Gulp

Posted on Sat Aug 29th, 2015 @ 7:52pm by Ensign Noriko Ogawa & Captain Taiga Aisaka

1,140 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Behind Closed Doors

ON:

Noriko glanced back at herself in the mirror as she dressed in her uniform. Not even a full day out of sickbay and she was already being sent before the Captain. No reason was given but she expected it had something to do with the runabout she'd destroyed.

Placing the one gold pip in it's proper place on her uniform, Noriko gave herself one last glance over to make sure she was immaculate. She'd taken to wearing starfleet's uniform skirt variant of the standard uniform, in part because she thought the skirt looked better on her tiny frame. Satisfied with her uniform, Noriko went over to M'Zera and gave him a peck on the cheek. "See you when I'm off duty mate." she whispered in his ear.

[Captain's Ready Room]

The walk to the bridge wasn't very far, at least by Noriko's standards, having spent the last five years walking the campuses of several universities. She could feel her heart rate increasing, her face flushing, all signs of nervousness as she awaited permission to enter the Captain's office.

Taiga was sitting on the couch in her ready room when the doorbell rang. "Come in" she called putting her book aside on the coffee table.

Adjusting her uniform one last time, Noriko walked through the door. She initially paid no attention to Taiga, assuming the women was the Captain's daughter. Looking towards the desk as she entered before she realized her mistake. Turning she faced the Commander, standing to attention as has been drilled into her, her face flushing with embarrassment. "Ensign Noriko Ogawa reporting as requested Captain."

"Ah hello" Taiga said. "Our resident expert in crumple zone parking..." Taiga looked up at the young woman as if to see her as fresh meat ready for the slaughter. Of course she liked to break new ensigns in, but nice and softly.

"Ma'am?" Noriko looked a bit confused at the statement. No doubt something to do with the crash and she mentally braced for the royal ass chewing she was going to get about that one. She'd seen the report on her rather spectacular arrival and while it had deemed not her fault, it was always the cadet who caught the flack.

Taiga couldn't help but smile. "I'm sorry. I was refering to your rather... smashing entrance" she said. "I hope that you are fit and well now, no broken bones?"

"I am medically fit to resume my duties, yes Ma'am." Really looking at Taiga, Noriko couldn't help but notice the similarities between them, and a few differences. They were both the lower side of 5ft tall, and they both wore the dress duty uniform. The major difference was rank, Taiga was a full Commander and Noriko an ensign. "Though I suspect I may get some friendly ribbing for my peers over in Fighter Ops."

She glanced around briefly, "Permission to sit down?"

Taiga couldn't help but laugh as she nodded allowing her to sit down. "The pilots on this ship love their banter about how well, or in some cases, how badly they can fly. You'll get used to it" Taiga explained. "You'll be under Commander Takasu in fighter operations by the way. Have you had chance to meet him?"

Noriko hopped up into the chair, and sat down, her hands on her lap, legs dangling a little. She wasn't much taller then Taiga, a few inches at most, and a lot of her height was in her torso. "I can't say I have Ma'am. Aside from Lt Mimi and the medical staff who attended me in sickbay, I've not met anyone else."

"I see..." Taiga said pondering in thought. She clicked her fingers and pointed at Noriko. "Then that's your first assignment. You have to meet everyone in your department" she explained. "On this ship you need to know two things about your fellow crew mates. One. Who you need to stab in the back. Two. Who's going to stab you in the back"

Noriko's expression changed to one of utter confusion. "I'm sorry Ma'am, what?" was all she managed to say. She wanted to say more, to ask why. Was this some sort of joke that the Captain played on new officers?

"Its true" Taiga said leaning back whilst crossing her arms. "Between you and me, I think Commander Daxer has it in for me. I'm pretty sure she wants to kill me half the time... Welcome to the Tokyo..."

Noriko didn't know what to say. "Ma'am ... I"

Taiga just sat and smiled back at the young woman. "Commander Takasu will fill you in on those sort of details" she said. "This ship is everyone's home, but its also a very different ship" she explained.

Noriko sighed inwardly, unconsciously rolling her eyes, "Understood." If the captain wasn't pulling her leg, then she'd made a big mistake in asking for this posting.

"Well then" Taiga said pushing herself off the couch and landing softly on her feet. "Is there anything else I can do for you ensign?" she asked curiously with a strange grin. She looked like she was about to go menace someone about something.

*Gulp* "Permission to speak freely Ma'am?"

"Go ahead" Taiga said as she crossed the room and then sat behind her desk.

Noriko slipped off the couch, standing and brushing the dress so it rode properly. "With all due respect Ma'am, I have a hard time believing that this ship, any starfleet ship for that matter, could be filled with a crew of backstabbing officers and crew. It's just not how 'we' do things. We're not Romulans."

"So you noticed then..." Taiga said a smile creeping across her face. "You know, I've had several ensigns in here believe every word I've said to them. A good officer is not just one who follows orders and respects the chain of command, but also one who is willing to ask questions and use their morals" Taiga explained. "In the short of it, I need good crew not mindless drones. I was testing to see if you were a follower or a thinker, congratulations you passed"

Noriko blinked. So that was a test was it? Her voice faltered the slightest bit as she responded, "Yes Ma'am."

"Be a little more relaxed Ensign" Taiga said with a smile. "Do you have any questions before reporting into Commander Takasu?" she asked.

Noriko was torn between expressing her surprise at Taiga's stature but in the end she decided to play it safe and not ask. Dynamite came in small packages and her CO appeared to be no exception.

"I will try Captain. And no Ma'am, I don't have any questions."

"Good" Taiga said with a smile. "Then by all means dismissed"

Noriko nodded and turned to leave. This wasn't going to be a typical first cruise by any means.

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