Ensign Meris - Wounded Squirrel
Meris/Brian
(( Bridge - Deck 1, USS Artemis-A ))
Meris had accepted the PADD from Lieutenant Tamio K'Wara and was perusing it. The device contained a variety of tests that the engineers on DS224 wanted the Artemis to undergo following completion of their current maintenance cycle. As the J’naii listened to K'Wara explain this, they misunderstood the Lieutenant's intent and failed to notice that the engineer’s proposal already contained the signature of Fleet Captain Rainier, the Commanding Officer of DS224. Instead, Meris jumped to a regrettable conclusion and narrowed their eyes at K'Wara.
Meris: Lieutenant, are you trying to... I believe the appropriate word is bait me?
K'Wara: Hm?
Meris: ::their tone shifting to incensed:: It would be inappropriate of me to execute any "special testing" of the Artemis requested by the engineers of DS224 without Fleet Captain Rainier’s authorization and the express consent of Captain MacKenzie or Commander Munro. Further, if you have absconded from DS224's Operations section with this data PADD and without proper authorization, then you have committed a misdemeanor punishable by confinement to quarters under the Starfleet Code of Military Justice, and I will be required to report you to the Master-at-Arms. ::pausing, eyes darting, thinking:: Unless this is just another test...
To his credit, Tamio’s expression didn’t change as Ensign Meris practically accused him of high crimes and misdemeanors against the United Federation of Planets. Perhaps he appreciated their gusto. Perhaps he was just used to dealing with high-strung Ensigns in his role at Starfleet Academy.
oO Is that what I am? High-strung? Oo
K'Wara: Not a test. Though if it was, I’d give you a solid 6/10. ::smile:: Did I ever specify that I’d stolen the PADD from the Operations Center of DS224?
oO Hadn’t they though? Oo
The expression on Meris' face was truly one that Tamio K'Wara had never seen before - on anyone. Perhaps the most apt description would have been "wounded squirrel." They scrunched one side of their face, pursed one side of their mouth. If one of the doctors had seen them, they might have thought Meris was having a stroke. Had the J’naii jumped to a conclusion? They went over it again in their mind.
oO Requests from the DS224 engineers. It happened to be on a table in the Operations Center. Oo
Their facial expression relaxed, but if it were possible, Meris’ pale skin turned paler.
Meris: Lieutenant, I may have misunderstood...
K'Wara: As a matter of fact, I didn’t. ::leans against the console:: I got it from the Operations Center of the Artemis, from my desk. Chief Vailani wants the input from experienced pilots on the request list so Captain MacKenzie and Commander Munro have a better nuance in terms of how many of these requests we can possibly complete, because frankly, there’s too many of them for us to realistically do all of them.
Meris: ::recovering:: Of course, Lieutenant. I will... take care of this immediately. I’ll provide a thorough and complete report - in triplicate. I’m honored. I’m equal to the task. And I won’t let you down, sir.
K’Wara: Relax, Meris. I’m not here to haze you, or bait you, or any such thing. Not my style. I didn’t get to see you perform as a Helm Officer during your Academy Cruise, so I wanted to see what your opinion would be on some of these maneuvers, to see what kind of pilot you are. ::slight pause:: Though, if you’d rather fantasize about sitting in the Captain’s chair, that’s fair. It is a nice chair. ::conspiratorial tone:: I heard there’s heating in the seat.
Meris: No sir, I appreciate that Lieutenant Vailani wants my input, and I’ll not let them down.
K’Wara: Response.
Meris nodded and gathered themself.
Meris: Thank you, Lieutenant. I’d best get to it. And again, my apologies for the misunderstanding, sir.
K’Wara: Response.
The J’naii then stepped past K'Wara and took their place at the helm just as the other members of the Alpha shift skeleton crew began to arrive. They set the PADD on the console in front of them, leaned forward, and began reviewing it with laser-like focus.
(( TAG / Scene ends for Meris ))
---
Ensign Meris
Helm Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240207M14