Lucy Davenport's latest adventure takes her on a voyage across the Atlantic!
Captain Janeway is looking forward to this one. What perils will Lucy face? Will there be a mystery to solve? Will she have a forbidden romance with the handsome but uptight Captain Laurence?
(Ideally yes)
The blue person again.
Laurence has seen men with deformities or discolorations on their face before, among motley crews. He can only assume that there is some strange and novel weapon or accident that befell this man. Certainly he has no reason to remark or rudely inquire on it.
As for the angry deformed woman, well, Tuvok is as far as he can tell a good officer with good judgment. And a court-martial for striking a crewmate seems reasonable enough, if perhaps a bit harsh. (Normally Laurence himself would extend a certain benign ignorance to such disputes, if the principals did not go so far as to allow the conflict to affect their work. But he assumes that this case was bad enough, if Tuvok believed it so.)
The question, then, is why the captain disagreed with Tuvok.
His slight sense of unease at how the crew is managed is growing. He'd done his best to put away his doubts about having a woman in command before-- after all, he is in an unfamiliar time with strange customs-- but this seems like a clear error on the captain's part. Could it be due to an unsuitable temperament? Too much sentimentality towards her fellow?
Nevertheless, he resolves not to interfere. An officious crewman cannot possibly help. The only thing worse than a poor captain is a mutiny, and he has no desire to make Voyager's already dire situation worse.
"Carey and I worked it out well enough."
"But fine. I'm here, we're all here, let's get on with it if we're doing this."
"Very well."
He adjusts his stance slightly, and speaks to the room as a whole.
"The captain has asked me to ensure that you are trained to the standards of Starfleet. We will be-"
The Bolian notices Laurence.
"Hey who's this guy?" he interrupts.
"I thought I knew everybody on the Val Jean but I've never seen him before."
When Tuvok opens his mouth to respond, the man standing next to him jumps in.
"Hey, leave him alone. He's just a kid."
Things don't get much better from there.
Tuvok manages, more or less, to get the (former) Maquis through a series of exercises: running, pushups, sit-ups, etc. But they're sullen and constantly scooting as close to insubordination as they can manage without actually giving Tuvok cause to throw them in the brig.
Finally, it's over. Tuvok starts handing out PADDs "These are your study assignments. A reminder that there will be unannounced examinations on your study materials. Dismissed."
Laurence is puzzled by all this. This is some sort of exercise, but it doesn't seem particularly useful when it's so different from any actual combat scenario. Is Tuvok just making them run around to get tired? What is the point?
On top of that, he has real unease about the poor relations between Tuvok and these members of the crew. They all seem to hate the lieutenant and it's not clear why. Could it be because of these strange assignments? Some of them seem to think it's a waste of time as well. But surely Tuvok has some reason for putting them through this? The activity is so utterly bizarre to Laurence that he's sure there must be some explanation that he's missing because of the time gap.
No, it seems more likely that they are discontented with the state of the ship's management in general, and as a result are resentful and disorderly.
Is there anything he can do?
Pondering these questions, he gingerly takes the PADD, holding it at an odd angle with one finger on the screen. (He's trying to imitate how he's seen other people holding them, but not doing very well at it.)
A Bajoran woman catches B'elanna's attention on the way out the door, and they walk out together, talking quietly.
Laurence does not particularly notice this. He heads back in the direction of his quarters, using his badge to call Ensign Kim on the way.
He feels awkward issuing an invitation under these circumstances, knowing hardly anyone and with such low rank. Yet... his rank is only two weeks lower than that of Ensign Kim, by seniority, and though he has provisional status and a profound ignorance that must soon be corrected, one might argue that he is still the senior of the two given his Navy experience.
Such are the excuses Laurence offers himself to overcome his resistance. In truth, there is no real appropriateness to his action, yet it seems that there is no one else on the ship inclined to such a course, and his instincts are telling him that it may be vital to their very survival.
"Ensign Kim, would you join me for a hand of cards in my quarters this evening? Yourself and any officers you might care to invite?"
"Excellent. If I may, could I trouble you to arrive somewhat earlier than the rest? I have a few questions for you about an assignment from Lieutenant Tuvok."
Harry would relish the opportunity to be "cadet at the top of his class" again instead of "least experienced officer on the ship".
"No problem."
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