Unorthodox Offer

Posted on Tue Sep 17th, 2024 @ 12:47pm by Captain Dr. Nairut Noxi & Lieutenant Commander Andrew "Drew" Chandler
Edited on on Tue Sep 17th, 2024 @ 1:35pm

1,374 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: To Boldly Go...
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD001-0900

Drew was uneasy as he rode the turbolift to the bridge of the USS Deliverance. His assignment orders had put him in what he felt to be an untenable position. His assignment to Deep Space Nine since the end of the Dominion War had allowed him the opportunity to raise Ashley in a stable environment since the death of his wife, albeit with significant support of his sister, over the last five years. Now he was being reassigned to a deep space assignment. One that could mean many months, if not years away from Ashley. He loved serving in Starfleet, but his love for Ashley was greater. He was no longer in a position to be both a father and Starfleet officer.

Drew stepped onto the bridge as the turbolift doors opened. He nodded to the bridge duty officer and gestured to the Ready Room door. "Lieutenant Commander Chandler. I have a scheduled appointment to meet with Captain Nairut."

Nairut was in her office, doing the prelaunch paperwork. SO MUCH PAPERWORK. She was bored. She stood up to stretch. She should go down to Medical, see if anyone would let her play with a biobed. But her PADD beeped; it was her Yeoman. Her 0900 appointment had arrived. She opened the pneumatic doors, and smiled. "Come in," she called, in a tone she hope was pleasant (instead of bored). "Welcome!! Can I get you a coffee or tea?" She asked, as Drew entered the Ready Room. "Have a seat. I don't stand on formality here, so, feel free to get comfortable," she said, indicating a chair with the hand not gripping her coffee.

Drew remained standing as he entered and approached Nairut. He extended his right hand in greetings to the new Captain of the USS Deliverance. "Pleasure and honor Captain. Thank you for the offer of a beverage, but I am good. I try and limit myself to two coffees a day for the most part." He spied the various PADDs littering the desk and gave her a knowing smile. "You should delegate most of those reports to the Department Heads and Division Officers then have them prepare brief summaries for you at staff call. It's what Captain Vaughn does most days."

She nodded, but shook his hand with her free one. "I intend to; our XO onboarded last night, so I am just finalizing what I want to delegate. Please, sit," she said. She settled in herself. "How can I help you today?" She asked. "I need to meet this Captain Vaughn," she said, dryly. But actually, ANY advice or input was welcome-she was doing her best, but she still felt ill-prepared. "You are...Andrew Chandler, if I am not mistaken?" She asked. She had read each person's personnel jackets, but never assumed, just in case.

Drew nodded at Nairut's query. "Yes Captain. We actually met twice before when I was attached to the Deliverance prior to the Breen incident. One time at Quark's. I believe you were having a girl's night out with two of the ship's other officers. Second time was in Sickbay when I delivered my medical records."

Noxi nodded. She remembered now. "Ah, yes. Forgive me, between the aging and the chaos of the past few weeks, my memory has been...not great." She needed a full nights' sleep, uninterrupted by the comings-and-goings of a young man, plus being alerted as the current third-in-command of the Station. When they launched, maybe. Hopefully. "You seem...worried. Is something wrong?" She was Bajoran, and not at all an empath, but she WAS a mother and a doctor, and could sense things.

Drew allowed himself a wry chuckle of sorts as he nodded. "Reviewing my assignment orders. I know I am overdue for a starship assignment, but...I have an issue I was hoping to discuss with you." Drew paused for a moment as if he was considering his next words carefully. "I'm a single parent of a 14 year old daughter and...I really need to focus on raising her. This assignment and from what I can gather from the upcoming mission profile will take me away for quite a few years."

Noxi settled back as Drew continued. She smiled. "I understand. I am a mother myself; though my son is an adult now, he WASN'T a few years ago. I was married but really, his father had been mostly absent anyway-married to his job type," she said. "Bring her along," she said. "Why not? We're going to be focusing mostly on first contact kinds of things, scientific missions, and the like. No more combat," she said. "Well. Not NONE, but hopefully....nothing like before," she said. It was the only reason she'd agreed to move up to CO-they'd move into an exploratory role, instead of a combat one. Her PTSD, and frankly, her age, couldn't handle much more death and destruction. It'd been just a few years since the Occupation, , yes, but some things you could never unsee, plus...she'd only been away from the intense fighting for a few years. "Unless you have a good reason not to. Then, of course, I will release you from your commission, and recommend you for a more local assignment. I know there's an opening for Security/Tactical at Starbase 17," she said, "But I do hope you'll consider. It's difficult but not impossible to raise a kid out here," she said, gesturing to the window as if to say "out here in the vastness of space."

Drew was momentarily stunned speechless by the offer. He knew the Diligent-class had room for civilians, unlike the Defiant-class which was a bare bones warship design. He would love to be aboard an exploration vessel, to have Ashley with him as they explored new worlds, sought out new civilizations. He finally found his voice. "I appreciate the offer, but what would she do? Civilian accommodations on small starships are for contractors, not dependent adolescents."

Vila shrugged. "I am the Captain, I can figure something out," she said. "She can...study. I'll allow her to use the Senior Staff break room and she can do school via Relay. It's not ideal but I'd assume it's better than leaving her behind," she said. "We can also ask Engineering to just BUILD a new room; we have some unused lab space in the Science area, it'll work fine. Knock down a wall, put in a closet, there ya go. I've had to haul Benny to some pretty wacky places. As I noted-I KNOW it's not ideal but it's what we do...we figure it out. I will also put out a note to the department heads, letting them know that there will be civilians aboard. Would your sister like to join us, too? I know the Fleet Admiral for our battalion personally, and he owes me a favor. I can make it happen. Just let me know. You don't even need to decide today; just soon. We launch in 36 hours, so there's time." She did understand-even though it was a different thing, she had her own kid and things to worry about, and she remembered the difficulty of selecting assignments for TWO people that would also keep Benny as safe as possible, but enhance both parents' careers. It was a tough line to walk, and she was grateful now that he was grown, and she was single and only had to worry about HER career.

Drew wasn't sure what Ashley would say. Nor was he sure how Rachel would react to the offer. His sister had spent the last few years on Deep Space Nine helping him raise Ashley. "I will talk to my family. I will have an answer for you by tonight." He paused, a grateful expression on his face. "Thank you Captain. It really means a lot to me."

Noxi nodded. "Absolutely. We've been through a lot in the past several weeks...we owe it to each other to make it as easy as possible. Can I do anything else?" She asked.

Drew shook his head. "You've done more than enough." He glanced at the exit. "With your permission...."

She smiled, and nodded. "Of course!!" She watched him go, and then smiled. It was going to be OK.

 

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