Welcome to the Circus

Posted on 06 Jan 2021 @ 4:35pm by Captain Mallory Thorne & Commander Indi Hawk

1,277 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Ab Intra

It had been a long trip, and Indi had had a lot of time to think while she was on the ship that brought her to Albus, to the Odin. She'd been able to tag along pretty quickly, and she'd been given her own quarters given her previous position within the Union Fleet. It had suited her just fine, because she'd barely left it. The farewells with her family hadn't been easy, especially not with all the recent times they'd already spent apart. This time however, there was no way for them to tell when they'd see each other again, if not over subspace.

Eventually, she had to leave her quarters and find her way over to her new ones aboard the Odin. It was a small ship. A displaced ship. She had no intention to like it there, but then again, that didn't matter. She was a Union Officer, always had been. She went wherever she was sent. Over the years, she'd been sent to far more scary and remote places than this small ship. She'd make it work.

A short time later found her ringing the chime to the CO's office.

For a change, things had been quiet for a few days aboard the Odin. Most of the crew was taking advantage of the planet below and much-needed time off. On the downside, a few key positions were empty again with this latest ship-wide issue seeing many back in a coma. Not that she blamed anyone for wanting to sleep through this stuff...

Her chime rang. "Enter," she called, wondering who it was.

Indi stepped inside and took in the office and the woman sitting behind the desk in one glance. Eventually, her gaze rested on the Captain the moment she came to a halt in front of said desk. "Commander-" the rank alone tasted bad, "-Indi Hawk, reporting as ordered," she spoke crisply but with no open hostility as her eyes never left the woman. Her implants--having been blind since very early childhood--continued to monitor everything.

Mal arched a brow. Commander Hawk? Who? She looked over the PADDs on her desk and found one from General Stanton that she'd been avoiding. She scanned it quickly and didn't like it. At least this was explained... "Welcome aboard, Commander," Mal said grudgingly. "Have a seat, if you like." She picked up the PADD to quickly scan the rest.

The surprise wasn't lost on Indi as she took the proffered seat and motioned with one hand to the PADD. "I apologize for being dumped on your ship, obviously so unexpectedly," she spoke in a neutral tone that could basically mean anything to anyone who didn't know her.

Although she didn't really believe the other woman, the captain didn't say so. "We're getting used to it," she said blandly instead. On the upside, perhaps Hawk wasn't any happier to be here than Mal was to have here her. "The file I received from General Stanton doesn't give much background on you."

"What would you like to know, Captain?" Indi asked easily.

"I'm curious if there's a particular reason why you've been dispatched to be this ship's chief of security," Mal said evenly. "You seem a bit high up on the food chain for a job like that."

A bit very high up on the food chain, Indi thought fleetingly. But that was hardly the topic for this conversation. "Apparently, you've got quite the reputation at Union HQ. They sent me here to keep an eye on you guys," she shrugged. The truth was always far easier than an intricate lie.

Mal stifled an annoyed grunt. "I can imagine what our reputation is, but please, enlighten me, Commander. Just what is our rep at Union HQ these days?"

"I believe the exact wording was: they seem to have developed a knack for stumbling onto situations more interesting than we would prefer," Indi replied without missing a beat.

"Well..." Mal admitted grudgingly. "I can't exactly say that's wrong. Frankly, we have a knack for stumbling onto situations more interesting than I would prefer too. They just seem to find us." She paused and tilted her head slightly. "Of course, I'm not entirely sure how your presence is going to stop that."

Indi could hardly argue with that point as she whole heartedly agreed with it. "I'll do my best in my capacity as your Chief of Security. Aside from that, I'll be sending regular reports about my observations, but that'll hardly keep things from getting interesting."

The Odin's captain could at least appreciate the straightforward reply. "I'll be honest with you. I can't say I'm thrilled with all the babysitters that General Stanton is throwing at us."

"I can't blame you, Captain," Indi replied after a few moments during which she tried to decide how honest this supposed honesty was. She didn't know the other woman well enough yet. Then again, she didn't sense much deceit yet either. "I wouldn't be too thrilled in your stead either. But be that as it may, you'll have to deal with it."

So I've learned... Outwardly, Mallory nodded. "Have you been briefed on the Odin beyond its too-interesting status?"

Had she been briefed? Well. No. Aside from marching orders, nobody had bothered to brief her much. She'd been given access to everything the Union had on the Odin, but all in all, it wasn't much. Not much interesting anyway. "I prefer to discover things with my own eyes. I've read your official file, but I'll form an opinion for myself over the upcoming time."

"That's fair," Mal agreed carefully. So far, this one hadn't been quite as...obviously obnoxious as past ones, which made her suspicious. "Do you have any questions at this point in time?"

Indi thought for a moment. "What are your plans with the people in Sickbay? Are you going to dump your replacements back to Union HQ when you wake up? Demote those that have stepped up to do the best they can?"

Mal's pale brow arched again. "Every member of this crew, conscious or in a coma, will remain on this ship while they live," she said simply. "As for what will happen if they wake up, that will depend on their condition when they do so and it will be handled as such. On a case-by-case basis."

The Captain's answer was much more fascinating to Indi on a human level, than it was on the intellectual and professional one which the woman was probably assuming it was. Which suited her just fine. She didn't immediately want to put all her cards on the table. "That's fair," she agreed, she'd heard what had been said.

Something was suddenly unsettled in Mal's mind, although she couldn't put her finger on what it was or what--in the past ten seconds--had caused the change. She set it aside for now... "Alright," she continued. She looked at the PADD on her desk again. "It seems you've already been assigned quarters on deck two. Your office will be on deck six."

"Deck two and deck six. Got it," Indi replied. She hadn't intended to shift the conversation, but she also felt the change. Like the temperature in the room had dropped by several degrees at once. "Was there anything else, Captain?"

"No, Commander," Mal said after a moment. "Go ahead and settle in. The ship remains on downtime for a little while longer before we set off, so this is a good time for it."

Indi nodded as she got to her feet. "Thank you, Captain. By your leave," she spoke as she turned on her heel and left.

 

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