<snip>

“In that case…” he said, “I’m unsure of where my quarters are.” He folded his hands behind his back, hiding them, a less threatening posture. “Would you show me where they are, please? Room 25, section F.”

He was no doctor, but his experience with men having similar reactions told him that a task could take someone’s mind away from things, and time and distance could also be helpful.

And asking her to go for a walk would have the opposite reaction.

COS Ford

A request from a ranking officer. Okay, she could handle that. That could put her slightly behind, unless she made her stops along the way. And the airlock was on deck 11 so they had the whole way up to deck 4 to go. “Of course Lt. Do you mind if we make a couple stops along the way? I have to pick up end of day reports for the captain; I can give you the two bit tour along the way.” If not, she’d just have to run, or have Randy pick them up.

“Not at all, Ensign. It will give me a chance to look over the ship.” It really would, but would also give her more time away from… whatever had just happened.

She pulled out her communicator and flipped it open. =C= Yeoman Rand to Chief Dullands.=C=
=O=Dullands here. What can I do for you Rand?=O=
=C=The senior staff is boarding Sentinel tonight. I wanted to make sure their personal effects had been transferred.=C=
=O=I just sent over the doctors and I’m sending the last one, a Lt Fordham over now. Don’t worry Yeoman, I’ve got you covered.=O=
=C=Thank you Dullands.=C= she flipped her communicator closed and tucked it back into her pocket. “This way Lt.” Rand led the way further down the corridor and made a right leading to the air lock. She clasped her hands behind her in an effort to not wring them.
Yeoman Rand

“Please, call me Ford,” he said as they walked. “And I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name.” He glanced at her from the side. “Unless it happens to actually be ‘Ensign’? Ensign Ensign. That would be interesting.” He hoped the attempt at levity would work, but it was a thin line.

COS Ford

Rand nodded to herself. It was in his file, he went by Ford. Of course that wasn’t her place to call him that. He had rank on her and was a senior staff member. Potocol dictated he be referred to by rank, rank and name, or position. But they weren’t on duty were they? Oh that’s what got her into this mess to begin with. The captain pulling rank and putting her back on duty and then wanting her to socialize with them off duty. Okay so the biggest problem was he wanted her to drink, and she didn’t drink. She took a deep breath and let it out. She smiled at his joke. This was one-on-one, she could handle that. “Rand, Rand Farquharson,” her voice took on a more pronounced Scottish lilt as she pronounced the clan name. “It’s nice to meet you…Ford. I…I go by Rand.”

Ford nodded. “It is a pleasure, Rand.” He would ask about her brother’s name later.

She stopped at the airlock while the dockmaster checked them both to make sure they were allowed on board. Then she led the way through the airlock and onto the Sentinel. “Welcome to the Sentinel, Lieut…Ford.” She waved her arm in a flourish that took in all the new shininess of the vessel. “This is deck 11. Home to General Astrological Science Lab, the Upper Stellar Cartography Lab, and the Upper Warp Core. Which is where we are headed now. Below us is Deck 12 and main engineering and the last of the science labs.” She turned down the main corridor and then into the central passage and they soon came upon the upper observation platform and could see the warp core. She looked around a moment, spotting the person she was looking for heading towards here. “Yeoman, here’s the report. I’ll make sure the morning one gets brought to you.” Rand nodded her thanks.
Yeoman Rand

Ford eyed the hallways, considering general layout and travel time. His forces would be the general security on board ship, as well as off, and in control of the ship’s defensive and offensive capabilities. While rare, having to deal with on board fighting wasn’t unheard of.

He took in the view of the warp core - it was beautiful, but it was also almost meaningless to him, other than a thing to be defended. He swept the upper observation area, not liking the spots he could tell would be invisible from below, especially around such a sensitive area. He was probably being overly cautious. He turned back to Rand as the other crewman walked away.

“Report?” he asked, tilting his head. “I thought you were off duty?”

COS Ford