Post # 10 Captain's Quarters Pt.2

Posted on Sun Apr 2nd, 2023 @ 9:29am by Captain Jamie O'Connell & Lieutenant Commander Angel Devroe

Mission: Mission 10. Move to the Lagoon Nebula.
Location: USS Peel
Timeline: End Of Day

::ON::

{Deck 2}

[Snip]

Wondering who could be coming to the Captain's quarters Jamie rose from the couch and proceeded towards the door. Opening it he was very surprised to see who his guest was standing in the Corridor.

[End Snip]

Jamie smiled "Number One what a pleasant surprise, please come in " he said as he moved away from the door to let his guest inside.

"I hope I'm not intruding Captain but I thought I'd swing by and see how you are doing" Angel replied with a smile as she walked into the CO's quarters.

Jamie shut the door "No intrusion at all and I am doing just fine; matter of fact I was just going to make myself some dinner if you would care to join me Angel" he replied glad to have some company.

"Yes I'd be more than happy to join you for a meal" she commented looking around "Say this is a pretty nice place considering the size of the Ship and I see you actually have a kitchen as well."

"Thanks, yes it's one of the perks of rank and it's a kitchen of sorts but it's enough to meet my needs" he replied "Where are my manners, please have a seat and would you like some wine or something else to drink."

Angel sat on one of the stools so she could talk to Jamie while he prepared dinner "Yes a glass of red wine would be nice."

He replicated a glass of wine and sat it in front of Angel "There you go.....I was going to make a stew if that sounds good to you....it won't take long to make" he explained with a smile.

"Whatever you want to make is fine with me, I'm really not too fussy when it comes to food" she answered with a grin rather enjoying the relaxed atmosphere with Jamie.

He grabbed a pot, made a rue with butter and flour then added a container of beef stock along with some replicated small beef cubes as well as a pouch of dehydrated veggies then let it cook on a medium heat. Looking at Angel "Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes" he stated starting to notice how nice his Number One was looking.

"That's fine.....but I have to ask....how do you preserve your food to cook with" she queried being very interested in his answer.

Jamie grinned "All the food comes in packs" as he grabbed one to show her "It's all dehydrated which is supposed to last about twenty five years" he explained "It doesn't taste quite as good as fresh but it is a step up from replicator food in taste plus it's very easy to cook with."

"You certainly are full of surprises with your culinary knowledge and it does smell very good" Angel commented getting rather hungry.

He gave a light chuckle "Don't be too impressed until after you taste it" he replied as he looked into her rather lovely eyes then chose his next words very carefully "I must say it was quite a surprise seeing you out of uniform......but it suits you....although I do feel rather undressed."

"That's very kind of you to say so and I do like getting out of uniform whenever I'm able to. It's actually refreshing to see the Commanding Officer in civilian attire ready to kick back and relax; makes you more like the rest of us" she replied with a grin.

"Now who's being kind" he replied as he heard the timer go off "Looks like dinner's ready" as he grabbed two bowls and a scoop and dished out dinner along with a couple of rolls. Setting it down in front of Angel "Here you go but be careful it's hot" then he grabbed a stool from the other side of the Island and sat across from her. Tasting the stew he looked up at Angel "So what do you think of my culinary skills."

"I think this tastes absolutely delicious a lot better than any replicator food I've ever had" she replied with a smile. The Officers enjoyed their dinner while talking about anything that wasn't work related.

After dinner Jamie cleaned up quickly and grabbed another drink for each of them "Perhaps you'd be more comfortable sitting on the couch" he said as Angel nodded in agreement.

Angel sat on the couch as Jamie purposely sat in one of the chairs beside her; he didn't want to send any mixed signals to his Number One. "Now that we have circumvented the topic of work so far I have to ask.....how are you finding the Ship and the Crew" he queried being very interested in her answer.

"Yes I noticed the lack of shop talk and thank you for that. To answer your question, I find the Ship to be very good even if it is somewhat compact and it certainly is easy to navigate around" She answered then went on "As far as the Crew goes, I couldn't be more pleased. Everyone is performing well with smiles on their faces and I see people willing to help each other without being asked which is a huge win for the Ship as a whole."

"Good, I'm seeing the same things and it's nice to have someone else confirm that" then he paused "So what do you think of our Chief Engineer."

Angel thought for a moment before answering "Mr. Ren is certainly different from anyone else I've ever encountered but watching him in Engineering he certainly knows what he's doing and his people seem to get along well with him and does as ordered."

"That's good to hear, I was hoping his Crew wouldn't let his uniqueness hinder operations in Engineering. Sometime soon I'll have to make it a point to go down to Engineering myself" Jamie replied.

"May I speak freely Sir" Angel queried wanting to make a point.

"Sure and please anytime you have something you feel I need to hear, by all means don't be bashful about it especially if it's just the two of us" he replied curious where this was going.

"With respect. I know you want to interact with the Crew as much as possible, which is very noble of you and a good management style, but please don't spread yourself too thin. You are, above all else, the Captain of the Peel. If I may suggest let me handle monitoring the different Departments so you can attend to the business at hand" Angel commented with a smile hoping she had not overstepped her role.

Jamie thought for a moment the gave a slight sigh "Yes you're right of course......that's why you're my Number One. Alright I'll let you take care of the Departments" then he paused "But I don't want you to be overloaded either."

"Don't worry about me Jamie....I'm great at multitasking" Angel replied with a grin "Besides part of my job is to make yours easier, which I will endeavor to do."

"Thank you Angel, I appreciate that. I guess I still have a few things to learn about being Captain yet" he stated with a light chuckle.

"And you'll learn in time.....but so far I think you're doing a bang up job" then she paused "You may just need to tweak some things a little bit."

"Thanks and I'm sure you'll be there to help me, how did you put it, to tweak a few things" Jamie replied with a smile.

"And it will be my pleasure to do so Sir" she answered "Well I should be going; I think we both could use a good night's sleep before our duties get too involved" as she stood "And thank you for a lovely meal and conversation."

Jamie stood also "You are very welcome; drop by anytime you wish. Thank you for your counsel I think that's what I needed to hear" as the two Officers walked to the door.

"You are welcome Captain and have a pleasant evening; I'll see you tomorrow" Angel replied with a smile then turned to head back to her own Quarters.

"You as well" he stated as he closed the door. Grabbing another drink Jamie sat on the couch with his feet up thinking "This Command partnership is going to work out just fine......and she's not bad to look at either."

::OFF::

Lieutenant Commander Angel Devroe
First Officer
USS Peel
NCC-17015

Captain Jamie O'Connell
Commanding Officer
USS Peel
NCC-17015