Meeting the ChEng

Posted on Mon Oct 5th, 2020 @ 10:08am by Lieutenant Commander Ryan Blake

Mission: The Thorion Conundrum Mission Brief
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: SD 39409.13 / 0900 hours

Ryan entered Main Engineering and stopped an enlisted engineer to ask where the Chief Engineer was. The engineer looked about before shrugging and pointing to the small office near the warp core and dilithium chamber. Ryan gave his thanks and moved to the door and knocking lightly.

"Come," she said as she stood over a large roll-open PADD with schematics of the ship on it. She was tall, 5'11", and try as she might not to, her uniform followed her curves, showing she was quite fit and endowed. Couple that with her full, thick, red curly hair that cascaded down her back and a face that could stop a starship in its warp field, she was intimidating if she weren't careful. oO Type 9 shuttlecraft, Oo she thought to herself. oO Old but still useful with modern equipment loads Oo.

Ryan entered the office to find a tall beauty going over the schematics of a Type 9 Shuttlecraft. He gave a slight nod of his head as he offered his right hand. "Lieutenant Ryan Blake. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me."

"Welcome Lieutenant," she said with a smile.

Ryan returned her smile with a friendly one of his own. "Privilege and honor to meet you."

"Likewise," she said. "Please take a seat. Do you want a drink?"

Ryan took the offered seat as he nodded his head. "Coffee, black and thank you." He made several initial observations of her the few moments. She was quite personable and outgoing. She believed in being hospitable.

"So, tell me a little about yourself," she said, as she got some refreshment. "I read everyone's files on the way over on the USS Alicorn, but real life is often more colorful than a text file on a computer screen," she said with a wry smile and a flick of her eyebrows, indicating a little more to her own past.

Ryan took a sip of his coffee before speaking. He determined she knew exactly how beautiful she was. "I graduated from the Academy about four years ago." He hiked a thumb in the general direction of the starbase superstructure. "Been there ever since. As for hobbies, I play chess and other strategy games. I'm a practitioner of French-style fencing, I enjoy gymnastics and I love outdoor activities such as backpacking and camping." He paused to study Jamie's demeanor. "Mind if I ask what your interests are?"

"Not at all. You sound like a well-rounded officer," Jamie said with a smile as she sat, gesturing for him to do the same. "I play 3D chess, old board games, watch old TV shows and movies and sim them on the holodeck, including my 1982 black Trans-Am, or I sim headmasters and Gundams sometimes. I practice Tae Kwon Do, Krav Maga, and a few other martial arts; the Orions gave me a neural upload with a lot of combat styles I'm still trying to work through. Nothing like punching something to work out your frustrations, right?"

Ryan chuckled at her final comment. "I can certainly relate. The man I worked for prior to getting this billet was an incompetent ass. He would take sole credit for the work the Strategic Operations team and I actually did. We got the overtime and he got the accolades. What about other activities?"

She paused to take a sip of her pyrellian ginger tea, and continued, "I used to camp and backpack up in the Appalachians back home. Blood Mountain was my favorite to hike. It was easier this last time though...the Orions kind of threw a whammy on me and rejiggered my DNA and my 23 chromosomes, but on the plus side, I have a lot more endurance, just some new baggage to carry," she chuckled a little, which jiggled her 'baggage' a little, "and hair that grows like weeds," she looked up and raised her eyebrows, gesturing to her huge mess of red, curly hair that cascaded down her back. She tried to lighten the mood because her voice betrayed some bitterness and regrets.

Ryan carefully kept his eyes on her face, avoiding a glance at her other...assets. "Well, you won't have any problems getting others to pay attention. Let's just hope they actually listen to what you have to say."

"But gotta look at the positive side, right?" Jamie said. "I was a pretty good engineer and graduated valedictorian in my class. My friend Nicholas Taggert, one year before me tried to beat my GPA, but I got him by .017 points. He still hasn't dropped it. I got a good amount of work done at Utopia Planitia my first summer as an ensign over on Mars before getting shipped out, finally meeting Nicky before our shuttle was attacked by the Orions. I'm sure you read that part of my file, right?"

Ryan's expression changed to one of concern. "I'm curious. I'll understand if you don't want to discuss it, but what did they do?"

"We got manipulated so they could try to use us as honeypots, pretty much, spying on Starfleet and blackmailing officers or stealing information," she said as she continued. "But luckily we got rescued before they could mess with our minds. They just turned us into..." she gestured to her body and face, letting the unspoken speak for her.

Ryan, for the second time in their conversation avoided looking at her figure. "What you look like is not nearly as important as what you are capable of in Starfleet. Just remember that." He paused for a small sigh before giving her the slightest of grins. "You could also look on the bright side. You're apt to be the Queen of the next liberty call, especially if we get to Risa."

She laughed a little at that. "You're right Lieutenant," she said catching his drift. She quoted an old movie, slightly, saying "It's good to be the Queen."

"Perhaps we can all have a keg of Risan light ale on the beach with a bonfire. I hear the locals know how to throw a good party. And they get very friendly with humans..."

She wagged her eyebrows a little with another grin. Her lips were fuller than most women and started getting redder and fuller, her eyes began to take a hint of green, and her tunic started poking a little, as she took a breath to calm herself down. "Now that will be a good time."

"Let's...uh...get back to tech talk for a bit. The Orions left me with a little dependency on pheromone blockers, otherwise I might cause a ruckus on the ship with my higher than usual pheromones," she admitted a little guiltily. "Now you're in strategic operations, right? What's the condition of your area of the ship? What do I need to get my department on to get you where you need to be?"

Ryan glanced away from Jamie for a moment. Despite her explanation of using pheremone suppressors, his keen sense of smell could still detect her unusual and compelling scent. "I, um, have to tell you something. I'm already involved in a relationship with someone. It is pretty serious. However, if you're as good at chess as you say, I would love to play in the recreation center from time to time." He paused for a moment. "I studied Krav Maga at the Academy. I may be a little rusty, but as long as you promise not to go to hard on me, I wouldn't mind being a sparring partner."

"Good to know," she said. "All the best to you guys. As long as I'm on my medication, everyone's safe, including me."

She took a sip of her tea and continued their conversation, "Nothing like a good game of chess to unwind, take your mind off things."

Ryan nodded. He actually liked chess for the strategic lessons of move and counter move. It was also a good way to learn how to predict opponent strategy and tactics. "I use the game as a mental exercise and problem solving my father taught me the game when I was five years old."

"I got a sparring program from a friend we could try sometime," she said, continuing his other line of thinking. "it replicates a dojo from Kenichi, an old anime from Earth, where his masters put him through torturous training. I've been meaning to give it a shot. Nothing wrong with a new training partner. Keeps things interesting right?"

"Very true." He glanced at the schematics for the shuttlecraft she had been perusing when he entered. He stood up and put his empty mug in the replicator and depressed the recycle button. 'Well, I have taken up enough of your time." He extended his right hand once again. "Hope we get to see more of each other."

"Likewise, Lieutenant Blake," she said, standing, and giving her hand to shake. "We'll schedule some time in the holodeck later on this week."

Ryan shook Jamie's hand. "It's been a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to working with you in the months to come." He released her hand. "Perhaps we can meet a day or two after the launch." He gave a nod before turning and exiting the office.

Jamie smiled and nodded back, "Sounds like a plan, Lieutenant. I should have engineering in order by then," she said with a laugh as she watched him leave.

OFF