition to the Athena's engineering department.

"Enter," Sturgis stood as the chime rang and walked around his desk, extending his hand to the Andorian as he entered. "Welcome."

"A'right guv!" Thral exclaimed as he walked into the bosses gaff, gripping the blokes outstretched hand with both of his and then gently punched the man in his shoulder. " 'ows it 'angin?" He offered a characteristically wide grin and stepped back before taking an unoffered seat.

What? The entire exchange had Sturgis temporarily thrown off guard. He struggled to translate whatever version of English the man spoke. Not to mention his casual attitude and how he punched him in the arm did nothing to help his brain's processing power. "Um, please have a seat," he tried to quickly recover and motioned towards the chair in front of his desk while wondering if he truly wanted to ask this man to stay.

"I've been reading your file and the mission reports from the Avalon. Very interesting stuff," Sturgis noted with a nod of approval. He still wasn't entirely confident in asking Thral to stay, but decided to not let first impressions ruin what looked like a promising fit. "I'll cut straight to the point. I'd like to know if you would consider staying on the Athena. We could use another good hand and I think you have the skills to meet the task."

"Wey hey!" Thral exclaimed, slapping his thighs and waving his hands in the air like the old Human 'jazz hands' style of movement. "' 'ere boss if you're lookin' for a good brass band I got two of 'em!" he chuckled at his own joke, quite content that he was a funny man. "Tell ya what though guv, if a plasma flue aint enuff an' you're wantin' free of 'em, you should go to Dantares Four! Boooootiful wimmin, gawjus! 'ands aint the only fing they got free of eiver!" he gave the Lieutenant a highly exaggerated wink.

"I'm not sure I entirely follow," O'Connell's face was scrunched in confusion. Was the universal translator broken? Or was he just going crazy? Either way he needed clarification. "Is that a yes?"

Thral held his hands up and spun them around as if Sturgis was going to be inspecting them for cleanliness back and front; "two yesses guv!" he said excitedly. "Woss er.... woss the ratio you reckon, fellas and twist n twirls in engineering?" he looked through the window of the Chiefs office as it backed into engineering and tried to see the rough makeup of men to women, hopefully a few pretty little things would be on board. The Boss' quizzical look forced another wink in Thral; "wundrin' if some ov 'em might like a bit o' blue is all". Thral chastised himself, he hadn't even thought to ask - "Oh er sorry guv, you cut n carried? Trouble n strife? An 'im at 'ome?".

Seriously, what is with the universal translator? He wondered. Surely he wasn't supposed to understand what was being said. Right? "The ratio is too much work and too few engineers, which is why we need you." Sturgis purposely chose to reframe the question and ignored the follow up questions, seeing as how he really had no clue what they meant anyway. "Thank you for stopping by," he rose from his seat. "I look forward to working with you on the Athena." I think. He offered the Andorian a final handshake and hoped he'd find his way back out the door, leaving Sturgis to ponder over this decision he had made.

"Job's a goodun guv" Thral beamed, firmly shaking the Chief's hand. He headed for the door and turned around for a moment, catching a well-recovered look of utter bewilderment on Sturgis' face. "Oh err guv, I'll 'ave a look on the roster for me direct pitch n toss and then get on wiv me Bolian bob tomorra. Keep 'em swingin' chief" he finished, with a large smile and a firm nod, before heading off to find someone in operations who could sort him out with a berth.