There's Coffee In That Nebula
Posted on Thu Jul 4th, 2019 @ 4:18am by Commodore Tyler Malbrooke & Petty Officer 2nd Class Sofia Cipriani
Edited on on Thu Jul 4th, 2019 @ 4:18am
2,889 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Episode 7 - Home Again
Location: Captains Ready Room, Deck 1
Timeline: MD003 1630 hrs
It was like last call at a bar, or that's at least what it felt like as she entered the Captains Ready Room and placed a PADD down on his desk for him to look at. Sadly it wasn't anything interesting but it was last minute supplies that needed okayed before they left Empok Nor, his thumbprint was needed.
Sofia noticed Tyler standing on the raised platform by the window as he looked out at the workerbees, the ships docking/leaving and space passing him by. She smiled softly and turned to leave him in peace. She knew he was finishing shift soon and didn't want to disturb him. He'd check the desk before he left, that much she knew.
His analogy about a boiling kettle is what had been nagging on his mind. Cipriani and left to tend to her duties and he was left alone with his thoughts, to brood. Something big was on the horizon in the Trivas System and he could feel it. What's the point? It is all going to be smashed open again. He thought as he watched the workbees attach new hull plating to his ship. He wondered if Janeway every had these thoughts. The swish of the doors closing is what brought him forth to the present.
"Sof what do you have for me?" He smiled weakly.
Sof… is was a nickname commonly given to her amongst her American counterparts. She had became used to it over the years of study and found it quite nice. At home she would get something like Fi, or at home her full name at all times for fear of death from her mother.
The Captain startled her a little as she had turned to leave, hoping not to break his thoughts. "Nothing really sir. Just last minute requisitions from the station that the Quartermaster wanted approved before we leave. Said I'd drop it off to you." she said slowly moving up with the PADD she'd picked up again. Handing it to him he looked pensive, troubled.
"Want some coffee sir? I know it'll cheer you up, add something special to it as you're off-duty soon if you want." She offered, hoping he wouldn't be rigid and accost her for offering whilst still technically on duty.
He sat at his desk and began to look over the requisition reports. "I will take a look at these now, we can't keep our tiresome quartermasters waiting. Besides the sooner this is done, the sooner we are back out there." Tyler looked at the empty mug on his desk. He was taken by the design upon it for a moment. The starfleet logo, the words "USS Pioneer NCC 74757." His mind flashed to another Captain, his idol, and what she would be doing in his situation. Then he knew what Janeway would do in every situation. "You know coffee would be great, perhaps a splash of Irish cream this time." His smile broadened, on one hand he hated having someone to tend to his needs, Tyler liked to get things himself. On the other hand he liked that Sofia was understanding him becoming intuitive to what he needed.
"Oh I think it would be hard to anger Lt. T'Rish." she mused as she brought the Captain a cup, a splash of Irish cream as he'd asked for. Placing it down gently she smiled at him, "Maybe once we get out we'll find a coffee nebula sir. I hear great Captains of Intrepid class ships find those." she giggled to herself as she turned away to tidy some of the PADDs on the table on the upper platform.
He sipped the coffee and relished in it's flavor, it was nirvana. Then her joke hit him like a ton of bricks. "You know there is only one Captain who ever uttered those words, and she never meant them to leave her bridge. Now she can't live them down. There are shirts..." His voice trailed off as he laughed, the first true laugh he had in some time. "Wait... Sof have you studied the Voyager missions?"
"I've seen the shirts sir." she laughed in response to his. He had a dashing smile, some may have said it was a superman smile but she shook her head for a moment as she heard his question.
"It's a passion of mine sir. Every step they made was a first, history made and it was done by a woman I very much admire. Admiral Janeway is something of an idol to me sir. I try to model myself on her a little, although I don't think I'd suit a bun." she said pointing to her hair and make a funny face.
"Ugh, the dreaded librarian bun. That's what her crew called it, that is until she changed it mid way through the journey. My mom worked with Admiral Paris when I was young it was then that I heard about the USS Voyager and I fell in love with it. I mean to be out there doing what Starfleet was created to do. I had the wonderful pleasure of studying under the Admiral. So I can tell you there are worse people you can emulate." He tossed the PADD on the desk this could wait now. Tyler just learned his Yeoman loved Voyager, and that was a game-changer.
"Aw really?!" She almost yelled at him as she came back down the steps. Sofia was reverting to fan girl mode, forgetting it was her CO and in typical teenage fashion her language changed. "You must have been so in awe of her, you are super lucky. My cousin Geralt, I think he's from Rivia, met her once and said she was a bit of a witcher, but I set him straight let me tell you. His arm was sore for days!"
Tyler laughed and pointed at a seat, it was a rare pleasure for him to get to talk about Voyager. His head cocked to one side as he regarded the woman before him. "My mother was the Admiral's Yeoman actually, it was the dawn of the Pathfinder Project. I was sixteen and very often was allowed stand in the background and observe history unfold. The day that Lieutenant Barclay made contact, it sent chills up my spine and sealed my fate. I was going to become a Captain of an Intrepid Class if it killed me. Now as for the good Captain, she takes a little getting used to. If your cousin angered her then he deserved whatever she gave him. How did you come to like Voyager?"
Sofia sat down, it felt good. It was as if she had been on her feet all day, and for the most part she had. "Really? A Yeoman just like me? Wow, now that's a small world." she said sitting back and pushing her hands through her hair before fixing her hairband. "To be in that room... I've only seen holovids of it and Lt. Barclay always seemed very sweet. A brilliant man, with a fear of his own shadow. He made me laugh so many times for the silliest of reasons." she admitted.
"Uch." she scoffed. "Geralt is an idiot! Big cousin syndrome and believed he was better than me. Well... who's in jail now?" she said in a sassy kind of manner before realizing this was not the topic of conversation. "But to answer you sir, The Doctor came to my school for a talk one of his new holonovels and it was such a rarity for us to see someone like that. We believed in using old techniques, less technology than most but to have him there, all photon and forcefields was impressive." she realised she was talking but not really getting to the point. "My mother, she's an author and they got talking and he was in my house! He gave me a model puzzle he had with him, said inside was a gift I'd appreciate when I figured out how to open it. Still haven't... so I read, I got hooked."
"That Doctor, if there ever was a riddle wrapped in an enigma it would be him." Tyler noticed the look in her eyes when he mentioned his mother's profession. "Yeah, mom made a career out of being a Yeoman. She said a Captain was like a spouse. They always needed someone stronger then they were to stand behind them. In fact I am pretty sure if she were here right now she would congratulate you and yell at me. "Tied for the greatest highlight of my life thus far was being there. I was in San Francisco when Voyager descended and landed. That was the night she came home. Months later i would meet Lieutenant Kim who would foster my love for ship's operations. I am not sure I would be sitting here if it were not for him." He paused for a moment as he realized the new appreciation for Cipriani that he had. "You know it is rare that I find anyone as enamored with Voyager as I am."
"What is not to love sir?" she asked rhetorically. "One of the strongest female role models of this century facing insurmountable odds in a quadrant 75,000 lightyears from home. No Federation, no Starfleet, nothing. There was no comforts, no sense of safety but she fought through it and got her crew home. Home sir, that woman did more for Starfleet ideals in 7 years that most have done their entire careers." she said with such passion before clearing her throat and calming herself down.
Tyler smiled and nodded in agreement, however, his thoughts turned dour for a moment. Mom always said confide in your Yeoman should you have one. Odds are they are better than a Counselor. He thought. "I wish Janeway were here at the moment. Perhaps she could help with the situation we find ourselves in. She managed to bring Maquis into her crew and unify them. Now the New Maquis are ripping the sector apart piece by piece and I cannot figure out how to get them back into the fold. I just wish there was some sort of unifying force like the Delta Quadrant."
She felt sorry he was at odds about everything that was happening, and she couldn't blame him. It seemed all sides were on edge, blaming each other and thinking they were in the right. Truly it was sad that it had came this far she often thought.
"Her situation was unique. The Maquis there had nowhere else to turn too, no fight left to face and I think most of them welcomed a well armed Intrepid over a Maquis raider." She kind of laughed a little, whether it was actually funny didn't cross her mind.
"I would never presume to tell you what to do Captain but I know you are doing your best even if you dont feel like it." She moved around the table and placed her hand warmly on his upper arm. "I can see you are a sensitive man, behind your eyes you worry about everything but put on your best poker face. I think Janeway was like that too, I think you two are alike in so many ways." Pausing for a moment she looked into his eyes, their gaze unwavering. "You both handed tough asks, but I know you will find a way sir. You are strong, smart and this crew respects the hell out of you. Any of them would do anything for you if you asked. If that's not something unifying then I dont know what is. Make those New Maquis see what we see and one way or another a move will be made." She gave her best most sympathetic smile as she looked at him. A man with the weight of worlds on his shoulders. She just wanted to hug him...
Tyler appreciated her soothing comments. It seemed that his mother was right, a Yeoman was better than a Counselor. "Tell me is your love for Voyager the reason that you chose to work with a Captain who up until thirty seconds ago did not see the benefit of having a Yeoman."
"I'll counter that sir with a, do you now only see the benefit of Yeoman because you've realized we share love of the same thing and that I'm pretty cool?" She asked with a sarcastic wink. She saw his shoulders had relaxed a little and it made her happy, if not a bit more comfortable around him.
"I think my first piece of advice to you is to always listen to your mother. She is almost always right." Tyler said with a chuckle. "It was her pushing that made all those she worked for so successful. That included my Dad and I. So always listen because you never know when you will need their advice."
"Sir if I didn't listen to my mother I don't think I'd be in existence." She joked. Her mother was very much the head of the household back home. You only crossed her if you had a death wish. "I believe in family sir, I'm very close to mine. Speak to them nearly every other day." She did with a smile.
"And that is something Janeway and I have in common. Our crews are our family, so welcome to it." He paused for a second as he reflected on all that they had talked about. "You know the one person that I wish I could have met from Voyager was Neelix. There was so much about him in the ship's databanks."
"I'm glad to be here Captain." Sofia replied as Tyler paused. "He certainly was an interesting character for sure. Silly question, but have you been to the holo-exhibit in San Francisco? His hologram is pretty convincing, and I think the Doctor did a lot of work developing his personality and interactive sub routines."
"Indeed I have, but I am sure that is nothing like the real thing. Perhaps we will find ourselves in the Delta Quadrant and meet up with him." Tyler smiled but he knew that route of exploration would not be theirs to enjoy. They would be in Cardassian space keeping the pot from boiling over. "You know Bones down in Sick Bay has a lot to say about his progenitor. It was after all the Doctor's idea to have the new EMH's look like various famous Doc's throughout history. I hear the USS Apollo has one that looks like Sigmund Frued. Sof I have to admit I was not too excited about having a Yeoman. The concept brings back memories of my mother, who I miss terribly. However, you are something else."
She blushed slightly, "Well thank you sir, I just try to do my best and hope you like it. If it helps, don't think of me as a Yeoman. Just someone to help you out, do some of the jobs you don't have time for." She knew that technically she was describing a yeoman. "You don't even have to call me by the title." She laughed a little. "But as your non-Yeoman, I do have some appointments to keep off your schedule." She grinned. It was late but she often worked a little later than him, he didn't know that of course, but it kept his mind free for other things.
"Right well so long as the mug is filled with finest organic suspension ever devised, I can do anything. Whatcha got? Hit me?" Tyler smiled and sipped that coffee, Janeway may have found her coffee in a nebula, but Tyler found his in the Trivas System.
Sofia nodded, she would keep his cup filled for as long as he wanted it to be, which would be for the rest of his days no doubt. "Oh nothing too interesting sir. Couple of transfers of supplies, dotting a couple of I's and meet my roommate for dinner." Sofia said rather uneasily, it was P'earci's night to cook. "I'm sure you have other more interesting things to do sir. I'll get out of your hair." She said with a youthful smile.
"Hang on a quick second... Leave those with me and I will take care of them. Knock off early and go enjoy dinner. Lastly you are never a bother, you should know that. Tomorrow night you, me, and the Starship Voyager. A little holodeck program I am working on. What do you say?" He said Tyler was overjoyed at having someone who enjoyed Voyager as much as he did.
"Really?" she asked like a child in a toy store being offered a present. "That's really nice of you sir, thank you." Sofia added placing the PADDs down. She was hoping P'earci's meal wouldn't kill her, she wasn't known for the most edible meals. Her heart did skip a little at hearing the Captains offer. "Sounds like a perfect night sir. I'll see you in the morning Captain." she gave a small nod before making for the door.
A Joint Post By
Crewman Sofia Cipriani
Yeoman, USS Pioneer
Captain Tyler Malbrooke
Commanding Officer, USS Pioneer
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