Another G-Man in the Fold...

Posted on Mon Oct 31st, 2022 @ 7:48am by Lieutenant Nicholas Reece [Reece] & Lieutenant Commander Rin

Mission: Season 5: Time Warp
Location: USS Elysium, Intel Suite
1402 words - 2.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Once his physical was completed, Nicholas made his way down to the Intelligence Suite, to report in to one of his bosses, the Intelligence Department, Lieutenant Rin.

Reaching the sealed doors to the suite, he reached up and pressed the door chime. Until his clearances were established he wouldn't be able to enter the suite by himself.

A crewman, after inquiring about Reece's purpose, escorted him along the outer edge of the Suite to Rin's office, where she hit the chime. After a moment, the door opened, and Rin waved Reece inside.

Though the department chief was the same rank as he was now, Nicholas still observed proper protocol and respect. He came to attention and spoke. "Good morning, Lieutenant. I am Lieutenant Nicholas Reece, and I am you new Infiltration Specialist." He handed over a data crystal conta8ning his orders. "While here, I am also to teach a course at the Academy regarding the same field."

After speaking, he resumed the position of attention.

"At ease, Lt," Rin said as she accepted the crystal, dropping it into the computer. "Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?"

Nicholas gave the chief a polite grin as he lowered his large frame down into the empty chair opposite her desk. "Altair sparkling water please "

Rin nodded and fetched the drink from the replicator. She eyed the file that popped up on her holographic display. "I see you've been on the Elysium before. I assume that means you know your way around, although feel free to ask any questions. So, what can you tell me about yourself?"

He gave Rin a slight grin. "Yeah, my brothers and I all called the old girl home before. Hell, even our grandfather and adopted uncle were here then!" He nodded his thanks whe he took the glass of water from her. After taking a sip, he held the glass in his right hand and balanced it on his right knee. "Well, as you can see there, my specialty is Infiltration. I have been in a few missions during my career, some places known to the public, others not so much." He took in a breath to steady his nerves as he continued. "As for my latest mission. Unfortunately, I am only authorized to tell you that it was a deep undercover as assignment, which went to shit pretty much h the first day. Unfortunately, my superiors were unable to pull me and my team back out before we were captured. Over the next several months, the three of us that survived the initial attack were tortured relentlessly. In the end, I was the only survivor." He took another breath.

"I was liberated by a local rebel faction and slowly nursed back to health. I ended up being with them for a few years, until I was finally discovered and rescued by Starfleet. During the debrief, I refused to give certain details of the rebels, as it would put them in jeopardy. The Commander doing the debrief took humbridge to this and tried to strong arm me. In reply, I knocked him out and on his ass with one hit to his jaw. Following that, I was demoted from Lieutenant Commander, back down to Lieutenant, and was put on a shuttle headed to the farthest listening post in the Federation. Along the way, however, the pilots suddenly recieved new orders and they brought me here. I arrived yesterday afternoon. And now, after reporting in to the Commodore and Sickbay, I'm here with you, Lieutenant." He paused, then asked, "Should I call you Sir, Ma'am, Lieutenant, Chief? By your name?"

"On duty, I prefer Sir. Off duty, Rin is fine, if you're comfortable with that. I don't know what it was like last time you were here, but nowadays the Elysium is, in my opinion, overly informal, but it is what it is."

Her eyes skimmed the file. "So, this Commander you knocked out...was there a reason you didn't trust him with your information about these rebels? And which rebels are we referencing?"

Nicholas grimaced and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sir. I can't tell you that."

"Can't...or won't?"

His grimace fell away and a serious demeanor fel across his features. "One thing we should get straight right now, Lieutenant to Lieutenant, if I tell you something, you can believe it. I do not lie, I do not take shot cuts, I do not imbellish. If I ell you that I can't do something, then it means that I can't. In this case, I can't even tell you why I can't. But don't ever accuse me of lying."

"I did not accuse you of anything. I asked for clarification. People too often confuse those two words." She took a long pause as she sipped her coffee. "Now, first impression, I like you. I like straightshooters. And I like people of conviction. But there's also a chain of command for a reason, and I see too many people on Elysium buck it when things aren't going the way they want. Both of us work with classified materials. Neither of us always get the answers we want. That's the job. That's why I wanted to be sure we were on the same page concerning "can't" and "won't"."

She cocked her head slightly to the side, with just a hint of a smirk. "I'd also prefer not to be punched in the face."

It took Nicholas a few beats, then he relaxed and grinned as he replied. "Understood, Sir." He then chuckled. "And you don't need to worry. I would never raise my hand to strike a woman."

"You think us too feeble to be treated as you would treat a man?" There was suddenly steel in her voice. "Do you think men deserve less courtesy than women?"

A slight smirk threatened to cross Nicholas's face. "No, Sir," he said shaking his head, his eyes never leaving hers. "What I am saying is that, If my mother ever found out that I struck a woman, without my or other lives in danger from her, well...the Klingons have nothing on her when she's mad." He chuckled softly at the thought, having only seen that side of his mother once. And once was more than enough.

Rin chuckled. "Well, I'm unlikely to ever punch you in the face, at least not before I took out your knees, on account of me not being able to reach."

For a few beats, there was silence. Then Nicholas finally broke and laughed aloud. "That was good, Rin!" It took him a few moments to compose himself, then he said, "I think you and I are going to get along just fine." He extended his right hand to her. "Pleasure to meet you."

Rin shook the outstretched hand. "Welcome aboard, Lt."

Nicholas shook Rin's hand and replied. "Thank you, Sir." He then remembered something he had to tell her. As he released her hand, he said, "One other thing, Sir. HQ has seen fit to, not only be in your department as an Infiltration Specialist, but, I am also going to be teaching a course to the cadets here that are in the Intelligence field, what it means to do my specific job. Once I speak to Captain Reece, I will give you a copy of my teaching schedule."

"I will, of course, accommodate, unless you need to be in the field, obviously."

Nicholas grinned. "What? You don't think it would be appropriate to take my students with me on a mission?" He chuckled good-humorly.

"Seems like a poor career choice. Is there anything else?"

He shrugged slightly as he replied. "Just what you expect of me while I'm under your command, my day-to-day duties, my shift. That sort of thing. How many are there in the department?"

Rin's eyes scanned Reese's file. "I've been doing a lot of the cryptography work since I came aboard as we had no specialist. I would love to hand that off, so let's put you there for day-to-day work. There's two crewmen who will assist you. As for the department, we are currently at capacity at 15 officers and 25 crewmen."

Nicholas nodded in agreement. "Understood, Sir." He then stood. "I still need to get myself settled in quarters. Permission to assume my duties tomorrow?"

"Of course. Dismissed."

Nicholas nodded, then turned and left Rin's office.

~OFF~