Posted by Ensign Levi Gordon (Doctor) in Lunch with the new guy…

Posted by Ensign Clinton Reed (Operations Officer) in Lunch with the new guy…

Posted by Ensign Levi Gordon (Doctor) in Lunch with the new guy…
Posted by… suppressed (19) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Stores made his way to the mess hall and ordered up his usual resequenced protein and vegetables lunch. Not that he didn’t enjoy what the replicators could provide, it’s just sometimes you fell back in comfort food.

Adding a cup of Forgave’s brew he found himself at his habitual table reading over the restock rearm reports. With his mag boots propped up in another chair, he could see from the life support logs that people were trickling back aboard and the Dresden was coming back to life.

Life was good, soon he would be back to just being one of the junior officers with the LT making the hard calls.

Clinton”Stores”Reed, Supercargo

Buddy entered the mess and waved to his new friend. “I’ll be right over!”he called. He ordered tofu ramen and a seaweed salad before joining Reed at the table. “Hey man, thanks for your help earlier. You’ll be happy to know I found the closet they are calling my quarters,” he laughed as he seasoned the roman slightly with salt, “but at least I’m the only one stuffed in it. They got you working hard?” he asked eyeing the paper work as he blew over the spoonful of steaming broth, cooling it slightly be sipping it down.

-Ens. Cullum, SEC

Focusing on he new security officer, Stores smiles “Glad to help, come up to the crows nest some time, you’ll get a new perspective on your quarters.” Behind the glasses/goggles, he wore his eyes were ernest, he was truly happy to help.

Tapping the PPAD, “Reports, I would rather be rebuilding a plasma conduit buy hand. But my fool self asked for the job.” Truth was he had learned a lot, but being back in his own element with the rearm, refuel and reload underway was nice. The older hand looked forward to clearing orbit and getting back to deep space.

Clinton”Stores”Reed, Supercargo

Buddy laughed as he took a bit of the seaweed and shoved it in his mouth. “I know what you mean. We love getting the security calls until it’s all settled and we have to spend the next several hours pounding out the report. Kind of hard to focus when you are coming down from an adrenaline high,” he said between crunches.

Slightly behind and right of the engineer Buddy could see a pair of eyes watching his every move. They belonged to the Bolian he had shared a transport with. He was whispering to a Bolian female who now was turning slightly in her chair to look at him as well. She looked thrilled. Buddy felt uneasy.

-Ens. Buddy Cullum, SEC

“I am told it’s a necessary evil, Mr. Cullum” taking a drink of coffee.

Catching the shift in the young mans eye and the constriction of his pupils, indicating unease Stores stiffened, switching his tri-corder to give him a view to he rear. reading the Bolians and detecting no weapons he relaxed

.” You look to have a fan club, young man” Stores chuckled. “Ah to be young”

Clinton”Stores”Reed

“I’m afraid you may be right, Ensign Reed,” Buddy said laying his fork down on the plate. “Believe me fans are the last thing I want to deal with right now.” He picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. “You think we can get out of here for a bit? Maybe find some place a little less crowded?”

-Ens. Cullum, SEC

“Stores, just call me Stores.” The older man chuckled as he slid his feet to the floor and stood up.

“Plenty of ship for a security officer to explore, where you want to start?” Policing up his tray and PPAD.

Buddy followed along carrying his half eaten food. “It doesn’t matter to me, Stores, as long as there are fewer people staring at me as there are here, by at least two.”

“So your a punk rocker, now what handle to stick you with, I wander…” as he walked off to the replicator.

Clinton”Stores”Reed

“Handle? Why do I need a handle?” Buddy asked, placing the remains of his tray into reclamation. “Something tells me your gonna give me one whether I like it or not. And odds are even that it may or may not be flattering.”

They exited the mess just as another young female Bolian rushed in, bumping right into Buddy. When she realized who she had run into she squealed. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed. “Your Buddy! I just bumped into Buddy!” She must have been alerted to his presence by her friends in the mess hall. “May I have your autograph? she gushed holding out a PaDD and a pen for him.

“I’m sorry. I’m late for my shift. But catch me later.” he grabbed Stores’s arm and made a beeline for the nearest turbolift. As the doors slid shut he muttered, “How many Bolians are on this bloody ship anyway?”

-Ens. Cullum, SEC

Once safely in the lift Stores started laughing, and was laughing so hard he had trouble manually punching in the command for the cargo deck, then thinking better of it he dialed in the engineering crew quarters. After the short ride he was still laughing. “Sorry about that,” Stores said as he wiped the tears away. But that was just… unexpected”.

At first Buddy was a little put out that Stores found his situation so hilarious. All that Buddy could think about was how this was going to affect his job and his advancement. But the more stores laughed the more Buddy could see the hilarity of the situation. Soon he was laughing, too.

“Come on, You look like you could use a drink”. Stores said as he lead ‘Buddy’ to the ship’s ladder leading to the Crows Nest.

Clinton”Stores”Reed, Supercargo

“You must be Beatazoid, because you just read my mind,” he said with a chuckle, following behind Stores and up the ladder.

-Buddy, SEC

The refit hadn’t improved, or detracted from Stores’ Quarters, as the hatch slid open he warned his companions “Mind your head.”, ducking the ceiling bulge that hid a conduit chase.

He had retrieved his effects from storage and reinstalled them in the small room.
As before his custom EVA frame was on the top bunk accompanied buy a pair of large cases. One desk had been taken over buy a neat pile of PPADs and his current project was laid out on a square of bolting paper on the other. Just a small cylinder with two end caps to which translucent components were attached.

“Make your self at home” Stores said, waving in the direction of one of the chairs wile he pulled a bottle from his desk drawer. “Single malt ok, or will I have to dig deeper in to my stash?”

Buddy wasn’t experienced enough with ‘drink’ to have formed a true opinion so he simply replied, “it’s perfect.”

Seeing the bottle on the desk in front of his desk, Stores turns the other chair to face Buddy wile addressing the replicator “Two glass tumblers, please”.

“You sir are officially the first guest of the Crows Nest Tavern, C. Reed proprietor.” As he pred two fingers of scotch into each glass.

Stores hadn’t done much to personalize the cramped set of quarters, other than adding a large monitor on the forward bulkhead, but some how it fit the older man in merchant marine tan and brown.

“You know I can think of worse things than having Bolian women swooning over you” Stores said as he picked up a glass, mischief making his blue eyes sparkle.

Clinton”Stores”Reed. Supercargo

“Maybe not,” Buddy conceded, settling into one of the offered chairs, “but you have to admit it isn’t an ideal situation for a new officer coming on board. Especially one who has advancement on his mind.”

-Ens. Cullum, SEC

Leaning back with an expansive gesture, “It will certainly something brought up at your admiralty roast, but honestly the officers I work with will laugh it off and tell you and your fans to get back to work.”

Clinton”Stores”Reed, Supercargo.

“I hope you’re right,” he said, sipping the drink and letting the amber liquid warm it’s way down his throat. “As a matter of fact, I am sure that you are.” Buddy tried to imagine being an Admiral and getting “roasted” by his friends and colleagues. He began to laugh. “If it gets brought up at my roast, I’ll know by whom,” he said raising his glass to his new friend. “Tell me about yourself, Stores,” he began, eager to change the subject from himself.

-Ens. Cullum, SEC

Stores smiled, “I would do no such thing” the smile turning into a grin.

The smile turned just an ever bit sad at the question as to his history. “ I grew up in space, aboard the Tortuga and as young men do I wanted more and ended up at the shipyards off Io. Pausing to sip his drink,” cake back when Granddad died and Mom took over as Captain. Their was a shift to in his bearing as he leaned forward a bit with the glass is both hands. Lost her in the bad lands and I was picked up buy the Vigilance. We were at war and they needed a hand so I just stayed. His demeanor said their was much more to the story but he moved his story along, “ when they decommissioned her I bounced from station to station working the docks. A sheepish grin as he looked up, soon enough they will tell you, ai got into a scrape and ended up on the Dress in irons. Shaking his head, Alexa toy my old boss is now an admiral and pulled a few strings, and here I am.” The cock sure smile was back, the sad image of Clinton Reed replaces buy the devil may care Stores…

Clinton”Stores”Reed, Supercargo

Buddy knew, given time, that the rest of the story, whatever it may be, would come out piece-by-piece as their friendship grew, but this friendship was new. It needed time to grow. Buddy didn’t want to push anything. “So, your Ensign rank, you earned in the field instead of at the academy? That’s extremely difficult to achieve,” Buddy couldn’t have been more impressed. “The Dresden is lucky to have you,” he said. And he felt extremely lucky to have made his acquaintance.

-Ens. Cullum, SEC

“Don’t know about earning it,” the mischievous smile that was his trade mark was back, “as much as it’s a punishment. Unlike you and the rest, you have formalized training, even the enlisted men are indoctrinated into the Starfleet way of doing things.” Stores pauses for another sip,” No doubt you earned that pip. I on the other hand grew up in a ship, home schooled buy my aunts and uncles as to how to live and work on a freighter. The Vigilance was a learning curve; not only as a civilian working on a federation frigate, but also during a war. So after crossing deck from the merchant marines it’s all been on the job training. For me it’s just been a natural progression, for you it was a choice.” Raising his glass” I will always respect that, even tho sometimes it may not seem that way.”

Clinton”Stores”Reed, Supercargo

Buddy felt a true affection for the man. Though their individual circumstances might have made them cold, even resentful, toward one another, instead they were becoming fast friends. Buddy liked that. “Here’s to the Dresden,” he toasted, the warm feeling of drink already coursing its way through his body. “May she boldly endure whatever the fates have in store!”

-Ens. Cullum, SEC

“To the Dresden, and the Men and women who call her home.” Stores replied. This was his home now, and over the last six months some had become his family.

Clinton”Stores”Reed, Supercargo

An hour, and several refills, later, Buddy could feel the minuscule room starting to spin. “Ya, know somfink Sores… uh Stores?” he said slurring, “Um startin ta fink dis shtuff ain’t hic synfahol…”

-Ens. Cullum, SEC

Stores was feeling good, but being well aware that they were not drinking synthahol, he had nursed his drinks just a bit more than the young man. Stores had had some real issues with his temper early on in his recovery, and tho he drank he was always conservative about it the last thing he needed was to loose control.

“No, brother it isn’t” he laughed.”Perhaps we should get you home before Isaac or worse, Olsen sees you.”. Pulling up the room he had assigned him, Stores decided that buses transport was not a good idea, and he thought he could just sneak Buddy back to his quarters, besides most folks were on leave, another drunk crew man would probably go unnoticed.

After Buddy biped his head on the conduit chase, negotiating the ladder was the only major hurdle, tho the Jefferies tubes might prove a more discreet rout, the young man’s inebriated state precluded any such shenanigans.

As predicted the trip from ships control to the junior officers quarters had been uneventful and he propped Buddy up against the bulkhead as he used his Star base one credentials to open the door.

Clinton”Stores”Reed, Supercargo

Buddy found it humorous, suddenly, that for the first time in his life, he was drunk. “‘S a very strange senstashun, idnt it?” he said chuckling. The doors opened and Buddy pirouetted inside. “Welcome to my home Shores! Immean Stores!” He waved his arm around. The space was bigger than the Crow’s Nest but only just. “I would offer you a drink but I fink I can’t find my recl… my recl… my REP LI CA TOR,” he said deliberately sounding out each syllable. “Wait!” he said suddenly, “dis my room, right?” he looked around and noticed his duffel still unpacked and on his bunk. “Yep!” he exclaimed, “dis mine.”

“Hey Spores!” he yelled much more loudly than was intended. “I like you. You a good guy!” he said and patted his new friend on the shoulder a little roughly. That was unintended as well. “Thanks for bein mah friend,” he said. “You are mah frind right?”

-Ens. Cullum, SEC

Stores laughed as he watched the young man, and replied to his question “I believe I am, but I suggest you sleep this off. I am sure Isaac will want to see you in the morning, and hungover he will understand, but not late.”

It was true the junior officers quarters was about 1/2 again as large, but the double bed was a luxurious touch compared to the double bunks. Truth be known he liked his cloister cell. Where else could you build a personal transporter and no one notice?

Clinton”Stores”Reed, Supercargo