A Million questions
Posted on Wed Sep 23rd, 2020 @ 10:03am by
Edited on on Wed Sep 23rd, 2020 @ 11:45am
1,671 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Episode 10 - New Home, Same Pioneers
Location: Operations department
Timeline: MD010 1100 hrs
Enya sat in her mother's chair in operations and spun it around in circles, trying to see how fast she could go. She had had to go to medical for a checkup, something she hated and tried to get out of but there was no getting that past her Mom. Deciding that she was bored with that, she looked around the office, for something to do, then remembered her Mom told her to work on her homework on her padd. Her Mom was out in the department working on something important and Jayden Robertson was in the outer office, in case she needed something. She promised she wouldn’t be gone too long and then they would head home.
She spinned around in the chair again. Enya was going to ask her Mom if she could go to her Dads office but then she remembered that he had a really important job and she didn’t want to get him in trouble with Uncle Tyler. Operations sure was boring though. She wondered why her Mom decided on it. Enya took a spin around again and then heard a noise and saw Jayden standing in the doorway. “Oops!”
Jayden grinned at her. “I’m twenty two and I still like taking an occasional spin.” He walked into the office and sat a tray on the desk. “I brought you a snack and a soda.”
Enya looked at him and smiled .”Thanks!” She picked you the bag of chips and opened it. “Does my mom yell at you when you spin?”
Jayden grinned at her question. “She hasn’t caught me yet, I try to be sneaky about it, I can’t have my boss catching me.”
Enya looked at him. “Can I ask you a question?” Her leg’s swung back and forth as she waited for him to answer her. She took a drink from the soda, it was her favorite and had cherry in it. She loved any drink that was flavored cherry.
“Yes,” Jayden nodded. “I will answer it as best I can.” He wondered what it was she wanted to know.
“You said when you came over you liked your job, how come?” She shrugged. “It seems all you do is sit and watch a computer all day long, I been watchin you.”
Jayden grinned . “It is way more than sitting at a computer. Why don’t you bring your stuff out and you can sit with me and I’ll show you what we are doing.”
“Okay,” Enya modded. She grabbed her homework, soda and chips and followed him back out, waiting for him to get her a chair.
Jayden waited for her to sit down and then took a seat himself. He pointed to the screen and smiled. “We have someone on the bridge Who is watching the systems to make certain everything is running okay.”
“Then why they need you watchin too?” Enya asked him.
“I am monitoring for equipment issues,” Jayden told her. “If something goes down I inform engineering or head out myself to fix it.”
Enya watched the screen for a minute. “It’s a big job, all that stuff to keep track of.” She finished off her chips and took another big drink.
“It is,” Jayden agreed with her. “It’s kind of a lot to understand.”
“What is that blinking light right there,” Enya asked him, pointing to the screen.
“It is telling me that the sensor array and systems are working together,” Jayden told her. “If it changes color then it means we have an issue.”
“When I get older I am going to make a program where the lights are all different colors,” Enya said. “It would be prettier to look at don’t you think?”
Jayden smiled at her. “They are red because it is a warning color. It stands out for us to look at.” He took a quick call and then went to work. “See, Look right there.” He pointed. “That was Lieutenant Rockwell...” Jayden smiled at Enya. “Clarissa...she informed me that systems will be down in one section of the ship so I am diverting power there from nonessential area and informing the operations officer on the bridge.”
“I like Clarissa,” Enya said with a smile. “She is smart.” She finished her soda and set the can down.
“Yes she is,” Jayden agreed with a smile. “She helps keep the engines in order.”
“Do you think she is pretty?” Enya asked him. She looked at him with a smile.
“Yes,” Jayden replied. “He thought she was more than pretty, drop dead gorgeous would be a better term but he wasn’t telling Enya that. “Do you want another soda?” Maybe he could get her off topic.
“Yes please,” Enya smiled. She was glad her Mom left her with Ensign Robertson, he let her have more than one soda. She watched as he came back and held out the can, along with another bag of chips. “Thanks!” She said with a grin.
Jayden sat down and looked at her for a minute. “You still wanting to be an engineer?”
“Yes,” Enya nodded. She stared at him, thinking. “If you think Clarissa is pretty why don’t you ask her out?”
“We are already dating,” Jayden said with a smile. “That’s why we came to dinner the other night together.”
“Oh,” Enya’s eyes got big. “Do you and her want to have kids?”
“I guess,” Jayden didn’t know what to say, he and Clarissa hasn’t really talked that much about it. “Someday we will I am sure.”
“Why not now?” Enya persisted. “We are a lot of fun, just ask my mom and dad. They love me!”
“It is something Clarissa and I need to talk about,” Jordan had forgotten Enya likes to ask questions. He didn’t remember near as much at dinner the other night.
“Are you gonna get married?” Enya asked him with a smile. “I like weddings!”
“We haven’t talked about it yet,” Jayden murmured . “Don’t you have homework to do?”
“Oh,” Enya’s eyes lit up with mischief. “It is all done.” She spun around in the chair. “You and Clarissa don’t talk much do you?”
“We do,” Jayden said with a laugh. “Just not that kind of stuff.”
“Am I bugging you?” Enya asked him. “Mr. Wallace, he is my teacher, well he is a hologram but he is really nice. He says I can ask him anything I want because that is how I learn.”
“Mr. Wallace is right,” Jayden replied. He was relieved to be off the subject of him and Clarissa. “That is how you learn things. I ask the chief questions all the time.”
“Mom is really smart,” Enya smiled. “She is a good person to ask.” She looked at him. “Do you like working for my Mom?”
“I do,” Jayden nodded. “She is smart and is always there for all of us in Operations. She wants to see us succeed and get promoted.”
“Does she ground you when you mess up?” Enya asked him. “I been grounded before and it isn’t fun. I can’t play my games or watch movies. I can sit and read.”
“Sort of,” Jayden said with a grin. “We get stuck doing the work no one wants to do.”
“I get extra chores,” Enya nodded. “My Dad said it’s because I have too much sass sometimes. I hate being grounded. Sometimes I can’t help it.”
Jayden couldn’t help but be pulled in by the look on her face. “We all have sass sometimes. Even us adults.” He smiled at her. “And we cant help it either. But your parents ground you so that you learn.”
“Did your parents ground you?” Enya asked him, curious.
“No,” Jayden shook his head. “My parents didn’t teach us and lot of the things your mom and dad are teaching you.”
“How come?” Enya frowned.
“It is hard to say,” Jayden replied. “I wish they had had them because we always have rules, even your mom and dad do.”
Enya thought about what he said. “Rules are so we don’t get hurt my dad says and because they love me.”
“That is right,” Jayden nodded. “And your mom and dad want you to grow up to be smart and respect others.”
“Did you like school?” Enya asked him. She loved school. Sometimes doing the homework wasn’t fun though.
“Yes,” Jayden replied. “I knew what I wanted to do so I worked hard to get here.”
“I bet you don’t miss homework?” Enya grinned.
“Homework gets you ready for working on a ship,” Jayden said. “All the paperwork that needs to be done.”
“I didn’t think of that,” Enya said. She giggled. “Do you think my Parents get told to do their paperwork?”
“If they don’t do it,” Jayden nodded. “But they always get it done because they know it is important and they like to do a good job.”
“I’m lucky I have good parents,” Enya said with a smile. “I think you will be too.”
Jayden took a deep breath, thinking he was just saved by the bell when a message came in from the lieutenant. “You’re mother just messaged me and she is on her way to get you. Grab your homework and I will walk you there.”
Enya grabbed her stuff and headed out with them. She saw her mom in the corridor and turned to Jayden. “Thanks for spending time with me.”
Jayden smiled to himself as he saw Enya and Lieutenant O’Flannagain head off. He was saved by the bell. That little girl never ran out of questions.
A joint post by;
Ensign Jayden Robertson
Operations Officer, USS Pioneer
Enya Ó Flannagáin
Child, USS Pioneer
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