Posted by Lieutenant Charles Fordham (Security Chief) in After Viewing the new ship (Tag Ford)

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Ford pocketed the rod and signed the document. “All done then,” the fellow said. “The rest of the controls will be transferred via computer to you tomorrow during the handover ceremony. I stand relived.” Well, he didn’t stand long, rushing off out the door. Ford opened the nearest locker and examined the rifles within, the copper tubes gleaming in the light. He closed it and went to the next - phaser pistols. He made sure the rest were locked before exiting and heading for the cargo bay to find Rand.

He heard raised voices as he approached and quickened his pace, nearly bumping into Rand as he turned a corner toward the cargo bay entrance. There was no one else nearby. “Pardon me,” he said, taking a step back, eyes sweeping the corridor. “I thought I heard an argument.” He settled back on her, cocking his head. “Everything all right, Rand?”

COS Ford

She’d been repeating something, and she wasn’t running but she was obviously eager to be moving. Away or to somewhere was a guess. Rand, for her part, had been walking by memory and was startled by Ford’s sudden appearance. He heard? Oh that was embarrassing. She hadn’t yelled had she? No, she was certain she had not yelled, though she probably did raise her voice a bit to get the Hitnel’s attention in the end. Everything alright? “Yes of course Lt.” back to that formality. She flexed her hands more checking that there was no tingling than anything else. She glanced back at the cargo bay. “Sometimes ranking officers don’t like dealing with yeoman.”
Yeoman Rand

Ford’s face hardened and he looked toward the cargo bay doors. He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to relax, and then a smile broke across his face.

Rand turned back in time to catch his smile, but not the sudden hardening of his features. She smiled slightly in return. She had her report and Hitnel would be off the ship in a day at most.

“Miss Farquharson, I would very much like to see my office, but I have not yet been given access to it. I’m betting that you, as captain’s yeoman, have. Would you be able to help me with that?” That same smile was still in place, and it could, perhaps, remind someone of a shark.

COS Ford

Her smile widened genuinely. “That’s very good. Most people butcher my last name, it’s why I go by my nickname, Rand. It sounds a little more formal and people don’t get hung up on trying to pronounce it.” She looked around and didn’t see anyone. “Yes I can get you in, but I could get in trouble for it.” She turned down the hallway, back the way he had come and stopped at a door on the interior side of the corridor. She totally missed the sharkiness of his smile in her focus on the task and putting Hitnel out of her mind. He was a senior officer, she knew who he was and she was allowed to assist the other senior officers. She turned to him with a grin, hoping he didn’t write her up for this. “I’ll help you anyway.” Something a yeoman was never without? Her access keys. They were assigned to her the moment Sentinel arrived by Cpt Jenkins of K5. She pulled them out of her pocket, slipped a small cylinder like object into the bottom of the access panel and entered a code. The door slid open to a rather spacious office. Big enough to hold a conference if needed. She stood aside to let him enter and then followed. “What I do not have access to is that panel behind the desk. It opens into the main jefferies tube access. You can get anywhere from in there.”
Yeoman Rand

Ford stepped into the office, looking around. The layout was much as he expected: a desk, a chair on one side and two on the other; a screen, a button panel beneath it; and two data tape ports, one of which was occupied. He stepped up to the screen and pressed the button on it which snapped, and the screen lit to life with a view of the bridge, with a crewman wiping off displays.

The interface was simple enough, and one he was familiar with from monotonous duties on other vessels: two buttons to move to different views throughout the ship, like a ring. Eventually, the view of the cargo bay snapped into view with a button press, and he shifted to the second set of buttons, holding one down. The man on screen began walking backwards, and soon Rand was visible walking backwards into frame, spinning around, and throwing a data tape at the man, who slammed it on a table. Rand then stood there, and without sound on it was awkward as she seemed to stare at the man’s back, until she walked backwards out of frame again. Ford released the button and opened a drawer in the desk - this setup always had blank data tapes in the same location. He placed one into the empty slot, pressed the button beside it with a snick, and then another button beneath the display, and the same footage played again, forwards this time.

Once past-Rand had left the room again, he hit another button and then ejected the data tape. The view on the screen reverted to the man writing something in the cargo bay. Ford turned the display off and pocketed the data tape.

“Thank you, Rand,” he said. “You are a most excellent tour guide. What is our next stop?”

COS Ford

Rand waited quietly while he inspected the office area and manipulated the controls on the console. She watched with curiosity as he recorded something to a data tape. She made the correct assumption that it was images he wanted to study. She made the incorrect assumption that it was to determine where to place security and determine areas of weakness, not about her. “Oh…you’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.” She led the way down the corridor pulling out her watch. “Well deck 4 is next and where your quarters are located. I need to get these ready for the captain, but I’d be happy to finish your tour after I drop them off.” And she really wouldn’t mind. She was agitated at the behavior of the quarter master and had reacted more personally than she normally would have because of her behavior in the lounge, but she was feeling on more even ground now. She entered the turbolift with him, hit the button for deck 4.
Yeoman Rand

Ford shook his head. “No, that won’t be necessary. I’ve take up enough of your time, I think. As I said earlier, you need some free time.”

“It was no trouble. I had to walk the decks anyway. Really I didn’t mind.” Randy would probably be happy she was out walking around rather than in their quarters.

No, my next stop will be to Captain Jenkins’ office, he thought. The data tape was comfortable in his pocket, and soon it would be comfortable on someone else’s desk. The door hissed open on deck 4 and stepped out, holding out a hand for the yeoman. “After you.”

COS Ford.

Rand stepped off the turbolift with a nod of thanks. “The saucer decks are divided into alphabetical sections with A being at the center fore and then moving clockwise. We were in the after turbolift and this is section E. This way.” She turned to port and after passing an intersection signs showed section F. At the next intersection she took the right corridor and half way down on the left, “And here we are, Room 25.” Rand stopped by the door and turned to face him. “It was nice to meet you, Ford.”
Yeoman Rand