It's About Time

Posted on 30 May 2021 @ 11:42pm by Chief Petty Officer Nicole Walker & Captain Mallory Thorne

519 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Home
Location: Captain's Office

Her mouth opening, Nicole stared wide-eyed at the unexpected message on her personal datapad.

"About damn time..." she had finally spoken out loud, even though she was the only one there.

She was at her apartment, had gotten ready for her first day on the job at the Academy's administrative offices as a temporary administrative assistant, and it was not something she'd been looking forward to. But now, she felt great relief and smiled gleefully as she headed out the door and towards the enlisted personnel resources office instead.

Later, she walked through the Odin with an air of confidence, as if she belonged there. Smoothly making her way to the Captain's office, she pressed the chime button as soon as she reached the door.

The one on the other side of that door was not quite as cheerful. Mallory was looking over the latest barrage of communications from Starfleet Command and the one currently up on the screen was about new personnel. "We've been back all of five minutes and they're already sending me people..."

The chime rang, and she looked up suspiciously. Well, that would be quite the coincidence. "Enter," she called, leaning back and schooling her expression to neutral.

The doors slid open and Nicole walked in. Tall and long-legged in her uniform skirt, she self-assuredly approached the Captain, to stand at Starfleet attention before the desk. "Chief Petty Office Nicole Walker reporting in as your new yeoman, Captain."

Okay, that's weird timing, Mal thought, but she didn't give voice to that. She smiled politely. "Welcome aboard, chief. Have a seat." She gestured to the chairs in front of her desk.

Nicole smiled, "Thank you, Captain," and sat down. "I won't be getting comfortable. I'll be doing a lot more standing from here on out," she added somewhat impishly.

Mal's brow quirked slightly. "To be honest, I've never had a yeoman on the Odin, so I'm not really sure how to work with your department. We have had the general admin pool, of course, but no specified command yeoman."

Nicole's brows raised slightly in response, her tone upbeat. "Well, you and I can work together to find what works best for you. Whether that means you decide to share my administrative skills with others or keep them for yourself." She tapped a manicured finger a couple of times on the datapad in her lap as she continued, "Not every Captain or commanding officer has the same needs. In short Captain, there is a lot of flexibility and adaptability in a yeoman's role."

So... She basically just had to figure it out for herself. Cool. Mallory chuckled and nodded. "I'm sure we'll figure it out. You've been briefed on what the ship was through recently, I'm sure?"

"Yes, I have," Nicole's expression had become sober. "I'm really sorry. If there is anything I can do to help any transition go easier, please let me know. I'd love to help."

Mal chuckled wryly. "I'm not sure if we're transitioning so much as pretending the last year didn't happen."

Nicole nodded, inhaling deeply, "I can only imagine."

 

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