Tea Time Talk

Posted on Tue Jan 4th, 2011 @ 4:08pm by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & Lieutenant Colonel Anastasia DeVries
Edited on on Tue Jan 4th, 2011 @ 4:57pm

Mission: Hippocratic Hijacking
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: A while after 'The Blond and the Gray'

=Captain's Ready Room, USS Arizona=

Captain Nathan Cowell sank back into his chair after having launched a fluffy pillow assault on his upstart of a First Officer. Honestly, the nerve of that kid to try and put ass print grooves in his brand new chair. He was going to have to do something about that boy and soon...

Having so far neglected to check the manifest of officers who had recently boarded the ship, Nathan decided he might as well rectify that situation. Names had begun to populate the once sparse departmental breakdown. When they had left dry-dock, they had less than a hundred names in all, it would have been more accurate to say that if they had fifty bodies all over the ship they were doing good. The one good thing about having been given a Tactical Cruiser to Captain was the aversion most mercenary groups had with prying on a ship that could easily tear a ship apart even at minimum manning.

One name that came across the recent arrival list was a Marine Major, who would be filling his Chief Security Officer billet. The name DeVries stood out, as if he'd heard the name before. It wasn't uncommon for Nathan to see a name and think if familiar, having met dozens of people over the last half-millennia that had identical names, it was hard to tell whether it was a recent acquaintance or one from decades or even centuries before. Nathan toyed with the idea of calling her up to see him for a moment before his door chime sounded.

"Come," Nathan said, half-expecting Lt. Cmdr. Mantell to be the one to walk in.

Crossing the threshold that led her into the cozy office space, Stace S. DeVries raised an eyebrow at the wrinkled balding man who sat comfortably in the large chair behind the rather large desk. At first she wasn't sure what to make of the sight. Was this Captain What's His Name?

"I'm assuming you would be the man in charge?" she questioned curiously.

"That would be me. I'm assuming you're here about your job in security," Doc Cowell countered.

Stace nodded as she approached him. "Figured I'd stop by and see what was what. Not interrupting am I Captain?"

"Unless you call interrupting my throwing pillows at that boy on the bridge important ship's business, then no, you're not interrupting a damn thing other than my being bored. Sit, take a load off," the El-Aurian offered, pointing to one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

Taking a seat in the chair nearest to her, Stace did her best not to kick back and relax as if she owned the room. "Bored already? I would have assumed you'd have lots of things to annoy you and suck your time away."

"Ha!" Cowell laughed, "What the hell is that wormy bastard Sweeney for if not to do all the work I don't feel like doing. He seems content to do everything for me anyway, so I figure why not let him. Without a mountain of paperwork, right now, in dock I have nothing to suck my time away."

Todd. Fates help them. "I'm not too sure I'd bank all my dollars on Toddrick's ability to get things done. He tends to nitpick them to death in fear of imperfection. Might want to double check his work... or at the very least invest in a cattle prod."

"So you know him, eh?" Cowell said, leaning forward in his chair, "Has he always tried to crawl up people's asses or is that a recent development?"

Stace grinned. "Been like that all the years I've known him... I think he just needs the attention."

Nathan chuckled, "Well, I'm sure after a few dozen hunts for sweet tea ingredients and any other thing I can think of to torture him with, he'll start hiding... And if not, at least I get some entertainment out of the deal. Guess it isn't all bad."

The chime to the door sounded again and Doc Cowell bid the person enter. As if summoned by his words, Petty Officer Sweeney appeared with a tray topped with a pitcher of freshly brewed tea complete with ice cubes in both the pitcher and the two glasses that sat on either side of the pitcher.

"As you requested, a completely home-made pitcher of Southern style Sweet Tea, no lemon, and some freshly frozen ice cubes," Yeoman Sweeney announced proudly as he set the tray down in front of his Captain.

"Damn that was quick..." Cowell said in an almost impressed voice.

Sweeney just smiled as he poured a glass for Nathan and rested it in front of the man, though not before placing a coaster down to catch any errand condensation. He then poured Maj. DeVries a glass before retreating from the office.

"Can't argue with fresh tea," Cowell said by way of a compliment.

Stace ho-humed as she reached forward and took a sip of the beverage. "Well... it's not too bad. I suppose I'll leave Toddrick alone for a while." She eyed the Captain again. "So... what are we going to do?"

"Right now, we're waiting for something to do. Until then, we're just checking the riggings and kicking the tires. You're pretty much free to run the halls for all I care, since you'd be the only one turning yourself in," Cowell chuckled.

She frowned and looked a bit saddened. "Well... I guess I'll just have to find something to entertain myself with... but if you need me... I suppose you can find me."

"Sounds good," Cowell said, picking his tea up.