The Final Lead
Posted on Wed Apr 10th, 2019 @ 5:32am by Lieutenant MacKenzie Jordan & Lieutenant JG Danica ("Dani") Tyr
Mission:
The Team Assembles
Location: Jordan's Office
Timeline: Mission Day 3 at 0930
Not having a set schedule was leading him to keep horrible hours. He'd stayed up too late working on a new holoprogram and, as a result, he was just getting to his office.
"Vietnamese iced coffee," the bespectacled Lieutenant said to the replicator. He picked up the tray and moved to his desk. He picked up the small pot of hot water and poured it into the metal drip filter. Slowly, the coffee dripped down into the mug below. The dark droplets landed on the pool of sweetened condensed milk that formed a half-inch layer at the bottom of the cup.
Once the dripping stopped, he lifted the filter off the top of the cup and, with a very plain spoon, stirred the freshly brewed coffee and sweetened condensed milk, combining them into a creamy looking mixture. He lifted the steaming mug and poured the contents into a tall glass filled with ice.
He slid the tray aside and, using a straw, took a long sip of the beverage. The preparation was just as enjoyable to him as the drink itself was.
The transport shuttle had been late arriving and there had been the in-processing through the ship which meant that she was way late reporting in to her new team lead. She ran her fingers through her tousled blonde hair and hoped that her new boss wasn't the type to worry about immaculate appearances. Course, there were many things she hoped her new boss wasn't going to worry about but that was a matter for another day. She pressed the chime and waited, using the back of her legs to do a hasty buff on her boots while she waited.
"Come in," he called in response to the door announcer before taking another sip of his coffee. He wasn't expecting anyone, so he was genuinely curious who was coming to see him.
Dani walked in and said, as she approached, "Lieutenant Tyr reporting as ordered, Sir. And apologies for the late arrival. Events conspired to prevent me from getting here at a more reasonable hour."
"Not a problem," he responded, grateful that the woman hadn't tried to report in sooner since he'd just gotten in. "Want to sit down?" he asked, motioning towards one of the chairs across from him.
"Of course, Sir," she said as she paused and then sat down. Dani had a preference for sitting with one or both of her feet tucked up beneath her, something that she'd learned over her time in Starfleet was not universally approved of and so, these days, there was that slight pause for her brain to remind her body that she had to be on her best behavior. The pauses were considerably shorter than they'd been at the Academy but all these years later, they were still there.
"Sorry about the tight quarters around here. We kind of got shoehorned in, while trying not to take too much away from the Polaris." He pointed at the replicator. "Want anything?"
"Tea would be great," Dani said. "Well, coffee is better but I've taken to cutting myself off around this time at night." She grinned cheerfully as she added, "I"m about 50% successful in this endeavor. How about Vulcan Yellow Leaf? Neat?"
"Coming right up," he replied, unsure what to make her Tyr's comment about 'this time of night'. It was a strange thing to say this early in the morning, but he wasn't going to press.
Returning from the replicator, he set the tea mug down in front of her. "Tell me about yourself, Lieutenant."
"I never know what to say to that," Dani mused as she accepted the mug and settled back in her seat. "Born on Cygnia and I've been on the Pirogav for the past five years, working my way up. I've served as OOD and was inline for an Asst. Chief position but my Chief, well, he talked me out of it. Said this would be a better fit for me." She shrugged slightly, took a sip, and winced slightly. "Hot. Anyways, what can I tell you, Sir? What would you like to know?"
MacKenzie, who had taken another sip of the sweet iced coffee, set his cup down and smiled. "Where are you from? Why did you join Starfleet? Where do you see yourself in five years? Anything really."
"As I said," Dani answered and without realizing she'd done so, she shifted so that one leg was tucked up beneath her, "I was born on Cygnia and raised near the ocean. One of my mothers was an oceanographer, so I spent a lot of my childhood on the water. I'm something of an Adrenalin junkie, I guess, or so my friends told me, so I've done a lot of things ..." She paused long enough to take an appreciative sip of tea and then returned to her answers and in that moment, she decided not to give him the standard throw away answer but to instead, actually answer.
"I had a friend, Meital. Her parents were diplomats and their ship was nearly taken over by pirates. She came very close to dying on that trip and would have were it not for the intervention of a Starfleet vessel." Dani chuckled softly, holding the cup on her knee now, staring into its dark depths for a moment as the memories washed over her. "I think we played at pirates and fleeties all that summer and into the fall but it stayed with me. All the games aside, it stayed with both of us and when it came time to figure out what to do with my own life, I decided to put in an application ... did not go over well at home."
Jordan nodded. "I'm glad to have you on the team, Lieutenant. Do you have any questions for me?"
"None at the moment, Sir. Just want to get settled and start adjusting to the ship's cycle," Dani answered. "Maybe take a shower. Anywhere you'd like me to focus my work-related efforts?"
"Until we get orders," Jordan replied, "there isn't a whole lot to do. Getting familiar with our equipment and the other members of the team might be a good idea. I know the other lead specialists are on board." He stood up. "It was good to meet you, and I look forward to working with you."
"Pleasure was all mine, Sir. Looking forward to getting started," Dani replied as she rose from her seat.
"Good to hear," he replied, looking into her blue gray eyes. "And welcome to the team."