You Can't Go Home Again

Posted on Dec 31, 2016 @ 6:37pm by Commander Jacob Crichton
Edited on on Dec 31, 2016 @ 6:38pm

Mission: Aftermath

= You Can’t Go Home Again =

(cont’d from “And Then She Walked In Like She Owned The Place”)

LOCATION: USS PHOENIX

SCENE: Main Engineering

STARDATE: [2.16] 1231.1452

Chaucer wriggled out from beneath the antimatter storage pod, his engineering tricorder clutched in one clawed hand, and found himself staring up at the PHOENIX’s new Chief Engineering Officer. Chaucer had never met a Grazerite before; Commander Malin-Argo’s face bore some superficial resemblance to the faces of Humans, Vulcans, Klingons, and the like, but aside from binocular eyes and nasal slits oriented at roughly the center of the face, the Grazerite was quite unlike any other being Chaucer had so far encountered. Malin-Argo was shorter than Chaucer - though in their current positions that made no difference - and stockier, and he seemed always to have a pinched expression, as though the muscles of his face never quite relaxed. Chaucer had enough trouble reading human expressions, and the body language of a Grazerite was a complete mystery. Chaucer was getting better at recognizing tone, though - perhaps because his Vox always said things in precisely the same way, without the richness of cadence or inflection so often present in *actual* speech.

So when Malin-Argo spoke, Chaucer thought he recognized the tone immediately: the Commander did not sound pleased.

“Ensign Chaucer.”

Malin-Argo took a discrete step back, allowing Chaucer to climb up off the floor and raise himself up to his full height. Chaucer now stood a comfortable three inches taller than the Grazerite, and yet this seemed to have no effect on Malin-Argo’s expression or demeanor. He stared evenly up at Chaucer, his expression still a mystery, but his tone clear enough.

“You were assigned this task over 90 minutes ago,” said Malin-Argo. “Why has it taken you this long to complete it?”

Chaucer looked down at the space he’d just clawed his way out off. The maintenance access beneath the antimatter storage pods was tight even for someone half Chaucer’s size, and the big Gorn had found it difficult to complete his deionization sweep without twisting the wrong way and getting himself wedged.

When it had been Jake Crichton in charge of things in Main Engineering, Chaucer would not have been relegated to such a menial task in the first place. Crichton had recognized Chaucer’s potential from the start, and though the Gorn had no official commission, he quickly became one of Crichton’s direct lieutenants. After returning to Earth and settling things with the Neo-Essentialists, Chaucer had decided to accept the advice of his new friends and petition to officially join Starfleet. His skills, as well as his glowing evaluation from both Crichton and Captain Kane, had been enough to earn him an ensign’s commission, as well as reassignment aboard the PHOENIX. There was some concern about Chaucer’s inability to communicate verbally, but Starfleet had made accommodations for such things in the past, and it had never gotten in the way during his early days aboard the ship. Chaucer had accepted the posting with pride. He’d heard that Cindy Rochemonte would not be returning, and he would miss having her around, but Maynell and Elgin and Crichton would all still be there, and Chaucer could begin his Starfleet career in a familiar setting, surrounded by people he knew he could trust.

But things hadn’t exactly worked out that way. Malin-Argo was running the engine room now, and he seemed to be of the opinion that no officer should be above grunt work, and certainly not fresh-faced Gorn who’d earned their spot without ever spending a day in the Academy, learning proper procedure. Malin-Argo had taken one look at what passed for Chaucer’s service record, sniffed, and assigned Chaucer to deionize the antimatter storage containers until further notice.

“Well?” Malin-Argo asked again. “I’m waiting, Ensign.”

Chaucer looked back up to Malin-Argo, then down at the tiny space beneath the storage pod. Then he looked back up at Malin-Argo, and shrugged one shoulder slowly.

“That is not an acceptable response to question, Ensign,” Malin-Argo said. “I will ask again: why has it taken you so long to complete this assignment?”

“Excuse me sir.” Malin-Argo and Chaucer both turned to see John Maynell standing nearby. He looked nervous (Chaucer had spent enough time with Maynell to have a reliable read on his facial expressions).

“What is it, Mr. Maynell?” Malin-Argo asked.

“Ensign Chaucer can’t speak, sir,” Maynell said. “He use his Vox for limited verbal communication, but mostly he--”

“He relies on pantomime,” Malin-Argo said, turning back to Chaucer. “Yes, I’m aware of the Ensign’s file, Mr. Maynell, as I am aware what he intended with his gesture. I take it that you mean you were too large to fit beneath the storage pod, Ensign Chaucer?”

Chaucer lifted his wrist and activated his Vox. [[Yes.]]

“And yet you did not convey this information to your commanding officer,” Malin-Argo said. “I would have given you another assignment. Instead, you took it upon yourself to complete a task to which you were not suited, wasting valuable time in the process, rather than report to me. Maybe you were concerned about first impressions, which is understandable, given your… ‘situation’...”

“Sir, with all due respect-” Maynell started, but Malin-Argo flashed a cold stare in his direction, and Maynell abruptly shut up.

“...but I expect my officers to keep me abreast of all new developments concerning their assignments as well as their fitness for duty,” the Grazerite said, looking back to Chaucer. “Regardless of how such reports may reflect on them. Is that clear, Ensign Chaucer?”

Chaucer raised his Vox once more. [[Yes.]]

Malin-Argo nodded once. “Good. Then it won’t happen again. Understand, Ensign, I am willing to give you the chance to prove that your disability will not inhibit your ability to discharge your duties as a member of my engineering staff, but this necessarily comes with extra scrutiny. I am going to be paying very close attention to your ability to communicate, both with me and with your crewmates-”

“Excuse me, Commander.”

Malin-Argo turned, exasperated that he’d been interrupted once again, but whatever he was about to say died on his lips when he spotted the familiar red hue of a command uniform, as well as three shiny rank pips to equal his own. Jake Crichton stood, his familiar brown rucksack draped across his chest, looking not at Malin-Argo but at Chaucer. The Gorn pulled his lips up away from his teeth, in that familiar snarl-smile expression that he’d adopted after spending so much time around humans.

Jake smiled. “How’s it going, big guy?”

[[My name is Chaucer,]] Chaucer’s Vox buzzed, exactly the same way it always did but somehow managing to sound pleased to see Jake at the same time.

“Commander Crichton,” Malin-Argo said, still standing at rigid attention.

“Jake,” John Maynell smiled.

“At ease, commander,” Jake said. He was getting used to having to say that again; when he’d been Chief Engineer, the environment had been so informal that his officers quickly realized that Jake wasn’t the kind of person to stand on ceremony, or to keep track of who was and wasn’t puffing out their chests whenever he walked into the room. Now that he was a command officer and Vice Head Honcho of the whole ship, people had started snapping to attention again whenever he rounded a corner or stepped into a turbolift.

Malin-Argo relaxed, but only a little. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Already?” Jake smiled. “We’ve only just met.”

“Is that permission, sir?”

Jake crossed his arms. “Alright. Go ahead.”

“I found the area of bulkhead back behind the warp chamber that you vandalized,” Malin-Argo said. “I don’t imagine anyone else would have taken the time to climb all the way back the to carve the phrase ‘CRICHTON WAS HERE’ into a section of paneling.”

“You found that?” Jake asked. He was impressed. Most of the engineering officers Jake had met liked to think of themselves as thorough, but few of them actually took the time to check out every section of their engine room, to get to truly know it from top to bottom. In Jake’s early days as an engineer, he’d taken to finding some out of the way spot in the engineering section of every ship or station which he’d served aboard, and to carve “CRICHTON WAS HERE” into the wall. He’d come to think of the mark as a good luck charm, though it hadn’t always worked - he’d carved the phrase in Main Engineering aboard the USS DISCOVERY shortly before its destruction.

“I found it on my first day,” Malin-Argo said.

“You didn’t get rid of it, did you?” Jake asked. “That’s good luck.”

“I left it until I could decide if I should bring it to the captain’s attention,” Malin-Argo said. “Given your previous history with Captain Kane, I doubt there would be anything like an official reprimand, so I’m content to simply have the panel refinished and put the whole matter behind us. Chalk it up to ‘humans being humans’.”

“Thank you for your discretion, Commander,” Jake said, frowning. “Might I ask what your issue is with Ensign Chaucer here?”

“I believe Ensign Chaucer’s disability might be a detriment to the running of this engine room,” Malin-Argo said, without looking at Chaucer.

“It won’t be,” Jake said.

“As you say,” Malin-Argo said. “But with all due respect, commander, that is something I have a right to discover for myself.”

“Sure,” Jake nodded. “But as First Officer aboard this ship, I have a duty to make sure none of the crew has been singled out for discrimination. You can decide for yourself whether or not he’s fit for duty… what you *can’t* do, not so long as I’m your boss, is dress him down in the middle of the Engineering room, in front of all his peers, for something that isn’t his fault and that you’re not even sure is a problem yet.”

[[No.]]

Jake and Malin-Argo both looked at Chaucer. He was no longer snarl-smiling, and he was looking at Jake. He triggered his Vox.

[[No. Help.]]

Chaucer’s yellow eyes did not leave Jake. The big Gorn waited a beat, then triggered his Vox.

[[My name is Chaucer.]]

Malin-Argo looked confused, or at least looked like what passed for confused on a Grazerite face. Jake looked like he understood; he’d worked closely enough with Chaucer to have a read on the different ways Chaucer used each of the four spoke phrases at his disposal. Combining that with Chaucer’s eye for body language and physical gestures, made it nearly possible to engage the Gorn in a fluid conversation… provided you were willing to be patient. Malin-Argo didn’t strike Jake as the patient type, not when it came to something like this.

“This is what I mean,” Malin-Argo said, turning back to Jake. “I’m not sure what the Ensign is trying to convey, and I don’t have time to ask him a hundred probing questions trying to suss out his meaning.”

“He’s saying he doesn’t need me to stick up for him,” Jake said, looking at the Grazerite. “He wants to apologize for not bringing his problem with the antimatter pods to your attention sooner, and he will do better in the future.”

Malin-Argo crossed his arms. “He said all of that with three phrases?”

Jake shrugged. “I might have jazzed it up a little. The point is, Commander, that Chaucer’s got the makings of an exceptional officer, and he’s ready to work hard to get there. Now it’s a question of how much his commanding officer is willing to work with him.”

“I would never ask my staff to shoulder a burden I wasn’t prepared to shoulder alongside them,” Malin-Argo said, matter-of-factly, as though he didn’t even take any particular pride in it. “If Chaucer is able to perform, I will be happy to have him.”

“As long as we understand each other,” Jake said. He looked at Chaucer. “We good?”

[[Yes.]]

“Good.” Jake looked back to Malin-Argo. “As you were, then. Nice to see you, John.”

This last he said to John Maynell, who still stood nearby, looking between Jake, Chaucer, and Malin-Argo. Then Jake turned to leave, and took a few steps before Malin-Argo stopped him. “Commander Crichton.”

Jake turned back to look at him. “Yes?”

“I’m familiar with your record, and the reports of your time aboard the PHOENIX,” Malin-Argo said. “You have a fine mind for engineering, and I have a great deal of respect for you and your achievements.”

Jake suddenly felt a little awkward. “Uh. Thank you, commander.”

“I expect that such respect will go both ways,” Malin-Argo continued. “This is not my first posting out of the academy, sir, and I know my job very well. You served as Chief Engineer of this ship admirably for some time, but you have taken a new posting of your own accord and I have been assigned your old one. With all due respect, this is my engine room now.”

Jake didn’t like the way that sounded, but there wasn’t really anything he could say against it, was there? He stood in front of Malin-Argo for another few seconds, then smiled.

“It’s going to be interesting working with you, Commander,” he said.

“Likewise, sir,” Malin-Argo replied.

=[/\]=

NRPG: One last post before the year ends! Thought I should at least get Jake aboard the ship, and I wanted to check in on Chaucer, whom we hadn’t heard from in awhile. Looking forward to 2017, Happy New Year everyone!

Shawn Putnam

A.k.a.

Jake Crichton

Executive Officer

USS PHOENIX