Pass the Plot 3: Scene 2

"Minor difficulties." Captain Denett put his hand up to his face and massaged it. Having a hydroponics malfunction was a minor difficulty. This was in a significantly different class. "We have to have those messages changed." He shook his head. "Yeoman Silva, please make a note."

Nervous laughter spilled out of the bridge crew, most of them focused on the emergency lights blinking on their consoles.

"Yeoman, also make a note that Ensign Nara is still not on the bridge. Include the date and time stamp. Either the comm system is glitching or the Ensign is disregarding an official summons."

"Sir, the comm system is perfectly fine within the Galajax. It's outside that I can't reach." Protesting, Eloin looked up from her console, eyes wide.

"Relax Lieutenant, I'm not disparaging your system. Can we at least get a drone out?"

"I'm still working on that, Sir." Eloin dropped her eyes and spoke rapidly into her throat mic, relieved not to be on that side of the Captain's radar.

This was the problem with a new ship crew: Inexperience. The books said it was a good thing, that fresh crews were full of innovation and enthusiasm. If Captain Denett had a universal kroner for every time reality crashed through pedagogy... he would still be in this type of situation, he was a deep space kind of man through and through, but he would be a much richer man.

"Where is that Ensign?" With effort, he kept his tone mild.

As if conjured, a tall slim woman with space regulation close cropped hair stepped through the doorway that irised open with a sigh. She paused, staring riveted at the screen showing the open view of space.

"Ensign," the crack in his tone got her attention, "while I know that we are ferrying people to a colony world, this still is not a pleasure ship. So the next time that I send a summons, I expect you to treat it like it is at least in the top 10 list of your priorities."

Red flooded Ensign Nara's cheekbones and ears, but she only nodded.

"Good. Now what does your specialty in xenopsychology tell you about this?"

Captain Denett waved a hand at the screen that had drawn the ensign's attention.