Ens. Xx/Lt. Alora DeVeau: Unhappy Camper

[David Adams]

(( Alora's Office, USS Garuda ))

::There were some good things about her new position.  Alora was allowed to do more with the data that they were gleaning for their various scientific studies.  Since she had a broader picture, she felt like she could see how pieces fit together better in some instances.  

There were some downsides to it as well.  Her work load was substantially bigger, not that she was going to complain.  It was work she enjoyed doing.  At the same time, she was learning how to delegate, something she struggled with the first couple of weeks, but a good dressing down from Kestra had convinced her of the merit of doing so.  

That being said, there were issues being in command.  Not everyone got along and already that morning she’d had to break up a rather heated argument between two scientists in a lab.  In addition, she’d received several reports that were spotty at best and down right horrible at worst.  The case of the officer she had called in was particularly annoying.  Several fields were left blank and those that were filled in were vague in the broadest sense of the word.::

DeVeau: Come in.

::The words were spoken no the heels of the chime that indicated someone had stopped before her office door.  She executed one last stroke on her triPADD, then lifted her gaze. ::

:: Xx, Xindi Insectoid, stepped into what it considered, to some extent, its office. ::

:: Xx. Just Xx. No other name. Pronounced just as it’s written. For Humans and other species, such a name was difficult, so it accepted even wildly unacceptable pronunciations. Most, though, butchered it to a low buzz. A kind of a Zzz noise, like a Terran bee. That was fine. It knew who they meant. ::

Xx: You asked to see me.

:: Blunt and always to the point. Xindi-insectoids were physically incapable of speaking almost any humanoid language and spoke only its own tongue, a clicking, buzzing, whirring language. Beautiful, but rare for non-Xindi speakers to know. The universal translator would have to do its work here. ::

DeVeau: Yes, good, thanks for coming by.

::The triPADD was taken up once more and after a few taps from her fingers, the officer’s report pulled up on the screen. Xx folded its arms behind its back.::

DeVeau: Um, I was wondering if you could give me a bit more of an explanation for this.

:: The source of “this” was fairly obvious. ::

Xx: I assume you are referring, of course, to the missing data in my report.

DeVeau:  That is correct.

Xx: The explanation for the missing data is simple.

DeVeau:  All right.  I’m listening.

Xx: It is not there.

:: Now it was just being deliberately obtuse. It knew this. Xx was often frustrated by Humans and their behaviour. It felt good to give a little back. It clicked its mandibles. ::

::Even if data was inconclusive, there should at least be some remarks as such, a hypothesis, a note that further study would be required.  Something.  Not just nothing.  Alora’s lips turned down and she lay the triPADD on the table to fold her hands together.  The Xindi might not have been human, but she could sense that there was more to that answer than simply that the data wasn’t available.::

DeVeau:  All right, I’ll bite.  Why isn’t it there?

Xx: Because, Lieutenant, I did not enter it into the report when I was compiling it.

DeVeau: But...why?

Xx: I did not want to.

::The answer was met with a long, incredulous stare.  He didn’t want to?  What kind of an excuse was that one?::

DeVeau:  And why didn’t you want to?

Xx: I felt such information should be compartmentalised.

DeVeau:  Compartmentalised?  Look, you were given a specific assignment.  If you have any suggestions, please feel free to suggest them, but you don’t leave an assignment not done just because that’s what you want.

:: Xx clicked its mandibles again. ::

Xx: May I be blunt, ma’am?

::Alora stiffened.  That sort of statement usually meant the conversation was about to become even more uncomfortable.  Her frown remained, but Alora nodded.:

Xx: I do not believe your aptitude sufficient to understand the data as presented. I would prefer to work on it alone. May I be dismissed?

:: In other words, “You’re not science-y enough to science. Leave the science to the smart, clever bugs who are super smart.” ::

::Did she really hear what she just thought she heard?  The Xindi was awarded with another long stare before she finally answered. ::

DeVeau:  No.

::Colour rose to draw its veil over her cheeks as anger welled up in her chest.  She didn’t want a fight, but this wasn’t right.::

DeVeau: No, you are not dismissed.  Look, I gave you a job to do and I expect you to do it.  I want this report completely finished and to me within an hour.  Understand?

:: This, too, was typical. Xindi-insectoids did not live anywhere near as long as Humans. It was a blessing and a curse. They did not sleep, which gave them a full 24 hours of alertness in a day, rather than Humans who had only an average of 8 full hours. Yet a five year tour was, for other races, a grand adventure consuming a sliver of their prime. Not for Insectoids. Xx fully expected to die of old age aboard this ship. The academy was tortuously long. To be denied the position of Chief of Science now meant that it would never have it. ::

:: Why would this near-immortal Human not stand aside for a year and let others work? Its compound eyes bored into her, and then it saluted crisply. Overly formally. ::

Xx: You will have the report on your desk within the hour, with the missing data intact.

DeVeau: Intact and thorough.  

::She could still feel the blood in her cheeks and she remained standing, unwilling to give up what little authority she held in that room.::

DeVeau: You are dismissed, Xx.

:: With that, it turned and left. ::

::She waited until he exited the room and the door was closed before lowering into her seat.  The insubordination she had just witnessed had been the first.  Why in the world did he feel like he needed to renegade on an assignment he’d been given - or she she thought belatedly.  Well, hopefully she wouldn’t have the issue again.  Alora took a deep breath and patted the table as if trying to pat herself in an effort to calm down.  She had her own work to do and she couldn’t let that little conflict get in the way.::

******

Lt. Jg. Alora DeVeau

Chief of Science

USS Garuda

Lt. Jg. Xx

Science

USS Garuda