Murphy's Law

Posted on Wednesday December 2nd, 2020 @ 3:04am by Lieutenant JG Talerian Maxx

Mission: The Forgotten Outpost
Location: DS3
Timeline: Current

Feeling a bit sluggish, Talerian decided to find a coffee store somewhere in the station. Granted he was new to the station and had absolutely no clue where anything was including his department and crew. So he began walking with the flow of traffic as he left the hanger bay. He kept his eyes open as he observed everyone around him. He found he could learn a lot just by observing his surroundings. By chance he saw a cute human female crewman with a cup of coffee in her hands so he approached her with a charming smile and said, "Is that coffee by chance?" She smiled back and replied, "Why yes it is. Why?" Talerian chuckled before he spoke, "Sorry I am new on this station and could really use a cup of joe about now, so I was hoping you could direct me to the coffee place?" She giggled as Talerian came off as charming and replied, "Oh in that case just head that way till you see the green and brown sign with the coffee cup on it." Talerian nodded at her as he smiled and said, "Thanks. I appreciate your help, Mrs." She giggled and replied, "Its Ms. Danvers and you are?" Talerian felt a bit silly as he forgot to mention that and said, "Oh my bad. I'm Talerian Maxx. I will be running the Science Department when I can find it. Ms. Danvers replied, "Oh if its Science its that way till you get to the turbo lift and go down two floors."

Talerian was pleasantly surprised she was that helpful and thanked her. Then after a polite goodbye he made his way to the coffee shop and could feel he was being watched. By chance he saw a glass window and caught the reflection on it to reveal the Ms. Danvers was checking him out from the backside. He could only smirk and chuckle as he kept on walking. He didn't want to ruin the mood for her since he knew women love to gossip and that could work against him if he got on their bad side. Since one of his past lives was a woman he had a huge insight on how they think and saw life from a different perspective. Once he arrived at the coffee shop he had to wait in line for a few minutes till he was next in line. The female coffee worker then smiled at him and said, "Welcome to the Promenade Café. So what can I get you today sir?" Talerian then replied, "Hit me with a double venti organic, chocolate brownie, caramel Frappuccino, extra hot with one inch of foam. Non-fat please."

The coffee worker smiled as she went to work pushing a button to get the replicator to make the coffee for her like it was real work. Talerian patiently waited as he watched her deliver his coffee to him. After swiping his ID on her data pad he thanked her and made his way in the direction to the Science lab as he enjoyed his coffee. Granted it was not made with the freshest ingredients and had synthetic flavors, but it was just what Talerian needed to get through the day. So he continued his journey past several lifeforms on the space station and politely greeting them as he raised his cup with a smile and a "Hello". Eventually he found the turbo life and got on board as he saw a few other crewmen in the lift already. Once crewman asked Talerian where he was heading and after he mentioned the Science department they pushed the buttons on the console for him. Talerian smiled and made sure to memorize the destination for future use as he thanked the crewman for his help. It didn't take long till the turbo lift arrive at his destination and he stepped out after thanking the crewman for his help.

Then Talerian strolled along the hallway as he sipped his coffee and carefully observed his surroundings since he would need to know his way around DS3 eventually. As it was he still had no idea where his room was, nor his office. After a few minutes he arrived at the science department and opened the door only to find that he was probably in over his head. He casually sipped his coffee as he watched several Science crewmen and Ensigns panicking as they were trying to put out a few fires in the lab. They clearly resembled chickens in a panic as a farmer was looking for a chicken dinner. Talerian shook his head side to side in disappointment as he dropped his duffle bag and picked up a fie extinguisher and casually strolled up to each fire and sprayed the white fire retardant foam till each small fire was put out all while still holding his coffee in his hands. Once he was done he set the fire extinguisher on a counter and looked at the science personnel with a disappointed look.

One ensign looked at Talerian and saw his pips and asked, "Who are you?" Talerian smirked, "Your boss." The Ensign paused in shock and then exhaled before he winced and responded, "Sorry sir. Things kind of got out of hand." Talerian nodded and replied, "I noticed. Is there any other fires I should know about?" The Ensign shook his head no as another crewman burst in with a fire extinguisher and yelled, "I found one! Where is the fire?" The Ensign replied, "Too late man. The LT. here put it out." The crewman replied, "Oh....", as he looked disappointed. Then Talerian had everyone in the Science department report in to him front and center. He then introduced himself as their Chief Officer and had them introduce themselves to him one at a time and explain what they were working on. This took a bit of time since he had yet to learn who his crew consisted of. Talerian quickly figured out why no one greeted him at the hanger bay. Apparently the station was very short on staff and the science department was less than competent at the moment.

Then Talerian calmly sipped his coffee before he began instructing his new motley crew on proper lab safety protocols and the new chain of command. He told them how he wanted the reports to be submitted to keep him up to date on their progress in an efficient manner as well as reminded them on using proper lab protocol on their experiments. When they tried to debate him he simply pointed out the fire he just put out to make his point. Then he told them to secure their work and get to work cleaning the labs as he went over the back log of reports. He was glad he got a good nap in along with a large fancy coffee since it was going to be a long day from here on out. After finding his office he dropped his bags inside and began organizing the mess that was left before him. This took several hours since he wanted to make sure nothing was tossed before it was verified since he knew there was a possibility it would be needed later on if he didn't verify it.

After a good four hours he had the office organized and cleaned. He was a bit annoyed by the old snacks that were left behind in his desk and growing something on them. He disposed of them using the hazmat bags since he was not in the mood to get sick. Apparently the last person to use this office was an unorganized slob. Talerian was relieved as he could finally sit in a clean chair at a clean desk to read the huge backlog of reports. As he read each one he copied them to a master folder under various categories. He needed to keep thorough records of all things that happened in his department as per protocol and as a reference for "Just in case." So as Talerian was now working on reports his team was cleaning up the labs and getting them ready for an inspection. As he read the reports he began making a supply list on the side in including new fire extinguishers and his personal supplies for his experiments. Eventually one of the Ensigns appeared at his door to report that they had cleaned up the labs and were ready for inspection. Talerian then told them scan each other for any contaminates they may have been exposed to and get cleaned up before he inspected the labs.