Happy Travels

Posted on Sun Sep 29th, 2024 @ 6:12am by Lieutenant JG T'Mara & Commander Steven Greco & Lieutenant Evelyn Stewart

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Year One: Strange Bedfellows
Location: USS Moore - Shuttlebay 1
Timeline: MD 015 - 1000 hours

Stewart made her way into the shuttlebay, noticing Dulay's crew preparing a shuttle as she approached Commander Greco, only briefing eyeing T'Mara who was standing there with the first officer for some reason. "You asked to see me?" She prompted Greco, only making the briefest of eye contact with the Vulcan in acknowledgement.

Steve noticed the frost look the pilot gave the doctor and sighed to himself. He knew this wasn't going to go over well but it was another thing to see it playing out. He did his best to hide his smile. The doctor had his sympathies "Yes, Lieutenant, we just received word from the Kalandra system. They have an outbreak of the Larosian virus there."

"Okay...and this is my problem, why?" Stewart asked with genuine confusion. What did she care if a bunch of people came down ill on a random planet.

Steve looked at the lieutenant with annoyance at her attitude. "The Moore is the closest ship in range with proper medical equipment and supplies to treat them. However, we are busy escorting the Syndicate vessel." Greco gestured to T'Mara, "Doctor T'Mara is going to being sent on an away mission to the planet to treat them."

Stewart glanced at T'Mara for a moment before folding her arms over her chest in annoyance and growing impatience. "Alright, but I still fail to see what this has to do with me, Greco."

Sighing in his own frustration, Commander Greco looked down at the pilot. "You know as well as I do, Lieutenant, that the Kalandra is full of ionic storms throughout the system." He commented before turning back towards T'Mara and leading her towards the shuttle to discuss the mission, having enough of Stewart's attitude at the moment.

It was then that the realization of how she factored in dawned on Stewart and she quickly followed after them. "Wait a minute, Commander..."

Stewart reminded T'Mara of a Vulcan child, full of intelligence, but very poor deduction skills due to lack of control. She appeared--to T'Mara, at least--to be a very unhappy female who found something undesirable in T'Mara...if previous encounters were to adequately predict future interactions.

"I have been informed you are a satisfactory pilot, Lieutenant Stewart." T'Mara offered as a subtle answer to her protestation without usurping Commander Greco's authority.

"The best," she muttered to the Vulcan, her tone matter of fact before she turned her attention back on Greco. "Commander, it hardly makes sense to send a separate shuttle. If the ion storms are level five or above they can destroy a shuttle like the Apollo. It's best that we would make the drop off of the supplies and the doctor with the Moore." She logically argued before seeing her reasoning was for nothing.

Greco sighed in growing impatience as he looked at Stewart. "Stewart, the Moore is almost four days away. You already pointed out on the bridge the other day that we are at max speed protocol allows while escorting another vessel. The Kalandrians may not have that kind of time," Steve countered with his own logic. "A shuttle can arrive within a day at maximum warp and administer the vaccines and be done with it, back aboard the Moore in a few days," He said dismissively before adding, "Or are you suggesting we deviate from our flight plan with the Orions in tow and allow them further into Federation space unannounced?" He asked what was clearly meant to be an absurd question.

Evelyn set her jaw against the ridiculous question meant to embarrass her. "Of course, not," she conceded, watching the man turn back the way he was walking with the doctor. "You should at least assign Chapman then. If anything happens with the Orions you are going to want your best pilot at the helm." She logically argued a sensible excuse to not join the doctor, albeit desperately.

Greco couldn't help but smirk for a moment. He knew of Stewart's bigotry towards Vulcans, of course as she hid it from no one, but he got a certain amount of satisfaction seeing her squirm and try to logic her way out of her predicament. "As you just said, Stewart, you're the best." He said, his hands out wide at his sides helplessly, as if he had no defense to the woman's words. "The Orions are not going to try anything that would jeopardize the trade agreement this far in the trip. And like you said, if the storms are severe, we will need our best pilot out there to get everyone back safely," Dropping his amusement, Commander Greco stood his full height as he looked down at the mouthy pilot. "Unless you are saying you have some sort of grievance against the doctor that I'm not aware of that would be preventing you from doing your duty, Lieutenant." He said in a quiet but firm tone as he held Stewart's gaze, calling her bluff as to how far she will take regulations.

When setting her jaw did nothing to calm her, Stewart took a breath to rely on a meditation technique to keep from losing her temper as she held Greco's gaze. She knew short of outing herself as being bigoted against Vulcans as justifications for not going on the away mission, there was no way out of it. And that was career suicide. The Commander had won. She knew it and so did he. "No, sir."

T'Mara watched the exchange in silence. Stewart did not have any affinity for her. This had been patently understood after their first interaction and then reinforced with every subsequent one. She simply presumed Stewart had a particular reason for disliking her - although using the public holodeck program that belonged to Stewart--in error--seemed like a rather unusual reason to...hold a grudge, as it were. However, upon hearing her exchange with Greco, T'Mara wondered if there was something more driving the woman's aversion.

"All of the supplies have been secured." T'Mara offered up. "We can depart as soon as you are ready, Lieutenant."

Evelyn went to reply to the Vulcan, but Greco drew her attention as he prepared to head back to the bridge. “And before I forget, ladies. Doctor T’Mara is in charge.”

Stewart looked at the commander in shock. “I’m the ranking officer.” She pointed out, her tone slowly building from shock and incredulity to building annoyance. Of all people, she was the one to pull rank, she thought.

“And she is the chief medical officer, on a humanitarian mission. What she says, goes. Understand, Lieutenant?” Greco countered, his tone the same grating one Stewart hated when he used it on the bridge. Steve did his best to keep his professional demeanor, even as he was amazed by the turn of events. Of all people to try and pull rank on an away mission, it was Stewart?!

With a huff, Stewart softened her demeanor when she realized that she wasn’t going to win the argument. “No, sir.” She said quietly and waited for the man to walk away before looking at the doctor. “Pre-flight is in an hour.” She muttered to T’Mara.

"I await the completion of this pre-flight. Please be efficient, Lieutenant Stewart. Lives are at stake, and time is off the essence." T'Mara then turned and dipped her head respectfully to Commander Greco before walking away from the two of them to the opened posterior hatch, disappearing up the ramp inside the vessel. If she were honest with herself, she wasn't looking forward to the trip with the prickly chief flight control officer at all.

Greco couldn't help the small smug smirk of satisfaction at seeing Stewart get the just rewards for her attitude and swagger as he followed the Vulcan out of the shuttlebay.

Stewart watched both officers walk away in disbelief of her luck before sighing out heavily her frustration. "This is just fantastic..." She muttered to herself before heading for the shuttle, calling for Dulay as she went.

 

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