Posted by Captain Kelly Shultz (Commanding Officer) in CE’s Office - How to make a better cup of coffee
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8 hours later......

Kelly walked back to her quarters rubbing her neck. It had been a long shift. Too long. The endless meeting due to her open door policy had gotten old ten minutes into her shift. Lt. Flingdofer’s complaint that Lt. Leddecker was using the science holodeck far too often to support his research was the first of nine other headaches that walked through at almost the top of every hour. At least it was over and Kelly could relax. She could not wait to kick off her shoes and have a cup of hot coffee like Ian always had ready.

Captain Kelly Shultz

As she entered, Ian was not in sight but Jacen was there, looking shocked as the room smelled of burned coffee and seemed to be splattered like a Pollock painting with coffee all over.

“What did you do to my living room,” she half yelled half pleaded gazing at the state of disarray. While she loved coffee the room smelled like she had an illegal bean grinder set to overload somewhere in the apartment. Several pieces of what looked like pottery were either lying about the floors in shards or stuck in soft fabric much like shrapnel from a bomb. For the first times since taking her seat in the big chair, Kelly Shultz was speechless. There was too much going on to absorb any one element over another.

Looking over at Kelly his eyes grew wide. “Your Yeoman…”

“My Yeoman,” Kelly looked at Jacen a bit oddly. “Bordeaux isn’t even he,”

“what the hell.” Jacen said sharply as a ruffle came from behind the desk as a hand could be see pulling upward, like a zombie rising from the ground.

“Ughhh,” she moaned reaching up to her cheek as she felt something hit it like ran and begin to trail down the side of her face. She didn’t dare look up. Her fingers showed a brown like water substance. The smell of the room and the condition of her CE made it so that Kelly did not have to guess at what was dripping on her form above. The only questions she had was why.

“Kel?” could be heard as Jacen looked over, murder in his eyes.

“Ian,” Kelly said shocked not sure if she should run to help him or call for emergency medical treatment.

“I’m gonna kill you Cajun rat bastard.” Jacen said in his thick Irish accent as he looked at his direction. “I told you the power level was too high, it couldn’t handle that. Just cause you learned how to do basic engineering from some engineering for dummies book doesn’t mean you should counter my order cause you think I am being ‘conservative!’ he said, calmly with a hint of menace.

Kelly opened her mouth to speak but closed it abruptly not sure to say. Whatever happened here seemed not to have been fully resolved yet. In any other situation one might call security given the state of the room and the look int he chief’s eyes but the two men were friends. Or at least they had been eight hours ago.

Finally getting up Ian smiled at Jacen, then tilted his head back to see Kelly. “It works!” he said, not phased at all by Jacen as he came around. Indeed, there was a cup of coffee on the table, something anyone might have slipped from their view but the little micro pad they made had the cup, it just took awhile it seemed.

“This is working. Jacen you might be trying to get me to fire you but not now. No way. I am saving this up for when I really need something done,” Kelly said gesturing around the room.

“Oh it worked did it?” Jacen said as he grabbed the flowers from the nearby vase, slapping him over the head repeatedly as Ian tried to avoid him.

“Look out for the vay,” Kelly tried to warn Ian as he ducked right as Jacen swung left, “suh,” she finished as it shattered to the floor. Oh god, two tom cats stuffed in a burlap bag wouldn’t make this much of a ruckus, Kelly thought still watching speechless.

“Wait wait wait… it worked it worked! Come on we just turn it down to a level that doesn’t explode with coffee as it transports… but the transport worked!”

It was then Kelly saw the round disk under the steaming mug. “By god it did work,” she said walking up to the cup. Leaning over she inspected it as if it were are something dangerous or wonderous. “Huh I didn’t think you boys had it in you. Is it safe to drink,” Kelly looked first a Ian and then Jacen.

“Oh good on you, yes it worked, and now I have to take a three hour bath to not smell like the underside of a coffee pot that was left out for three years!” Jacen said, wiping some of the coffee from his brow.

“He… is all yours Captain.... I might find a new yeoman… or a smarter boyfriend.” Jacen said as he walked past her sloshing as he did.

“Or a smarter yeoman and a new boyfriend,” Kelly quipped back as Jacen stormed out of the room. She would have pressed the man farther but she did not want to have to look for another chief engineer. Jacen was good at his job but lately she wasn’t sure how thrilled he was with her as a captian. Round tables, vanity shuttle plates, and magic coffee were probably not high on the order of things I want to do when I become chief engineer Kelly assumed yet Mr. Drayke never shirked from a task it seemed like.

As the door closed, and the anger from Jacen leaving Ian stood smiling as he looked at Kelly. “Well.... tada?” he said smiling slightly but looking as if he might need to dodge something from her direction any moment.

Bordeaux, Yeoman/Diplomat

“You know yo are going to have to make this up to him and me,” Kelly looked at Ian and picked up the coffee. “Flowers, dinner, drippy candles, I love you’s all night long,” she ran through the customary check list kept by all men when they realized that the key to the door didn’t work and sleeping in the proverbial doghouse was quite drafty. Sniffing it she put her lips to the edge and took a long sip. The flavor was exquisite. The temperature spot on. Kelly let out a sigh and smiled over the edge of the cup.

“So ready for your next impossible task Hercules,” Kelly asked him with a smile. A huge part of her was astounded by the feat her yeoman and CE accomplished. With the right marketing it could be a goldmine. Maybe she would contact that businessman friend if Ric, Aedan Teller with the idea. The man wasn’t her most favorite person in the universe but he had made poeple famous for far less. Like that girl he was seeing. Jenna, Jenny, Josie, Kelly couldn’t remmber the names of the women that popped in and out of Tellers life and she didn’t care. She had the man she wanted.

Captain Kelly Shultz

“Oh no I could never exploit Jacen like that… or could I?” Ian said as he thought for a moment. “No, this is something just for you. I want the other captains to be like ‘Damn, why didn’t I get one?’.” Ian said with a smirk, he loved making Kel’s life a bit easier and enjoyed hard tasks, even if they sometimes blew up in his face.

“Besides with the right calibration, it’ll be perfect and mobile for anywhere in the ship! I think.” Ian said pondering on that thought. He would need to confer with Jacen to be certain.

Bordeaux, Yeoman/Diplomat