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Solo Thread: A Quatermaster's Query (Cadet Osten)

Posted April 23, 2019, 7:54 a.m. by Lieutenant Commander Janusz Korczak (Counselor) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Cadet Wiles Osten (Security Officer) in Solo Thread: A Quatermaster’s Query (Cadet Osten)
“Computer, what is a feijoa?” Cadet Wiles Osten buttoned his golden uniform’s collar and plopped down with a small ‘oof’ on his cot as he pulled his shoes out from under the bed.

“A feijoa is a green, egg-shaped fruit native to South America, Earth,” the computer’s ever-pleasant voice recited promptly, “the fruit pulp has a sweet flavor while the rind is tart and sour.”

“Thanks, computer,” Wiles muttered as he furrowed his brow while absent-mindedly slipping on his second shoe. He had awoken to a security assignment from the quartermaster, of all people, about investigating inventory in cargo bay three. Apparently, the feijoa stock in specific was of concern.

Wiles was sure that one day such an assignment would be boring. But for now, he was excited to have his first solo mission ship-board. Even if it just amounted to opening crates in cargo bay three all day to find this missing mystery fruit.

Swiping his PaDD from his bedside stand, Wiles hopped up and headed out of his quarters, throwing a casual “lights off” over his shoulder as the doors slid shut behind him. Oddly, his roommate was up even before Wiles today. Perhaps he had gotten his first assignment from medical as well. Did he mention starting his shifts in sickbay today, or was that tomorrow?

Cargo bay three was deserted when the doors parted in front of Cadet Osten. Crates of different sizes and configurations littered the large room. It was apparent from the styles of the containers that their contents had a variety of different origins, likely from many different worlds. This made sense, considering the inventory list Wiles scrolled through on his PaDD as he stood just inside the bay doors, which hissed closed. Cargo bay three stored many items of cultural importance for the crew of the Challenger for ceremonies and celebrations, but it also stored fresh vegetables and fruits for use in the Officer’s Mess. A perk of the rank, Wiles supposed.

Investigating the missing feijoa would be easier than Wiles had anticipated, considering that only about half of the fifty different containers in the cargo bay were refrigerated. If some poor dockhand had been overwhelmed by the task of restocking the Challenger’s inventory at the last starport, hopefully they had at least determined that the fruit should be refrigerated while they misplacing them.

Wiles flailed his arms and sent his PaDD flying as he fumbled a feijoa that fell out of the refrigerated storage locker as he opened it. He winced as the PaDD clanged to the ground on the other side of the cargo bay and loosened his grip on the feijoa he had just barely caught, and likely bruised. Glancing back up at the shelf, Wiles’ eyes widened and his other hand shot up to the brim, using his forearm to stop a second and third fruit from rolling out. With a small sigh and a roll of his eyes, Wiles collected himself and the unsecured fruit, placing their container within the storage locker back upright and gingerly setting them down inside it.

With a sigh, Cadet Osten crossed the cargo bay to retrieve his PaDD, holding his breath as he picked it up. A fresh dent, but the screen was not cracked, thankfully. Refocused, Wiles checked the inventory. The Challenger was slated to have 21 feijoa onboard. Wiles had only encountered three. So he had better start searching.

The next two hours proved unfruitful. The other 24 refrigerated units had no misplaced produce to be found. Wiles hopped up onto one of the crates, letting his legs dangle as his placed his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his palms. He glanced across the room at the feijoa’s rightful container. Then with a frown, he jumped down and walked over to it again, reinvigorated.

The bucket of feijoa had been knocked over when he first opened the refrigerator. There was no way Wiles could have caused that. And he sincerely doubted that anyone would purposefully leave the fruit rolling around on the shelf. Much less the regular mess staff or the quartermaster. Wiles blinked at the remaining three fruit through their clear bucket. Why had they been left like that?

“Computer,” Wiles said cautiously as he followed his line of thinking, “who has access to this cargo bay?”

“Cargo bay three is unrestricted, all Challenger personnel are able to access its contents,” the computer responded.

Wiles groaned and tapped his PaDD. “Computer, who has accessed cargo bay three in the last 48 hours?”

“Over a dozen personnel have entered cargo bay three in the past two days. Transferring information to your PaDD now.”

At first, the information on Wiles’ screen did not appear to be particularly helpful. There were assorted cadets from various departments and a couple ensigns as well, along with the standard mess staff. But as Wiles read the list again, his eyes narrowed. There were ASSORTED cadets from VARIOUS departments listed on the access log. Why were medical, engineering, and science cadets going into cargo bay three?

He flagged the outliers. Three cadets from engineering, two from science, and one from medical. Cadet Osten was not fond of the idea of following this train of thought through. But the feijoa were missing, and he found it highly unlikely that they had been taken by mess staff without the quartermaster’s knowledge. But perhaps…

Wiles decided it was time to start questioning his fellow cadets.

OOC: Don’t forget to sign off on your posts!

James


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