Begging for Work
Posted on Wed Sep 25th, 2019 @ 11:54pm by Captain Liarra Von & Commander Jordan Gunning
Mission:
Who Watches The Watchers
Location: Commanding Officer's Office [Ops - Deck 12]
Jordan Gunning stepped off the turbolift into Ops and was overcome with a familiar feeling. He had been there so many times before, worked there, laughed there, he even slept there once but he wouldn't freely admit to that one. He had crossed the floor of Ops hundreds of times - maybe thousands - and gone into Liarra's office but today felt different.
He nodded an acknowledgement to the few early risers that were covering for the Alpha shift. He didn't really recognise any of them but it was like walking into City Hall and expecting to know everyone.
He pressed the chime and waited. He could see Liarra through the glass, her back to the door reading a PADD. Probably the psych evaluation report from the doctor. That was good - less explaining for him to do.
Liarra wasn't at all surprised when the door chime rang out. It was still several minutes before they were scheduled to meet, but Jordan had always been the type to arrive early if possible. She smiled slightly to herself. Some things never change. "Come in," she said to the air, her eyes still tracing over the last few lines of the evaluation report.
He hadn't seen her for months but there was something reassuring about hearing her voice. He had been thinking about how to address her the entire way up and then suddenly it all clicked as he walked through the door. "Hi Liarra. How's it going?"
Liarra spun her chair around and laid the PADD on her desk. "Hi Jordan. We've been through an ion storm, got pulled through a wormhole, and were attacked by a swarm of giant insects. So it's been as good as ever." She offered him a warm smile and gestured to one of the chairs in front of her. "Please, have a seat. It's good to see you in that uniform again."
"Well I guess that puts my few months into perspective." Jordan replied with a chuckle, taking a seat in front of the Captain. "It feels kind of weird to be honest - they've signed me off for active duty so I guess I don't have a choice!"
"From what I've read, there's no reason not to keep you from active duty." Liarra shrugged. "Well, no reason unless you wanted to stay retired."
"No point in staying retired." His voice was tinged with regret. "Can't exactly remember why I left in the first place. They can tell me all they want but it doesn't help it to make sense."
"You seemed adamant about it at the time," Liarra replied with a shrug. "I know you don't remember it, but you seemed to have had your reasons. Hopefully your memories will return in time. The best thing that you can do now is keep looking forward."
"Yeah. I guess so. With that in mind, I don't suppose you're desperately short of a commander?" He knew the chances were slim but the thought of ending up on a ship engaged in some nebula survey or other made him feel physically sick. Maybe there was something in that.
"I'm sure we can find a place for you. It's hard to turn down someone with your experience." Liarra gestured towards the PADD on her desk. "I'll need to create a position for you on the manifest and submit the transfer request. But that should just be a matter of formality."
Those words seemed to lift thousands of tons from Gunning's shoulders. "I'd appreciate that. Thanks Liarra. I'm willing to hang around, I just can't face the prospect of being out there again." He motioned dismissively out of the window where Archa IV hung in space.
Von's eyes followed his hand motions, but her face stayed pointing at Jordan. "Hey, being in familiar surroundings is probably good for your recovery. It's probably worth spending some time off the clock to get acclimated. From what I've been told, the office you rented is still assigned to you. Maybe there's something there that will offer some insight into what happened? At least it gives you something to do while I get the transfer orders sent in."
"Yeah, that's a good idea actually. Speaking of which, don't suppose you want to buy a shuttle?"
Captain Liarra Von
Commanding Officer
Starbase 332
Commander Jordan Gunning
Staff Officer
