From right under his piggy little nose ...

Posted on 19 Oct 2016 @ 6:24pm by Commander Paul Toddman & Lieutenant JG Astrid Jurgen
Edited on on 19 Oct 2016 @ 9:49pm

Mission: Prelude; Breakfast at Curmudgeon's
Location: Various
Timeline: MD 0: 06:00Hrs

Mornings were always something of a struggle for Astrid, she seemed much more suited to a semi-nocturnal life and always felt there were a least a few hours missing from any time of sleep she got. As such, leaving the comfort of her bed was always done grudgingly, and in a semi zombie-like state. This usually lasted at least until the first coffee was consumed, although by the time she had her uniform on and left her small quarters, she could almost pass for a member of the living.

Walking down the corridor she suddenly realised she felt like something was missing, a frown appearing on her face as she tried to work out what she had forgotten. It was just as she approached the turbolift that it finally clicked, she was missing a toolkit. Sure, there would be some generic ones in engineering already, but there was something about having your own tools - not to mention being able to pick and choose what equipment you carried. Nodding to herself, she amended her destination, and set off to find someone who could help her sort this out.

With a cup of steaming hot tea in his hand, Paul Toddman trudged through the hallways of Deck 13 with a view to checking up on the cargo manifest waiting for him in his office before heading for his shift on the bridge. As he turned a corner, a young lieutenant ran straight into him. The sturdy man hardly faltered as the young officer bounced off of him and hid the deck.

"Are you all right there lassie? That didn't seem too comfortable" the man said, looking down at the crumpled officer on the floor and offering his spare hand to help her up.

Astrid waved the hand away, momentarily winded, before getting to her feet and realising she'd just ran into a senior officer.

"I'm fine Sir, thanks." She managed, her face going red, "Sorry Sir."

"No worries, it happens, Lieutenant...?"

"Jurgen Sir, Astrid Jurgen. I'm the new Computer Specialist, boarded yesterday."

"Ah yes, I saw your name on the crew roster for the early shift. Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Paul asked while checking that none of his tea had spilled.

"Ah. I need to check in with the Chief Engineer this morning," Astrid supplied, "But was hoping to try and get a toolkit of my own before heading down there, you never have what you need in the communal ones."

"I see, you don't have your own kit?" Paul enquired.

"I did, but they wouldn't let me bring it with me from Spacedock." Astrid frowned, "Commander Bowyer wasn't big on generosity ... or fair play."

"That trumped up wannabe? Tell me, do you know where your tool kit is, exactly? I have an idea"

"Last I saw it, it was on his desk." She closed her eyes, visualising the Engineering office. "The right hand side of the main office space, upper level."

Paul considered if what has shot into his mind was possible. He decided it was.

"Follow me Lieutenant, lets get your tool kit back" Paul said as he walked past the young officer and gestured for her to follow him.

After a few minutes, Paul had led Astrid into the nearest transporter room. He powered it up and started punching into commands.

"His office still on Level 43 of the Engineering section, Room 1001? Asked the Scotsman, as he continued to work on the panel.

Astrid shot him a surprised look. "Yes, it is. You know it?" she asked.

"Oh, I had dealings with him when looking for a part for my Shuttle, the man thinks he's some sort of Admiral of the yard and considers himself far more important than he actually is ... got it!" Paul looked up at the transporter pad as he engaged the cycle. In the center of the pad emerged a well worn tool kit that bore all the hallmarks of being someone's daily carry. Paul smiled at Jurgen and motioned for her to go pick up the kit.

Astrid's face lit up as she walked over to the transporter pad, picking up the kit and opening it. Checking it over she grinned, all the tools were there - as were the last work orders she had carried out on Spacedock. Closing it, she tucked it under her arm and stepped off the pad again.

"Thank you so much," She smiled at Toddman, then frowned again, "Wait - will you get in trouble for this?"

"Bowyer will be too busy being the big fish in this little pond to noticed that tool kit is gone. Besides, I put a different kit in it's place. The man mistook a Dyson wrench for a Heisenberg compensator. He won't know the difference!" Paul scoffed, he shouldn't denigrate fellow senior officers in front of juniors, but he couldn't help himself.

Astrid grinned again, then nodded. "Thanks again Commander ... sorry, I never caught your name?"

"Toddman, Paul Toddman, Chief of Operations on this boat" came the answer with a smile as they left the transporter room. Paul then took a sip of his tea as the doors hissed shut behind them.