Buzz.
"Door's open." Whoosh.
"Why did you lie, sir? And about something so trivial?"
Kirk squinted at his first officer, as though he was giving off some kind of powerful glow. "Lie? Who did you talk to?!"
"Only you, sir."
"O-kaaayyy…..so tell me, what? I've been in my office since 0700 hours….haven't seen or heard from anyone save you today." Kirk steepled his fingers together on his desk.
"When one's instinct is to lie about the most basic and inane details, one's friends and colleagues cannot help but be concerned." Spock regarded him with a look bordering on worry.
Friends first, huh? You're giving away more than you realize, Spock….
"I still don't understand. Maybe you could, you know, explain this whole thing to the reprobate."
"When I pressed the chime, you told me the door was open. Yet it was not. I had to activate it myself. So I will ask you again, sir; why did you lie?" His gaze flicked upward. Then he frowned. "Or did you honestly believe it to be open? In which case you were experiencing mild hallucinations-"
Siiighhhhh…
"-both of which are worrisome."
Kirk spread his palms wide facing forward. "Spock, it was an expression. 'Door's open.' As in, come in, I'm not having a top-secret meeting you can't attend. As in, enter, I'm not petting a bunny rabbit or finger painting. As in, I won't bite your head off – figuratively or literally- if you appear. Got it?"
Spock's worry lines disappeared. "Ah. Thank you, sir. You have put my mind at ease. Now, to the real reason I wished to see you. I was heading off to have lunch, and as I was leaving, Lieutenant Stickley asked me to pass these on to you." He slid the tablet he was carrying across the desk.
Kirk picked it up and scanned the screen. "Requisitions to sign off on? Okay….if you'll just hang on a minute or two, I'll take care of it. Sit," he admonished, indicating the chair across from him. Spock lowered himself onto the seat, his eyes still fixed on Kirk.
What are you thinking? he wondered, settling back into the chair. He focused on the screen before him. Let's see…..replicator parts…a new shuttle to replace the one we lost on Freijna…..check, check,….double check….approved….that's going to be late, most likely….what the?!
"Pool noodles?"
"Yes, sir. A tubular flotation and amusement device constructed out of foam for usage in the water."
"I know what they are, Spock." Kirk burst out laughing. "Somebody wants…snort!...200? Are you kidding me? What on earth are they intending to do? You see? This is why requisitions take so long to get filled, even for us. Idiotic requests like this one." Spock eased back into the chair. He looked pleased…and maybe a bit relieved. Relieved? Kirk was puzzled. Then he scrolled down and saw who had requested those particular items.
"Okay….." Kirk leaned back and propped his feet up on the desk. "Spill. What do you want 'em for?" Spock remained quiet. "C'mon, pal, no way are you leaving until you tell me what you're going to do with 'em…"
"Nothing, sir." He stood up and moved towards the door, but Kirk was quicker. "Uh, uh. Who's the liar now?" He blocked the doorway with his body."Didn't I just say I wasn't going to let you go? Out with it."
Spock opened his mouth, then closed it again.
"Spock?"
Spock sighed. "Very well, sir. If you must know, that was a…performance evaluation."
"A performance evaluation?" Kirk considered this for a few seconds, miming the use of a magnifying glass. "Yeah….still not seeing it."
"The other requisitions were indeed genuine, sir. I added that one in an attempt to determine whether you indeed read through and carefully considered such documents before signing off on them or not. I was initially concerned when you said that you would only take 'a minute or two.' However, my apprehensions were allayed when you correctly identified the spurious request." He turned and walked away from the door. "Clearly 'a minute or two' is adequate for you."
Kirk crossed his arms, with a scowl that faded into a smile. "You know, I should be mad at you for doubting me after all this time, and I sorta am, but…part of me also has to give you points for originality." He licked his finger and drew an imaginary tic mark in the equally imaginary 'Spock' column. Then he crossed the floor and picked up the tablet again. "Big fat 'X' for the pool noodles. Sorry buddy." Kirk grinned as he popped the 'request overturned' button.
Spock stood with his hands behind his back. "It is fine, sir. I was not planning a pool party, anyway."
"Door's open." Whoosh.
"Why did you lie, sir? And about something so trivial?"
Kirk squinted at his first officer, as though he was giving off some kind of powerful glow. "Lie? Who did you talk to?!"
"Only you, sir."
"O-kaaayyy…..so tell me, what? I've been in my office since 0700 hours….haven't seen or heard from anyone save you today." Kirk steepled his fingers together on his desk.
"When one's instinct is to lie about the most basic and inane details, one's friends and colleagues cannot help but be concerned." Spock regarded him with a look bordering on worry.
Friends first, huh? You're giving away more than you realize, Spock….
"I still don't understand. Maybe you could, you know, explain this whole thing to the reprobate."
"When I pressed the chime, you told me the door was open. Yet it was not. I had to activate it myself. So I will ask you again, sir; why did you lie?" His gaze flicked upward. Then he frowned. "Or did you honestly believe it to be open? In which case you were experiencing mild hallucinations-"
Siiighhhhh…
"-both of which are worrisome."
Kirk spread his palms wide facing forward. "Spock, it was an expression. 'Door's open.' As in, come in, I'm not having a top-secret meeting you can't attend. As in, enter, I'm not petting a bunny rabbit or finger painting. As in, I won't bite your head off – figuratively or literally- if you appear. Got it?"
Spock's worry lines disappeared. "Ah. Thank you, sir. You have put my mind at ease. Now, to the real reason I wished to see you. I was heading off to have lunch, and as I was leaving, Lieutenant Stickley asked me to pass these on to you." He slid the tablet he was carrying across the desk.
Kirk picked it up and scanned the screen. "Requisitions to sign off on? Okay….if you'll just hang on a minute or two, I'll take care of it. Sit," he admonished, indicating the chair across from him. Spock lowered himself onto the seat, his eyes still fixed on Kirk.
What are you thinking? he wondered, settling back into the chair. He focused on the screen before him. Let's see…..replicator parts…a new shuttle to replace the one we lost on Freijna…..check, check,….double check….approved….that's going to be late, most likely….what the?!
"Pool noodles?"
"Yes, sir. A tubular flotation and amusement device constructed out of foam for usage in the water."
"I know what they are, Spock." Kirk burst out laughing. "Somebody wants…snort!...200? Are you kidding me? What on earth are they intending to do? You see? This is why requisitions take so long to get filled, even for us. Idiotic requests like this one." Spock eased back into the chair. He looked pleased…and maybe a bit relieved. Relieved? Kirk was puzzled. Then he scrolled down and saw who had requested those particular items.
"Okay….." Kirk leaned back and propped his feet up on the desk. "Spill. What do you want 'em for?" Spock remained quiet. "C'mon, pal, no way are you leaving until you tell me what you're going to do with 'em…"
"Nothing, sir." He stood up and moved towards the door, but Kirk was quicker. "Uh, uh. Who's the liar now?" He blocked the doorway with his body."Didn't I just say I wasn't going to let you go? Out with it."
Spock opened his mouth, then closed it again.
"Spock?"
Spock sighed. "Very well, sir. If you must know, that was a…performance evaluation."
"A performance evaluation?" Kirk considered this for a few seconds, miming the use of a magnifying glass. "Yeah….still not seeing it."
"The other requisitions were indeed genuine, sir. I added that one in an attempt to determine whether you indeed read through and carefully considered such documents before signing off on them or not. I was initially concerned when you said that you would only take 'a minute or two.' However, my apprehensions were allayed when you correctly identified the spurious request." He turned and walked away from the door. "Clearly 'a minute or two' is adequate for you."
Kirk crossed his arms, with a scowl that faded into a smile. "You know, I should be mad at you for doubting me after all this time, and I sorta am, but…part of me also has to give you points for originality." He licked his finger and drew an imaginary tic mark in the equally imaginary 'Spock' column. Then he crossed the floor and picked up the tablet again. "Big fat 'X' for the pool noodles. Sorry buddy." Kirk grinned as he popped the 'request overturned' button.
Spock stood with his hands behind his back. "It is fine, sir. I was not planning a pool party, anyway."
advent wreath 03mar2022
advent wreath with lighting
