One Smart Cookie

Posted on Sun Feb 18th, 2018 @ 3:56am by Lieutenant Caleb Garcia PhD

Mission: S01E02 D-8 With the Devil
Location: Deck Four - Main Engineering
Timeline: Following A Day in the Life of a Chief Navigator

There were times, like now, Caleb Garcia wondered how some of the men and women who worked as engineers even made it out of the Academy. He looked at a report that was handed to him, a young woman, who seemed all of twenty-five stood there, hands clasped behind her. Her green eyes wandered, her gaze going left, right, up, and down but never up at him. Essentially, her gaze never met his and he knew why, because the report she handed him was garbage. He thumbed through it, notating the headers and key bullet points of the report all the while shaking his head. He was not a hard ass by any means, and honestly he knew any other chief engineer would be yelling but he wasn't like that. Okay, he wanted to yell, but he kept his anger reigned in, there was no use for yelling anyway. "This is the third time you have written this report, am I correct, Lieutenant Grace?" he asked, he recalled a few days ago being handed the same report. When he got the affirmation he wanted, he moved on. "Except, you did not make the changes I suggested or asked for," he said. His melodic, soft, baritone didn't betray how he felt on the inside, which was frustration and annoyance.

"But I did, sir," replied the young lieutenant. She met his gaze for just a second and quickly reverted back to looking over his shoulder.

Caleb shook his head. "Mm, no, you didn't," he corrected. "I still see the same spelling mistakes, like warp core is spelt w-a-r-p-c-o-r-e not w-a-r-p-c-o-r-p. You are an engineer, I would expect you to know that basic." He watched as the lieutenant junior grade's cheeks colored a bright red. He wasn't playing around with these junior engineers, he expected hard work and reports that were correct. He handed the padd back to the young woman and crossed his arms over his chest. "Please fix and resubmit today."

The lieutenant took the padd and nodded, holding the device close to her chest. "Aye, sir," she said, and then turned on her heel to go find a quiet spot to fix the report.

"Um, Lieutenant Garcia?"

At the sound of his name, Caleb spun around and looked down to see Ensign Marquez standing there, holding a padd. The Ensign looked like he was twelve years old, and Caleb already made a mental note to double check to make sure Marquez wasn't twelve years old. "What can I do for you, Ensign?" Caleb asked, he turned back to his station. He also took a seat, sometimes it was hard to stoop over for long periods of time, especially when talking with someone as short as Lieutenant Grace or Ensign Marquez. Once he sat down, a small smile crossed his lips, the annoyance and frustration with Lieutenant Grace already dissipated.

"Oh, um, okay... yeah," Arturo Marquez stumbled, he handed the taller lieutenant the PADD he had been carrying. "I'm sorry this is late getting to you, but well, I mean... Lieutenant th'Zarath got promoted to security and there was a gap between him being moved to me being put in charge of navigation..." He paused, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He recalled what Commander Samuels said: You need to find your voice. "Anyway, Lieutenant McGowen wanted a report down on the navigation systems. It took me the better part of five hours and another couple of hours to write... but I managed to get it done."

Caleb listened carefully as he was given an explanation. He hadn't asked for the report specifically, but it was helpful to have. He was a man who liked reports, he liked to know everything that was going on with the ship and department heads and leads were the best way to keep appraised of what was going on within the bulkheads of the tiny starship. It was then, he realized that Ensign Marquez was just like the Musashi, small, quick, and intelligent. He was a perfect fit for navigation, but he had a feeling the young man would be a good fit for his engineering team as well. He made a mental note to speak to Commander Samuels about it. "I appreciate your honesty, Ensign, and I appreciate you getting me the report."

Arturo smiled. There was something about Lieutenant Garcia that left him feeling curious. He wanted to ask questions, especially about the other man's height and if he played basketball. Antonio played basketball despite being vertically challenged like himself. He and his twin would play pick up games late into the evening until their mother had called them in for bed... an annoyed edge to her tone. He smiled at the memory because he could still hear that annoyed tone in his head. "I'm glad I could get it done as quickly as possible, and again I apologize for not getting it to you sooner."

The ensign didn't have to apologize, again, but Caleb took it anyway. Maybe McGowen wanted things done swiftly, not that he really knew her, but he was much more laid back in a way. Now if something was a priority that would have been different. "Again, no apologies are necessary, I'll take a look at it and get back to you if I notice anything out of the ordinary." He had a feeling Ensign Garcia was very thorough, just a quick glance at the information had shown how well written the report was.

Arturo was still quite surprised at how laid back Lieutenant Garcia was. He had noticed Commander Samuels was like that, and the captain to a certain extent. Yet, he wondered if that was their demeanor all the time or if it was just him. "Thank you, lieutenant," Arturo said.

Caleb couldn't help but smile as his gaze fell on the young man. "You know, Ensign... Arturo, it's okay to relax. I know you are young and just an ensign, but you also hold a position of authority on board. You are my equal when it comes to your station on this ship." He himself had issues around people, yet he had tried to overcome those issues. He wanted the Ensign to fit in, to exert some confidence and authority. Yet, he also knew Marquez was young, only twenty, and that could be tough as well. He was sure there were some on board who would never take the young ensign seriously, he would never be one of those people. Immediately he could see potential in the young man. Or as his father would say: That lad is one smart cookie! His father, at times, could say the funniest, wittiest or silliest things he had ever heard.

"I understand," Arturo said, his voice slipping back to it's softness and uncertainty. Did he understand, truly? "I guess... I guess I'm just trying to get used to all this, to being on a starship to being in my new role." It had been a lot, and it all happened so quickly. He shook his head. "The Academy does not prepare you for this."

Picking up a padd, Caleb rose to his full height. If he raised his hand above his head, he'd be able to touch the deck above him. Sometimes, he felt like a sardine stuck in a can. At the Ensign's last comment, he smiled. "The Academy teaches you a lot of things, more importantly it teaches you how to say 'yes sir' or 'no sir' quite well. What it doesn't do is teach you how to live starship life, nor does it teach you how to handle promotion at twenty years old." He reached out and placed a large hand on Marquez's slim shoulder.

The large hand felt heavy on his shoulder, but Arturo didn't say anything because he knew the gesture was genuine. He just nodded, he didn't really have anything to add to what Lieutenant Garcia had said. He was getting more support than he anticipated and it overwhelmed him. He cleared his throat. "I should probably uh... get back to work."

Caleb's smiled broadened as he lifted his hand off the slim shoulder. "I should probably do the same," he said. "Again, I'll get back to you once I have read over the report." When he got a nod of acknowledgment from the Ensign, Caleb said, "If you need anything at all, Ensign Marquez, please do not hesitate to ask."

All of a sudden Arturo felt the awkwardness creeping in and internally he cursed the uniform collar for being so tight. "Thank you, lieutenant, I'll be sure to remember that," he replied. After he left the very tall engineer to his work, and once he was alone in the corridor, he let the emotion get the better of him and he knuckled away a couple of tears that tried to fall.