A Summoning

Posted on Tuesday 8 December 2020 @ 16:09 by Captain Melody Jones & Lieutenant Commander Hayley Godding

Mission: Homeward
Location: Captain's ready room
Timeline: MD2 0800
1270 words - 2.5 OF Standard Post Measure

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Melody had woken early and started straight away with system reports and making sure she was ready to be cross-examined by the Brass. She had quite a lot to go through, but there was one piece of business that took precedence.

She tapped her comm badge. "Jones to Lieutenant Godding, Report to the ready room. Immediately!"

Having only been back on duty for precisely one day, imagine Hayley's surprise at being summoned to the Ready Room in such a tone. 'Immediately' was not a word that Melody was known to throw around casually. Something was clearly wrong, but wasn't a security alert as it would have been a much more generic summoning of security. She tried to wrack her brain as to what could have happened, wondering if Lieutenant Harris had omitted anything from her handover, but none of the reports she'd read suggested that anything was out of the ordinary. Maybe it was related to the issues with Sansa/Fay and Lieutenant McPhee? Possibly, but unlikely.

There was only one real way to find out; "Godding to Jones, I'm on my way." She confirmed via her comm-badge and turned to the junior tactical officer at secondary tactical behind her and asked him to take over the security/tactical station. Once she'd logged out of the console, she made her way down the aft ramp and towards the ready-room and walked through the doors which opened for her since she'd been summoned. "Yes Captain?" She asked, politely, standing at a semi-rigid at-ease posture. It would be good to show deference when she had no idea what was about to come her way, so being too lax or too formal could be problematic.

"Ahh, Good morning Lieutenant." Melody smiled as she stood up. "I'm just going over some notes before we beam down to Starfleet Command this morning and it has come to my attention that you have constantly performed above and beyond your required duties and were instrumental in defeating our good friend the Puppetmaster and making successful peace overtures with the Megapteraians during our last mission."

She picked up a small box off her desk. "I, therefore, promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Commander with all the rights and privileges of that rank. Congratulations Commander." Melody added and extended her hand.

Hayley was utterly stunned as she stood there unsure how to process what was going on. Promotion? She was being promoted to Lieutenant Commander? Her?!?!?! "I... uhh... wasn't expecting this..." She said, stammering as she shakily accepted the handshake. It was a big step up for her, moving her into the realms of a senior officer beyond merely her position as Department Head. "I'm exceptionally grateful, Captain."

"You've earned it Commander," Melody said as she fixed the additional pip to Hayley's collar. "Your work has been exemplary. I know you've requested some leave to visit family but first, I'd like you to accompany us to Starfleet Command along with Fay, I want her to have familiar faces around her initially as I'm sure the initial moments on Earth will be a big shock. I'll try not to keep you longer than is needed."

Commander... It felt so unreal... The sad thing was that right now the very first thing she wanted to do was run to Sansa and celebrate, but that wasn't going to be possible yet....

"Yes ma'am." Hayley said. "I need to wait for Commander Springfield to be released from his debriefing anyway as my plan is to take him home. I have my own debriefing to attend as well, since I observed the Puppetmaster probe and had a somewhat active role in how everything transpired. Starfleet Intelligence are very keen to talk to me. Can't say the feeling is mutual..."

"Ah yes, how is Commander Spingfield adjusting to the 24th centuary? Have you had much chance to communicate with him on the journey back to Earth?"

"I've had limited interactions with him on our journey back. He along with the rest of the crew have been trying to acclimate themselves into our century by reading our library files. I think he's quite distraught that everyone he ever knew is gone, so no doubt will need a substantial amount of counselling, but for all accounts, I think he's doing reasonably well. He's requested to meet my family... well... his descendants really... which is a good first step." Hayley said.

Melody nodded. "I understand Caroline found out her great grandfather was on board the Darwin and that she's going to have a conversation with her great grandmother who is still alive, as that's not the story that's been passed down through her family."

"It's possible that there's baggage there that is now about to be aired out. Not all families are proud of the Starfleet roots." Hayley replied. "Speaking of, I take it you've heard that Sansa and I have managed to make some headway on repairing things between us? Once Fay has returned, I'm hoping to take Sansa to meet my family. It seems that Lieutenant Draxx isn't quite rid of me yet..." Her eyes sparkled mischievously at that.

Melody smiled. "Yes, Draxx is warming to the idea of you and Sansa together. I knew it would just take some time. Accepting Sansa and Fay... That's also going to take some time."

Melody rose and went to the replicator. "One coffee with milk please." She picked it up and took a sip, instantly pulling a face of disgust. "That is horrible. Is there something wrong with the replicators?" She placed the cup on the desk. "One glass of.... carrot juice please." A tall glass of orange liquid appeared. She took a long sip. "Ahhh, much nicer."

Her brow creased with a frown as Hayley took a tricorder from the Captain's desk and scanned the cup of coffee. It wasn't throwing up any anomalous readings so she picked it up and took a sip herself. It tasted just like the coffee from the replicator should always taste - no real hint of a problem. Far be it from Hayley to question the taste-buds of her commanding officer, but Carrot Juice!?!?! Talk about a random fall-back beverage. "I can't detect anything wrong with the coffee, ma'am, but I can ask someone to come run a diagnostic on your replicator..." Hayley offered, knowing full well that the problem didn't lie with the device on the wall, but with the operator of the device.

Naturally, any change in someone's normal behaviour was a red-flag to the ever suspicious Security Chief, but was this simple change in taste enough to warrant concern? They'd been trained from the get-go in behavioural sciences to watch for any sudden change in behaviour, mannerisms or actions beyond the normal in members of the crew. From changelings to Mirror Universe counterparts and all the variations in the middle, even minor tells were a huge deal for Starfleet Security. She wasn't quite ready to go running to the XO to have the Captain relieved, but it bore closer scrutiny moving forward, since this was the woman with life-or-death powers on a starship.

Melody shook her head. "I'm sure it will be fine Commander. Now if you'll excuse me I've got these notes to finish going over. We'll all meet on the bridge at 0850 before heading to the transporter room and beaming down for 0900. Congratulations once again Commander."

"Thank you Captain." Hayley said, nodding politely, before stepping back out onto the bridge, a slight spring in her step but weighed down some by her new concerns over the Captain.

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