Fit for Review

Posted on Fri Sep 13, 2019 @ 4:30pm by Lieutenant Xylia Lischka & Lieutenant Commander Alex Rho

Mission: Refits and Reviews
Location: Various
Timeline: MD 7 || 1130 hours

Alex was on his way back to his office from his meeting with Captain Weiss. The new pip on his collar weighed heavy on his mind...and the collar. He had already been filling the position of Second Officer for the ship, which had its own set of duties. But now he had a promotion to go along with it. His Starfleet life was certainly about to change. He wasn't sure if it was for the good or the bad yet. Only time would tell.

As he had said before, he didn't plan on leaving the Triumphant any time soon. It was true that he'd one day like to be the one issuing transfers and telling people where to go. He paused in his thoughts and smiled as that...telling people where to go. There had been a time or two in his life when he'd actually shown people mental images of where they could go. Back to his train of thought, though, he hoped that Starfleet Intelligence wouldn't transfer him now. He had a feeling that he could still be an asset the Commodore and the ship. Not to mention, Starfleet Intelligence. What an opportunity, having a Lieutenant Commander, Department Head, Second Officer on board a flagship out there in the galaxy. It had already proven fruitful as he'd gained some updated Intel on the Cardassians via that Galor class vessel some time ago.

He entered a turbolift and turned in time to watch the doors close. As he was about to announce his destination, he paused and thought of Xylia. He hadn't had much free time to spend with her as of late and the new transfers could wait a little longer. And he had a feeling that she would be equally surprised. If not more. "Rho to Lischka," he said tapping his combadge.

Xylia stood inside her office looking down at a PADD that she'd been holding in her hand for what felt like an eternity. The words and codes on the screen were blending together, giving her a very clear indication that she needed to take some time to step away from her desk for a few minutes. However, the question she was asking herself was... could she really afford to? Their next mission would be coming in at any moment (however, she wasn't exactly sure when), which meant she needed to be on top of her game, ready for absolutely anything, but how would she be able to do that when she couldn't even seem to focus?

She carefully tossed the PADD onto her desk and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. What she needed was some sort of distraction. Perhaps, a trip to The Black Hole was what she needed. Grab some coffee, maybe some food, then come back refreshed and ready to tackle anything that was thrown her way.

That was her line of thinking until the call from Alex came through. She was still on duty, so it was pretty likely this was a duty related call. Xylia brought a hand up to her combadge and tapped it. "Lischka here. What can I do for you, Lieutenant?" she asked, wanting to keep it as professional as possible until they were alone, or when she knew what the nature of things were.

Lieutenant, he thought to himself. "I have a change I need to brief you on, Lieutenant" Alex replied. He knew she was the Mission Advisor and he was counting on her thinking that he was bringing news from the Command Staff. "Can I meet with you right now to discuss it?"

"Of course," Xylia stated, wondering what was going on. She'd know soon enough she supposed, but the suspense was killing her. Did something happen? Something bad? Was he being transferred? It was best that she didn't attempt to speculate until he told her, otherwise, she'd stress herself out. "My current location is my office unless there's someplace else you'd like to meet to discuss this change."

"Your office will be fine," replied Alex. "I'll be there shortly. Rho out." He then gave the turbolift his destination deck and waited for it to arrive. In a couple of minutes, he was standing outside Xylia's office door pressing the chime.

Xylia paced the floor, her mind racing a mile a minute as she tried to figure out what it was he wanted to discuss with her. It wasn't until she finally heard the chime that she stopped moving and looked toward the door. "Come in," she called out, not wanting to prolong the inevitable a moment longer.

Alex walked in and far enough away from the sensors for the door to close behind him. He could tell, and sense, some anxiety. "Relax," he said, as he took a few more steps closer to hopefully calm her. "There's no need for anxiousness. Quite the contrary actually."

"You're not being transferred?" she found herself asking.

"No," he said quietly. "You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm staying right here and I told Captain Weisz as much a little bit ago. The change I need to brief you on is right here." He pointed up to his collar and smiled.

Relief flooded through her. He wasn't being transferred. Xylia looked to the his collar and blinked. There wasn't much to notice there except for his pips, and they looked... wait... "Did you...?" she questioned, moving toward him. The third hollow pip on his collar was all she saw, and it brought a huge smile to her face. She couldn't contain her excitement, nor did she want to. Her arms went around his neck as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Congratulations, Alex! I'm so proud of you!"

He smiled and replied, "Thanks, Xylia. Yeah, I've been promoted. This in addition to second officer...it's all been a surprise." He returned her kiss on the cheek and continued. "I didn't interrupt anything important for this, did I?"

"Not at all. In fact, I was debating heading to The Black Hole for lunch. Do you have a little time to join me?"

"It would be a welcome distraction from new recruit files," answered Alex. "That's what I would be going back to. So let's just say that I can make a little time for some lunch."

Xylia smiled. "Then, we know where our next stop is." She made sure everything in her office was secure, then gestured to the door. "Shall we?"

"We shall," Alex replied. He stepped back a little and gestured for her to go. Well, that was the thought. Their inspection of the maintenance closet around their first meeting had never left his mind. So when he stepped back, he swatted her on the backside. "After you."

She gave a startled squeak and looked at him over her shoulder with a smile. "Keep doing things like that, and we might not make it to lunch," Xylia pointed out as she moved out of her office and into the corridor. "Not that I'm complaining. The Black Hole does deliver."

Alex laughed at her squeak. "Now that was cute. We should try to recreate that sometime. Yes, it delivers. But I think we'd enjoy dessert later, after lunch has had plenty of time to settle," he added with a wink. He followed her into the corridor and started walking. "On another note, you looked harried when I came in. Was something giving you problems?"

"Oh... it was not knowing what you wanted to talk to me about. I was thinking all sorts of things. Mostly you being transferred," Xylia replied as they made their way down the corridor. "I was so relieved and incredibly happy when you told me about your promotion. No one deserves it more than you do."

"Ah, well, we don't have to worry about a transfer," said Alex. "And as far as the promotion, thank you. I'm glad you're happy. You know, I don't think I've ever had to update my own clearances for Intelligence. This is going to be awkward. Maybe I should put a notation in there in case some Admiral catches it." They rounded a corner and came to a turbolift that would take them to the correct deck for The Black Hole. "Once again, after you," he said to Xylia.

Xylia smiled and made her way into the establishment, picking out a relatively quiet table for the two of them. She made her way toward it and looked toward Alex before she sat down. "So, how are you feeling as a newly minted Lieutenant Commander?" she found herself asking. "It's a well deserved promotion, and no one is more worthy of it than you are."

Alex sat down at the table opposite Xylia. "I haven't really checked on my feelings regarding it yet. Practically though, it's more everything; responsibility, accountability, work. Those sorts of things. All of that in addition to being the ship's Second Officer. Duty, duty, duty. Welcome to Starfleet." He leaned back a little and chuckled.

"Considering it just happened, it's quite possible it hasn't sunk in just yet," she said with a smile. "Give yourself a little time, and it will hit you when you least expect it to. Since I've known you, though, you've busted your ass and have done everything that's been asked of you. You are exactly what a Starfleet officer should be."

The Intelligence Officer smiled. "Doing the job, Xylia, doing the job. And yeah, I guess I'd have to agree that it really hasn't sunk in yet. I bet the next mission will find that happening soon enough." He sat back and exhaled. "So, what are we having today?"

"I've had a BLT on my mind for a good part of the morning, so I think that's what I'm going with today. What about you?" she found herself asking him. Xylia wanted to know if he knew anything about their next mission, but there would be time to ask him about that very soon. If he didn't, she'd get in touch with the Commodore and discuss things with him.

"I think I'm just going to have a bowl of mixed fruit," Alex said. "That sounds good right now. So how has this little interim been treating you?"

"It's been pretty busy, to be perfectly honest. I've spent more time in my office than I have anywhere else, but I'm not complaining," she explained. "That's one of the reasons you haven't seen a whole lot of me lately, but I do plan to change that. You deserve my time, too, and I'm going to see to it that you have it as well."

Alex nodded. "I appreciate it. Such is the life of a Starfleet officer, though. Something I guess we both knew when we joined." At least she probably did. He was just looking for an out, a way to get away from his home planet. "I can imagine that as Mission Advisor your plate has been kept pretty full. As has mine being the Intelligence Chief." Alex continued talking for few more minutes until his fruit came. While there hadn't been a waiter come by yet, Alex had put his order in telepathically. This was certainly going to be a needed break from the doldrums of Starfleet life.