[JP] LT Tamio K'Wara & PNPC LT Vailani Zoyara - Take Two, for Better or Worse

[LT Tamio K'Wara]

(( Chief Operations Officer’s Office - Deck 6, USS Arthur Royale ))

((( Timestamp: 239702.27 )))

Brown: Tami, come on, the box ain’t that heavy!

The door slid open to reveal a lanky woman with a mess of brown hair, all put up with a million bobby pins, dressed in overalls. Morrígan was currently assisting Tamio with carrying a large box into the office, the shorter Cygnian struggling under the weight.

K’Wara: The hell’d you put in this thing, Morrí? It weighs a ton.

Brown: Just shut up and lift!

Tamio struggled against the weight of the box, pushing with their spindly arms. One push too far, however, shifted their center of gravity unevenly and soon both officers started shuffling against the current as they half-fell into the office, barely managing to catch the large box on the big desk in the center of the room.

K’Wara: That was close-

Blaming eyes of gray and green looked at them from over the lid of the box.

Brown: You pushed too hard!

Tamio bristled with righteous indignation as they helped push the box further onto the surface of the desk.

K’Wara: You told me to!

Brown: I told you to lift, Tami, not topple us over. Is the UT malfunctioning or something?

Tamio groaned, before looking around the office. Morrígan seemed to consider continuing the argument, before she fell quiet, a cheshire grin monopolizing her angular features.

Brown: So, Chief K’Wara, has it settled in yet?

Tamio blew raspberries, shaking their head in dumbfounded surprise.

K’Wara: No! Chief... Chief, Morrí. ME!

Brown: Yeah, I know, I heard, I was there. What, you think I helped bring this in ::taps the lid of the box:: for a prank?

It was a massive step up. If Tamio had to be completely honest, they still half-expected to wake up back on the Princeton with this all being some kind of crazy fever dream. When they’d first been transferred to the Princeton, they thought for sure they’d hit the end of their career track - they’d definitely self-sabotaged enough for any self-respecting Captain to never even consider them for a serious position - and yet...

Tamio felt a familiar sense of apprehension, their brow knitted together in fear of a future where they failed to live up to expectations, a future where their phantoms kept them trapped in the past, and as though by clockwork, Morrígan’s sharp elbow located the soft part just underneath Tamio’s right ribcage.

K’Wara: OW!

Tamio glowered at their human friend, who pointed at them with that same greater-than-thou attitude that, during their Academy days, had meant many many arguments and tense standoffs.

Brown: I know that face, and you’re gonna quit it with pity party right now. ::taps Tamio’s forehead:: You are going to be brill at this, or I’m never forgiving you. Remember, I transferred to this boring posting for you.

Tamio, who had prepared a snarky remark, fell quiet. While they both knew that was true, it hadn’t been actually put into words until now. The Princeton, with its mission of exploration, was a far more exciting posting than the Arthur Royale’s routine patrol duty in Sol, so it had come as a shock to Tamio when Morrígan applied for the transfer. And as much as Morrígan had refuted it, Tamio had always known it was for their sake...

Realizing that the mood was dangerously close to turning sappy, Tamio stuck their nose up in mock annoyance.

K’Wara: Hey, I’m the one getting all the admin PADDwork now, so I can pity myself as much as I’d like, thank you.

Lieutenant Morrígan Brown scoffed.

Brown: You can try, and I’ll ignore you. ::turns to the box:: Now, help me figure out where to put- the hell is this?

(( Outside Chief Operations Officer’s Office - Deck 5, USS Artemis-A ))

((( Timestamp: Present )))

Zoyara nearly packed the little belongings she had taken to the office into a small container. Nearly, she placed the small plant, a decorative desk object that she'd bought on DS224 to ‘brighten’ the place up but mainly for something other than PADDs to look at. 

Of course, this office would not longer be hers, she has been reassigned, yet again, to Mission Specialist. She was glad of that. Her skills were put to better use, and it was less distracting. No ensigns to get in her way. Most of her work would be research based, analytical and strategic. Bliss. 

Maybe, just maybe, the Prophets had decided to stop torturing her.

 It had helped her forget about Gila's betrayal, after all, and she had done everything she could to stop herself dwelling on the lies and deceit of her ‘closest’ friend. 

K’Wara: Chief Vailani, may I enter?

Zoyara turned to see the Cygnian officer, her replacement. She eyed them up carefully. 

Vailani: Of course. It's your office now. 

Tamio fought down the memories as they entered the office, their arms empty and their mind running at 1000 miles an hour. This came as a total surprise to them, and they had no cause thus far to think that it wasn’t a surprise to Vailani. Though, logically, the replacement may have been prompted by the Chief’s desire to do something else with her time. Her new position of Mission Specialist certainly came with fewer subordinates to test her patience, which they didn’t think the curt Bajoran would particularly mind.

K’Wara: Congratulations on taking the red, Chief. ::smiles:: It suits you.

A platitude, but a genuine one.

Zoyara gave them a rueful smile. They were one of those cheery types. She didn't trust it, or need it or even like it. 

She had tried the friends thing. Several times.

Where had it got her? Luxa had blamed her for Quinn's death, and then nearly got herself killed. Gila had turned out to be a scheming, lying, dangerous criminal. 

She was better without friends, especially smiley people. She couldn't stand smiley people. 

Vailani: If you don't mind I'd like to get this done as quickly as possible. I'm busy and you are too. 

She indicated a pile of PADDs on the desk and Tamio’s face visibly fell at the sight. They knew that the Chief job was really just a Captain’s excuse to shove a large percentage of their PADDwork to you and tell you to deal with it on their behalf, but they thought they’d gotten used to PADDwork abundance while serving as Academy staff.

They had forgotten the sheer amount of PADDs that a chief position handled. Frankly, it was a wonder the desk was still standing straight.

Vailani: Also, flattery isn't necessary. You've got the job now :: looks them in the eye :: I don't need it or appreciate it.

Tamio turned to look at the stern Bajoran, taking care to not show their amusement on their face. While that reaction might garner them some amusing banter in a bar on DS224, they gathered Vailani didn’t respond well to it. That didn’t mean they found her aversion to pleasant conversion amusing - there was no doubt something there to prompt that - and it sparked their imagination.

Certainly not the outcome Vailani would’ve preferred, they were sure.

K'Wara: Noted. Any ongoing projects or information relevant for the immediate future until I get a handle on all these PADDs? ::gestures to the desk::

Vailani: No projects that should affect the running of the ship. I've provided a list of personal crew projects, and the relevant power reserves, schedules and expected results and completion stardates :: sighs :: You should refer to that. Any more questions? 

K’Wara: What about for the coming shore leave? Has the necessary preparations been made to get everyone up-to-speed on Ferenginar’s Terms and Conditions for shore leave? If not, that may be the first thing I do. ::shakes head:: Don’t want any Ensigns let loose down there without prep.

A coy smile touched her lips as she remembered her last visit to Ferenginar and the very long seminars and training sessions with the Ronin crew. Then her smile dropped when she remembered her time with Gila on the rain soaked planet. 

oO something else she's ruined, my favourite planet Oo

Vailani: You'll need at least four hours and access to both Holodecks. To do the entire crew, I'd recommend a rotation and a team of :: thinks :: 4. 

Tamio took that to mean it hadn’t been scheduled just yet, and Vailani no doubt took pleasure in the fact that Tamio now had to seek volunteers to delve into the finer points of ‘Ferenginar Survival for the Stingy 101’... Tamio couldn’t fault her. It painted an amusing picture in their brain as well.

K’Wara: That’ll be priority one then. ::smiles:: Or I’ll be spending all shore leave in here running interference between hapless Ensigns and debt collectors.

Vailani: You should also prepare for that. Last time I was on Ferenginar with the Ronin crew, we had nearly 79 separate incidents. Including an assassination attempt. Ferenginar is not for the faint of heart. 

K’Wara: Just the one? Excellent track record, all things considered. ::considers:: You went there recently?

Vailani: Last year. It's a :: pauses :: nice place. I like the rain. I also like bartering, within Starfleet protocols and only with my personal latinum stores. Of course. 

Okay, that couldn’t not be answered with a smile.

K’Wara: Of course.

Tamio’s felinoid eyes glittered in the artificial lighting from up above at that admission, though they filed the slightest inclination of personal information away to be perused at a later date.

oO Dark blue? Or perhaps a muted moss green... Oo

K’Wara: Don’t suppose you’d be up for drilling a team of Ensigns through the grizzly details of how drunken shore leaves may end with you on a Ferengi merchant’s hitlist?

Vailani: Experience tells me that ensigns will still find trouble no matter what you do. But, we live in hope that something might sink in. Even if it leads to constant disappointment. 

K’Wara: Hope is free, if futile.

She thought of the Ferengi traders, and the argument that the Federation and Starfleet would be an important boost to their planetary economics. They saw the application to the Federation as a boon to their financial portfolio. 

Hope, in their view, was profitable. 

Vailani: I think the Ferengi would disagree with that. Hopeful people spend more. You might put the whole application to the Federation in jeopardy if you talk like that. 

K’Wara: I’m an artist, Chief - the Ferengi and I disagree on many points - but I’ll take that under advisement.

Vailani: I'm no longer Chief. That's your job now. 

That reality was still really getting settled in Tamio’s mind, but regardless, they doubted that they’d ever fully dismiss Vailani as the ‘Chief’ in their mind. There was something about the crew configuration that existed on a Ship the first time you encountered it - it was the same reason it was still difficult to see Commander Fairhug in the chair instead of Commodore Taybrim.

Habits died hard, and some things never quite left.

K’Wara: First impressions last, Lieutenant Vailani. ::smiles:: And ‘Specialist’ doesn’t roll off of the tongue as well.

Vailani: I prefer Lieutenant. Truth be told I never really thought Chief suited me. 

She considered the Cygnian before her. 

Vailani: You are one of those ‘people persons’ that humans like to talk about? :: shrugs :: I don't really like people. I prefer systems. Codes. Protocols and processes. You can predict them. No surprises.

oO Nooooo, you don’t say? Oo

Tamio did their utmost to not show how unsurprised they were at that statement, though they didn’t necessarily see how that made Vailani less capable of the Chief position. It depended on the Ship and the crew - they’d met plenty of people (themself included) that had benefitted from having a hardass superior officer - but they could also see how Vailani could consider a ‘people person’ a better fit.

K’Wara: Sounds like the new assignment will fit you like a glove then.

Vailani: I have been a mission specialist before. On the Ronin. Specifically in regards to the war with the Lattice Alliance. Here, it's more generalised to the Borderlands. 

K’Wara: Means more pirates, less wanton war criminals? Not sure that preference for predictability would serve or hinder there.

Vailani: :: deadly serious :: The Alpha Isles have pirates too. 

Deadly pirates. The Consortium, a band of sophisticated pirates led by the hateful Wrath, who had taken Clara Quinn's life. It was the single worst moment of her life.

Vailani: I don't have time for this. 

Zoyara picked up the container of her items and looked to the new Chief of Operations. 

Vailani: Less talk and more doing might be a wise suggestion for you, Chief K'Wara.

Tamio raised an eyebrow this time, less concerned with hiding their notice of this change in attitude. Their expression didn’t change any further than that though, as they examined how Vailani Zoyara’s body language changed: squared shoulders, Vailani lifted the container, almost as if to shield herself. 

K’Wara: True, the PADDs won’t read themselves. ::steps aside from the door:: It was a pleasure to talk with you, Lieutenant Vailani.

A peace offering, though Tamio didn’t know what had prompted such a thing to be necessary. But the dark blue soul evidently had sparks of thunder within it, and Tamio had learned long ago to not play in lightning storms.

As she left the office, with only a nod to the new Chief of Ops she took one last look before the door closed behind her. She was relieved that Chief K'Wara seemed competent, and that the department would be left in capable hands as she embarked on yet another new role. For better or worse.

LT Tamio K’Wara

Chief of Operations

USS Artemis-A
A240006GS1

And

LT Vailani Zoyara

Mission Specialist

USS Artemis-A

As written by

Lt.Cdr. Ava Munro

First Officer

USS Artemis-A

A240004LL2