[USS Ottawa] A moment of clarity

Posted on Thu Oct 25th, 2018 @ 1:52am by Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Sharpe & Ensign Emily Patterson

927 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: [USS Ottawa] S1, E3: The True Way
Location: Bridge
Timeline: 06/02/2394, 1315 Hours

"Commander Sharpe, may I have a moment of your time?" Asked Emily, as she walked to the center of the bridge.

How do they do this for so long? Gabe asked himself as he shifted uncomfortably in the centre seat, part of him wondering why he'd taken the job of second officer. It was good for his career but not so good for him. As a man that worked as much as he did, sitting around wasn't his idea of a productive time.

"Of course Ensign." He said, turning to face Emily, in truth glad for the distraction.

"Engineering is operating at peak efficiency, you would be proud sir." Said Emily, with a big grin on her face.

"Well I would hope so, otherwise I'd have to get annoyed." Gabe answered with a smile.

"Do you need an extra hand on the bridge?" She asked, wanting to be close to her mentor. There team down in engineering were board, Emily left them running diagnostics. She was hoping there was something to do on the bridge.

"Take Engineering one, though I doubt things up here will be much better then down there." Gabe rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I may have to order a background radiation survey, just ta give everyone somethin' ta do."

"You have to do that sir, I have your engineers running diagnostic checks." She said in a teasing voice. Everyone was extremely bored.

"I must have skipped the sittin' around doin' bugger all course at the Academy." He replied with a chuckle, "That or I slept through it, though it does give me a new respect for those that work up here everyday."

"I wonder how the mission with Commodore Martinez and Commander Sanchez is going?" Asked Emily, curious if Gabe would share any information.

"Wish I knew, The Commodore hasn't been in contact yet. Knowin' him he'll be sat in a bar dealing with things."

Emily tried not to laugh at his comment. She knew that Gabe and Commodore Martinez, were good friends. "I have no doubt, they will tell us, when the time is right." She said, trying to avoid making any comment about that bar.

"He'll be busy, no doubt. Though i'm not sure I like havin' so many of the command crew gone at once but that may just be the current situation... or lack thereof. If all we have ta do is sit around, we coulda stayed on Risa." Gabe shrugged, "If nothin' else we'll have a good baseline for the crew's patience, which can't be much lower then mine around now."

"I wonder what its like to meet a Cardassian? I heard conversations with a Cardassian can be a bit trying at times. Never had the honor." She said, wondering if Gabe, ever had that honor.

"It can take some gettin' used ta. The Cardassian's like their cloak an' dagger, sometimes a little too much. Based solely on the Cardassians I've met in the past, it's best ta figure at least 90 percent of what their tellin' ya is a lie or at the very least the truth stretched pretty thin." Gabe answered

"Sound almost as bad as a Tellarite. The idea of insulting each other to show respect is strange. But a race that loves to banter with cloak and dagger, is a race to watch closely." She said, thinking she understood Gabe's concern more.

"Then there's the occupation of Bajor, even now most Cardassians I've met still say they were helpin' the Bajorans. That one takes some high level mental gymnastics ta work out. If ya ask me Starfleet sat that one out fa far ta long, but that's just my thoughts on the matter." He replied, standing up. "Hindsight fixes a lotta problems." He added with a slight sigh.

"I hear that, I also heard that the Maquis are back struggling for independence. Nothing ever seems dull when you talk about the Cardassians, is it sir?" Emily asked. She could not believe how much drama followed this race.

Gabe chuckled, though there was no humour in it. "They do have a way of makin' friends and influencin' people that's fa sure. Frankly the fact their askin' fa help now worries me, but at least fa now we'll have ta play the game, see where this all goes, it could be genuine, but who knows."

"As you say Commander, we will have to play the game, I hope its short one. I rather be exploring." She said with a big grin on her face. She wondered what the Cardassians were up too. And she wondered what role the USS Ottawa would play in it.

Gabe stood up and started to pace the bridge, "Tell me about it, hopefully this thing with the Cardassian's goes quickly and smoothly though somehow I doubt it. So stay alert and be ready for anything."

"No small task, so if I understand correctly sleep with one eye open?" She asked Sarcastically. She was mainly teasing, but she was curious to see how her mentor was going to respond.

"Somethin' like that." He replied, the fact he'd been busy recently arming his workshop not lost on him. He walked over to the science station.

"Run a level 3 scan on the system, let me know if anything looks out of place." He said quietly to the ensign, who nodded once in reply.

"I just hope everything goes ta plan, last thing we need right now is the Cardassians on our backs."

"Aye sir." Said Emily, as the scene starts to fade.

 

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