Joint Duty Backlog - MCPO Caine & LtJG Charlson - "You Want What You Get, You Get What You Want"

Posted on Mon Feb 23rd, 2015 @ 2:37am by Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine

1,712 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: A Spot To Kill
Timeline: Takes place before "Heard It Through The Grapevine"

Rik Caine had one last stop before the end of his shift and that was the main security offices. He'd yet to step foot inside and meet the rest of his colleagues. Colleagues. That was strange. He wasn’t used to having a team around him. He sidled into the offices like a polar explorer in from the cold. Slightly rattled and not sure what to expect. He had managed to find a spare second to memorise the key players in the department, people he was likely to deal with on a regular basis. Scoping out one of these people like a sniper looking for a clean kill he spotted one. L-T Junior Grade Lily Charlson apparently a rising star in the department.

Making his way through the hubbub of security staff at work he leaned on the bulkhead next to the console where she worked. "Rik Caine, we haven’t met yet but I'm the departments new resident Gum-shoe… investigator" he said by way of introduction.

"Pleased to meet you Rik, Lily Charlson, Lieutenant Junior Grade, Security Officer, I presume we'll be working together quite a lot then?" Lily asked, looking up from the desk she was sitting at.

"I would imagine so - I'm the guy to call in when a case needs to be cracked or a hood needs their elbows checked" he commented slipping back into his usual patter of slang from the 1920's. "Sorry, suspect needs interrogating upon arrest" he explained translating himself and wishing the universal translator came with a hardboiled slang filter. "And yaself, what's your role in Security?" he asked.

"Just plain old Security Officer, although if the position opens up I'm considering going for the role of Chief of Security and Tactical!" Lily said, partly understanding the slang.

"Nothing wrong with being a Security Officer - nothing plain about it" he commented some of the most honourable and loyal people he'd met having fallen into that category the bim had classed herself. He smiled when she mentioned wanting to go for a senior staff post - admirable for LT JG to be so ambitious. "Well I wish you all the best in that - guess I better get used to calling ya boss eh? He quipped. He paused for a moment in thought "was hoping we chin gums about the typical hoods the department encounters" he paused before deciding to translate himself "I was hoping we could chat and you'd be able to give me the low-down on the types of criminal activity onboard" he said almost apologetically.

"Onboard the ship the only one you really have to look out for is Noah Waterhouse, the XO's brother; he's a little bit of a troublemaker!" She said, looking around, making sure no one was near. "I quite like him if I'm honest though!" Lily said, blushing slightly.

Rik smiled, partly relieved gossip hadn't travelled that far yet and partly because the name Waterhouse was never far away it seemed. "Noah Waterhouse? Ya don't say" he said after a moment registering the blush. He was well aware of the connection the broad had with the somewhat infamous Noah Waterhouse; Rik could appreciate that. He, after all had been caught under the mesmerising spell of Noah's sister. "I'll keep that in mind - but surely the bo you're sweet on can't be the ship's only trouble?" he queried.

"Well he's the only trouble that I have so far encountered, why have you encountered some other trouble that I haven't been informed of?" Lily queried.

"Incident with a Bolian engineer who had a falling out with his bunkmate... nothing to write home about" he added remembering the incident with some amusement and the purple bottle of hooch that had turned out to be an interesting nightcap. "Guess we shouldn't complain... What do you know about where we're headed?" he asked again wanting to gather as much information as he could from those who had been onboard a while.

"Well apparently we're headed for Atlantis Prime, via a wormhole, but that's all I know, I only get told what to do when I'm needed!" Lily said, not knowing much else.

Rik nodded slowly "well I suppose that's something" he commented "the joys of not being important upstairs eh; details tend to trickle" he added almost frustrated. He hated going in blind and based on what he had been told the evening prior there was cause for concern. "So how long have you been aboard?" he asked the bim who could end up his department head if she got the promotion she was seeking.

"About 6 months ish now! I'm still quite new here!" Lily said.

"Six months? Still feeling green or were you posted in another joint before the tub?" he asked casting his mind back to the earlier stages of his Starfleet career. Crazy days; wild times.

"Still feeling green, this is my first assignment since the Academy, I was out of it for about a year due to a training accident, had to go to rehab." Lily said, casting her mind back to that accident.

"Wouldn't worry about it too much - Academy can never prepare you for life in the fast lane; joy of being a copper, never know which shake-down or big elbow is gunna be the one that clicks it all into place like a jigsaw taking shape". Rik paused and nodded "What happened?" he asked.

"Was doing training on fighters, I was training in fighter piloting and special operations at the same time as my Security and Tactical course, one of the other pilots banked left, which he shouldn't have, and I turned right, like I was meant to, and we went splat bang into each other. Luckily we weren't that far of the ground, and were only going on thrusters, but it was still enough to damage both ships, and trap my legs, so I had to have a few operations to sort them out, over the course of a year, after that, I went back to the academy, completed all the courses, and got placed on the Vindicator, and now we're here. What about you? How long have you been in Starfleet?" Lily asked, being nosy.

"Sounds like a lively start to anyone's career" Rik commented shaking his head at the description of the accident. He hoped the other pilot had done the decent think and taken responsibility. He paused momentarily after she asked about his own career. "I was given a choice between Starfleet and a penal colony, trained in special investigations and joined the Corp for a while before moving into undercover work and Special Forces. Needed a change of pace; so took assignments on frontier outposts and outlaying worlds before ending up here as the resident gum-shoe... Been in Starfleet coming up on... Oh... 14 years I guess". He paused again "Brave of you to get fixed up and carry on though" he added.

"Well it was either continue with the career I wanted, or go and become one of those guns for hire . I didn't want to be one of those guys, who just do the work for the money, I chose to do it because it's something that I like to do." Lily said, thinking back to the time she was given that choice.

"Makes sense, find a righteous path or fall into dutch. It was a choice I was faced with in my younger days" Rik said mulling over his past like a scholar reading a history book. "So; what drove you to security?" he asked after a moment.

"All the action, not so much of the bloodshed!" Lily said. "What drove you to investigating?"

Rik smiled; honestly, as he mulled over the response the young security officer had given and the question she had posed. "I'm hoping it's the path to my salvation. I believe in truth, justice and balance and if walking the line I do means I achieve that; why that's the path this joe's gotta follow." He explained.

"Sounds cool. I presume you enjoy it then?" Lily questioned.

"That I do, there's a certain satisfaction that comes by digging up the truth, solving the puzzle and throwing a hood in the slammer" he quipped. "Yourself? How are you finding the first assignment?"

"Busy, a lot busier than I had previously anticipated, but I've been able to manage it. I just hope you'll never be investigating me for anything!" Lily remarked.

Rik couldn't help but let out a laugh at that comment "well busy keeps us out of trouble and out of investigations" he joked. "I guess if you and Mr Waterhouse get into trouble ya may be" he added with a teasing grin.

"I'm sure Mr Waterhouse knows to stay out of trouble after my last run in of trouble with him. I had to look after his sorry ass in the brig!" Lily said with a small laugh, thinking about how much Noah would kill her if he heard her saying that about him.

Rik chuckled to himself; it was certainly interesting to find out more about Amelia's family. "What did the bo do to land himself in the brig?" he asked adjusting his leaning position on the bulkhead.

"I can't remember, I wasn't indulged in that specific detail, I was only the new officer back then, so yeah, not really any of my business." Lily said, leaning against the bulkhead next to her.

As he nodded to himself Rik couldn't help but grin a little. He assumed this dame was dizzy for the troublemaker known as Noah in much the same way he was for Amelia; and that dame was trouble with a capital T. "Understandable, well kiddo I need to mosey on out and get back to the bread and butter. Take it easy and good luck with the gunning for top dog in the department thing" he said making to leave.

"Urm, ok bye!" Lily said, unsure of what Rik had just said, and making a mental note to ask Pond about a dictionary to Rikish.

=======End=======

Lieutenant Junior Grade Lily Charlson
Security Officer
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine
Security Investigator/Chief of the Boat
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

 

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