LtCmdr Connor Dewitt - Familiar Faces
Tim
((First Officer’s Office, USS Khitomer))
The door to the office slid open with a soft his. Connor stepped inside carrying three PADDs, a small crate, and the uncomfortable awareness that this room now belonged to him.
The office itself was larger than his old workspace in Engineering. Not dramatically so, but enough to feel different. There was a wide desk positioned next to the viewport, a small meeting table covered in books and PADDs, storage alcoves along one wall, and a shelf unit that looked like it had once held something decorative but currently sat empty.
Outside the viewport, the docking area of Deep Space 33 floated in space. The stars beyond the station’s parameter seemed to move in a slow rotation. Connor was not even sure if that was something he imagined or not.
The first officer sat the crate on the desk. He stood there for a moment, then sighed and started unpacking.
The first thing out of the crate was a plant. A small one with long green leaves that he had rescued from Engineering months ago when someone had decided that atmospheric stabilization meant removing anything organic from the room. He placed it at the left side of the desk.
He stared at the plant for a moment as it stared back. Then he moved it to the right side. Then to the shelf behind him. Then back to the desk again. He frowned.
C. Dewitt: This is ridiculous.
He picked up the stack of PADDs and arranged them neatly in the center of the desk. Then moved them to the side. He tried stacking them by priority. Then by department.
Two minutes later the desk looked worse than when he started. He leaned back sitting on the desk chair and opened one of the desk drawers. Inside, something small caught his eye.
A tiny ODN relay chip mounted neatly on a little metal stand. The surface was scorched, one corner blackened as if it had once burned out mid-operation. Next to it sat a narrow strip of paper with a short line etched into it. Connor picked it up.
If this burns out, Engineering fixes it. If people burn out, that’s your job now.
Connor smiled. He did not know for sure, but suspected that Nolen had left this in his office. He set the little relay chip carefully on the desk. To the left. Then he looked at the plant. Still wrong. Connor ran a hand through his hair. He was supposed to help command a crew of four hundred people and could not even decide where the flower should go.
The door chimed. Connor looked up.
C. Dewitt: Come.
The doors parted to reveal Lieutenant Korras, Khitomer’s helmsman. Connor immediately looked towards the small meeting table. One of the PADDs on its surface contained information about Korras’ assignment orders. But which one?
Korras: Response
C. Dewitt: ::clearing throat and gesturing at the office:: It’s… a work in progress.
Korras: Response
Connor gestured towards a chair in front of his desk.
C. Dewitt: You should see my quarters.
Moving into the first officer’s accommodations was a task that was not less difficult for the first officer. Time was always the problem. And Ayemet would probably have to cover for it.
Korras: Response
C. Dewitt: The command structure did a full shuffle since you left. Captain Shayne and Commander Hobart have left the USS Khitomer. Which means I’m now… here. ::gesturing around the office:: Apparently.
Korras: Response
C. Dewitt: Well, welcome back, Lieutenant. It is good to have you back. Your assignment orders?
TAG/TBC
LtCmdr Connor Dewitt
Chief Engineer & Second Officer
USS Khitomer
A239901CD3