Doings in Keachi and Transferring In

Posted on 07/28/2020 @ 6:11pm by Master Chief Petty Officer Henri Boudreaux

Mission: S2E1: The Skunil Incident
Location: USS Fair Winds/USS Crazy Horse
Timeline: Day 38 at 1220

Speaking rapid-fire French, Henri moved about the cramped cabin he had shared with the senior enlisted on the Fair Winds gathering up his gear as he spoke to his aunt back in Keachi. "Really," he asked, cocking his head slightly to one side, as he studied his mother's face, framed as it ever was by a riotous halo of curls that nothing seemed able to tame. "Nonc Damas?"

His aunt nodded. "Oui, cher. Three times already and looking to make it four." She shook her head, mouth pursing in a frown, at the sacrilege. "Says he's got an ahnvee for this little waitress over in Shreveport." She leaned in toward the screen. "Three children." His aunt looked off screen at about the same time that Henri heard the chime ring on the door to his quarters. "Listen, cher, I got to go. You come back soon. There'll be a fais do do like this town ain't never seen."

The connection ended before he'd had a chance to respond and he found himself smiling at the screen. He might work in space but a part of him lived in that little town. Always would.

He opened the door and a nervous looking crewman stepped in. "You ready to go, Master Chief," he asked. "Captain says we've arrived."

Henri took a last look around the room making sure he'd left the room as neat and orderly as when he'd first boarded thirty-eight days ago. He placed a copy of the recipe for Sazerac on the nightstand along with a pair of bottles, rye whiskey and cognac, which would help the drink along. "I'm ready, crewman," he said as he hefted his carry-on and headed for the transporter room.

The crewman scurried off and why was it that the younger enlisted scurried rather than walked? As though they had to be just that much faster than everyone above them in rank no matter how unimportant the assignment. He could only imagine the speeds the boy would need to achieve in an actual emergency. Chuckling to himself, he headed for the transporter room. He knew the route; after thirty-eight days on a transport vessel with not much to do, he knew pretty much every corner of the ship. He'd know the Crazy Horse just as well and in much less time.

There had been one officer aboard and she’d already transferred over by the time Henri arrived. He nodded to the transporter technician on duty. “All going well,” he asked as he stepped up onto the nearest pad and set his carry on between his feet. “No wait,” he said with a slight grin and a decided accent, “best you not tell me, eh?”

The transporter technician chuckled. "Like living on the edge, do you, Master Chief? Never knowing where you'll end up?"

Henri shrugged, the barest lift of the shoulders accompanied by a slight tilt of the head. "I've heard it said that the pleasure is in the going. Course," he added, wagging his finger, "if I end up inside a rock somewhere ..."

"Won't have much to say about it, will you," the technician answered as the lilt of his native Ireland began to creep into his voice.

"Maybe not me," Henri said, "but I've got a mighty big family ..."

"Saints preserve us," the technician said, throwing his hands up in mock horror, "do not send the aunties after me."

"Then best you behave and get me where I'm going in one piece," Henri retorted.

"I'll do my best," he answered, "however poor an effort, that is." The man sobered and smiled. "Safe journey, Master Chief. Keep in touch." And on those words, the transporter beam claimed him.

One minute on a transport vessel and the next aboard his new assignment, the USS Crazy Horse. He stepped down, slipping one arm through the long strap of his carry-on, and nodded toward the technician. "My gear arrived alright?"

"Already in your quarters," the technician replied and added, to the unspoken question in nearly everyone's eyes when they first boarded, "private quarters."

"Thank you," Henri said and headed out to begin learning about the ship and its crew.

A Post by:

Master Chief Henri Boudreaux
Security Investigations Officer
Chief of the Boat
USS Crazy Horse