Quid Pro Quo Pt2

Posted on Mon Apr 23, 2018 @ 2:04pm by Lieutenant Marisa Cheshire & Lieutenant Venus Quinnell
Edited on on Mon Apr 23, 2018 @ 10:22pm

Mission: Falling Star
Location: Officer's Mess
Timeline: MD 33 || 19:20

Venus arrived shortly there after. Even after the hours of hectic work overseeing countless repairs, her uniform lacked a casual touch. No collar undone, no rolled sleeves...a 19th century military officer would call it strict adherence to tradition and of course discipline. Her raven hair was in a regulation bun, with not a loose strand to make it unseemly.

Spit and polish for an engineering officer whose job entails crawling through Jefferies tubes or waist deep in machinery took a certain amount of hubris.

Her emerald eyes gazed around, studying the patrons for one particular blonde in a red and black jacket. In a sea of uniforms with a few indecorous civilian accoutrements, the ship's chief engineer spotted her quarry and approached the table.

She stood quite formally, hands laced behind her back as she addressed the other. Her tone was just as formal. "Lieutenant Cheshire, I am Lieutenant Quinnell."

Marisa turned her head away from the table and looked over her shoulder. There was a slight twitch in her body as she had to suppress the reflex to salute a fellow officer. Instead she placed her arm over the backrest and looked up at the engineer with a warm friendly smile. A pair of chopsticks dangled from her hand.

Her motion had exposed her platter; a pyramid of small golden balls rested next to a small dish filled with a cream coloured sauce. A larger plate had a series of small rice rolls covered in pink flesh. A glass filled with a misty liquid rested adjacent. Finally there was a silver PADD, glowing with data on the screen.

"Gidday. Please, call me Marisa or Alice." She said pleasantly, in a familiar tone that seemed to stubbornly oppose Venus's "Do you want to grab a bite to eat before we down to brass tacks? I'd imagine you'd be running on fumes by now."

Venus had to admit she was indeed hungry as she took one of the empty seats across from the other woman at the table. "Marisa.." She said it as if it was unfamiliar ground not to state rank. "We can make this a working lunch." She gave her order to one of the roaming waiters before addressing Cheshire. "So what did you have in mind?" She folded her arms but was still seated back straight.

"Well, like I said," Marisa took the chopsticks and collected one of the balls with them. There was a triumphant glimmer in her eyes when she managed to contain one between the slender utensils, it was clear that she was an amateur at using them. "I've got a deck crew sitting idle, and you've got a ship that needs repairing. But the way I figure it that's not always going to be the case." She said as she awkwardly dunked the ball in the sauce. "There are going to be times in which we're under manned, and think it would be to our benefit if we worked out how that's going to work now rather than a whole lot of confusion when we have to hammer out those details amidst combat in which I'll probably be in a cockpit." She then popped the ball into her mouth with a proud grin.

Venus waited for her own meal, Travit, a Romulan meat dish considered a delicacy. She developed a fondness for it from Ekkhae, the Romulan on Nimbus III.

She listened to Marisa, watching the other devouring her own dish, using Terran eating instruments that resembled two little sticks. "I understand your reasoning and have no problem allowing my own engineers to assist your staff in maintaining your fighters during operations if that is where you are going."

"You catch on quick." Marisa replied as her utensils drifted over to the sushi. "But I do have one concern" Her eyes flashed up "Don't take this the wrong way but a couple of guys on the deck crew have fixing fighters down to an art, like I'm sure you've got a couple of exceptional engineers really good at fixing ships. If you send a P-O-1 or officer down to us they'll need to understand that they might be taking directions from a P-O-2. Likewise I'll explain that situation to the guys I send up to you."

Venus nodded. "I have been going over my roster and there are a few who are sufficient for these tasks." Paused, having wasted little time looking at her staff's work ethic since coming aboard this morning. The battle, of course, interfered in a more thorough evaluation. "I can spare them and I would think any problems with taking orders will be dealt with accordingly. I have a zero tolerance policy for such action and my staff are well aware of it."

The straight laced African-American officer whose normally stiff bearing allowed her eyes to drift over the pretty blonde across from her. It was a momentary weakness that she had to physically shake her head to remain on task.

"You know we're the same rank right?" Marisa said as she caught the engineer's tick. "You can relax. No need set an example or impress." her infection was entertained inflection as her mouth curled up into a slight smirk. "Anway." she continued with a sigh "No matter how good the personnel, teething problems happen. Maybe when we're back in friendly territory we can do a couple of days of exchange or something." She said before lazily popping another sushi slice into her mouth.

"I am not attempting to impress, simply following protocol." Venus responded, having to defend her rather strict demeanor twice on her first day. Her meal was soon set in front of her and she began by cutting up the meat into manageable bites. "Agreed, after we are back in Federation space, I have no objections to have our personnel cross trained. Those that are warp core or power distribution specialists will of course be off the table and none of your people have the clearance for critical areas such as Main Engineering. Our maintenance and damage control technicians however, could do with attaining more skills, as will, of course your own." A slight arrogance as she folded her arms. The blonde may have been pretty but Venus was a stickler for following the rules and was not going to be easily swayed.

Marisa covered her mouth as she chuckled softly. "How terrifying." she said mockingly with crescent eyes. The pilot found the way Venus pouted to be kind of cute, the kind of cute that took all of her effort not to poke for more passionate reactions. She didn't want the engineer going back to work riled up after all.

"You just seemed a little uncomfortable." She continued after a moment, her inflection becoming much softer "I know what first-day-jitters are like. But if it's your way to be formal I'm not going to stop you."

Venus shook her head. "I am not uncomfortable...Marisa.." She still said the name as if it was improper. She also attempted to relax but slouching didn't have the desire effect of an image of tranquility. Several odd poses were soon claimed by having her both hands on the table, until tapping fingers ultimately won out. Her venture into a smile as if to give the impression of being casual wasn't so much forced as awkward.

"I believe our arrangement will be beneficial...." Her tone had softened and she realized she was staring at Marisa. This caused a reaction when she realised what she had been doing and learned back in her chair once more. She blamed it on being tired or a new ship or the current crisis.. Her fidgeting fingers returned to vanishing in crossed arms. "I mean to say. Ahem..That I will have my choice of personnel ready to go by tomorrow if that is not to soon?"

"No, that should be fine, providing the ship's squared away by then. Obviously your department's duties come first." Marisa replied with a slight flourish of her hands. Maybe uncomfortable wasn't the word, but there was a certainly kind of tension coming from the Engineer, though if there was one protocol the pilot did adhere to it was not to poke that particular bear during office hours. "For the time being however, I'll assign my deck crew to you. Just make sure send them a manual if they need to tune the EPS conduits or something to that effect. They know the theory, but miniaturisation would change things I imagine."

"I'll have a section chief instruct them on what actions to take and when it will be required to have only qualified engineers do any action." Venus replied, feeling more in her element as the dedicated officer. Her dreams of her own command dictated her strict adherence. Now a few Romulan ale and it was a totally different outcome, protocol or not. Coffee would be the most appropriate choice at the moment.

Having any interest, for anyone, since Ekkhae, made her close in on herself and simple lust, innocent without action was entirely unexpected for her. She needed to look professional and efficient to her officer colleagues or so her plans had made it appear when she boarded the ship.

Plans change or at least slightly evolve if she only indulged, even just a wee bit. She allowed a smile, more sincere, appreciating the moment with the pretty blonde before duty beckons her away for another five hours.

Something in side, usually suppressed bubbled yo the surface. Her discipline self would be furious by this indiscretion to the plan but Venus was compelled any way. "Listen, how would you like to go for drinks, after our shifts, and we can discuss this further if you want.." She kicked herself afterwards, such behavior was unseemly. "If you have plans, that is fine, we can schedule something during work hours." She added quickly to avoid embarrassment.

Marisa placed down her chopsticks and grabbed her glass as she reclined in her chair. "I'll be honest, I'm kind of curious to see what you're like when you've dropped the protocol." The blonde said thoughtfully. Her eyes flashed up at Venus with a feline playfulness as she smiled softly. "I was going to ask if you wanted to spot for each other at the gym sometime, but I'm not going to say no to a drink with good company. The local's called the Blackhole up in the Arboretum."

"Blackhole." Venus said aloud. "Sounds appropriate." She was glad Marisa seem not to react poorly to her idea. First day, could have been much much worse. "Well the gym is fine, I would appreciate a workout partner." She was slowly relaxing, not slouching at least. "I have to say this was much better than I expected when you requested this meeting." She finally noticed her meal and began taking pieces of the meat and assorted alien vegetables.

Marisa emitted an amused sigh "And just what, pray tell, were you expecting?" She asked with an inquisitive eyebrow.

Venus leaned back, arms crossed again and didn't reply for a moment. "Not entirely sure. I am the newest senior officer aboard, one never knows what to expect." She tried to be diplomatic since she actually thought Marisa would bulldoze over her with dozens of demands because she was new. Call it paranoia but one did not get ahead with oodles of naivety. She looked at her chronometer reluctantly. Marisa was the first time she truly relaxed while on the ship and she found herself enjoying it...As long as others didn't see her too happy while on duty. "I should be getting back to Engineering before my staff start getting foolish ideas." Another smile though her true feelings were more aligned with her words than her actions.

Marisa smiled back, this time with a predatory glint in her eye. "Yeah, heaven forbid they get any get any funny thoughts." Marisa said with a chuckle. "I'll let you get back to it, and we'll go for that drink another day." Something inside Marisa snapped, and she could no longer resist toying with the dusky engineer. She leaned forward, planting her elbows on the table. Her expression was soft and welcoming, but her posture made her look like a cat ready to pounce. "I'll be doing a light circuit tomorrow at about 6am if you're interested." she emphasised with a husky inflection. "Nothing too taxing," She continued, reining it in. "you don't want your muscles burning when you're in a cockpit."

"Six." Venus repeated just above a whisper as she gazed at Marisa whose posture made her lean forward as well as if accepting a challenge. "Don't go easy on me on my account. I can take whatever you dish out and more." The Engineer paused, distracted as an officer walked by their table. "I will see you at six." She kept her eyes locked on the pilot's. Her food, barely touched, was forgotten as other thoughts of a more personal nature clouded our mind.

Marisa collected one of the chopsticks and skewered the last golden ball. "I'm sure we can come up with something extra if you've got the energy for it." she said, finishing with a wink "Anyway, I'll get out of your hair and let you finish that meal. And please," her tone became more earnest, "don't push yourself. If you've got to pull an all nighter we can do it another day."

Venus' eyes stayed with Marisa, smirking as the other finished one of the golden bells. She wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by. "I'll be fine. Engineers are used to operating with little sleep so tomorrow morning is okay." She glanced down at her meal and continued to neglect it. "I will see you then." The Chief Engineer then tapped her combadge as a further distraction so as to not blurt out anything to Marisa that she might find embarrassing later. =/\= Quinnell to Gefel. I need you to set up a training regimen for a cross training exercise we will be conducting with the Flight Deck. I will look over the names myself...I will deal directly with Lieutenant Cheshire. =/\=

Her assistant chief did attempt to pepper her with questions, but Venus all but ignored him, attention still focused on the pilot until she simply tapped her combadge, ending further discussion with her subordinate.

Marisa got to her feet, still holding the chopstick with a smirk. "I'll let the deck crew know they are to expect work orders. Make sure you tell mister Gefel to send them down so at least he knows I didn't extort you." She finished happily before pulling the ball off the chopstick with her teeth.

Venus nodded, pushing her food tray aside; having decided to simply pass on it. "I will have a team ready by morning..shouldn't be a problem. I have 200 to pick from." She had not done a complete staff evaluation of her department so as particular as she was, she would have a much smaller pool to choose from after it was all said and done. "I may even relinquish a few engineers to you if I see it is warranted." She also stood, pulled down on her uniform jacket and smoothed it out, all subconsciously as if it was simply a matter of repetitive routine. "I appreciate our talk and look forward to this joint venture." As she was standing, her arms naturally laced behind her back, slipping into her ultra professional mode like a switch going off.

Marisa placed the chopstick down and collected her PADD before flashing Venus a peace sign along with a wink. "See you tomorrow Lieutenant."