Time For Better Things
Posted on Sun Nov 29th, 2020 @ 2:20am by Captain Tobias Bach & Lieutenant Kiam Aax & Lieutenant Commander Timo Schaefer
Mission:
28 Days
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: Mission Day 3 at 1000
[Main Engineering]
Timo tilted his office chair back and stared at the ceiling in thought. He had been on the Ulysses for two years, but the Human was ambitious. That drive had pushed him to transfer from the Constitution-class Yorktown to the small frigate. The Ulysses had needed a Chief Engineer and Second Officer, and Timo had jumped at the opportunity to advance his career. However, the goal had always been to return to a more prestigious posting when one presented itself.
Now, the results flashing on the monitor presented him with that opportunity. Timo knew Captain Bach wouldn't be happy with the request, but he wouldn't be surprised either, Timo figured. He blanked the screen and took a moment to make sure his hair was perfect in the reflection. Smiling at himself, he stood and headed out into the cavernous room of Main Engineering and called out to his second, "Yousef, hold down the fort for a few minutes. I need to talk to the Captain."
It took only a minute to reach the Captain's Ready Room door from Turbolift 2. A brief moment of uncertainly caused his finger to hover just over the doorbell before pressing on the button.
Tobias Bach was not a young man anymore. That irked him. Worse, he hated sweating in front of people. "Do you have to stare at me while you make me suffer?" Light blue eyes twitched toward the object of his ire, his voice breathy. "Slave driver...." he muttered with a huffy shake of his head. "You should have a big drum and some batons. It is the prop for people in your position."
Doctor Kiam Aax smirked her amusement, her dark eyes on a tricorder. She passed the small, whirling lights and shape of her sensor across the arc of his neck and shoulder. "For a man with high blood pressure and just underwent a cardiopulmonary regeneration, you're pretty mouthy." She tilted her head with her too-wide smile, "And stupid, considering I'm the one with the speed and incline controls. I thought Captains were smart?"
Bach chuckled darkly, "Sadist." He shook his head again.
Kiam's eyebrows popped along with a nod from her head, "All Doctors are, hasn't anyone told you?" The Captain choked around a throaty laugh as Kiam felt the presence of another stir the barriers of her mind-reach. She nibbled her lip. "Alright that's twenty minutes...." she said, setting the machine to lower its incline and slow its pace. Bach huffed a sound of relief.
The door chimed a moment later as Kiam passed Tobias Bach one of his somewhat commonly draped white towels. He pulled it over his shoulders, brows fretting at the untimely trespass. "What is it? Come in!" He called, "I'm in the middle of being racked by this witch, what the Hell could possibly be important?"
Kiam pushed her sensor back into her tricorder. "Computer, return air pressure to normal levels." She eyed the Captain as the doors parted, "Don't forget, Captain. Tomorrow, 1000 hours. You have a hypoxic rowing test." She smiled her too-wide smile, "Don't make me send Security." She turned to the intruder.
As the doors whisked open, Timo smiled in his usual sure manner, "Hey Kiam, sorry if I'm interrupting, Captain. I can come back if this is a difficult time." Chuckling slightly in the direction of the doctor, "I know how thorough she likes to be. I just need to discuss a personnel request."
Tobias Bach sighed heavily, his crooked and thin smile turning, "It's fine. Torquemada and I are done." He chin-jutted in the small space at the device Kiam had brought with her- a small rectangular object with segmented striations and a Caduceus on it. It's edges, once aglow, were dark now. It was a treadmill in its most utilitarian sense. "You can take the thumbscrews with you back to Salamanca."
Kiam tossed the small datapad at the Captain, who snatched it at the last minute, "Oh no. That's yours now. Twenty minutes a day, that's an order."
Tobia's mouth twitched into a cheek, "It... doesn't go with the decor."
Kiam flashed her smile at the tall Engineer, "Good Morning Commander," she greeted. "He's all yours. Vinegar level seven today." She pushed her hands into her pockets and swayed around the Engineer. The swish of the doors was the sound of her exit. Tobias had watched her go.
"I need a steak. A nice juicy steak." He sniffed before acknowledging his Engineer. Tobias dropped into his chair with a sigh and slumped back a little. "What's on your mind, Schaefer? I wasn't going to ask you about the status of the refit for at least a few more hours." He gestured for the man to sit in the chair across.
The Engineer slipped into the chair with ease and crossed his legs at the knee, "Well, sir, I have a personnel request, a personal personnel request that is." Timo wasn't one to sweat under pressure, but considering the Captain's mood, he wished he had waited a few hours or a day. Still, time was not on his side, and he pressed on, "No sense in beating around the bush, I suppose. I'd like to request a transfer, Captain. Specifically to the Farragut, she's just finishing up a refit, and Captain Garrovick needs a new Chief Engineer."
"I know Garrovick," Bach said while he leaned his chair back. The older man smirked and put his hands behind his head. "John Garrovick." Bach picked up a datapad and tapped at it. The device squealed, indicating he was scrolling. "One. The Farragut's in the wrong direction, Commander. It's refitting at San Francisco Shipyards." He dropped the datapad on his desk- it clattered, discarded of like it no longer interested him. "Two. Why?"
Timo pressed his lips together and shrugged, "Farragut is a Constitution-class ship, sir. She explores the great unknown, and it's a great posting for career advancement." The Engineer left the part about the Ulysses not being the most prestigious posting unsaid, "The Farragut still has a few months left on the refit, and we should be finished with this mission by then. Besides, Yousef is a fine engineer. He's ready." The Human smirked, unable to avoid adding, "I mean, he's not as good as me, but who is?"
Bach drummed a finger on the table to stop Timo's self-reflection of his skills, "I... have no doubt you're a competent engineer. If you weren't, I would've left you on Proxima. For Yousef." His azure eyes turned to the datapad he dropped and heaved a sigh. He rubbed his face and chin and scratched a cheek, "You've been here what... a year and a half? That's a short tour for an Engineer. And your last posting was the Yorktown, correct? Wasn't that enough fortune and glory for career advancement? You're second officer here. You won't be on the Farragut."
"I'm afraid not quite enough glory yet, Captain," The Engineer chuckled. "It would be all over two years by the time I departed Ulysses, sir, and while that's a somewhat short tenure, it's not incredibly so." Timo shrugged and pulled the corner of his mouth back, "I recognize it's not ideal for you, but it is for my plans. I might not be Second Officer, but I'll be a Commander within a year, and that keeps me on track."
Bach sighed. He was silent for a length that may have been long enough to draw anxiety. Inwardly, Bach had no stomach to keep people back from their ambitions- he'd been young once. They had taken different paths but neither often led to command. "So, you want your own ship someday hmm?" Tobias hummed. "Be careful what you wish for, Commander. It won't be about pride in an engine... you wake up one day and suddenly hold a hundred lives in every decision you make. And your only hope is a Number One who will make sure you don't look like an idiot."
He smirked into a cheek, "Give it twenty four hours to think on. But if you want it so bad, put your application in." The old man turned to look at his Engineer, "We'll figure out how to get you back to Earth on time somehow..." the Captain's brow rose in a Patrician impishness, "Even if we have to shoot you out of the torpedo bay in a probe."
Timo rose from his chair, smiling, "Thank you, sir, and luckily I will have many years before I have to assume the burden of command." Though the Chief Engineer knew he wouldn't have any command issues, he recognized the Captain thought he might. After all, he understood everyone didn't have his innate abilities. So, he extended his hand with a chuckle, "Hopefully, we can avoid the torpedo tube."
Eyeing the hand with a note of resigned trepidation, Bach rose and took it. "Think it over. Let myself and Commander Muldowney know your plans. We'll need to start prepping Syed to take over your position in the meantime. I want a seamless transition when you choose to leave, Commander."
"Of course, sir. I'll take the day to think on it and let you know for sure tomorrow," Timo lied. Oh, he would inform them of his decision tomorrow, but his mind was made. He quickly exited the small room, heading back to his office to ponder on his career. Nothing was going stop him from making admiral before he was fifty.
