Ghosts of the Past

Posted on Thu May 4th, 2023 @ 9:17pm by Commander Steven Greco & Lieutenant Evelyn Stewart & Senior Chief Petty Officer Rufio Dulay
Edited on on Tue May 16th, 2023 @ 4:39pm

1,655 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Prologue: Centre Predominate
Location: USS Moore - Shuttlebay 1
Timeline: MD 004: 1745 hrs

"Got another one!" Stewart shouted from underneath the belly of the shuttle. She yanked the dead power cell from the auxiliary systems backup power supply. It was the third on this shuttle alone. There were still eight more shuttles to inspect.

Frustration bordering on annoyance led her to toss the power cell aside as she pushed her way out from underneath the shuttle. She wanted to do a through review of the status of the shuttles once the ship got underway.

It took all her willpower not to throttle and rant at poor Chief Dulay for the condition the shuttles were in. Whoever the last Chief Flight off was did a lousy job of maintaining the department. It had been more than eighteen months since the last full maintenance assessment of the shuttles and it showed. So far out of the eleven the ship had, two had proven to be full so far behind in maintenance they were barely space worthy, at least by her exacting standards.

With grime all over her hands and smeared slightly on her cheek, she stood and walked over to Dulay. "If they are all like this then we will be at this for days, possibly weeks.", she lamented.

Stewart liked Rufio. So far they proved to be working well together and he was not only experienced in his role, but was more than capable of running the shuttlebay.

"I know." he sighed as he looked at the other shuttles still to inspect. "I told Lt. Bovali this needed done 8 months ago but he wasn't too concerned about much past his own reflection." he shook his head. "I have a personal shuttle project in shuttlebay 2... now that can fly."

With another heavy sigh to temper her frustrations, Evelyn looked across the shuttlebay and saw Greco approaching them, albeit casually and without a sense of urgency.

"Dulay, go ahead and grab some more power cells and replace this one then run a full diagnostic on the auxiliary power distribution system. Take your time about it." She said to the Chief meaningfully, her eyes drifting back to the first officer as he approached. She wondered what the hell he could want.

"Sure thing, boss." Rufio replied. He didn't need to be an empath to feel her frustration and in truth he shared it. They'd had their heads in the shuttles down there for what seemed like an eternity.

Once Rufio walked away, Evelyn approached Steve. "Commander...", her tone was even but cautious. Something about this situation felt off.

Greco looked over at the mess that was the innards of the shuttle they were working on. "Keeping yourself busy I see. Problems?" he said casually, wondering what was going on.

Stewart shook her head, glancing at the shuttle. "Just a much needed maintenance overhaul. Nothing we can't handle." She kept her demeanor as casual as possible as she grabbed a rag and wiped the grime off her face and hands. In truth, she was trying to figure out what brought Greco all the way down there.

Steve nodded in understanding and approval at the plan before his gaze moved from the shuttle back to the woman in front of him. "That's good, because problems seem to have a history of following you, Lieutenant."

Evelyn looked at him in genuine confusion. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Come on, Stewart. Six years out of the Academy and you are only now serving on your first starship as a pilot." Steve pointed out the lieutenant's service record.

Stewart gave an small smile that held little amusement. She expected this conversation would happen between them, she just thought she would do something to warrant it first. She decided to just go with the situation and see where it led. "Save the best for last." She said confidently with clear underlying attitude.

It was Greco's turn to give a false smile of amusement. "Or those who can't do, teach?" He asked rhetorically. He watched as Evelyn's demeanor changed at the insult and her face grew hot in anger. She clearly wanted to react with her own insult, but knew she couldn't. He was her superior officer.

"My students are proving to be some of the best pilots in the fleet." Evelyn pointed out, defiantly. She had every right to be confident in her abilities. She knew she was one of the best pilots to come out of the Academy in the last decade and was short changed.

Steve slowly nodded in agreement of the assessment. "And yet you were such a liability with your antics Captain Naal had to personally babysit you for two years before you were allowed go off on your own."

Evelyn set her jaw hard to keep from sneering as she glared up at the first officer. "What is it that you want, Greco?" She asked bluntly, skirting the line of protocol, tired of dancing around with the uptight man.

"What I want, Lieutenant" he emphasized her rank as a reminder of protocol, "Is for you to act like the senior officer that you are." Steve said bluntly.

"The Captain sees real potential in you, God knows why. He even went so far as to present a logical argument to have you transferred to the Moore, over the request of Captain Naal." He said, nearly scolding her in his tone.

Evelyn just looked away, afraid to say anything or else find herself in the brig by the end of it. She knew that Captain Naal fought like hell to have her on the Madrid. He was more than just a mentor to her at the academy. They were practically family to one another, even more so after she ended her engagement with Remy.

He was considered by many in Starfleet to be highly regarded as a war hero. He was one of the captains to lead his ship and the Federation Alliance to victory against the Dominion. It was a big deal he had taken command of a ship in this crisis, even more so that his request for her as his chief helmsman would have been denied in favor of Captain Stryvek.

Steve let his words about the Captain sink in before continuing. "I on the other hand see a drunk, reckless screw-up who should have washed out at the Academy years ago. One who's actions the other night in the DMZ only confirmed my assumptions."

Greco knew he was harsh with his words. Far harsher than he normally would be, but he wanted to get his point across that he wouldn't tolerate such behavior, or comments about the captain, or any bigotry of species in general, from anyone.

Both officers were glaring at each other as the XO chewed out the problematic lieutenant who was smart enough to keep quiet for the sake of her career.

"Like I said, you are a senior officer. It's time you earned it for yourself." The Commander stated, his own level of contempt coming through in his tone. The implication clear that she was carried so far in her career by others, particularly Julien Naal.

He looked at Stewart expectedly. She knew what he wanted, an acknowledgment that she got the message loud and clear. Taking a deep but shaky breath, she glared at Steve. "Yes, Sir." If looks and tone could kill, the ship would be done yet another first officer in that moment.

The XO nodded curtly before turning to leave before stopping to address Stewart again. "And one more thing..."

Greco stepped closer so that they couldn't be overheard. "The Captain is quite fond of Commander Davaris. She is still rough around the edges but she has the potential to be an excellent commanding officer." He said sternly, "This maybe your first starship but you have been around Command and the higher ups long enough to know how this works. She will be ready to be a first officer within a few years."

Evelyn nodded in agreement with his assessment. She may have personally been avoiding Kei the last few days, but there was no denying should would captain her own ship someday. Stewart was perplexed as to why Steve would bring this up now though.

Stewart looked at him with at first confusion, then stunned realization as to what he meant before slowly it morphed into offense. Commander Greco managed to leave her speechless, a rare accomplishment that under different circumstances she would congratulate him on.

Evelyn started to try to speak, to defend herself but she stammered with her thoughts.

Steve just shook his head. "Spare me, Lieutenant. Remember I was there. I saw how she looked at you and how quick she was to run after you." Steve steeled himself at the flush of red in Stewart's face visibly changed as her demeanor changed from angry to embarrassment for a moment before she glared at him again.

"Like I said, she has a promising career ahead of her. Don't drag her down with you and your...problems." Greco warned, "I think one career ending romance and political fiasco is enough, don't you?" He asked rhetorically before giving the woman a hard look and walking out of the shuttlebay.

Stewart was shaking in rage. She knew exactly what he was referring to with his comment. It had been almost ten years but the shame of the situation with her brother's arrest and her relationship with Ambassador Gideon Davis and the subsequent fall out from it still stung and followed her and her career. His career never did recover.

Tossing the rag she was twisting unconsciously into a death knot into a corner, she shouted to Rufio to finish cleaning up without her, that she had something to deal with.

"Yes, Lieutenant!" Rufio shouted from the other side of the bay. "Everything okay?" he added but when he came back around Lt. Stewart was gone.

 

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