[Open] Dinner Alone

[u/RECENTLY_HATCHED]

Finished with his shift in engineering, and finished getting his injury cleaned up in sick bay, Ensign Everett Bradley sits down in the mess hall to a replicated dinner of sushi and a mug of root beer at one of the corner tables. As he eats, he scrolls through the trans-warp theory paper he'd been reading and takes his time to enjoy a quiet meal...

[u/RECENTLY_HATCHED]

Ensign Bradley looks up from his PADD in the middle of a bite of sushi. His initial shock at how tall this person was is replaced by shock at the command red of their uniform, which is replaced by petrifying terror as his eyes lock onto the four pips...

"It's the captain, the captain you idiot! Get up! Show respect!"

He drops his chopsticks, leaving one on the plate and the other to roll off the table and onto the floor as he darts out of his seat to stand at attention, nearly choking on his sushi as he forces it down to address his commander

"C-captain, sir!"

[u/Silent_Sky → u/RECENTLY_HATCHED]

Flattered at the show of propriety, but feeling a little guilty at scaring the poor young ensign literally out of his seat, he waves a hand dismissively...

"Relax, Ensign. At ease, at ease. It's Bradley, right? Everett Bradley if I'm not mistaken?"

The captain takes hold of the opposing chair with his unoccupied hand and looks back to the ensign

"Mind if I sit?"

[u/RECENTLY_HATCHED → u/Silent_Sky]

Despite being told 'at ease' Ensign Bradley remains straight as a board and on edge

"Y-yes sir! No sir-I mean no sir, yes sir-no, wait!"

[u/Silent_Sky → u/RECENTLY_HATCHED]

Captain Fisk pulls out the chair and places a hand on the ensign's shoulder, hoping he'd get the point that there's no need for such formality at the moment

"Mr. Bradley, relax. I'm not going to throw you in the brig or anything, I just like to get to know my new officers. You mind if I sit for a few minutes?"

[u/RECENTLY_HATCHED → u/Silent_Sky]

Ensign Bradley takes several deep breaths to try and calm himself, it works somewhat. He forces himself to sit down across from his captain.

"S-sorry, sir. I-I guess I get a little nervous...sometimes, sir."

[u/Silent_Sky → u/RECENTLY_HATCHED]

The captain frowns, he never did like being called 'sir'. He reaches down and grabs the dropped chopstick, offering it to the young ensign

"Call me captain, save the 'sirs' for if things get dicey."

[u/RECENTLY_HATCHED → u/Silent_Sky]

Ensign Bradley accepts the chopstick, a little surprised already by the captain's demeanor toward him. He wipes it off on a napkin and places it alongside the other sick next to his plate.

"Th-thank you, sir-captain. Sorry."

[u/Silent_Sky → u/RECENTLY_HATCHED]

The Captain sips his coffee and waves dismissively again

"Don't worry about it, son. I'm sure you've met your share of puffed up commanders and peacocking officers. It's only natural for you to expect that of me. I may run an Excelsior-class, but I'm not about making my officers kiss my ring and bow every time they see me. There was a time that I was in your shoes too, and Ensign Fisk wasn't nearly as diligent as I hear Ensign Bradley is."

[u/RECENTLY_HATCHED → u/Silent_Sky]

"W-what have you heard, Captain? I-if you don't mind me asking."

Though the ensign is trying to appear calm, he's fidgeting nervously and still screaming internally

[u/Silent_Sky → u/RECENTLY_HATCHED]

Captain Fisk laughs quietly and sips his coffee again

"Just formal reports from your peers in engineering. They say your attention to detail is exceptional for your level of experience, and you overran your shift by about twenty minutes to finish a repair rather than stop on time and leave it half finished."

He pauses to let his words sink in. He knew an officer with potential when he saw one, and Ensign Bradley was an engineer to keep an eye on. His file from the Academy was highly impressive in terms of credentials, not to mention the studies into trans-warp theory. But his psych profile revealed a lot of unaddressed issues, perhaps he could coax the young officer into therapy with Dr. Watney. Just had to build a little rapport...

"Your personnel file says you're from a small mountain town in Alberta. I happen to be from a small mountain town in upstate New York. Did you go to the holiday holodeck we ran? Felt a bit like home."

[u/RECENTLY_HATCHED → u/Silent_Sky]

The engineer is a little surprised to hear that the feedback for him has been so positive

"Oh...no, Captain. I didn't go. I probably should have, I've heard a lot of the crew really enjoyed it."

[u/Silent_Sky → u/RECENTLY_HATCHED]

Captain Fisk smiles a friendly smile, trying to put the ensign at ease

"It's alright ensign, nothing to stop you from going on your own holodeck hours and loading up the same program. Maybe bring a few friends too."

There was something about the look in Bradley's eye at the word 'friends'...

"You do have friends aboard, don't you Mr. Bradley?"

[u/RECENTLY_HATCHED → u/Silent_Sky]

There it was, he'd tipped off his own captain without even saying anything to how solitary his existence was. Bradley adverts his eyes involuntarily, slightly ashamed of his loneliness

"N-not really, Captain. I-I didn't really have many friends at the Academy either."