Post 318: You May Already Be the Winner Of. . .

Stardate:70723.1430
Title: You May Already Be The Winner Of. . .
Author: Zanh Liis
Location: Bridge/Captain's Ready Room
Time: Following "Captain's Holiday"
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Acting Chief of Operations Blane showed up for his duty shift ten minutes early, and chatted a moment with Mike Windsor, who stood at the Tactical station.

"Lt. Blane." Windsor greeted him. "Captain Zanh asked that I have you join a discussion in the ready room when you arrived."

*Curious,* TC thought. He approached and prepared to ring the chime, but he heard several voices speaking over each other beyond the door. "How long have they been in there?" he jerked his thumb in the direction of the ready room.

"Half an hour."

"Who's with her?"

"Captain Gilmore, that Dr. McKenna from command and the Trill science officer called Reece."

Though TC could only make out partial sentences, he could tell that Captain Gilmore sounded angry, and the doctor seemed to be trying to calm him down. Once or twice, he thought he'd heard the name of Lt. Grace mentioned. Then suddenly the voices he'd heard arguing died out, resulting in complete silence.

"Has it always been this quiet?"

"Not even close." Windsor returned to his routine sensor sweeps, not wanting to think about it anymore.

Blane rang the chime.

"In here." Zanh Liis invited, and TC strode through the doors just as Captain Gilmore moved to exit. He stopped short of bumping into the older man, nodded and saluted.

"Captain Gilmore. Glad to see you up and around, Sir."

"Not as around as I'd prefer!" Gilmore grumbled, glaring at Dr. McKenna as the doors closed behind TC.

"Captain, I'm sorry but the matter is closed." McKenna responded calmly. "If you will not rest aboard the ship, then for a few days you must leave the ship."

"If I find out in the end that this is your doing, Zanh Liis," Gilmore warned.

Zanh stood up. "I assure you, Captain. I've done my best to plead your case. But in this instance, I have honestly been overruled. Have a nice trip."

"My ship is being put back together with tweezers and double-faced tape and they expect me to take a vacation!" Gilmore lamented to Blane. "If you'll excuse me, Lieutenant."

"Of course, Sir." TC stepped aside.

"Don't forget to pack your swim trunks!" Dabin Reece called after Gilmore. "You don't want to miss your chance to visit the Hoobishan baths!"

Gilmore paused without turning, mumbled an unintelligible remark, then went to pack his bags.

"He doesn't seem the sort who'd want to go into the baths commando." Reece whispered into Zanh's ear so only she could hear the observation.

She responded by slapping at the elbow he'd casually leaned on her shoulder.

"Mind your manners! And get out of my hair, Reece." She demanded, pointing to the door. "Go and get your runabout ready, before you finish off the Flagship the way you did my poor little Stella Polaris."

"Oh, by the by. Since you bring that up, I did have a talk with Pointy, and he concurred. It was the Romulans' fault."

"Pointy?" McKenna asked helplessly. Blane just sighed.

"Out!" Zanh Liis shook her head, but then offered her hand to him in a sincere gesture. "I do thank you, Commander. We'd have been in deep trouble if you hadn't happened by."

He responded by hugging her forcefully, expelling the air from her lungs with the embrace.

She patted him on the back. "Ooof. Okay, okay. Enough."

"Never enough!" He gave her one more squeeze. "I know you love me, Liisy. Whatever rank you are." He winked at her, pausing as he realized for the first time that Blane was standing there, taking everything in. "You'll miss me when I go, and you know it."

Finally, Reece headed for the turbolift.

"I doubt it!" Liis called across the bridge through the open door as he grinned and blew her a kiss. She slumped back down into the chair behind the desk once again.

"That man. I've known him for-ever. He keeps coming back to me like a bad penny." Zanh thought aloud.

"You wanted to speak with me," Blane began, reminding her that he was in fact, in the room. He couldn't help but put a slight spin on the last word, even though he tried to restrain himself. ". . .Sir?"

"Just one more moment, please." Zanh said and gestured to McKenna, who was still standing by. "Dr. McKenna, I see that your assigned posting at Command is just coming up for renewal. That being the case, I'd like to make you an offer. We could use you around here. What do you think, Mr. Blane?"

She leaned forward and handed TC a PADD with McKenna's service record.

TC scrolled through it quickly. The man was an accomplished doctor, counselor, and his resume' boasted additional specialties in several fields. He would no doubt be an asset to the crew.

"Definitely. We could place him in science, or medical. There are several options." TC concluded with a nod.

"I'll start by asking him to fill in down in Sickbay for a few days while Dr. McBrayne is on vacation." Zanh said, folding her hands. "That will give you a chance to take a look around, Mr. McKenna. See how you like it here, if you want to stay."

"I'm honored." McKenna said, bowing slightly. "But, Captain Gilmore,"

Zanh gave a dismissive wave. "Captain Gilmore knows you're talented. This is a great opportunity for you. He will sign off on it, I'm sure of it." A lopsided grin appeared on her face. "As long as we ask him after he gets back from his trip."

"If you'll make the arrangements with Command," McKenna replied, "I'd like to give it a try."

"I'll draw up the documents this morning. After everyone gets back, we'll see where we are. Dismissed."

McKenna retreated through the doors and at long last, the Bajoran addressed Blane.

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Zanh Liis
Acting Commanding Officer
USS Independence NCC-90791