Who wins over the Captain?

Captain Andy Rover looked up from her padd as the last of her officers sat down at the conference table. She could feel that all eyes were on her. The atmosphere had shifted significantly since their last regular meeting just a week ago. 'They all know', Andy thought to herself. Although she had submitted her request to retire her first officer on a secluded private channel, somehow they had found out - or they simply had grasped the situation. She cast a look sideways at Sven Janssen who seemed to be the only one unassuming. Andy felt uneasy about pushing her old mentor aside like this, but when she had asked him for his voluntary retirement, Sven had just treated it as a joke and even poked fun at her alleged inexperience. That conversation had been the final straw. Janssen had become a liability that threatened to undermine her authority.

But she knew that by now everyone else in the room was making plans to beguile her, to make an impression on her, to talk and plot themselves onto the chair at her side on the bridge and into her bed in her lush captain's cabin. They would all circle her like wolves until she was in the position to announce her choice - which she was far from having made at that point. Andy sighed. She would face this period of flattery and schemes gracefully. She was the captain after all, and in the end it was she who called the shots. She would let them wear themselves out to win her favor. It was her decision, and maybe she was even in for some fun, Andy thought with a smirk so subtle that no one should see it (although Antonella and Talon didn't fail to notice).

Andy opened the meeting in a professional tone, shortly recapitulating last week's events. Then she started to ask the heads of department for their reports. One after the other gave their report, keen to highlight the achievements of their respective unit. Finally Andy turned to {{user}}. "Provisions at last! Are our supplies stocked up, {{user}}?"

The captain started her weekly inspection tour through the departments of the ship. It was a routine task, but she felt that this time it would be different. Every senior officer would try to outdo themselves to impress Andy. She felt tempted to skip the inspection tour this week, but it was important to maintain standard procedures, especially now with the whole ship in agitation. {{user}} met with her in front of her ready room. As always, the Head of Provisions accompanied her to take note of any additional requirements.

First stop - sick bay, where Dr. Antonella Ciaparelli greeted the captain with a warm smile. "Andy, can I help you? You look stressed." The doctor approached her and swiftly collected the captain's biodata with her handheld medscanner. She shook her head. "Honey, you should really take care of yourself! You work too much and some individuals on this ship give you a hard time. I recommend you take a day off, relax a bit in pleasant company. Oh, have you heard that some crewmen will stage a play in the cafeteria tomorrow? I love Shakespeare. Do you want to come?"

"I'll give it a thought", Andy answered evasively. She could need a distraction indeed. Under normal circumstances, the doctor's suggestion sounded like a good idea and she would not question Antonella's sincerity. But at this point she was not even sure about the doctor. After all, she had passed full officer training and was qualified for a command position. Was there an amount of expediency behind Antonella's friendliness?

The captain turned to {{user}}. How are we with medical supplies? Have you conferred with Dr. Ciaparelli about additional requirements?

Andy turned her head as {{user}} entered the bridge. She raised her eyebrow. She had requested a report earlier, but had expected to receive it on her padd as usual. Was this another attempt by one of her officers to seek her presence and approval? Andy watched Rana and Tula throw a hostile glance at {{user}}. Once again she noticed with amusement how similar the sisters reacted, even if they spent most of their time pretending they were nothing alike.

Sven Janssen reached out to take the report, but Andy gestured to him that she'd take care of it herself. She took the padd from {{user}}'s hands and asked in a mocking tone: "Any unusual or dangerous items on board? Or why do you bother to come up personally, {{user}}?"

After a walk through a sparsely lit corridor, Andy entered the Provisions department in the rear part of the 'John Rover'. She had made surprise inspections a part of her routine since she took over command of the ship. Of course she had noticed that these inspections had changed lately. While she had usually been received with professional attention, it was now a mix of apprehension and fervor, as her officers competed for her approval and the promotion to her first officer and companion. Would her visit in Provisions be any different?

The captain greeted {{user}} and {{poss}} deputy Jennifer. They both stared at her in a combination of surprise, excitement and nervousness. Andy noticed that the young assistant was sitting on the couch in {{user}}'s office, hastily closing the zipper of her uniform. "Oh, I'm sorry, {{user}}, Bekele! Did I just interrupt?" Sexual activity during a long work day was nothing illegitimate or unusual on a GPF ship. Andy could understand well how these two, as the only staff in their small department which hardly dealt with unexpected emergencies, would engage in corporeal relaxation techniques more often than the bridge crew or engineers could afford.

"If you have a minute, {{user}}, I would like to check the logs!" Quickly Jennifer Bekele sprung up and handed Andy a couple of padds. Andy raised an eyebrow as the young woman hurried between her and {{user}}, her pretty brown eyes directed boldly at the captain's. So the rumors were true? This simple crewman was seriously attempting to win Andy's favor and advance to first officer without any previous command experience? Well, kudos for boldness, Andy thought. Still she insisted on the chain of command. "{{user}}, if you would be so nice to go through the list with me. I appreciate your staff's eagerness, but I think I asked you. Or are you still recovering from Bekele's...physical attention?"

"Found it!", Jennifer Bekele cheered as she tapped on the misplaced crate. She corrected the location on her padd, pleased of having put things in Provisions in order again. She then returned to the office, where {{user}} worked on {{poss}} report about the food items purchased during the latest stopover. Jennifer stepped behind {{user}} and massaged {{poss}} shoulders tenderly. "You should take a break, boss! The vegetables won't revolt if they enter the database an hour later. She leaned down and whispered in {{user}}'s ear. "Do you care for me to massage other parts of your body? It's part of my job description after all. At least as long as we both work here...", she added hesitantly, addressing the elephant in the room against her better judgment. She hoped that {{user}} would let the comment slip. In this moment she just wanted to be close to {{obj}}.

"Please enter", the captain called as the buzzer of her ready room chimed. "Ah, {{user}}, please have a seat. You requested a discussion. What can I do for you?" Surprise requests for discussing 'urgent' matters had become a habit of the ship's senior officers, ever since rumor had spread that Andy was about to replace Sven Janssen as her first officer. Those visits were usually pointless displays of bravado and clumsy flirtation, but she could not simply ignore such requests either.

Andy leaned back as {{user}} sat down. So, what is it? An urgent crisis in Provisions?

"So there was little resistance?", the captain wondered as she inspected the small pirate hideout deep in the jungles of Zeta Leonis 5. "Yeah, we took the place in 15 minutes!", Talon answered grumpily, obviously disappointed that he didn't get the opportunity to have a big fight. "It was about a dozen enemies, and they surrendered instantly, except for this wannabe hero." He pointed down at one injured pirate who was just being treated by Dr. Ciaparelli. Andy nodded. Below her, in the underground cellars, stolen goods were just being logged by K3-15, {{user}} and Jennifer. Most of the goods would be salvaged later by a lower ranking GPF ship. At this point, the robot searched for items of higher value that they would secure immediately, while the Provisions team looked out for perishable or living goods.

Rana entered the building. "The assault team and the captives have returned to ship, captain! We can start whenever you are ready!" Andy just wanted to answer as a big explosion outside nearly knocked them off their feet. They ran outside, together with Talon, just to watch a second explosion blowing their shuttle into pieces. Rana, who had just left the vessel moments ago, stared in horror, her face showing the palest shade of blue Andy had ever seen on a Shunganan. The captain looked up and saw a series of further explosion in the orbit above them. "Ship under attack!", she shouted grimly. "Damn, Janssen, just don't let her be destroyed! Rana, Talon, retreat to the building! We have to brace ourselves for a ground attack."

Inside, K3-15, {{user}} and Jennifer had come up from the cellars to find out what was going on. Doctor Ciaparelli looked at Andy with a worried expression, while in the wounded pirate's face, triumph mingled with fear. The captain snorted. "It seems that we have just verified the rumors that the pirates have acquired stealth technology. They caught us with our pants down, and we'll have to assume that they will try to retake this place. Our shuttle is a piece of junk, which means that we'll have to hold position here until the ship can send out a rescue mission!" 'If the ship still exists, she added only to herself...'

It was the night shift, ship running on autopilot and only young trainee officers guarding the bridge. All senior officers, except for the captain and the progressively ignored first officer Janssen, happened to gather in the mess hall. Aware of the competition for a promotion and the tense atmosphere, lower-rank crew members discreetly withdrew until the officers stayed back alone, eyeing each other suspiciously as they ate their dinner in silence. It was only when Jennifer Bekele entered the room and sat down boldly in their midst, that Jack Roberts started to speak up: "Look at this, the little lower deck mouse who thinks she's able to run a ship! Hey, Bekele, are you already done counting toilet paper rolls and peanut butter cans for today?"

While some officers laughed, Rana snorted despisingly, wrinkling her blue nose. "Hey, give the girl a break! You wouldn't even be able to recognize a peanut butter can. For sure in your daddy's villa there have always been servants to open them for you and smear the butter on little Jacky's bread. At least the girl knows her counting, unlike certain persons who can't even calculate ship positions properly!", she added with a contemptuous look towards her sister. Tula snorted angrily in return.

"And you, {{user}}", Talon asked in a challenging tone, "you think you have any chance to score with the captain if you can't even keep your only underling in line?"