Posted by 2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea (Security Officer) in 2nd Lt Laju Eghimea, Reporting Sir! (Checking In, Out-Side Lt Commander Brenna Neenna Atoded office)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Brenna Neenna Atoded (Chief of Security) in 2nd Lt Laju Eghimea, Reporting Sir! (Checking In, Out-Side Lt Commander Brenna Neenna Atoded office)

Posted by 2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea (Security Officer) in 2nd Lt Laju Eghimea, Reporting Sir! (Checking In, Out-Side Lt Commander Brenna Neenna Atoded office)
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Moving through the hanger deck of the Saracen, Ensign Laju Eghimea quietly moved through and keeping her head down as a new group of Federation Officers off loaded. There were a few family members along as well. Which she breathed a sigh of relief over as she tried to blend in with them. She watched the process of entry on to the ship with a keen eye as she checked her watch.

‘Two minutes,’ she thought as the line slowly moved forward. The two security personnel doing the check in were professional enough as they scanned the documents of those coming about. The line continued to move forward as started a mental countdown. She watched the people ahead of her and started to calculate how long before she would be standing before the two-armed security personnel. Her eyes watched each one as they scanned the chips and pressed the person through the check point. She noticed the time it took for each person. She glanced behind her at the shuttle being prepared for departure. She started to realize how their haste could be exploited.

Taking a deep breath, she calmed her nerves and stepped up to the man screening the civilians.

“Good evening,” she said trying to force a smile.

He frowned at her as he corrected, “morning.”

She knew the mistake and had played it intentionally to eat up the last few seconds. “Oh I am sorry….morning,” she said softly. “You have a very pretty ship, its large and….”

“Just give me your transfer docs….” He grumbled holding out his hand.

‘One, two, three,’ she thought as she placed a smile on her face as started to reach for her chip. Taking her time, she fumbled for her chip while it was still in her pocket, “I have it right here…” she added with a playful voice. Her face and voice were nothing but a mask. All her life she had been forced to wear masks; this was nothing new for her. ‘Four, five, six,’ she continued to silently count.

Moving slightly, “I know I have it here,” she then added. From the corner of her eyes, she watched his frustration grow. At ten, she passed it to him with a faked sigh of relief.

Snapping it from her hand, he jammed the chip into his scanner. At fifteen he finally said, “you’re early, Ensign Laju.”

She nodded, “yes, there was change……” twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two

“That will be all,” he said cutting her off. He snapped the chip from the scanner without reading further, “Welcome to the Saracen, please move along.”

She took the chip and nodded, “yes sir,” she said softly. She had hoped that in prolonging his inspection, that he would unintentionally correct the time by not being through in his scanning of her travel documents. Of course, they were faked! She hadn’t received her medical clearance from the Bajoran Medical Directorate. The ones she was travelling under were bought from a bartender on Deep Space Nine.

Walking into the corridor of the Saracen, she checked her watch once more. She touched the smooth screen on her watch and switched it from her clock to a map of the ship. Using that map, she moved through the ship and found the location of where the office of the Chief of Security. Her mind was focused on the task at hand and her eyes fixed to where she needed to go. Making sure she didn’t attract any unnecessary attention, she found a nearby restroom.

Slipping in, she locked the door behind her. She placed her suitcase on the toilet and opened it. Moving with purpose and skill, she started to quickly undress. A rapid bathing from the sink removed the two days of traveling she had acquired. After she dried her face off, she started to get dressed in her Bajoran uniform. She pulled a cloth from her pocket, and anywhere she touched her brass, she quickly polished them. Sliding her Bajoran blaster into her holster, she took a step back and personally inspected her appearance for any flaws.

There was a flash behind her, and Eghimea turned. Standing in the doorway was her father. He wore this proud look on his face.

“I have never been more proud of you,” he said.

She slammed her eyes shut as she leaned back against the sink. “No…..” she whimpered. Her fingers grew white as she gripped the edges of the sink. She shook her head, “no……” her heart ached as she shook her head.

Snapping her eyes opened, she turned to her suitcase. Falling to her knees before it, she searched frantically. After about a minute, she finally pulled out a small white bottle, another purchase from that same bartender. She opened it and shook two small yellow pills into her hand. She popped the two pills into her mouth as she moved back to the sink. Looking into her reflection she can see the image behind her starting to fade. She let out a long sigh of relief as she spoke, “All I need to do, is just get back to work.”

She continued to finish getting ready and once more inspected herself. She would be prefect for this first meeting. Looking at her reflection, she finally gave an accepted nod. Closing her suitcase, she picked it up. She turned and left the restroom looking like the perfect Laju Ensign. She would set the perfect example of what they should come to expect from a member of the StarGuard. Feeling sure of herself, she walked with confidence towards her Department Head’s office. The name on the door read, Breena Neenna Atoded, Lieutenant Commander.

She buzzed the door and calmly waited to be received by her new boss.
The door slid open to reveal a rather plain and boring office. The desk set to one side but facing out rather than the wall. There were several chairs along the other side, underneath the large monitors that showed ever conceivable area of the ship, some static like the armory brig, and bridge, the others rotating. The only real thing of interest were the three large, full grown Huskies (a black and white, reddish tan and white, and grey and white) that sat up, as if at attention when the door opened.

The three strange creatures caught her eyes as they rose. She wasn’t sure what they were, but they didn’t appear dangerous. Then again, she had to admit that she didn’t know much about these Federation types. Well, what she did know of them wasn’t very flattering. And she wasn’t about to let that cloud her judgement here.

From behind the desk the CoS simply looked at the dogs and they laid back down in their spots. “Well come in.” Atoded looked the girl in her uniform over. “2nd Lt. Laju Eghimea. You have arrived early. You have your orders for me?”

Atoded, CoS

“Yes ma’am,” she said with pride. She stepped forward and handed over the datacard that carried her official orders. She didn’t know anything about her new commanding officer, but she was determined to make a strong impression. Her heart filled with pride as she stood there. Though parts of her mind still lingered on the mystery of why she was here. It was a posting she didn’t want. She wanted to return to one of the remaining Kendra, and hunt down those bastards. There was a deep well of hatred for them, nearly as much as she felt for Cardassians.

“I figured the sooner, the better to start this new journey,” she said. It was mostly true. Though it also meant the sooner she could return home to start her own personal mission of vendetta.

2nd Lt Laju Eghimea

Atoded nodded, scanning Laju over physically and then giving a crisp nod. She took the data card and slipped it into the computer at her desk and then paused, raised a single eyebrow (if Laju was familiar with Vulcan’s the gesture was eerily a perfect replica of the signature species trait) and then tapped. “It says here you were injured in the line of duty and upon medical release you were transferred here.” Atoded turned a hard all black gaze on the 2nd Lt. “Now I have a problem with that 2nd Lt. Where is your medical release? The real one? The one on this disk is a horrible forgery.”

Atoded, CoS

Eghimea watched carefully as her Department Head scanned over her documents. She wasn’t familiar with the single eyebrow, though she did notice the animals in the room reacting to the emotional shift. Her mind already started to move in to gear as the elder woman turned her hard all black gaze upon her.

“Of course, they are forgeries, ma’am,” she admitted. There is no denying the disappointment that washed over her. While she had a strong ‘poker face,’ Eghimea was clearly a deeply emotional creature. She had hoped that the documents would survived at least a basic review. Still, as her father had taught her, ‘fight the battles you are given with what you have.’ Regroup and strike from a different advantage point. As if a switch was flipped, the disappointment faded as her mind raced through other options. Other solutions to the problem.

There was one thing that Eghimea knew more than anything else. She couldn’t go back. She had to find a way to remain here. It was in that moment the solution dawned on her.

“However, my medical leave was issued on Bajor via the Ministry of Health Services. I am pretty sure; they are not part of Starfleet. I am sure some cooperation between the two organizations. However…” Eghimea was already working through what she knew of the relationship between Star Fleet, the Federation and its member worlds. In her mind, pages of text flashed in her mind as her memory recalled the mandatory Federation classes she took during the Acadamy. “If you check, you will see within my medical records, the injuries I had sustained were treated aboard the USS Thunderchild. The Chief Medical Officer had cleared me for transit back to Bajor. And as this ship does allow for civilians, and while I could be mistake, there are no regulations saying I can’t finish my medical leave here.”

With a profession nod, she continued, “and Ma’am, considering how I have never served aboard a Federation vessel, and the only time I was aboard one prior to this, I was a patient, any time spent aboard now only would serve to strengthen my ability to serve you and this ship.”

2nd Lt Laju Eghimea

Atoded stood, slowly, purposefully. “No. it. will. not. I won’t stand for that attitude Lt. First and foremost you are an officer of Bajor. Sent here on an exchange program.

Eghimea was taken back slightly by the slight escalation in tone and mannerism. Though she could understand where it was coming from. After all, she had tried to be deceitful. Her eyes silently watched each and every action of her new Department Head. Still, she remained silent and stood there taking her very justified tongue lashing

You must be fully cleared by your superior officers and pass a medical exam before you can be placed in the program, and then and only then does Star Fleet have the right to approve you to serve on their vessels. The CMO of the Thunderchild may have approved you for space travel but that is not the same as being cleared for duty. Only the Ministry of Health Services can clear you. And I find it disrespectful and rude that you find it so easy to split hairs and disregard their expertise and effort and care they gave to you.

It hit like a blast of ice-cold water, sending a wave of shivers across her body. The emotions rose from some dark clouded part of her mind and filled her with terror. It was all she could do to mask the sudden on rush. Just as she was getting the terror under control, came the confusion of not understanding where these feelings came from. A trained eye could see through the cracks of her mask, but she was quick to seal them.

You can produce your real medical orders showing me you have been cleared for duty,” Atoded waited knowing from years of experience Laju might have the real paperwork but it wouldn’t clear her for duty. “Or you can march yourself down to medical, be truthful, be honor bound, and get this taken care of. Then you will report to the ship’s counselor and delve into why you felt the need to lie to get on board. I don’t have the authority to send you off the ship, but I do have the authority to keep you off duty.”

Atoded, CoS

Still reeling from the wave of emotions, her resistance was tapped. She nodded, “yes ma’am. I will take care of it right away.” She snapped to attention and turned to leave.

2nd Lt Laju Eghimea

Brenna nodded, but before she got out the door, “Lt. Laju.” She waited for the girl to turn around. “When you have this straightened out, correctly. Come back and we will start over, as if we’d never met.” She held out a PaDD, “Your quarters and other information you may need in the mean time.” Then she allowed Laju to leave. Brenna thought about alerting medical and counseling, but she wanted Laju to have the opportunity to handle this the right way on her own. Extending trust and belief in her that she could and would.

Atoded, CoS