Strategically? Ambush!

Posted on Fri May 8th, 2020 @ 8:52pm by Lieutenant Bianca Lee & Captain Abigail Laurens

She'd taken the night off, having attended the party at the Grumpy Goat, because why not? The ship had arrived at Earth and she was eager to get started, but there were right places to introduce one's self to the Captain of a starship and at a party wasn't the right place. So where to 'ambush' her? Breakfast! Bianca could be sneaky when she needed to be and waited to make sure that the Captain had finished eating, no point in interrupting an important meal, then approached, coffee in hand.

Her red and black uniform tended to confuse a lot of people, was she command? Flight? Nope, she was Strategic Operations, but Bianca was used to that and she made sure her shoes made noise as she approached, "Captain Laurens, I presume?" She drawled with a honeyed Southern accent, a hopeful tone to her voice.

Abigail looked up from her latte, surprise clear on her face. While it had not been any great secret that she had been planning to stay on the planet, at least for the first few days, she hadn't made her exact accommodation plans available to anyone except Commander Gail, so the fact that someone had tracked her down was something that caught her off guard.

"And you are?" Abigail finally asked cautiously. Though her intent was not to appear rude, recent events were still getting to her enough that she was definitely being more careful about what she was doing.

"Lieutenant Lee, Bianca Lee." Bianca smiled and gestured at another chair at the table, clearly asking for permission to sit before actually taking the seat and placing her mug down, "I'm your new Strategic Operations Officer, ma'am." The last word sounded like 'mayam', "Ah do apologize for the informality of location, but Ah think the place someone finds relaxing is rather quite telling of who they are."

Abigail winced slightly and sighed, motioning for the other woman to take a seat. "I'll be quite honest, Lieutenant, this is hardly the time or the place to be introducing yourself and I'm sure that this could have just as easily waited until we were both back aboard the ship, however, seeing as how you've already interrupted my breakfast, how about we move this along so I still have the rest of my day?"

"Ah do apologize, ma'am, Ah had intended to catch you this morning before you left the ship, but this bird apparently needs to get up earlier to catch the worm." Bianca grimaced at the annoyance on Abigail's face, "And Ah've always been taught that first impressions must be made in person whenever possible, though Ah do seem to have made a poor first impression. Ah just believed that since Ahm newly arriving, despite the crew being given shore leave at this time, Ah should see if there were anything you needed me to work on, if we have an idea of where we're heading next? Ah promise, ma'am, this will be the only time I disrupt your relaxation, on mah honor."

"Will you at least sit down," Abigail said quietly. "You're making the place look untidy." Picking up the mug of chai in front of her, Abigail took a sip before setting it down again, waiting as the new Strat Ops officer slid into a seat. "We haven't been given orders yet. I have made it quite clear to Command that we are NOT accepting any orders for at least a week. My crew needs down time. If the Borg decide to attack tomorrow, well, they'll have to reschedule it."

“Ah’ll comm them and arrange a delay, then, how about next Thursday?” The left edge of Bianca’s mouth curved up in a slight smile at her own joke, “Ah suppose then I’ll be at loose ends until then... If it’d help, ma’am, Ah can take the primary watch schedule and help get any new transfers settled in?” That she’d be familiarizing herself with the ship and everything in the process was unstated.

"That will be fine, but I'd like you to report in to Commander Gail first, I believe she is still aboard the ship until this afternoon. I also suggest you find the time to meet with the rest of the senior staff at your earliest convenience. Prioritize Lieutenant's Alani and Gunnison in particular. You'll also need to meet with Lieutenant Commander Morgan and have your medical completed before I can allow you on duty. He has already left the ship under my orders and will not be back for 72 hours, so I imagine you'll find him skulking around in sickbay in about sixty five hours or so."

Nearly three days before she could be placed in an 'on duty' status? It took a bunch of self-control for Bianca not to show a reaction to that, but she nodded, "Well, with about sixty-five hours to work with, Ah should be able to hunt down most of the senior staff and meet them. Perhaps Ah can even avoid going back home and answerin' some rather pointed questions while I'm at it." She half-shrugged at that, "But rest assured, Ah'll report to Commander Morgan as soon as he's available, ma'am."

Excellent, now, is there anything else you need from me Lieutenant? Or can I get back to my breakfast?" Abigail asked with a smile.

Bianca grimaced again and nodded, taking to her feet again, her coffee all but transporting to her hand once more, "Of course, ma'am. Again, Ah apologize for the disruption and I hope you have a good time."

"Thank you Lieutenant," Abigail said quietly, already turning her attention back to her chai latte. She was already wincing inwardly at her abruptness, but she most definitely had other things on her mind.

Without another word, Bianca strode off. She had her orders and if the rest of the senior staff were going to be abandoning the ship, she had her work cut out for her to catch up to them before they did. XO first, a Commander Ichiko Gail, a Ts'usugi... She smiled to herself; This would be fun!

OFF:

Captain Abigail Laurens
Commanding Officer
USS Astraea

Lieutenant Bianca Lee
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
USS Astraea