Posted by Lieutenant Commander Natasha Knight (Chief Medical Officer) in Starfleet Academy - First Cadet mission
SNIP

Walking out after Kelly and Ric, Ethan turned around and walked backwards facing Nat and Dante for a moment. “I’m sensing some tension here,” he said with a smirk, his hands moving from side to side, palms down. “You sure you wanna bring Captain Plucky along for this one? Maybe she will behave if you let her choose what phaser colour we use on this mission huh?” With a laugh, Ethan turned and made his way into the shuttle behind the first two leaving Nat and Dante on the tarmac.

“Heard that,” Kelly’s voice echoed in the metal casing of the shuttle down the ramp to Dante and Ethan. “And dude would you rather look left and see a stunning blonde next to you or a dude. That is why Dante is CO material. He knows what is important and what makes a crew function. How do you think we got Berkern and Gertz? It had nothing to do with Dante’s smolder at the bar and charming wit convincing them how stunningly…talented they were.”

“I think we got them cause they wanted to be got,” Ethan replied, “till you dropped them harder than than a prom date that kisses like a goldfish.” Stepping into the shuttle, his voice echoed like Kelly’s had. “And anyway, you said something about a stunning blonde on this mission, who you talkin bout Willis?”

“Dude…me,” Kelly held her hands out like Ethan was clueless. “I mean I know you are into hot little red heads but,” Kelly winked at him. For all their banter, Kelly did like Ethan. He had a quiet reserve about him that she found attractive. He was quick with the wit but a stabilizing presence in people’s lives. He reminded her a lot of both Ric and Dante. That was probably why she liked him so much and fought with him just as hard.

“You know,” Dante said, looking at Nat, “I think Perkins is going to get that program shoved so far up his jacksie, that he will be speaking in computer programming for a week despite us winning or losing.” He sighed and grinned slightly. “Damn her for changing my team, we’re going to need them on this one.”

“Your smolder,” Nat raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “Was this the night you said you didn’t want to go out but ended up showing up at my dorm room drunker than a skunk claiming ‘Oh baby I scored the dream team tonight?’” Nat completely trusted Dante in the romance field but in the not to get thrown into prison field, she had her doubts.

“Yes,” Dante admitted, then raised his hand with a pointed finger. “And it really wasn’t my fault this time, that wench of my XO has a mouth that humms harder than a warp core and before I knew it we were at the bar scouting talent. For any future mission we had coming up.” He added hastily seeing the glint in Nat’s eye at his description of ‘talent’.

“Tell me baby what did you say with those lips of yours that turned Berkern and Gertz to Team Knight and stopped them from being a free lanced command team.”

“Well, that’s a long story and I don’t really remember it all. Remember how drunk I was when I got back? There might have been a drinking contest where if they lost they had to be my subordinates, for a mission, Nat.”

Cadet Knight

“Subordinates,” Nat crossed her arms. “You an admiral now?” Her banter was fun and flippant but her eyes were slowly turning that green shade most associated with jealousy. “All I can say is they had better just be bringing you coffee when you snap your fingers or there will be hell to pay and I am pretty sure you don’t have enough in your account to cover that bill.”

“For your story you will fill in the details for or the mission because I am slightly confused. Let’s hope my confusion clears up if I need to give you medical treatment.” Natasha turned and moved rapidly into the shuttle. She wasn’t as mad as she was amorous. This little story bomb would make Dante work a bit harder later and that was always a bonus for her. While her steps we firm and rapid, the smile was also large and sly on her face. This was going to be the best mission ever.

Natasha Daye…cadet

Dante watched Nat walk up the ramp and enter the shuttle, tapping his hand against his thigh as he looked around the launch pad. One way or another, this crew was either going to give Perkins a pasting that would be talked about for decades, or would end up on a beach drunk somewhere accused of stealing a near-derelict Starfleet cruiser. “Saddle up!” He called out, to nobody in particular considering his entire Command Crew had already left him on the loading ramp by himself.

Cadet Knight

“Sir,” one of the ground crew nervously approached him. “You are the only one not on board.” Handing him the PaDD to sign off on the mission the man looked up at the cockpit. “I am not telling you anything but with Cadet Shultz behind the controls, there is no promise she won’t leave you behind.”

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Five hours in transporting the fleet captains to thier destination
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“Oh my god I am so bored,” Kelly messaged Dante via the PaDD. With the senior officers sitting around them that they had to transport to their destination, it was not like anyone could speak freely. It had to be all professional and on the up an up. “Maybe we could fly right through a star or bounce a little close to a supernova. That would show them how great we can fly wouldn’t it?” Kelly was only half joking. This trip was so dull and uneventful. Their better halves were in the back pretending to do work while Kelly and Dante were stuck actually having to remain on task. The last time she checked, Ric was cleaning and calibrating the weapons. Since the man could literally do this in his sleep he was sleeping. At times she hated her boyfriend. Daye was reviewing medical charts which meant she used the excuse of needing a private and secluded area to work. This translated to her doing those lame quizzes she loved. The reason Kelly knew that was every ten minutes she was getting pinged to answer a question. Ethan was the closest to doing actual work but for the life of Kelly she could not figure out exactly what that was when she glanced back.

A soft ping on the PaDD beside her caused to Kelly to scowl. “There Are Only Six Types Of People In The World And You’re One Of Them. Why is she having time to do this and we are not?” The annoyance in Kelly’s voice was plain. Still that did not stop her from continuing the quiz. “I am supposed to look at 20 photos and react to each of them on a scale from negative to positive.”

Kelly poked and stabbed at the screen clicking each image as she groaned about how this trip was not exactly what she had hoped it would be until finally announcing, “I got the builder. It says personal fulfillment, for me, comes from being creative. If you’re doing work that doesn’t flex that creative muscle, you’re bored to death and practically useless. And satisfaction doesn’t come easily as you hold yourself to an incredibly high standard. When you’re supposed to be basking in the glow of a completed project, you’re constantly wondering how you could’ve made it better. It’s both a gift and a curse; it’s how you’re able to constantly raise the bar and improve over time. But it can also be paralyzing and cause you to miss deadlines. Sometimes, you just need to set the bird free.”

“This is nothing like me,” she looked over at Dante and rolled her eyes.

Cadet Natasha Knight (aka Kate O’Neill who this assessment is exactly like :rofl: )

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