While the Caitian's Away

Posted on Wed May 30th, 2018 @ 7:58am by Commander K'Niras Sh'howul & Fleet Admiral Donatella Figueroa

Mission: S01E03 That Which Cannot Be Unseen

Her hips swung a bit, side to side, as she walked down what seemed like an endless corridor aboard the USS Musashi. However, this corridor was not so unfamiliar to her. She was more than just a veteran of conflict and skirmishes, battle hardened and baptized by the same Klingon fires that had taken so much away from Captain Figueroa, Lieutenant Uma Kitt looked somewhat like your everyday Denobulan woman with her facial features, bone structure, and vibrantly flamboyant personality that was often accredited to your typical Denobulan. However, her skin was darker making up one of the racial subgroups on Denobula. Beneath all her pleasantries, however, was a woman who had seen horrors unforgettable and unspeakable. To say she was uneasy about being back aboard the USS Musashi was an understatement. She was presently one of the longest serving members of the crew under Captain Figueroa's tenured command albeit while the starship was being repaired and upgraded, she was furthering her education and was without an assignment. Now, she was back on the Musashi though for how much longer she was uncertain.

The Captain was going on declared maternity leave which was a whole story in its own. Uma did not even know where to begin to think about that. She was not overly close with the Captain, but Uma was the starship's Assistant Chief Communications Officer for quite sometime. During the conflict with the Klingons and the crew's abduction, a lot of crew were killed in failed rescue attempts lead by the Captain only for her herself to be taken captive. Uma had to prove herself then on the spot. The Chief Communications Officer had been taken and later was among those slaughtered by the Klingon captors. She was just a recently commissioned officer with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade back then, hardly experienced and hardly seasoned. She had found herself thrust into the position of Acting Chief Communications Officer and by default fairly high up in the interim form of the chain of command aboard the Musashi during those brutal times.

She walked into the conference room, the first to arrive. Her meeting was a small one with the USS Musashi's present Chief Communications Officer, a Caitian male whom she had not worked with prior to her re-assignment back aboard the Musashi a while back. She worked with the lieutenant briefly, only to change shifts and relieve him or fill in at his bridge station as necessary. Uma respected him and found him quite competent for the position he held, though deep down there definitely was a burning rivalry on her part because instead of promoting her to Chief Communications Officer, Captain Figueroa 'outsourced' and snagged the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Assistant Chief Communications Officer from the Enterprise. As much as Fig praised the Musashi and stated that the only thing that made the Enterprise such a hot commodity was its namesake, she sure was eager to snag a junior officer from that hot commodity and promote them above her own.

Uma walked over to the slot in the wall and ordered herself a drink as she waited for her superior to arrive. When the doors slid open, she turned a smiled at the man. "Good Morning, Lieutenant. May I get you something while I'm over here?" she asked pleasantly. She did not really harbor and ill feelings towards him so much as she held some resentment towards Captain Figueroa to some extent. Fortunately, it would only be a matter of time until her request for reassignment was processed and she was transferred to somewhere she could be more utilized.

K'Niras entered the conference room and smiled a little at Uma, just politely showing his front teeth. "Good morning, Lieutenant Kitt. It's a pleasure to see you again. I'd love a Rackdijino, extra sweet." He sat down at the conference table, his long multi-colored tail bouncing behind him. He exposed his claws on his left paw and examined them slowly. "How are you this morning?" He looked up at her, his whiskers twitching a little because he could smell her tea and his Rackdijino.

Uma had a simple plum tea and got the lieutenant what he wanted though why he wanted something like that was beyond her. "I fancy myself a nice deep dark strong coffee, but I could never quite comprehend the strange appreciation you and the humans have for this... beverage," she said unsure if calling it coffee was fair to coffee. Some people didn't care to pronounce the name and just called it Klingon coffee. "It's beyond me," she said as a prelude, "as to how you all go on about this dark horizon of war with the Klingons, yet you go about your days drinking the morning brew of your blood enemies," added Uma.

He took the cup from her and sipped it carefully. "I'm not really sure why I like it. It's very similar to coffee, so much so that I don't really see much of a difference, but for some reason I like the flavor of this one better." He set the cup down on the table and tipped his head back and forth. "So what's on your mind? Is there anything I can help with before we go? I know you don't have questions. You know this job better than I do... You've definitely been doing it longer. I'm just grateful that you're here," the Caitian said with sincerity.

She could understand that reasonably well. "Maybe your taste buds are just different that mine," she said. "Have you ever met a Bolian? They are a fascinating species. Their language is interesting, an extremely flamboyant and often obnoxious species even by Denobulan standards. However, what is most intriguing about them it their digestive system and their tongue for that matter. They can consume some of the most toxic substances. I had a nice dinner date with one once at a sushi restaurant. We had Fugu together. He insisted that he could eat it without the proper preparations. Of course the chef refused and rightfully so... but even then my tongue was a bit numb... but that Bolian didn't feel a thing," she rambled on.

K'Niras chuckled. "Oh dear. That sounds... dangerous. Caitian digestive tracts are so sensitive that it can make it hard for me to eat anything other than a raw diet. Although, I do believe that most sushi is raw. I've never tried it to be honest."

"Sorry, I can be rather chatty in my own right," she said excusing herself. "I just wanted to know if there was anything you were working on lately or something in the Department I should be monitoring while you are away with the Captain?" she inquired.

He shook his head a little. "Keep an eye on the relays. They tend to get out of alignment pretty easy. I'm not sure I like the new switch. It might just be getting used to new things though." He chuckled again. "And please don't apologize. I've always liked your stories. You've had an interesting life. More interesting than mine, anyway." He leaned back in his chair, smiling at her. "I haven't had any problem with personnel. They've been fairly attentive to their duties. Do you have any specific questions for me? I've sent the roster to your PaDD."

She shook her a head slightly. "Nothing too specific no," Uma said with a small smile. "Perhaps, you and I could try some sushi somewhere if we are able to get some shoreleave time in together?" she offered. He was a rather kind Caitian and officer of Starfleet. It was hard for her as it was to dislike someone, albeit the Klingons did a good job with that.

"I would enjoy that, very much," K'Niras responded with a smile.

Lieutenant Uma Kit cocked her head aside, intrigued with his subtle comparison of their life. "I envy you, Lieutenant. There is no reason for you see your life as less interesting as mine. You are the Chief Communications Officer, lieutenant. You served aboard the Enterprise, and you will be meeting this strange species with the Captain. I'm just a simple unmarried, single Denobulan woman."

K'Niras shrugged a little. "Why do you envy me? That does not make me interesting. It might make me capable, but I don't think that interesting is part of that requirement." He put one paw down on the table and looked up at her, his ears laying back against his head a little. "You know... I don't understand why you don't have my position in the first place. I was looking through the roster and promotions and all of that... I'm not sure what happened. I thought maybe there might be something I needed to know."

Uma cleared her throat after taking a sip of her tea. "It is rather evident what happened. It happens aboard all starships all the time, and there was nothing I could really do about it," she said rather firmly. "Though I was interested in and sought your position, I was denied. My service aboard the starship just did not hold a flame to the prestigious Enterprise posting you had previously. They saw something in you that they clearly did not see in me at the time."

K'Niras frowned. He didn't like the idea that they passed up such an excellent officer for himself. He also didn't like that it sort of forced his hand as well. "I don't really know what to say. I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm not really sure what I could do about it either. All I can tell you is that I wasn't anyone special aboard the Enterprise." He shook his head. "I am sorry, Lieutenant."

Uma looked at the man, having taking a seat, and reached across the table placing her hand atop of his. It was an act of kindness and probably broke several rules about physical contact between a subordinate and superior, but in the moment she did not care. "Lieutenant, I do not blame you. Do not think you were or are a nobody, because you are always somebody. Your service in Starfleet got you a posting aboard the Enterprise and you have lead missions as Chief Communications Officer here. Regardless of my being passed over, this crew has exactly who they need."

K'Niras was a little embarrassed, but also comforted and flattered. He smiled, his ears laying back just a little. "Thank you. I have always been proud to serve. I am relieved to hear you say so and grateful. I did not mean to suggest that I believed that I had no worth, but that my skills and skill set are not noteworthy. Although, being a Caitian it does make my hearing rather exceptional. I agreed to this posting because I am ambitious. There was honestly not a lot in the way of upward mobility on the Enterprise, but I did not know I would be usurping someone out of their position."

"You did not usurp me from anything," she said reassuringly. "I was Assistant Chief Communications Officer and that is where I am now. It was a crazy time and crew were lost. Though I did have your chair for a little while, it was not mine to hold onto. I understand the upward mobility thing... quite well," she added. "I will be transferring off the Musashi over the course of the next few weeks. There's an opening on an old Walker class starship and I jumped at the chance to take it."

He smiled. "Congratulations! I hope that it brings you upward mobility." He smiled just a little, his ears raising again and his tail bobbing slightly next to him. "My only current advice is to keep an eye on those relays. There's a particular sound that starts to happen in the headphones when they're out of alignment. It's almost like a buzzing... but only when incoming messages are happening."

"Hornets in the ear," she teased. "Thanks for the warning. I'll BEE sure not to let it be too much of a bother. My ears aren't nearly as good as yours, but I will see what I can do while you are away. A mission with the Captain sounds quite exciting."

K'Niras nodded. "It has the potential to be many things. I hope that it is exciting. I am afraid I am ready for some excitement. I'm afraid that I'm a terribly boring person. Although, I would very much like to give you a gift... if you wouldn't mind. I will just have to get it from my quarters. Would you be willing to wait a moment?" he asked, standing.

She nodded happily. "You will be the first of the crew to give me a going away present. I'm excited to see what it is," she added. Uma did not really expect anything, especially since the news of her leaving was suddenly dropped, but the gesture was incredibly sweet.

K'Niras practically sprinted to his quarters and returned quickly back to the room. He was out of breath and carrying a box that looked a little like a carrying case for a live animal. "I wish you wouldn't leave..." he said softly. "We will be losing a great officer. This is for you. When I started it I wasn't sure who it was for, but now I am. It will give you something to always remember us by..." He set the case on the table and pushed it towards her.

Uma looked at the case intrigued as to what may or may not have been inside of it. "I don't think my hips will fit in there..." she began to say.

Inside the case was a small mechanical cat. It was intricately made with tiny little gears that clicked and whirred as it moved. It had two green gems for eyes and it jumped out of the box when it was opened with one fluid motion and sat on the table in front of Uma, looking at her. "Mrow?" it asked.

She caught sight of the mechanical cat as soon as it jumped out and she looked at K'Niras with a wide smile. "It is gorgeous!" she said gleefully. "I definitely will not find anything like this anywhere else. Thank you so much. I will make sure to take it with me when I board the Hades," she added.

"Good! Once you tell it what it's name is, it will provide you with a wide variety of information, including but not limited to, the time, the current weather on all Federation planets, it will also follow you around and play music. It will keep reminders and important dates and things like that. Just just have to say "I name you... and then it's name... and it will only respond to your voice commands," he explained.

Uma smirked as he explained the mechanical critter. "I bet I could teach that kitty some new tricks too with a little reprogramming and tinkering. Might be quite useful, and a good companion" she stated. "I will have to think of a name for it though. I do not have one in mind right now."

"That's very alright, Uma... It will wait and the next time you open the box it will do the same thing. Hop out and ask you for the name with a meow. You can turn it on and off with commands as well, even if it hasn't been named." He smiled. "I hope you will remember us fondly."

"I will remember you quite fondly," replied Uma, leaning in and kissing her superior officer and Department Head on the cheek. "If you are ever looking for a vacation aboard an old rust bucket starship, the Hades and I will only be a communications transmission away. I'd be happy to show you around that old Walker class any time," she added pleasantly.

"I'd love to see it. The Walker class has a very unique main deck... from what I hear. I've never really seen one in person, but I have seen them on the comparison charts. I'd love a tour, just promise me you'll be careful out there. I know I don't need to say it, but it makes me feel better..." He chuckled. "I'm glad you like the cat... I think it will have a good home with you. It will tell you when it needs maintenance. Just oil and some winding. The key is attached to the underside of the cat..."

The Denobulan smirked and shook her head. "Oil and some winding. Not at problem at all. I had the same issue with some of the men I've been involved with over the years," she said teasingly. Denobulans were rarely afraid to openly address sexuality or sexual matters. It was no wonder many of them went into the medical field one route or another. They had practically no shame to talk openly about things that would otherwise be uncomfortable. "I had better let you get going. I am sure the Captain has lots for you to do before you two leave," added Uma.

K'Niras stood, his tail swaying out behind him as he did. He made his way towards Uma. "Thank you Lieutenant. I wish you all the luck in the world on your next assignment. I'm sorry to see you go, but I understand. I hope you enjoy." He bowed politely to her and headed out of the room in the direction of the shuttle bay.