Checking in on Staff...

Posted on Sat Mar 2nd, 2024 @ 3:27am by Lieutenant Commander S'hib & Commander Kyle Reece & Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: USS Elysium, Naxea and S'hib's family quarters.
Timeline: Sometime after “The Carpet.”
1569 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

After going through his personnel reviews, Kyle realized that he had dropped the ball with a member of his team. Wanting to rectify that error, he reached over and tapped his commbadge. "Commander Reece to Lieutenant Commander S'hib."

S'hib's ears perked up, hearing the familiar chirp of a comm badge somewhere in another room, then the voice of Commander Reece.

"Nax!" S'hib called out from inside their sonic shower, pausing briefly to reorientate their daughter so he could continue cleaning her. "NAX!" He bellowed again, unsure if she had heard over the shower's gentle hum.

"Can you take that? It's all down her legs!" He huffed before quietly muttering. "And me..."

"TMI!" Naxea replied, chuckling as she walked into their bedroom and picked up the comm badge. "S'hib is currently preoccupied, Commander Reece. Can I relay a message?"

======

Hearing Naxea's voice instead of S'hib's, Kyle couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Actually, I was calling to see if it would be alright if I came down to speak to him in person. Both of you, actually."

Naxea wasn't sure why Reece needed to speak with her as well as S'hib. "Sure, that should be fine. Just give S'hib several minutes to get ready."

On the other end of the communicator, the voice of the ship's Tactical and Security Chief could be heard saying, =/\=That's not a problem. I'll be down to you guys in....twenty minutes?=/\= The way he had worded it showed that Kyle was trying to be respectful of Naxea and S'hib's home life. He waited to hear the Colonel's reply.

"See you then," Naxea replied.

===Twenty minutes later===

Once he arrived outside, Kyle paused to give them another moment or two, then he reached up and pressed the door chime.

The door opened with S'hib stood there, holding his daughter upside down by her legs as she attempted to bite him.

"Commander, please... come in." He huffed as Slee squealed in frustration at her inability to exert vengeance on S'hib's leg.

Kyle smiled at the sight, then tilted his head over slightly to look Slee. "Well hello, young lady," he said in a remarkably gentle voice as he spoke to the infant. "Is your daddy being mean to you?" He looked up at S'hib and playfully smacked the Sequus' right shoulder. "Bad Daddy!" His eyes were filled with mirth and humor as he spoke.

His eyes narrowed at the comment, though any ire towards Kyle was clearly fake. "Can I get you a drink or anything?" He asked, trotting over to the couch to drop Slee onto the cushions, her interest immediately shifting to the myriad of stuffed toys she landed on.

Kyle followed him inside and smiled as he replied. "A pineapple juice, please." He then moved over to the couch, his own paternal instincts drawing him to the young one. He picked up a toy and played with her some as he waited for his drink.

"So what brought you by?" Naxea asked, coming out of the bedroom, finishing putting her hair up. Sle'anna took joy in pulling her hair when she left it down. She was half considering cutting her hair though she was sure that would upset S'hib.

Looking over at Naxea as she entered the room, Kyle gave her a friendly grin. "Two reasons, actually. The first was to check on you both, see how you are doing. And the second," he glanced over at S'hib, who was still getting Kyle's drink. "To ask your man to come back to work, resuming his post as Assistant Chief."

"No chance," S'hib scoffed. "I mean I'll come back to work sure, but..." He shrugged as he walked over to Kyle, setting his drink down on the far end of the table, out of reach of Slee's long legs. "I got too much on my plate at the moment."

Kyle nodded his thanks for the drink. Then, after taking a sip, he replied. "Can't say I'm not disappointed. You're not the first individual in Starfleet to have a child, you know?" He took a breath, then exhaled through his nostrils. "However, it's also not unheard of to take time to be with a new baby." He paused again, then added. "Fine. For now, you can resume your normal duties, without resuming your former position." He raised a warning finger. "However, as you will be a regular security officer, your name will go into the shift rotation. So expect some over nights in your future."

"You must not have paid much attention to my old shift rotations then..." He quipped sarcastically; remembering the multiple shifts he would cover during the day simply because of how his people slept, little and often.

"But it's not just Slee, It's all the other things I've got to do, Academy courses, counselling sessions... I got too much to do."

A look crossed Kyle's face that showed he did, in fact know all of that. "Very good, Mister S'hib. I like an officer that stands their ground and doesn't try to be a simple yes-man. "And I know about you required appointments, though not what is discussed, as it is not my business. I also know about your school work, as I am still overseeing the training programs at the Academy Annex." He considered the officer in front of him for a moment. "You are working very hard to rebuild yourself and the trust you had with the crew. I do not doubt that, one day soon, you will be successful."

S'hib nodded softly as he moved around the coffee table, looking at Nax before crouching down to play with Slee's mane. "Sir, all due respect... I already am."

He meant every word as he stared at the little filly's eyes, content with his place in the universe at that very moment.

Naxea nodded. She would let S'hib handle things himself. He didn't need her to speak or stand for him, even though she would in a heartbeat. "Can I get you anything, Commander?"

Kyle shook his head and smiled politely, raising the glass he was currently drinking from. "Your hubby already squared me away there, Naxea, but thank you." He then thought for a moment, and asked aloud, "is there anything I can do for either of you?"

“Well…” S’hib began, looking over at Nax. “We have been in these temporary quarters for quite a while now…”

"That has more to do with Operations, S'hib," Naxea replied. "Just be glad we have our own quarters." Naxea had made trips to the section of the ship where their old quarters were, and it was mostly still a mess. She was sure it would take a fully functional shipyard to get it back to where it had been before the incident.

"Of course, I'm glad," S'hib shot back, stung by her comment. "But we haven't heard from Ops at all about relocating us... And they said they would get back to us, they haven't."

He turned back to Slee, wrestling with her hooves as she kicked at his palms. "It's why we haven't decorated, they said it was temporary."

His frown grew as his mind circled back to what she said, Just be glad. "I'm allowed to be annoyed Nax, It's not fair on her. OK?" He huffed, softening his features as he looked back at Slee.

Kyle nodded thoughtfully. It was a story he had been hearing from his people in the Tactical and Security departments for a while now. He was one of the few lucky ones, as his quarters had mostly escaped damage.

Looking between the two, he replied. "I'll see what I can do about lighting a fire under their asses. I give you my word." His eyes landed on Slee and he smiled reflexively. "She should have a proper place to grow up in."

"Thank you, but..." S'hib sighed, looking back to Naxea. "Nax is right, so don't go too hard on them... we are lucky to have what we have, and to still be here."

Kyle took in a breath, then nodded as he exhaled and replied. "Alright, however, I'll still talk to them on your behalf."

S'hib nodded in response, slow and thoughtful as he pondered on many other things. "Do you happen to know when my first shift will be? I'm rather out of the loop as you can imagine."

"While I understand that you two are probably still figuring things out for your daughter, how about the day after tomorrow, 0800 hours."

"Yeah that's fine, I can do that... anything else I should know?"

Kyle considered the question for a beat, then replied. "No, except," he extended his right hand in friendship. "Welcome back to the team, Mister S'hib." He gave the other officer a gentle grin as he spoke.

"As If I ever left..." S'hib quipped back in jest, reaching out and clasping the man's wrist with his oversized hand.

Kyle chuckled and grinned at S'hib's comment. After they released the handshake, he then said to both S'hib and Naxea. "I'm glad that's settled. I'll now go and leave you guys in peace." He leaned down and gently caressed Slee's right cheek. "And you stay being the little cutie you are, young lady.

Straightening back up, he gave both S'hib and Naxea a friendly grin and dip of his head, then turned and left their quarters.