Time for Fetch
Posted on Sun Mar 3rd, 2019 @ 5:46pm by Captain Ewan Darrow & Lieutenant Commander Asahi Kita
Mission:
A Misguiding Hand
Location: XO's Office
1452 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure
It took an awkwardly long time for the border collie to maneuver through various crewmembers on this new and exciting home. Hojo weaved in and out, stopping only to sniff out whatever a 'second in command' was. It was different every time he was on the ship, and they went by all sorts of confusing human titles, it would be a marvel if the dog managed to get to whoever he was looking for.
Fifteen minutes in, and Hojo found himself giving up, sniffing out Asahi's scent once more, depositing himself into one of the fun mini-rooms that change the outside room after a swishy noise. The floor change was surprisingly fast compared to the last big home they were on, but Hojo was off again, sniffing out his human's scent. It would not be long till he found himself staring at a large door, tilting his head back and forth slowly until he leapt up to the button summoner. When his human pressed it, the door opened. Surely it would work the same way for Hojo.
The door to Ewan's office swished open with its normal efficiency at the touch of the button. The noise drawing his attention up from the latest, riveting report from sciences. Expecting to great a person, Ewan was surprised to see a small dog peek it's head into the room. "Well hello there." Ewan said as he pushed back from his desk and stood up moving towards the front of his desk. Crouching down, he extended his hand, "Whats your name then?"
In the time it took Ewan to approach, Hojo had entered the room, ran in three circles, darted to the front of the room, and darted back. He sniffed the air around the strange Not-His human, before cautiously approaching. This was the first human he had encountered who had not decided to throw insults at him. He'd take it.
"Yeah its okay, I'm not gona bite or anything." Ewan chuckled as he patted the head of the dog. It seemed to have endless amounts of energy but to be fair if his knowledge of dogs was right, collies were a working breed one that would never stop moving.
"Sorry. Sorry!" The door swished open once more, revealing the silver-clad Asahi Kita, hands on his knees for a tick as he caught his breath. The dog gave a happy bark, excitedly darting back to His Human's side, running a few circles before settling on sitting in front of him. "Gotta admit, I didn't actually think Hojo'd find you before I did."
"Lieutenant Kita I assume then?" Ewan asked as he stood stretching up to his full height somewhat towering over the diminutive Asian officer. "I take it this little guy is yours?"
Asahi stood upright, taking a couple of steps into the office. Hojo took that as a cue to dart forward five feet before realizing his human hadn't followed after, and was back at his side again. "Yeah, this is Hojo. Sorry about him. I sent him to go... looking for you, but that usually has him down in Hydroponics for an extra half hour." He gave a sideways glance to the border collie, who by now was panting and wagging his tail. "He's a good boy... but I'm not here for that. I'm here to... report in."
"Relax Lieutenant." Ewan said as he took a step forward extending his hand, "Captain Darrow, your new boss. Don't worry about Hojo, there are several canines on board and more cats then I can count."
Asahi snorted, taking the hand offered with his own and shaking it. "I'm not sure relaxing is in my nature. But it's good to be back in circulation, so there's not a worry there. Which reminds me, the Commodore sent me over to see where I'd be put to good use while we're in the middle of our 'friendly outing' with the... Quoid?"
"Qoird." Ewan corrected as he pursed his lips trying to decide where the best place to put the intelligence officer was. Engineering was fully staffed and needed no help at the moment. Operations possibly. Medical was a big no. There was one place where the boss was currently away though and an important one at that, "You're a former engineer correct?"
Asahi leaned himself forward, resting his elbows on the desk while resting his head in his hands. "And here I was trying to make sure I didn't look like I belonged in a Jeffries tube. Engineering was my academy specialization, yes."
"Good, you know the ins and outs of a tactical system then." Ewan replied nodding slightly, "The tactical Chief is planet side, and the assistant is pretty fresh. They need a hand on diagnosing a targeting scanner issue with the rear targeting array. They're not confident they can do it without some help." Which was telling of the level of confidence on the assistant chief and would need to be addressed at a later date, but for now, this was a bandaid solution.
"Targeting array?" To Asahi, diagnostics and calibrations came second nature. It sounded like it could have been an easy task, but he couldn't tell whether the rattled crew would have been able to see straight on that or not. "Yeah, I could jump in and help out with that. I think I still have my tools somewhere-... Nope, wait. I'd have to bum some from Engineering."
"Take what you need Lieutenant, we have more then enough." Ewan said with a chuckle. "You have a few options with Hojo there as well. All animals on board are equipped with commbadge on their collar, you'll need to get one for him. You may set the badge to allow him to open doors, though the badge itself will lockout specific doors to stop him from entering even if he hits the open button on the pad. This means unless accompanied, Engineering, the Bridge, any tactical type room will no open for him. You can also set the badge to track him, and alternatively lock him in your quarters at any time."
"... You mean..." Asahi opened and closed his mouth a few times. "You mean I don't have to put a tracker on him myself? I mean, well, obviously I'll have to physically put it on, but I've been waiting for my stuff to come in from a friend of mine, and it had all his old collars in it, all of 'em with tracking technology I had to put in there myself. Now I won't have to worry about any of that." For the first time since he had set foot on the Vesta, Asahi's shoulders lowered and he let out a relieved sigh. "After we get this array sorted out, and anything else I can help out with, I'll be sure to get this guy outfitted too."
Ewan arched an eyebrow at the tracking comment but let it slide. "Im sure something will pop up." Ewan moved to his replicator and replicated himself a tea. Taking a sip he turned back to the new intelligence officer, "Any questions Lieutenant? About the ship, the mission?"
Tea. It was always tea with these higher ups. Asahi moved his gaze from the cup to Ewan, shaking his head. "Nope. Not yet, anyways. I'm sure once I've got myself acclimated, I'll have a couple of questions... wait, yes I do. I have a question." His eyes narrowed. "Commodore Minawara mentioned a 'Commander Sorenson.' He's the Head of Medical, right? He's not... intimidating or anything, is he?"
Ewan laughed, "No. Commander Sorenson, Martin is not intimidating. You'll find he's more then able to accommodate any issues you might have."
Asahi's eyes narrowed, lips pursing into a frown. This Sorenson guy was someone he'd want to stay away from until he gathered more information. "Noted." His expression lit up. "Well, I should probably get on with helping out, right?"
"Have at her Lieutenant, do what you need to do." Ewan said as he waved towards the door, "And you Mr. Hojo, stay out of trouble."
"Yessir." Asahi stood, and Hojo circled around him. The dog was quick to bolt out the door as it opened up, but Asahi stuck around for an extra moment or two. "And uh, I didn't get a chance to tell the Commodore, but I wanted to thank you guys for giving me the opportunity to get back in the field. Hopefully I won't let anyone down."
"Work to the best of your ability and when you think you're done, keep going. If you do that, no one here will ever be let down Lieutenant." Ewan replied with a soft smile.
