Although he had promised Uhura that they would get together and spend some time just hanging out, first things first - Scotty still had a massive pile of paperwork to get through, and he couldn't simply abandon his work. Especially not while the ship was in need of some repairs. Trouble was, the last time he'd gone to his office, one of his lieutenants had politely told him, more or less, to bugger off and let other people pick up the load for a change, citing the fact that even superior officers needed some R&R every now and then.
Working in his quarters wasn't any good either; he had a distinct feeling that if he so much as looked at a PADD, now that he was supposed to be taking a bit of time off, Liz would do her best to make absolutely certain that he was thoroughly distracted.
So he'd done what any rational, sane workaholic would do - he'd grabbed a pile of paperwork when the lieutenant wasn't looking, and booked it for the exit, not stopping until he was so far removed from the rest of the ship that no one would ever find him. At least, that's what he thought, and he was just on the verge of relaxing and spending some quality time with his paperwork when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. "Captain...?"
His silence was short lived as he heard Scotty's voice. This time he didn't want to be dragged out, didn't want to go to some bar and get drunk and into a fight. Even if that did have an appeal to it. More then he thought it really would. Canting his head a moment, he raises a slight brow.
He shifted his weight from foot to foot for a moment, looking a little guilty, although judging by the PADDs the captain had close at hand, the two of them had similar feelings regarding the beginning of this particular shore leave. Still, whereas the captain could very well order him to turn right around and get off the ship for a while, he couldn't really do that same to the captain.
"I won't tell if you won't?" he suggested, because although he couldn't personally order the captain, Kirk had to know that he could very easily go and inform both Spock and McCoy of the captain's whereabouts - not that he would - and if it really came down to it, McCoy could order the captain to go get some vacationing done for medical reasons.
Those eyes watched his chief engineer shift about like a little kid that was about to be scolded. Oh, he noticed the paperwork and rose a slight brow. So they both had the same idea, that somehow didn't surprise him. His engineer was a workaholic and for a split moment he was tempted to tell him to get the hell off the ship and have himself some fun.
"Sit down and take a load off." He tells him instead, giving Scotty a slight smile.
He relaxed when Kirk told him to sit down; he really had been expecting the captain to chase him off. "Thank you, sir," he replied, giving the man a small grin of his own. He'd get the hell off the ship and have some fun later, when he wasn't worrying himself half to death about whether or not he'd ordered the rights parts for replacements.
"What've you got there, then?" he asked, glancing over at Kirk after he'd settled himself in comfortably. "'Fraid I've got some things that'll need your signature too."
Oh, he'd planned on it at first and then decided against it. He wasn't going to take this away from the man. Not yet anyway, he'd just let him do what he needed to do without any worry of the crew bothering him.
"Let's not worry about what I've got and you show me what needs my signature. We'll get that out of the way first."
He nodded, slightly distracted, and spent a few moments flicking through files on his PADD, occasionally pausing to scribble his signature down. "Requisitions for parts, mostly. I figure since I've got you right here there's no sense in waitin' on gettin' you tae sign for it." And since they were going to be docked for a bit, there was no sense in not taking advantage of whatever supplies the station had on hand.
"Bureaucracy," he sighed, handing the PADD over when he was finished with it. "Fleet authority could trust me tae know what I need for my ship, but they'd rather I take up your time too."
He watched his engineer flick through files on the PADD and could see the slight bit of annoyance there. Though at those words, he gives a slight nod. Even if he thought that his chief officers didn't really need his permission, not unless it affected the whole of the crew. Though he doesn't say that.
"I'm pretty sure if it were up to them, I'd be behind a desk. Not in a Captain's chair." He says taking the PADD and letting his eyes roam over the parts before signing it and handing it over to Scotty.
"I mean if I trust you to know what our girl needs, then so should they."
He refrained from mentioning that if anything, he knew better than Kirk what the ship needed. After all, while the captain's job was important, and while it was necessary to have a good authority figure to look up to, as chief of engineering, Scotty understandably felt that he knew the ship better than Kirk did. In his opinion, the captain's job was to look after the crew and to make sure that various missions weren't detrimental to the general state of the ship, whereas it was his job to make sure the ship stayed in top condition. His opinion may have been just a little biased. Just a little.
"Aye, an' that's bureaucrats for you. Almost as bad as diplomats, if you ask me."
Which was probably a good thing on his part. Oh, James T. Kirk knew that others knew his ship better then him. Especially the man sitting there beside him. Scotty knew quite a bit of the ship, but he didn't let it on that he knew that. Why would he? He couldn't inflate the man's ego even more by saying so. He said what he needed to when it needed to be said.
"I say to hell with them all. Anything else we need to shove onto me before I go back to my own work?" He asks, his tone slightly teasing.
And Scotty knew better than to outright suggest that the Enterprise was his ship, and his alone, no matter how strongly he felt about the matter. It was a topic that didn't warrant any discussion, especially if Scotty felt like keeping a good relationship between himself and his commanding officer.
"I think that about covers it, actually," he replied, already paying more attention to the remaining paperwork he had to get through than to anything else. "The rest o' this lot should just be status reports. I'll give you a nudge if I find anythin' else."
Of course he did! Especially when Jim quite liked his chief engineer, he wouldn't let anything get in the way of that. His crew was his family, which meant the man by his side was family as well. So he didn't want to distance any of them, even if it might happen considering his position. No favorites. That couldn't be done, not here and not now. Or any time for that matter.
"Alright, Scotty, just nudge me if anything needs my attention." He gives a side glance to the man before turning back to his own PADDs. Making sure everything else was in order on the ship.
He was already lost in a world of status reports by the time Kirk spoke again. Sneaking down this way had ended up being a better idea than he'd previously thought - not only was it quiet and secluded, and far away from anyone who might try to drag him off the ship before he was ready to go, but there was the added bonus of having the captain there as well, which meant not having to call for a yeoman every time he needed something signed.
Even so, the location wasn't entirely comfortable - especially not for someone who'd grown used to the comforts of ship life; after a little while sitting hunched over his PADDs, Scotty was reminded why he preferred to work in his office - or better yet, in his own quarters. "Never thought I'd say this," he murmured wryly, "but I'm beginnin' tae miss my desk."
Which worked rather well for the young Captain. Especially since he ended up in his own little world as well. It happened when he got into his work. Though when Scotty did speak up, he couldn't help but chuckle. The floor wasn't exactly the most comfortable place on the ship. Far from it really and he knew it.
"Trust me, Scotty, you're not the only one. But we try to even go near them and we'll be run off one way or another."
He laughed quietly, shaking his head, shifting a little to try and get more comfortable. "You could order me tae stay on the ship an' work," he suggested, glancing over at Kirk. "Liz wouldn't be too happy with you about that, but it'd give me an excuse, at any rate."
Working in his quarters wasn't any good either; he had a distinct feeling that if he so much as looked at a PADD, now that he was supposed to be taking a bit of time off, Liz would do her best to make absolutely certain that he was thoroughly distracted.
So he'd done what any rational, sane workaholic would do - he'd grabbed a pile of paperwork when the lieutenant wasn't looking, and booked it for the exit, not stopping until he was so far removed from the rest of the ship that no one would ever find him. At least, that's what he thought, and he was just on the verge of relaxing and spending some quality time with his paperwork when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. "Captain...?"
Reply
"Scotty."
Reply
"I won't tell if you won't?" he suggested, because although he couldn't personally order the captain, Kirk had to know that he could very easily go and inform both Spock and McCoy of the captain's whereabouts - not that he would - and if it really came down to it, McCoy could order the captain to go get some vacationing done for medical reasons.
Reply
"Sit down and take a load off." He tells him instead, giving Scotty a slight smile.
Reply
"What've you got there, then?" he asked, glancing over at Kirk after he'd settled himself in comfortably. "'Fraid I've got some things that'll need your signature too."
Reply
"Let's not worry about what I've got and you show me what needs my signature. We'll get that out of the way first."
Reply
"Bureaucracy," he sighed, handing the PADD over when he was finished with it. "Fleet authority could trust me tae know what I need for my ship, but they'd rather I take up your time too."
Reply
"I'm pretty sure if it were up to them, I'd be behind a desk. Not in a Captain's chair." He says taking the PADD and letting his eyes roam over the parts before signing it and handing it over to Scotty.
"I mean if I trust you to know what our girl needs, then so should they."
Reply
"Aye, an' that's bureaucrats for you. Almost as bad as diplomats, if you ask me."
Reply
"I say to hell with them all. Anything else we need to shove onto me before I go back to my own work?" He asks, his tone slightly teasing.
Reply
"I think that about covers it, actually," he replied, already paying more attention to the remaining paperwork he had to get through than to anything else. "The rest o' this lot should just be status reports. I'll give you a nudge if I find anythin' else."
Reply
"Alright, Scotty, just nudge me if anything needs my attention." He gives a side glance to the man before turning back to his own PADDs. Making sure everything else was in order on the ship.
Reply
Even so, the location wasn't entirely comfortable - especially not for someone who'd grown used to the comforts of ship life; after a little while sitting hunched over his PADDs, Scotty was reminded why he preferred to work in his office - or better yet, in his own quarters. "Never thought I'd say this," he murmured wryly, "but I'm beginnin' tae miss my desk."
Reply
"Trust me, Scotty, you're not the only one. But we try to even go near them and we'll be run off one way or another."
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment