Guess who's coming to dinner. Chapters 2 and 3 of 4

Chapter two: More about me. Or to be more precise. Messing with the Yeoman.
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I yelled "Enter."

The door obediently slid open and my favorite Yeoman, actually another privilege of rank, he was assigned to me, entered just far enough into the room to placate the proximity detector, allowing the door to close. He snapped to attention.

"Good Morning Lieutenant Commander I..."

"Yeoman."

He stopped mid sentence.

"Yes sir."

"Spare me the platitudes. I see you didn't bring donuts so, that being the case, tell me why are you here, at this ungodly hour?"

I pretended I didn't see the smirk on his face which quickly passed as he went proper military on me.

"Sir, public relations, having been apprised of the unfortunate incident regarding the Sarenth, ordered me to bring you this."

He held out his hand, which contained a data crystal.

Moving closer, I stared briefly at the crystal, then looked my Yeoman straight in the eyes.

"So you didn't bring me a donut?"

"No sir." He stared back at me, trying not to blink.

I held his unwavering stare for a few seconds then took the crystal.

"What's on this?"

I walked casually over to my desk and inserted the crystal into a data port.

"I don't know sir. I was instructed to deliver it to you and to relay the message that you should look it over before your meeting with the Sarenth."

"Take a guess."

"Sir?"

"Take a guess, Yeoman. What do you think is on this?"

"Sir, given the present situation, I believe it may contain information on how best to proceed."

"How best to proceed? Yeoman, a family of worms, were just sucked up and squished by a buffer. Do you honestly think the PR people had a contingency plan for this situation?"

"No sir."

"Neither do I."

I pointed to the replicator with my coffee cup, while typing my pass code into the computer." I can't believe they encrypted this.

"Yeoman, have you had breakfast?"

"No sir."

"Then do so. Now! That's an order." "Oh, and Yeoman."

"Yes sir."

"No donuts. Have a proper breakfast."

As he headed towards the dispenser, I turned my attention to the computer screen.

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Chapter 3: Preparing for a close encounter.

I wasn't disappointed. As I anticipated, the brief was less then useful.

A 3000 word carelessly crafted list of recommendations and remediation. Half legalese, half nonsensical recommendations.

I leaned back in my chair and was rewarded with a, fingernails scraping on the black board, screech.

"Sir."

I glanced over at my Yeoman who, while balancing an over-sized plate, containing double portions of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, home-fries, and something green, I didn't ask, was trying to stand.

I motioned for him to sit. "Yes, Yeoman."

"With your permission." he swallowed whatever was in his mouth, nearly choking himself in the process. "I'll notify maintenance, submit a work order, and get that chair fixed."

Rather then answering right away, I chose instead, to deliberately rock back and forth in the chair, to the tune of Hickory Dickory Dock.

Or, in my mind, a close approximation.

The chair was very accommodating. Squealing, groaning, and creaking.

"Yeoman, has it come to your attention that I am in charge of the Maintenance Department? Furthermore, don't you think that if I wanted the chair fixed, it would already be fixed."

"No sir. I mean yes sir."

I turned, so he couldn't see my face, and allowed myself a small grin. He was not an easy person to trip up. Yes ! Lieutenant Commander one, Yeoman 0

"And Yeoman."

"Yes sir."

"Chew your food before swallowing. I don't relish the thought of breaking in a new Yeoman."

He grinned and turned his attention back to his plate.

Truth be told, I liked this kid. In the short time he had been with me, he already knew some of my idiosyncrasies and acted accordingly.

He could adjust his attitude, on the fly, without being condescending, and was also horribly efficient, at doing most of my more mundane tasks, then anticipating what came next.

In my considered opinion he was going to make a fine Officer.

I stood, giving the chair a final squeak.

"Best get this over with."

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Always."

"Have you decided how you're going to handle this?"

"Nope. This is going to be seat of the pants."

I headed for the door.

"This should take an hour at best. Make sure Watson is waiting in my office when I get back."

"He will be Sir. I took the liberty of issuing an order, then had Station Security deliver it in person."

He spooned another spoonful of green glop into his mouth, What the hell was that? then glanced at his watch. "Sergeant Watson should be arriving, right about now."

Note to self, identify glop.

"Good, carry on."

"Sir."

I stopped mid-stride, "Yes Yeoman."

"Sir, be advised. The Video Screen and climate control in your waiting room are not working."

"Yeoman, the Vid and climate control were working fine yesterday."

"Yes sir, they did appear to be working properly. However, they were overdue for routine maintenance."

The slight emphasis on did-didn't escape my notice

He continued " I've contacted Engineering, and had them disconnected from primary control. They're awaiting your approval, to schedule a well check by the preventive maintenance team."

Disconnected by Engineering and awaiting my approval, meant Watson couldn't use his troubleshooting skills or codes to override the lock out.

Further, since Watson was given a direct order to report to my office, he couldn't leave unless someone of equal or higher command rank ordered him to.

I turned back towards the door.

I really, really, liked this kid. I only wish I had thought of it.

"Very well then Yeoman, see that it gets taken care of."

Watson cooling his heels in a hot, closed, stuffy room with nothing to do appealed to me.

"After you finish eating of course."

"Yes sir."