The Scuttle Butt Shuffle

Posted on Fri Jun 10th, 2011 @ 3:24pm by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & Darek Halsey

Mission: Shore Leave 2; Picking Up the Pieces
Location: Commodore's Ready Room, Bridge, USS Arizona
Timeline: Shortly after 'What theories may come...'

Commodore Nathan Cowell sat in his Ready Room, the count down clock ticking slowly away before he and the crew were scheduled to leave the ship in the two runabouts stationed aboard the ship. He hadn't exactly cleared his plans with his 'boss', but then again, there were a lot of things the El-Aurian didn't clear with the young people around him. One of those things being where he went when he felt the urge to go there. Such considerations had long gone out of the window, especially when weighed against the gravity of situations, delicate or not, that required his brand of 'getting shit done'. He did, however, need to do some last minute paperwork, which he was loathe to do, and so he toiled away, hoping that someone would disturb him just so he had an excuse to pawn it off later.

The scuttle butt around the ship said that the Arizona was getting set to deploy some people to some planet in the system of SB900, and of course knowing the CO like he kind of did Darek assumed he was going to have a part to play in the OP. The next assumption was the his assignment was going to be, well off the record and unofficial. But Darek's assumptions would have to be validated, and only one man on the Arizona could do that. It was not a long trip from his quarters up to the bridge and then the quick walk to the door of the Curmudgeon's ready room. Pulling one hand from his pocket he depressed the chime and removed the stump of what had been a Cuban cigar from his mouth.

"Come!" came the voice of the Commodore residing within the office. The doors parted at the sound and allowed Darek entry into the small compartment that served as the man's sanctuary, given that he didn't see much of his quarters most of the time.

Darek took the four steps that lead him to the center of the Commodore's desk. "Sir," He said trying to decide to stand at attention or at ease, going with the later. He moved his feet to shoulder width, and crossed his arms behind his back. "Scuttle butt says we have a mission, how true is it Sir?" He inquired.

"Oh, about as true as the scuttle butt normally is. Sit down, Darek, you're making me nervous," Nathan waved the man off before continuing, "I'm going to need you and Shrek to do the digging in the dirt while I go place face to the masses. I know, why do I get all the easy jobs? Must be lucky... Anyway, I need to press the locals, see if they've seen any people lately that just don't fit in. See who they are, find out what they've been doing. You know, sneaky shit."

Darek chuckled as he pulled out a seat in front the Commodore's desk, "Sorry Sir, and I don't know about you Sir... But I'd rather be digging in the dirt than playing to the masses. But that's just me, as for digging in the dirt is there anything off the record you want me to do or is it for now just the normal stuff?"

"Right now it's all the above board interviewing, bar frequenting, normal shit you know and love. Until we get boots on the ground and ears out in the wind, we don't know what we're really looking for and who we are needing to make disappear from the chess board so the pieces fall back in line. Just keep your eyes open and your head clear for the moment until we feel these people out, then we can plan contingencies," Nathan explained.

"Hooyah!" Darek replied, it seemed like at that point Darek knew everything he'd need, all he had to do was stop by his quarters and pick up the rest of his gear, just in case. "If that is everything Sir, I have a few preparations to make before we ship out..." Darek replied moving to stand, "Oh... One more thing Sir, I need the new Intelligence access codes to start a few balls rolling, Marc blocked me out after our first meeting together." Darek added a small scowl ghosting his face.

"Yeah, I'll take care of it for you," Cowell remarked, "See you in the shuttle bay."

"Thank you Sir!" Darek replied a small smile crossing his face as he stood and turned for the door.