Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

[Shurijo]

Shur replies, "I can go as well, if needed." The cadet finishes his plate and then looks around for where to leave his finished plate and used utensils.

[Orvost]

Shur drops his used tray in a receptacle, where it is whisked off some place where unsightly messes await the attention of hospitality staff. Cadet Campeador may have hoped someone else would field Cadet Serao’s question, but neither Shur nor Alik seem willing to go anywhere near it (although Alik may have thoughts on the matter). He sheepishly tries to explain himself:

“A creep is someone who makes you feel uncomfortable. I was, ah, mostly kidding. You see: if a male acquaintance of hers, like me, were to show up at her bedchambers at a late hour like this, regardless of the reasons he gives for being there, she may interpret his motives as a rather forward proposition for … romance. Like I said: mostly kidding. Anyway, if someone were there with me, she would be much less likely to interpret my motives as such.”

By the time he’s done explaining himself, your group is outside Cadet Weather’s room. There is a long pause after you ring before the command is given from inside for the door to open. Inside, you see Cadet Weather’s seems to have unpacked without any hint of personal decor in these temporary quarters. Her luggage is stowed and the only visible sign of her personal property is a few poster-sized scrolls of paper propped against a corner wall. Weathers herself is near the door, opposite a mirror she must have been looking into right before the door opened. She stands akimbo, one hip popped up slightly and one knee demurely bent forward. It’s a practiced pose, like a model or beauty queen, but one she has mastered to look natural. She’s flashing her friendly smile, but her eyes are watery and red-rimmed, like she has been weeping recently.

“Well, the gang’s all here.” She says in a bright, cheerful tone. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“We hadn’t seen you all evening.” Campeador offers, “We wanted to make sure everything was alright.”

Cadet Serao helpfully chimes in, “…And, by our presence, offer assurance that Cadet Campeador does not intend to romance you this evening.”

Weathers narrows her eyes and cocks her head for a moment in confusion, then shakes it off. “So, I assume everyone else got their assignments too?” She offers weakly.

Campeador is staring down, his lips pursed together. He has completely bowed out of the conversation as you can almost see him visibly shrinking by the moment. Someone else is going to have to pick up the conversation.

[Shurijo]

Shur responds, "Yes. We were talking over our assignments in the mess hall." The cadet then asks, "What were you assigned?"

[Orvost]

"I'll tell you what they want me to do." Weathers replies, "But first, if you don't mind, I'd like to hear what they have assigned to all of you."

[Shurijo]

Shur looks back at Weathers and replies, "I'm coordinating orbital docking patterns at the station." The cadet then looks at the others. "Doesn't sound like fun, but everyone needs to start somewhere."

[ManWithDoor]

The engineer raises an eyebrow at the task. "Gotta say, that sounds more important than getting assigned to miscellaneous repair tasks. If I mess up it could burn out a relay or two, but unlikely worse than that, especially with a senior engineer monitoring me. Screwing up docking patterns could result in catastrophe. They must trust you a lot." He smiles, only slightly jealous. He knows he's good, but honestly inexperienced compared to the Starbase staff. He has a lot to learn. "Call me impressed. You must have made a good impression."

[Orvost]

Shur and Alik provide hasty responses and commentary to Weathers request.

Serao follows their lead, but just remarks, “I’m monitoring a sub-space listening station.”

Campeador still hasn’t recovered, but manages to mumble, “Sentry duty.”

Weathers’ reaction is immediate:

“I knew it! Damn them, I knew it!”

“Apparently Starbase 11 doesn’t need the services of a trained Helmsman, so you know what they expect me to do for the next who-knows-how long-we-are-stuck-here? They want me serving drinks in the officer’s lounge!”

“Starfleet spent hundreds of thousands of credits on my training, and I spent the past 7 years of my life in that pursuit. I can pull sub-warp evasive maneuvers that would peel the gums off your teeth. I can operate the latest weapon systems on the most technologically advanced vessels in the galaxy. And what do they want me to do with my training? Waite on senior officers with a wink and a smile!”

Weathers was morose and withdrawn when you first came to her room. Now she is indignant and animated. She is now pacing back and forth, facing you like a wall of accusers and gesticulating with her hands. Her practiced social graces and accent are falling by the wayside.

[Shurijo]

"Fear not," Shur says. "This is only the beginning. It is likely they have better plans for you, but for reasons unknown to us, they can't implement them just yet. That doesn't seem like it an appropriate assignment for you. We'll ask around and try to get to the bottom of this."

[Orvost]

Weathers grabs Shur by the shoulder. Shur is momentarily taken off guard by the physical contact and she has his undivided attention:

“It’s not about starting at the bottom. I could be scouring heads and I wouldn’t complain. It’s the position it puts me in with officers I may serve with in the future. I’d rather not be in a situation where I stand to lose credibility in a future professional relationship.”

“But, thank you, Cadet Ijocado, if you are sincerely willing to help me get out of this.”

[ManWithDoor]

He winces at Weathers' volatile reaction, but doesn't nay-say anything. "Good points made all around, but yeah. I hear you. Definitely a blow, but hell, I know you can bounce back from this. It's shitty but temporary. It'll be over and done with the second our real duty ship arrives. You can get back to manning the guns with an itchy trigger finger, which is what you trained hard for." He grins with a sudden idea. "And if anyone gives you shit about it then, you can always kindly remind them that you man the weapons station. And they might be on a shuttle going to and fro a planet or starbase or whatever, and it would be oh-so-sad if there was a weapons malfunction at just the wrong time."