Poached Is For Eggs

Posted on Mon Jul 15, 2019 @ 8:30pm by Captain Madelina Weisz & Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes

Mission: Refits and Reviews
Location: Various
Timeline: MD 5 || 1700 Hours

Maddy's head was still reeling after her encounter with Admiral O'Connell earlier in the day, and now that her shift was officially over, it was time for her to seek out the Chief Engineer. A large part of her was worried that Tom had decided to take Zachary up on his offer to leave, but she'd already told the Master Chief she would go with him if he ever did, and she'd meant it. Still, her life was here, but did she want to Command a starship? Not particularly, but she couldn't run from responsibility forever. Things would eventually catch up to her.

"Computer," she said as she made her way out of her office and moved toward the nearest turbolift. "locate Master Chief Barnes."

"Master Chief Barnes is on Deck Five, Section Twenty," came the computer's reply.

Working, she thought as she boarded the turbolift and requested the proper deck. Maddy might have continued working more herself, but there were far too many things on her mind presently. She needed to talk to Tom and figure out exactly what she wanted to do.

Maddy was so lost in her thoughts and musings that she didn't even realize she'd made it to her destination. Were things getting under her skin that bad? The answer to that was a definitely yes. She felt like the ship and crew needed her, but did they really? Wouldn't they survive without her? There were so many questions, and it seemed that more kept piling on top of them. "Hello?" she called out, hoping to get someone's attention.

The Deck Five corridor was still dark, yet it was bustling with activity. The left side of the corridor segments had several panels removed, and multiple Operations and Engineering personnel were busy sliding new pipes into freshly drilled holes and welding them together.

Despite the loud commotion, a bald Deltan male heard a voice behind them and turned to see who was approaching. "Captain on deck!" he shouted instantly with a tone that commanded surprise, authority, and possessed the charm of a celebrity.

"At ease," she said, looking at the people she could see in the dark corridor. "I'm looking for Master Chief Barnes. Can you point me in his direction?"

As the rest of the crew went back to work, the Deltan simply said, "This way, Captain. And watch your step, it's a bit of a construction zone around here."

Maddy nodded her head and followed behind the Deltan, bring mindful of where she stepped. The last thing she wanted was a broken ankle, or worse, while trying to navigate her way through the torn apart corridor. She seriously doubted she'd ever live such a thing down, so she heeded his warning.

After a few moments, the Deltan gestured down an open Jefferies tube. Though it was illuminated only by emergency lighting, they could clearly see Tom laying down working with an EPS manifold. "There he is, Captain."

"Thanks," the Captain said, offering a smile as she looked to the open hatch. This... this was a big reason why she wasn't an Engineer. Maddy knew she'd develop claustrophobia pretty quickly in such a position, but thankfully, she would only be inside the small space for a little while and not a long period of time.

Maddy carefully slipped into the hatch and began to make her way to Tom, still being pretty mindful of her own moves compared to his location. "Mister Barnes, I was hoping you might have a minute so that we could talk."

Tom looked up, surprised at the voice. He, of course, recognized it, but he hadn't known Maddy to drop by in these enclosed spaces while he worked. "Of course, Captain," Tom said, glancing around her to see that the Deltan was leaving. "Should we step into my office for a private chat?"

"Is there anyone else down here with you?" she asked, coming to a stop next to him. "Of course, if you'd rather go to your office, we can do that, too."

"All alone in here," Tom confirmed, "but I've got to leave that hatch open you came through. In the event that I get electrocuted, I'd like knowing that my screams won't be muffled and I could be saved before turning to ash. Follow me."

With that, Tom rolled over and started to crawl away, but not in the direction Maddy came from.

Maddy blinked a few times, then followed behind him. "You weren't actually serious just now, were you?" she found herself asking, suddenly more aware of everything on either side of her. If she had the ability to make herself compact, she probably would have.

"About the office or ash?" Tom asked, his tone a little more jovial than it should have been. He arrived a moment later at the end of the tube and exited into a junction. The tube across the junction was shuttered, as were the ladder egress and exit points, while the room itself was illuminated by better lighting than the tube he was working in. "Welcome to my office," he said, gesturing around. "It's a bit spartan for my taste, but it's temporary anyway."

"The ash," the Captain replied as she took a look around for a moment before turning her attention back to him. After all, she wasn't there to comment on the lack of decor, but to talk to him. And now, he had her a little freaked out at the thought he could end up electrocuted. "Do me a favor?"

Tom arched his right eyebrow, only because he realized something was off. Perhaps this wasn't the best time to use a bit of sadistic humor. "Not talk about random death again?"

Maddy shook her head. "Just be careful while you're working. Please. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I would do." And she'd meant every word of that. Even though they hadn't been together as long as some others on board the ship, she was quite attached, and didn't want anything to happen to him.

"Maddy," Tom said, his tone assuring, as he stepped over to place both of his hands just below her shoulders on her forearms. "I'm always careful. Even though we're working at a breakneck pace, safety is paramount."

"I know," she said softly. Things had been weird for her most of the day, and they seemed to be following the same path even now. "But, I'm always going to worry. Of course, life in space is dangerous no matter what department someone is in. She sighed and closed her eyes. "I had a visitor today."

"Admiral O'Connell?" Tom simply asked. "Yeah, he came to see me too. He offered you a command, didn't he?"

"Yes," Maddy answered simply. "And he told me he'd already spoken to you, but wouldn't say anything more than that. Tell me he doesn't want to stick you behind a desk somewhere."

"You do realize that I've been behind a desk for the last several years," he pointed out. "Well, aside for the last few weeks when I transferred to Engineering. But, no, he didn't say. He did make it clear that I was being looked at because I'm a Master Chief, one of only two within a few hundred lightyears."

Tom reached into a pocket inside his jacket. "He said everything we'd need to know is on this." He pulled out a gold isolinear chip.

Her eyes moved from him down to the chip he held. "What... what's on that? Have you looked at it yet?"

"Honestly?" Tom said, looking down at the chip. "I haven't looked at it yet. I figured we'd look at it together when the shift was over. Speaking of... what time is it?"

"Seventeen hundred," Maddy answered. "How much longer do you think you'll need before you can take off for the evening?"

"Maybe thirty minutes or so on that installation," Tom said, pointing back down the vacant tube. "It's not something I can just pass off to someone in the event that something gets overlooked and we short out the EPS manifolds on this deck. But it's something I can come back to later. Power isn't scheduled to be turned on until the morning, and I can take a break to satisfy our curiosity."

"Then, let's see what's on that," she said. Maddy was definitely curious, but found herself a bit sick to her stomach at the same time. That, however, was nerves and not knowing what they were about to see. "Why did this have to happen?"

"Such is the burden with being highly ranked," Tom said, hoping onto the ladder until he reached the handle for the upper hatch. "You and I both knew this day would come. It probably accelerated the moment you took that fourth pip, and when I made Master Chief. Let's head for my real office or our quarters and take a look at that chip."

"Admiral Breckenridge was kind of pushing for it, and I figured it would stop with him, but that was only wishful thinking. I can't run from this forever," Maddy sighed, gesturing for him to lead the way. She'd go wherever, but wanted to know what was on the chip. "Until I finally do take a command of my own, I think it's always going to come knocking."

Tom started the climb up the ladder, saying "Up it is." The senior officer quarters were only two decks above them and would be the quickest to get to. "That's about the same with me and the triple dots and chevrons. Being enlisted, I don't get much say. I'm fortunate that I was asked and not ordered. If I turn this one down, who's to say I'll get the chance the next time someone comes knocking."

The redhead began climbing up after him. "You know I'll fight tooth and nail for you no matter who it is I'm up against," she said, though, it was more of a promise.

"I know," Tom told her as he passed through Deck Four. "I've got an army here on the Triumphant. Between you and the Commodore, I know I won't be going anywhere until either of you two move."

"For me... that could very well be sooner rather than later," she told him with a frown. As much as she didn't want to leave her position aboard the ship, there was going to a come a time when she wouldn't have a choice any longer. Maddy did plan to hold off in doing it as long as she could, though. "My biggest fear is that that chip you have contains orders for our transfers."

Tom stepped off the ladder onto Deck Three where their quarters were situated. "O'Connell said it was something to think about. If they were just orders, we probably would have received something different, and something other than an admiral coming by to grab what he could."

"You're probably right, but I'm still curious to know what's on that thing. It's not everyday an Admiral shows up like this and hands over an isolinear chip," the redhead said as she continued to follow behind him. "Anything could be on that thing."

They exited into the corridor and started the trek to their quarters. Tom held up the chip to the light. "Should we take bets? Maybe it's an all expenses paid trip to Risa or Bajor. Maybe even Sherman's planet."

Oh, did Maddy hope that's what was on the chip, but she doubted it. "I think we should, because I just can't see that being what's on there. In fact, I can't even begin to fathom what it could be."

The doors to their quarters opened, the lights illuminating the room as they entered. Tom walked straight over to the large screen and inserted the chip into the reader. "All right," he said, "let's see what's here."

With a flicker, the screen came to life, displaying the Starfleet Command logo above the words Dual Authorization Required. "Looks like you're up first, Captain," Tom said.

"Nothing good can come from the need for authorization," the redhead said as she put in her authorization code and waited to see what information would appear on the screen. Of course, Maddy was assuming the worst and hoping for the best, but would find out one way or another in a few short moments.

Tom stepped forward and inputted his authorization code. The screen flashed, with all of the text disappearing quickly character by character, followed by the logo fading out. A moment later, the screen was filled again with a standard LCARS interface, just before a map and a whole series of metadata began to scroll across the screen. "The Verucan Expanse," Tom muttered, reading some of the text before pointing along the southern corner of Federation space next to the Cardassian Union. "Looks like O'Connell's going to push into it and establish a string of outposts."

"And, it would seem he wants us to be a part of it. How does that make you feel?"

"I have to admit, it's nice being someone's first choice." Tom turned and found the couch. He sat, not on the cushions, but the arm. "Exploration... it's why most of it sign up for Starfleet. But..."

Maddy settled down on the couch and laid her head against the back of it. "It is nice, but as nice as it is, the Triumphant is home. We've built relationships with the people here. We've put a lot into our positions here, and I just don't know if I'm ready to give any of that up right now. Don't get me wrong. I do understand that there will come a time when I can't turn it down, though, I think I'm going to this time."

Tom sighed, reaching over to stroke the top of her head. "It's definitely exciting. You know how much I love a new adventure. But, I just started in Engineering. There's so much potential down there, and I've barely begun. I don't think I can leave now."

"Then, it seems we have our answers," she said, looking toward him. "And, I hear Engineering is full of adventures, too. And, let's not forget, this ship, as well as her crew, have been through some pretty exciting things over the months. I won't say they've been exciting in a good way, but they've been exciting regardless."

He smiled at her. "Life itself is the greatest adventure. And, yes, it does seem we have our answers." Quietly, he did wish that he was in a different phase of life, but only for a moment. "All I need is right here on this couch."

Maddy smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "You're all I need, too, and as long as I have you, I know I'll truly be happy."

Tom kept his smile as he leaned down to kiss her. "I should go finish what I was doing. Should be home an hour after that."

"I'll have dinner ready for you when you get home," she told him. Her shift actually ended hours ago, however, there were still some things she had to wrap up before actually being able to leave her office. So now, Maddy's time was her own.

"I can't wait," Tom said, kissing her one more time. "See you tonight." With that, he rose from the couch and made for the door.

Maddy watched him go with a smile on her face. They were both safe to live life aboard the Triumphant another day, though, there would come a time where that wouldn't be the case any longer. For now, she planned to relish in the fact that she would be able to stay aboard her home with the man that she loved.