Overachiever

Posted on Mon Jun 6th, 2022 @ 12:35pm by Ensign Mika Petrova & Chief Petty Officer Noah Reed

Mission: S1 Episode 2: Caretaker, Part II
Location: Reed's Cabin
Timeline: Mission Day 2 at 2200
2929 words - 5.9 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Dinner with her family and Kassandra had been nice. She was overjoyed to actually have a sister and, even though she couldn't tell anyone yet, she had been walking with more exhilaration and excitement than half the people on Vengeance, even now that they were in the Delta Quadrant with no clear way home. That's why it had come as such a surprise for her to get back to her cabin, log in to her education software, and find the low grade the CMO had left for her on her recent paper. Mika had always been studious, and she never brought home anything lower than an A. 86 percent? Was he serious?! Without thinking, she departed her quarters in an apricot dress which featured her shoulders and thighs. Arriving at the CMO's cabin, she pressed his chime.

"Gosh, its pretty late." Mika thought, second-guessing her impromptu visit for the first time.

Noah Reed was enjoying a fine bourbon on the rocks. It was a rich, expensive brand and he made a point to typically have a bottle. That is, an actual bottle of the real stuff. The replicator couldn’t do it justice if he even tried. It seemed a good pairing for the slow piano jazz playing softly from the speakers around his domicile. He sat, wearing a green t-shirt and black pants at his desk littered with PADDs of various sizes and a computer desk terminal on one side, the screen lit up displaying a rotating three-dimensional image of a DNA sequence. It was Vulcan, to be precise. One of his pet projects was discovering the genetic ‘fork in the road’ when the Romulans left their savage planet of origin. It wasn’t something he fretted over, or was even prepared to do a research paper upon. He merely found the topic interesting, if only to himself.

Just then the chime to his quarters sounded. It broke him from his train of thought and he blinked a few times. He wasn’t exactly expecting anyone at this hour, besides the obvious reason that he didn’t know any of the crew beyond a few curt hellos. He rose and grasped his glass as he walked over to the door and pressed the lock release. The door hissed open to reveal the lovely form of the captain’s daughter. The edges of his lips curled upward as his face took on a warm expression. “Ah, Cadet Petrova. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

"Oh, sorry. It's really late, I know." she said, her brow furrowed and a look of slight worry on her face. "I noticed the grade you gave me late. I just wanted to to talk to you about it. Is that okay?"

“By all means, Miss Petrova.” He regained his balance on his feet and moved back a few steps and turned to allow her entry. If she were a fully commissioned officer, he definitely wouldn’t hold back offering her a drink. Maintaining professionalism was key in his mind especially as he didn’t want to incur the wrath of her father. He swallowed hard as he gazed at her beautiful form subtly as she entered, the dress only accentuating that fact. He moved to sit at his computer desk and took another sip of the rich amber liquid in his glass before setting it down. “So, I’m assuming it’s the grade on your paper on universally accepted triage methods?” He licked his lips softly as his blue orbs eyed her expectantly.

“Yes, sir. I went over it about 12 times and I can’t understand why you’d give me such a low grade. I thought I understood to course instruction.” She said, stopping in front of his desk and crossing her arms under her chest, rather like a pouting girl. “I’m not used to grades like this.”

"The paper wasn't bad, cadet. I found it efficient and mostly on point." He watched her body tense up, the folded arms a naturally defensive posture for most people. He got the sense that she wasn't quite used to B grades. The old phrase 'nobody is perfect' had no meaning here. And not that she should be happy with the grade but ultimately, it was just one assignment. "I'm sure you'll do better on the next one. Don't sweat this. It may distract you from future studies." He raised his glass to his lips again as he astutely observed her.

He couldn't tell if she was used to getting her way or if she felt that she had to measure up somehow to the boss. Either possibility could be true. She could also simply believe that Reed was wrong in his grade. He didn't know the young cadet well but since they were now stuck in the delta quadrant he assumed they'd be working very close together.

"86 percent? That's horrible." she said, shaking her head. "How am I ever going to finish at the top of the class if I get grades like that?"

She sighed, her eyes drifting to the desk and its contents, before leaning forward on her right leg slightly, then back again.

"Is there an extra credit assignment or some other way I could get this grade up?" she asked, looking almost desperate, like it was a very serious matter to her indeed. "Please, sir. I'll do the whole thing over again if I have to."

His blue eyes locked on hers, searching for answers to questions he didn't know to pose. He could see an intensity, a fire inside her soul, though. She seemed quite ready to do anything to bring it up. The mere thought of a non-stellar grade might destroy her fragile worldview. The bourbon had started to make him feel relaxed. He wasn't on guard to begin with. He let out a slow breath and waved at an empty chair. "Please, have a seat, cadet."

A curious line of thought went through his mind. Reed figured that he might as well see what could be gained from this encounter. A little harmless conversation never hurt anyone.

"Would you care for a drink? I have the real stuff."

She looked to his own glass and then to him. Offering a slightly uncomfortable expression, she nodded. The wine from dinner was already in her system, but her anxiety plus her desire to please her instructor won the day.

"Yes, please." she said, standing still, her hand sinking to the elbow of her right arm. She walked around the chair and lowered herself into it, placing one shapely leg over the other at the knees.

Noah reached for a small side table containing a few untouched glass tumblers and picked one up and set it near the bottle of brown liquid. He picked that up and poured her about a shot’s worth before replacing it back on the table and grasped the tumbler, sliding it across the table and reaching out to offer it to Mika. “Here you go,” he said with an earnest smile. Grasping his own glass, he raised it above his head for a brief moment. “Cheers.” Emptying the contents into his mouth, he felt the burn as it traveled down his throat.

“I know we haven’t really even had a chance to talk since all the commotion about being flung into the delta quadrant. What made you even decide to take the medical career path in the first place?”

She held her glass in her hand, now relaxing for the first time, and took a sip. She felt the still unfamiliar burn of the liquid going down her throat and winced slightly, but didn’t put the glass down. She didn’t know how people could tell the difference between good liquor and bad, but she kept her mouth closed on that subject. She thought about his question.

“I’ve always liked the doctor-patient interaction. I guess I just want to help people get well.” She said, understating her desire a bit. “It’s academically rigorous and has a lot of…emotional opportunities.” She paused then, rethinking her words. “I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was 5.”

"Oh, really? That's very interesting." Reed smiled amiably as he watched her take a sip of liquor. He could tell that she wasn't used to drinking alcohol and it reminded him of when he was younger. "What about being a doctor lit a fire in you so early?" He was genuinely fascinated by people that knew what they wanted in life.

He had grown up around parents that were scientists and that's what vaguely drew him in but it had been a natural fascination with the human body and how it functions and reacts to things.

"When I was young, I fell off a horse and broke my arm. The doctor that took care of me was so gentle and kind, and made me feel much better about what happened. Ever since he helped me, I knew I wanted to be a doctor too." Mika answered, taking a another sip of the drink. She was in her senior year at the Academy, so this certainly wasn't the first drink she'd had. She just tended to prefer sweet mixed drinks. "I joined Starfleet because I wanted to be like dear old dad...we thought he might have been dead at the time. Long story."

Noah listened silently and took another sip of the rich amber fluid. “I haven’t gotten to know your father very much just yet but it’s been pretty hectic since we got flung way out here.” He leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his thighs. “Well, it’s always helpful to have good role models. The Empire needs more officers and you strike me as one with a bright future, if we ever find a way home.” His eyes lowered slightly at the thought of the Imperial Starfleet not knowing what happened to the ship. They would probably be listed as MIA and have their personnel files closed. Neat and efficient, if a little cold.

"My father will find a way back." she said, a look of sudden certainty in her eyes. "He's gotten out of tougher scrapes than this one."

She took another sip, longer this time, and the drink was gone. She placed the glass on the desk and felt the warmth from the drink in the pit of her stomach.

"I plan to be back for graduation and... I'd like to have stellar grades to show for it." she said, indicating the PADD she'd placed before her containing the paper she'd written. "Is there a way for me to get my grade up?"

He admired her confidence in her father. He sincerely hoped that it wasn’t misguided. He wished to get back to the alpha quadrant as much as anyone else. The past few days had been really intense and didn’t leave a lot of room for introspection on the situation. However, he had no plans on finishing his life out in a remote area of the galaxy. He would do everything possible to assist the captain or anyone else get the ship back.

He nodded at her plans for being present for graduation. He admired that confidence. “You are aware that it’s just one paper, right? As in, over the course of the program, it’ll basically be an insignificant blip when combined with all the other things?” He finished his own drink and set it down next to the computer terminal on his desk. “You’ll still get an overall A grade if you keep up with your studies, from what I’ve seen of your records.”

"I've known people to finish second or third because they were a few points behind. They call everyone who graduates medical school 'doctor', I want to be first." she said, showing for the first time a hunger that existed within her. Its origins were unclear, even to her, but it drove her. Her meek tone was fading, replaced by still kind but marginally less patient young woman. "So, what can I do, Doctor? I can rewrite the paper; I can write a different one....I could even...clean your cabin."

She leaned forward and grabbed some of the belongings on the desk and began to arrange them into an orderly stack.

Her drive and desire to do anything to accomplish her goals was admirable to him. He felt a similar way about his own career, even going so far as to destroy the man who held him back on his last posting. At the time, the CMO of the U.S.S. Athena was a sadistic individual. When the XO made a power move against the captain, Reed knew the XO would be successful and eliminated his superior, who supported the captain. Risk equals reward and Noah was given the position of CMO.

Noah’s eyebrows rose up in mild surprise as she started arranging his desk. Standing right next to his seated form allowed her scent to drift into his olfactory. She smelled sweet, like sweet candy or perhaps flowers. It brought a rush to his pulse as his logical mind tried to comprehend what she was doing. He blinked several times and placed his organic and metal hands onto hers to stop her from continuing. Her hands were warm on his fingertips. “Cadet, wait, wait. I uh… I think we can settle this with, say, an extra paper?”

She paused, her hands under his, and locked eyes with him. He was handsome, she had to admit, though she’d never allowed herself to think of him that way. That was the way many girls got along, but she wanted to prove to her self she could do it irrespective of her looks. This game had been largely unsuccessful, with Academy professors allowing their eyes to linger too long at the parts of her body which her revealing Terran uniform failed to cover. She wasn’t sure how much of her achievements she had done on her own. She had gotten used to it, and what was the harm, she supposed, in getting what she wanted with a bit of charm?

She smiled at him, that demurring girlish smile which she gave quite naturally, since it was her nature. She seemed sweet, and quiet, and perhaps not as naive as she let on.

“Really?!” She exclaimed, her expression brightening even more.

Reed raised both eyebrows for a brief moment as she burst out excitedly. Nodding, he let go of her hands and watched her intently. Noah was a product of the Empire and had many years of experience within Starfleet to hesitate trusting anyone off the bat. He saw many fools get disposed of or eliminated by more ambitious people. The last thing he wished was kindness to be shown and immediately seen as a weakness to exploit him. They would be sadly mistaken. Still, there was a part of him that believed how earnest she was to make it to the top and maybe fostering another good doctor into the ranks was satisfaction enough, for now at least.

“Yes, I’ll allow it just this once. I’ll think of a topic by tomorrow morning when we report for duty.”

“Thank you, sir!” She said, smiling brightly and turning her head in an almost juvenile fashion. She typically didn’t lose control like this; perhaps the drink was getting to her. “I won’t need another one, I promise.”

With that, she stood and leaned forward, touching his shoulder for the briefest moment.

“You’re so sweet.” She said, before releasing him. “I won’t disappoint you.”

Noah chuckled softly as the alcohol started to slowly loosen her up. His eyes studied her intently and recorded every reaction she made. It was right after a transfer that analyzing all crew and their reactions to things were most important. One never knew whom to trust or be suspicious of just by first glance. He wasn’t sure if he were being played by the attractive cadet, but if so, she did exactly as he would have anticipated: soft and ever so subtle body language cues to let him lower his guard but also become endeared to her. Noah still reserved judgment about her. It could be genuine affection of a platonic nature, or the beginning of a spider web of intrigue and manipulation.

He would test her with this situation about the grade. If a similar situation arises in the future, how she acts toward him will be paramount. In either case, it wasn’t of much concern at the moment. He wasn’t a threat to her position. If anything, she would exploit him for her own gain until he outlived his usefulness. If she were a genuinely sweet person, then the question was moot. “Well, thank you very much, cadet. That’s very nice of you to say.” He stood up and moved to the door, opening it for her.

“I hope you have a good evening and sleep well.” His gaze monitored her every facial expression for a reaction as he smiled broadly at her.

"You too, sir." she said, moving toward the open door and watching him as she exited the cabin. Just outside, she turned around and gave him a wave, grinning brightly, and then turned to leave with much more positive energy than when she'd entered.