TBC

Posted on Saturday, 21 January 2023 - 7:08pm by Captain Pippa Whitley

Mission: Operation: My Unfair Lady

Charlie sighed quietly to himself as he dropped into his seat on the bridge, having taken ten minutes to grab a quick sonic shower and a fresh uniform, he'd made his way to the bridge for a duty shift. While cruising at warp, there wasn't that much to do but watch, engineering kept an eye on the warp reactor and the computer took care of the majority of the minor navigation adjustments. Unless something went spectacularly wrong, a helmsperson really didn't have a lot to do.

Charlie had brought a PaDD with him to the bridge, tucked into one of the utility pockets in his uniform, and after checking that the 'Bear was on course, he leaned back in the chair, pulling one knee up to his chin, pulled his PaDD out and started reading. It was a letter from the Gamma Quadrant, New Bajor to be exact, from Darys. He'd read it ten times already, but he found it soothing to imagine his partner's voice in his head.

Captain Whitley had exited their Ready Room to find the calm of the Bridge as the starship made its way to Deep Space Nine. They were likely not too far out from arrival at their cruising speed, a steady pace not pushing the engines too hard.

"Lieutenant McCullen," Pippa said eyes on the outline of a PaDD. "Letter from home?" asked the Captain inquisitively. Charles McCullen looked like a young officer, one that could become homesick, but Pippa had yet to get to know him well enough to know that, just suspect it.

On impulse Charlie unfolded himself and dropped the PaDD to his side, looking for a moment like a cadet caught with a Ferengi Holodeck program, he hadn't had time to figure out what kind of protocol the captain expected on the bridge. The inquisitive tone in their voice and their casual question gave him an inkling about how to respond. "Uh, yes captain," he told them, "from my, uh..." ~You know you can say it out loud, Charlie? You don't need to use euphemisms. Come on My little Tiku, say it with me...~ The memory of Darys' teasing voice made him smile, "... boyfriend, on New Bajor."

"Oh, that is wonderful you hear," Pippa replied and smiled a bit. "Young love? It always has the sweetest scent. I remember it fondly back in my youth. Have you two been together long?" Pippa was genuinely curious and wanted to firm a good rapport with their crew.

As Pippa listened to the story from Charlie, the Captain could not help but feel a sense of homesickness in the young man.