Reporting For Duty

Posted on Jan 07, 2017 @ 7:48am by Commander Jacob Crichton
Edited on on Jan 07, 2017 @ 7:52am

Mission: Aftermath

= Reporting For Duty =

(cont’d from “Hello, Farwell”)

LOCATION: USS PHOENIX

SCENE: Turbolift

STARDATE: [2.17] 0106.0146

TIME INDEX: The morning after Ladies Night

Iphie. It had to be Iphie.

His future ex sister-in-law had been the last person Jake had expected to see when the particularly soused John Maynell had dragged him into The Vulgar Tribble. Just when he thought he was getting acclimated to his new position on the PHOENIX, along came Iphigenia Bonviva to pull the proverbial rug out from beneath his feet. They hadn’t spent much time together, not with the Dominion War on and, later, Jake’s career. But Iphie had a way of turning the volume on things way up, and with Jake and Xana’s divorce decree still sitting unsigned at the bottom of a drawer in Jake’s new quarters, more volume was the last thing Jake wanted. Iphie had stormed off when she’d seen Jake last night, but Jake knew it wouldn’t be long until she decided to share her thoughts on Jake’s role in the dissolution of her sister’s marriage. Starships were very small places, all things considered, and there’d be no hiding from her for long.

Still… why hadn’t he signed the decree?

Here he was, ready to ship off on his new assignment as an Executive Officer, his career firmly on track and the anticipation of adventure humming gently at the back of his mind. It felt like a disservice to say he’d left Xana for this, but there was an element of truth to that; all that remained was for Jake to sign the papers, driving that final nail into the coffin of his marriage.

And then Xana had given him a piece of pie, and a note. And Jake hadn’t signed anything.

As Jake considered whether or not he was simply keeping one foot in his old life in case his new one didn’t work out for him - not the most charitable opinion to have of oneself, Jake knew, but he supposed it was important for command officers to see all the angles - the turbolift slowed to a halt. Jake took an instinctive step to the side to make room for the new occupant.

Sofia Andersson hesitated slightly when she saw the rank pips and color of Jake’s uniform collar. “Commander Crichton!”

Jake looked up; he had spent some time trying to familiarize himself with the new crew, going of duty rosters and service records in an attempt to get to know the people he’d be ordering around for the next few months. He was a quick study, but remembering names had never come naturally to him - part of the reason why he so often gave nicknames to his subordinates. He thought he recognized the officer standing before him as part of the new medical team, but he couldn’t put a name to the face.

“Good morning, ensign,” Jake said, wisely sticking with just her rank to save himself from embarrassment.

“I didn’t- that is, we haven’t met yet,” Sofia said, still not having actually stepped aboard the turbolift.

“You’re part of Commander Jos’ medical team,” Jake ventured.

“Yes sir. Sofia Andersson, sir.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ensign Andersson,” Jake said. Sofia smiled at him, though she didn’t look exactly relieved. Also, she still hadn’t stepped aboard the turbolift.

“Uh…” Jake said. “Permission to come aboard granted.”

“Oh!” Sofia stepped aboard,and the door closed behind her. “Deck 12.”

The turbolift began to move once more. Jake couldn’t help but notice the way Sofia was standing, as if she were waiting for him to suddenly turn at throw a punch at her. He took a step away from her, thinking it might make her more comfortable.

“Are you alright, ensign?”

“Uh, fine, sir,” Sofia said. “Thank you sir.”

“We’re in an elevator,” Jake said. “You don’t have to keep calling me ‘sir’.”

“Rank doesn’t count in an elevator, sir?”

“Not this one,” Jake smiled. “As boss of the elevator, I decree it.”

Sofia smiled, and relaxed a little. “I’m sorry, si- Commander. I just… may I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Have you… looked at my service record, sir?”

Now Jake looked uncomfortable. “Well. I guess I might have just skimmed it, but I only arrived on the ship yesterday.”

Sofia frowned. “So you don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“That I... I was with the Neo-Essentialists, sir,” Sofia said.

Jake shook his head. “Nah. That’s the other new one. Ryan.”

“And me, sir.” Her eyes dropped to the floor of the turbolift. “I was a supporter of Edgerton in the beginning,sir. Even after the fleet arrived over Earth. Until…”

Jake nodded. “Paris.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jake thought of Cindy Rochemonte, left behind in her sparsely furnished apartment back on Earth, alone with her grief. He knew what she would say, if she were here now, and it wouldn’t be charitable.

“I guess that explains why you look like you’re waiting for me to take a swing at you,” Jake said.

“I know I should have seen what he was,” Sofia said. “Looking back, all the signs were there-”

“Wait.” Sofia abruptly stopped, then looked up at him. “This isn’t a confessional, Andersson. You have amends to make, maybe, but you didn’t push the button, and you don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

“With everything he did to you all, I don’t know how you could-”

“Grudges give you ulcers,” Jake said. “Edgerton’s dead, and the people directly culpable in his rise to power are paying the price for it. They didn’t throw you in the stockade, they sent you here, and that’s good enough for me.”

Sofia hesitated, then slowly nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“You know, you could have just not said anything.”

“You would have found out eventually.”

“I guess so,” Jake nodded. “Still, I appreciate your honesty. Couldn’t have been easy broaching that subject.”

“No sir.”

The turbolift slid to a halt, and the doors parted. Sofia Andersson stepped out, then turned to look back at Jake.

“I hope you’ll find my work to your satisfaction, sir,” she said.

“I’m sure I will, ensign. It was nice to meet you.”

=[/\]=

SCENE: Captain’s Ready Room

Jake stepped inside to find Michael Turlogh Kane seated behind his desk, a tableau that Jake had seen dozens of times during the months they’d spent on the run from the Neo-Essentialists. This was the first time Jake had entered as Executive Officer, however; Jake had a good working relationship with Kane already, but this represented an evolution of their previous association. Before, Jake was one of several department heads, providing counsel to the captain along with the rest of the team. Now, Jake would be Kane’s confidant, at once his biggest supporter and his most vigilant critic.

“Commander Crichton,” Kane said, a smile quirking one side of the Irishman’s mouth as he rose from behind his desk.

“Reporting for duty, sir,” Jake said.

“I was pleased to see the powers that be tapped you as my second in command,” Kane said, stepping forward to shake Jake’s hand.

“I think General Towers may have had a hand in that, sir.”

“Mmm.” Kane released Jake’s hand, then turned and returned to his chair behind his desk. “So, how are you finding your new assignment? Command Malin-Argo mentioned you crossed paths in Main Engineering.”

“Did he?”

“Yes,” Kane said, his gold-eye seeming to twinkle. “Did you get lost as you came aboard, Jake?”

Jake smiled. “Last looks and all that. It was… weird seeing somebody else running things down there.”

“It takes some getting used to,” said Kane. “You’ll need to do it quickly, though. Command will have us on our way in a matter of days.”

“I’m eager to head out,” Jake said. “It will be good to get back to normal.”

“I agree,” Kane sighed. “We’re still getting through systems tests after the PHOENIX’s refit, though Malin-Argo has sped that process up considerably. With the help of your old team, of course.”

“Best in the fleet,” Jake smiled.

“And apparently, Starfleet Commander wants to run an integrated systems check on the main computer before we get underway. Shouldn’t take long, but whoever they’re sending to run the test is taking his time getting here.”

“Malin-Argo didn’t insist he could do the job himself?”

Kane chuckled. “He did, actually. But Starfleet wants to bring in a specialist. The PHOENIX is a big investment for the Federation, so I suppose they have to have someone come in and see that all the rivets are tightened and beds are made, just to satisfy the bureaucrats.”

“They can’t keep us waiting much longer,” Jake shrugged. “The PHOENIX languishing in spacedock doesn’t make for a very good photo op.”

“No, I suppose it doesn’t.”

“I’ve started drawing up duty rosters and scheduling drills of various departments,” Jake said. “Just because we’re not going anywhere doesn’t mean we can’t be the best at not going anywhere.”

“Good. It’s been a pleasure having you as my chief engineer, Commander Crichton. Now see if you can match yourself.”

=[/\]=

NRPG: I realized I forgot to have Jake report for duty, and I thought I should get started with having him meet all our new faces.

JEROME and TIFFANY: Hope I did okay with your characters!

Shawn Putnam

A.k.a.

Jake Crichton

Executive Officer

USS PHOENIX