Author's Note: Thanks again to my beta. Also, I know it's been a long time since I last posted, and that's my bad, but I definitely will finish this story.
Captain's Personal Log: Stardate 2275.196
I find myself in a professional dilemma involving my first officer. Commander Darcy is extremely diligent and efficient... in fact, maybe a little too diligent. He stares at me so hard it's like I can feel the judgment rolling off him. Yesterday, during target practice, he stood directly behind me and glared at me for over an hour. It's so difficult to get a read on that Vulcan that I don't know how to proceed. He's not disrespectful, he hasn't corrected me in front of the crew since that first briefing, and to be honest his work ethic is phenomenal. Officially, there's nothing to complain about. I've thought about talking to him on a personal level, but I don't think the commander has a personal level. It would be almost funny if it didn't happen so often. I look across the mess hall, he's glaring at me. I look up from my chair on the bridge, he's glaring at me.
I think it would be a good idea to get to know him better. Not because I particularly care about his opinion of me, but Federation ships tend to run smoother if the captain and the first officer are in sync. Of course, Commander Darcy might consider this to be a little painful/unnecessary, but I've made up my mind.
U.S.S. Lonbourn: Stardate 2275.195 (day before)
James Fitzwilliam sat on the chair in front of the console in the empty engineering bay, and reached out his hand to poke Charlotte Lucas's ribcage. The interruption caused her to briefly lose her intense focus on the panel in front of her.
"Pay attention to me," Fitzwilliam whined playfully, and continued jabbing her side softly until she looked away from her work. Her mouth tilted into a small smile even as she chastised him.
"Don't you have a job? Aren't there things you should be securing?"
"No," Fitzwilliam huffed, "I'm not on duty right now. And we dropped off those miners at a Starbase 7 days ago."
Charlotte clutched her head briefly before turning to face her friend. "Shit, I can't believe I've forgotten that already. So, uh, Lizzie never told me. I know they're being tried for assault because of Leei, but what were they doing with the animals?"
Fitzwilliam's face darkened. "The assholes were starving them and then would put them in a blocked off mine. The poor things would try to claw their way out through the dirt. Apparently, their attempts dislodged a lot of dilithium in the process."
"Psychopaths," Charlotte muttered before returning to her work.
Fitzwilliam looked around pointedly. "Where are your minions? Shouldn't they be helping you with..." he trailed off, looking over her shoulder and squinting at the equations. "With whatever the hell you're working on?"
"Most of my minions are off right now, although one of them is supposed to be helping me, ensign!" The last part was yelled at a young man who had started to timidly poke his head around the intermix chamber. "Do you have the specs on the magnetic capacitors that I requested?" Charlotte barked.
"Y-Yes, ssir!" the man managed to stutter out.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow and silently held out her hand.
"I mean, no sir!"
"I need those by the end of your shift," Charlotte ground out impatiently before turning back to the console. The ensign walked away quickly, relief clearly written on his face.
"So..." Fitzwilliam started out carefully. "What's wrong?"
Charlotte stopped and plopped into the chair next to him. "I have a literal shit ton of work to do, and I don't trust anybody else to do it. I- I mean if something gets screwed up the ship might actually blow up."
Fitzwilliam waved his hand. "Of course I understand. It's not like your crew consists of some of the most intelligent and well-trained-"
"Ha ha," Charlotte mockingly laughed. "Alright I get it. But-but"
"Okay, crazy, we're going for a walk," he said gently while standing up.
Charlotte crossed her arms and stood up straighter in her chair. "I'm working, maybe later."
"Yeaahhh, I checked the schedule before I came here, and you're not even on this shift. No excuse, let's go."
Charlotte grumbled in response, but stood up to follow into the corridor.
"You know, most heads of departments learn how to delegate. Look at the captain, she's given a lot of responsibilities to Darcy," Fitzwilliam pointed out as they walked toward the turbolift. "Deck 3," he stated to the computer as they stepped inside.
"I'd delegate too,"Charlotte scoffed in response, "if my second-in-command was a robot." She turned her head towards her companion when he let out a soft chuckle. "What?"
"It just always amused me when people called him uptight. Trust me," Fitzwilliam whispered as they exited the lift, "next to the other Vulcans he's downright cheerful."
"Why are you whispering?" Charlotte questioned. "Also, how the hell would you know that he's 'cheerful'? I wasn't aware you spent a lot of time with Vulcans."
He nodded to a passing crewmember as they entered the mess hall. "Well, one, I don't want that to get back to Darcy, he was always weird about being emotional. Two, I wouldn't say I was on Vulcan a lot, per se, but I traveled there every couple of years or so to visit him."
Charlotte paused and grabbed his arm. "Back up. Why were you visiting Vulcan?"
"Because," he replied slowly, "he's my cousin?"
"How is that possible? You are human, right?" Charlotte asked, confusion clouding her features as she looked pointedly at his ears.
"Yep, but he's only half Vulcan. Our mothers are sisters." Fitzwilliam started to walk over to the replicator, but stopped when he noticed his companion didn't follow.
"That information is... baffling," Charlotte blurted. "He's so..." she waved her hand over her face vaguely.
"Vulcan?" Fitzwilliam supplied.
"Err sure. Let's go with that."
"Darcy has feelings, he's just not expressive. You'll get used to reading him after awhile." Fitzwilliam peered around the hall. The gray tables and chairs scattered around the room were missing their usual occupants. "Why is it empty here? It's the end of beta shift, there should be more people in here, or at least some people."
Charlotte walked over to the panel on the wall across from the replicator. "Computer, display map of crewmembers' current whereabouts." She gestured to a room on deck 2. "Where are there so many people in the phaser range?"
-Five minutes later-
"Damn," Fitzwilliam admiringly exclaimed as they walked into the phaser range, "Captain Bennet's kicking ass."
"She certainly practiced enough at the academy," Charlotte responded knowingly. "She looks a little bored though."
The phaser range was a large dome with black walls. Spots of vibrant colors, which acted as the targets, moved across the walls at various speeds. A line halved the room, separating the spectators from the two participants. The group of crew members stood in the half near the entrance and watched their captain and Ensign Omar aim their phasers at the fleeing targets. Lizzie hit target after target, her posture casual. Omar hit some of the slower targets, but was falling behind rapidly and becoming visibly frustrated.
Fitzwilliam grabbed Charlotte's hand and walked her through the small crowd to where his cousin stood near the short, circular stage in the middle of the room. Darcy was standing almost directly behind the captain, staring at her intently with a curious look on his face.
"Hey, Will, what's going on?"
"The captain has been competing with various members of the crew for 1.43 hours. I believe her skill has attracted the crowd around us. No one has been able to trump her so far. She is very proficient," he admitted while continuing to study Lizzie.
James elbowed Charlotte while quickly looking at Lizzie and Darcy alternatively. Charlotte mouth "what?" at him and he imitated a swoon before raising his eyebrow and smirking.
Charlotte snorted before turning back to Darcy. "What level are they on?" she asked the commander with a little trepidation.
"Level 12. I believe I will ask to be the next competitor, if she is willing to continue. It will be excellent practice." As he finished his sentence, the match ended and Omar stepped down from stage.
"Who wants next?" Lizzie asked amicably.
Darcy raised his voice in response. "I would like to participate. Computer, initiate level 13."
Darcy stepped on the podium and took the phaser Omar offered.
"Oh this is not going to end well, is it?" Charlotte questioned nervously. "Lizzie's not a sore loser, per se, but she can get really into a game."
James gestured to the stage. "She doesn't seem like she's really invested in it." Lizzie's face started to show a little strain as she and Darcy quickly hit the targets darting across the wall. They were evenly matched, and crew members' eyes flickered back and forth as they watched the scene.
"She's just trying to be professional. Trust me, she enjoys a good match... maybe a little too much," she admitted as Lizzie became more animated, waving her phaser around quicker and grinning maniacally.
"Yeah, Will can get a little competitive too," Fitzwilliam stated. "Although," he added as Charlotte looked pointedly at Darcy's blank expression, "you'd never know it."
The game continued for a few more minutes. Darcy methodically aimed and hit the targets, while Lizzie grinned excitedly and aimed at whatever targets she saw first. Elizabeth gave a playful groan when she saw the score; Darcy narrowly defeated her. She slapped him on the shoulder lightly.
"Good game, Commander. We should definitely practice together again," she exclaimed.
Darcy stared at her steadily. "Of course, captain. Excuse me," he responded shortly before walking off.
"What a charmer," Fitzwilliam muttered before following him.
"That was fun," Lizzie laughed. "I like a good contest."
"I know you do, Liz, but you might want to tone it down for Darcy's sake," Charlotte smirked as she walked to the exit with the captain and the rest of the crew members.
"Darcy's sake? He won."
Her friend smiled slyly. "Oh, it's not that. I'm pretty confident that competition is Vulcan foreplay."
Elizabeth shushed her before frantically looking around to make sure nobody around them overheard. The straggling crew members were talking among themselves and passed as she pulled Charlotte to the side of the hallway. "Okay, one, if rumors like that get back to Commander Darcy he'll probably make you take species sensitivity training. Two, if the way he was glaring at me was any indication I don't exactly have to worry about that."
"He wants to make little Vulcan babies with youuu," Charlotte sang.
"I'll make you take that class myself if you continue," Lizzie vowed as she walked away.
Charlotte called to the receding figure. "Just don't be too proficient!"
"I don't understand what you're talking about!" Lizzie shouted back before walking into the turbolift.
"Ha, proficient. Hilarious," Charlotte murmured to herself before looking around the empty hallway. "James is going to love that."