Prank On Rank - Part II

Posted on 05 Jul 2018 @ 4:18pm by Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Commodore Harvey Geisler & Master Chief Petty Officer Mila Rasputin

3,818 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: The Search Begins
Location: VIP Office/Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 03 || 1200 Hours

Joey, dressed in her uniform, pushed the anti-grav cart that carried three crates down the corridor. What was inside those crates was unknown by anyone but her, but that was going to change all in a matter of moments. First, she'd need to contact her usual partner in crime, then explain the plan to her. From there, things would be revealed in time, and she couldn't wait for that to happen. With a smile on her face, she tapped her combadge. Geisler to Rasputin. Your presence is requested in the VIP office as soon as possible. With that, she pressed her combadge a second time, then moved into the empty office, requesting the computer raise the lights to half. Now all she needed to do was wait for her partner in crime to arrive, then they could get to business.

It was time to set her plan in motion, one that she'd been preparing for for a while now. After finding out Harvey's location via the computer, she knew he wasn't in his ready room presently, which made for the perfect opportunity to act. There was a slight case of nerves building up inside of her, but she kept those at bay. Nothing would be harmed in during this process, and that's what mattered most.

Mila was about to reply as she got up from the console she had been at in her office. it was lunchtime but she wasn't sure why Joey wanted to meet her in the VIP office. A short time later, she stepped out of the turbolift and headed to the VIP Office and entered her authorization code in the panel, then walked in.

"You are wishing to be seeing me, sestra?" she asked as she looked around in the dim lighting.

"I am," the taller woman said from her position leaning against the desk in the office. "With everything that's been going on and how stressed everyone, especially Harvey, has been, I thought we could finally make good on pranking him again. I've already got everything planned out, as well as all supplies required, but I couldn't do it without you." She cracked a grin. "And even better, I've been getting the supplies little by little over time as to not raise any suspicion by anyone."

"Ohhhh," the Russian woman exclaimed as she moved over to the antigrav cart and looked at the boxes. "What are you to be doing this time?" she asked as she opened one.

Joey pulled out a few identical rolls of Kermit wrapping paper and smiled. "We're going to wrap up his ready room," she replied. "He and I have been watching old Muppet holo-movies lately, so I think he'll appreciate the effort. I've also got this to sit on his desk when we're all done." She opened the third crate to reveal a medium sized Kermit plush. "And I'm talking about wrapping everything. Even the walls."

Mila looked at the wrapping paper and the stuffed frog. "This is looking odd, but then again, I am not knowing what muppet is so I will be taking your word for it. Even walls?" she asked. "Will be long task. Are you sure he is not to be coming looking for you?"

"I don't think so. He was in the Captain's mess having lunch with some of the crew when I asked the computer. I think we've got a little time before we have to worry," she said, putting the wrapping paper back into the crate. "And yes, the walls, too. We can do it. We just need to get busy, and I happen to have a way in without anyone knowing what we're doing."

"So why are you calling me here instead of his ready room?" the short brunette asked as she picked up the plush frog and looked at it.

"Because people will see us coming with this stuff, and we don't want anyone to tip Harvey off," Joey replied as if that explanation made all the sense in the world.

"But ready room is being off bridge and we are being on deck two in VIP office," Mila pointed out. "Is not even being on same deck, so how are we to be getting there without others noticing?"

"Follow me," the taller woman said, making her way out of the office once the items were returned to their original places. She moved down the corridor a ways, then after accessing the secret hatch, moved into the tunnel that would take them up to the ready room without being seen. "Don't tell anyone that this exists, and don't use it. It's mainly for emergencies only. And for sneaky wives who want to prank their husbands."

The Yeoman gave a chuckle when Joey opened the hatch and went into the tunnel as she slipped in behind her. "I was figuring he was having bolt hole like he was having on old ship," she said. "Is being smart idea, especially with problems like we are having before."

"Exactly, and it makes me feel better that he has a way out if things start to go south," she said, moving through the tunnel once the hatch was closed and secured. It wasn't long before the women came to the bathroom, which then landed them inside Harvey's ready room. "I think we might have an hour tops. We can get this done, but we have to move quick. I'll start working on the walls if you want to start working on the furniture?"

Mila almost made a comment about the Captain's Log when she came out in the head but felt it would be in bad taste and probably had been done a few thousand times in the past. She quickly made her way into the ready room and nodded as she grabbed one of the boxes and headed to his desk. "I am taking it that frog is being placed last?" she asked.

"Yes. We'll sit him on the desk after it's all finished. We can do the fish tanks as well, but I'd rather not cover the glass up," Joey stated as she grabbed a few rolls of the wrapping paper and set to work.

"Da," the shorter brunette said as she began to unpack the boxes and went after Harvey's chair and desk with an efficiency that would make an automatic gift-wrapping machine envious, if such a thing existed. "Fish are needing light, but everything else is being fair game. Should we be putting it over inside of door too so he is having to go through it?"

"Absolutely, and in the head, too," she said. Were those butterflies she was feeling, or were the babies moving? Nope, nope, that was definitely a foot.

After about forty-five minutes of steady working, everything inside his ready room/bathroom was covered in the Kermit the Frog wrapping paper. Ever the doorway, which meant he'd have to walk through it to get inside. The only two things that were left uncovered were the floor and the glass of the tanks. Everything else was fair game, and undamaged. Would he get them back this time? She wasn't entirely sure, but Joey had a feeling something would be coming their way.

"Let's hide in the bathroom. We can take this last piece and put it up over that doorway, too. He'll have to tear it down to walk through it."

"Da," Mila said as she moved to cover the doorway with the white side facing outwards so that when the ready room door opened, it would be the first thing to be seen. When she finished, she grabbed the empty boxes and headed for the head. "Is being ready."

Unbeknownst to the pranksters, Harvey had returned to the bridge fifteen minutes into their work. Instead of heading straight for the ready room, the Captain stood next to the science officer behind the Science station. Since Djinx and Carmichael had returned, the science team had been working overtime trying to analyze what they'd collected. While they still weren't any closer to any answers, Harvey took his time with the station technician, trading theories and ideas. Before he knew it, nearly a full hour had passed, and his fresh jamba juice had grown cold. Harvey had no plans to return to the Ready Room for a while, but a refresher on the tea would be necessary in order to maintain his presence on the bridge.

What he wasn't expecting was the ready room doors to not respond to his approach. Thankfully, he'd stopped himself just before slamming into both panels. "That's..." he muttered, thinking how odd this situation was. Since they passed into the zone, the systems had been a bit buggy, but the Ops and Engineering teams were still taking care of those kinks. Perhaps this new ship had inherited the soul of her predecessor which liked to show its age at times. Rather than call for a tech to take a look, because after all, Harvey liked to display his solidarity and independence in moments like this, he reached over to the door panel which happened to confirm that the proximity sensors had been disabled. A firm touch, long enough for the computer to recognize his fingerprint and enable the sensors, brought the system back to life. The panels instantly parted.

Harvey couldn't step forward. All he saw was a white sheet. Any backlight from the other side was muted by the massive amount of light coming from the bridge. He didn't turn around, though he could feel the gazes coming from various crewmen on the bridge. A soft probe of his left index finger revealed that the material was soft and taut. Judging by its tensile strength, Harvey found that he could punch right through it with ease. Peeling a small section back revealed the paper was a distinct shade of green with a strange pattern, one he could not discern due to its placement and proximity to the tear.

Well, no amount of paper was going to keep him from refreshing his tea. Harvey took a full step forward into his ready room, tearing through the paper like a twentieth century superhero breaching a faux wall for the cameras. A heartbeat later, the doors closed, surrounding and overwhelming the captain with green. "Oh... my..." he said slowly, absorbing the amount of work that had gone into transforming the ready room.

The walls.

The furniture.

The table, chairs and replicator.

Even his desk, on down to each padd and isolinear chip. Sitting in the middle of his desk was something new, a plush Kermit. If the decor was any indication, this wonderful addition told him who'd done this. Memories of the balloons that invaded his quarters bobbed to the surface of his mind. He hadn’t retaliated then. Now that this had happened, he was going to have to rethink that. Pushing that thought aside for now, all he could think about was how they’d managed to pull this off.

"Oh, Joey and Mila," he muttered aloud, not knowing at all that they were still there. "You're going to get it."

Inside the head, Joey pointed toward the door. She was sure she'd heard him in there, but didn't want to speak for fear of giving them up so soon. Besides, Harvey had yet to discover this part of his Ready Room had received the same treatment, complete with the door being covered. 'I think he's out there,' she mouthed to Mila, hoping the Russian woman would be able to make out what she was saying.

Mila nodded and then pointed at the way that they had came in through the secret tunnel and raised an eyebrow, then pointed at the door. "Are we to be staying or leaving?" she mouthed in return.

"We'll stay," Joey whispered, leaning in a bit closer to Mila so she wouldn't be heard by Harvey. "He's going to know it was us considering no one else is brave enough to do this kind of thing to him."

Harvey noticed that the restroom was wrapped as well, but it wasn't a place he needed to go just yet. His priority was first getting a refreshed cup of tea. Like the rest of the room, the replicator had been creatively wrapped in the Kermit paper. Unsure if the paper would interfere with the device's operation, he tore the paper off of the emitter panels and placed the cold cup in. "Recycle. I need a fresh Jamba tea, hot, with cinnamon."

As the replicator whirred and hummed, he realized that he indeed needed to go. Leaving the device to do its business, he approached the restroom door, punching his hand through the paper and pulled downward. As he did, the door opened.

When the doors opened and revealed the hole he'd punched through the paper, Joey couldn't help but lean toward it so her face would be seen. "Surprise!" she called out with a huge smile on her face.

"Eep! We are being dressed!" Mila said with a cheeky grin.

Somehow, Harvey had to talk himself out of taking a glance just to be sure. Instead, he flashed a smile and said, "It was definitely a surprise. I might have to try out my chair before returning to the bridge."

Joey couldn't help herself as she began to tear down the rest of the paper blocking the doorway. "I imagine it's going to be quite a bit noisy," she commented with a grin. "But it was totally worth it to get you again. Sadly, there aren't any water guns this time."

"We were not having time for them," Mila joked.

"Probably for the best," Harvey suggested. "This is Deck One, after all." He shifted his posture, remembering why he'd come into the restroom to begin with. "That said, you mind if I have the room for a moment?"

It only took a few seconds for her to realize why he needed the room, and Joey found herself nodding. "Of course," she said, slipping past him to get into to the newly decorated Ready Room. Not all of the wrapping paper could stay for obvious reasons, but she found herself wondering if Harvey would keep any of it up as a for memories like he'd kept some of the balloons the last time they'd done something like this to him.

Mila grabbed the wrapping paper off the head, then yanked it off and headed out after Joey. "Please be excusing us," she said as she exited.

He joined them back in the main office just a few moments later and picked up the steaming mug of tea from the replicator tray. "You both certainly outdid yourselves," he said, sitting in his wrapped chair, letting the crinkle of the paper sound as he did.

"Makes me wonder how we'll be able to top this, but I'm sure we'll be able to come up with something," Joey said as she settled down on the couch. The same sound emitted from it that his chair did only seconds before. "Do you plan to keep any of it?"

"You know, I haven't thought about it yet." Harvey sipped his tea and looked around the room. "I know I don't have a reason to tear it all down right away. I'm sure I could keep a few things wrapped. As for Kermit..." his eyes had wandered to the plush set sitting on the middle of the desk.

"I am being glad that you are liking it, but was all Joey's idea," Mila said.

"That does not surprise me," Harvey confessed. In fact, he knew how distressing the away mission had been. The fact that she'd resorted to a harmless prank showed him that she wasn't going to let the mission get her down.

No matter what, Joey never planned to let anything keep her down. Yes, there were dark moments that threatened to consume her, but she'd been able to pull through them, and often times with the help of others. She was pretty resilient like that, and having the support system she did helped a lot. "I think Kermit deserves to stay right where he is. As a reminder that no matter what, everything will be okay."

Harvey thought that he'd move the plushes, especially since both Kermit and the smaller frog in the middle of his desk did block quite a bit of his view. "I certainly don't plan to take him out of the room anytime soon."

"I am certain that he will be bringing you many good things in darkest of times," Mila said.

"You could always move them off to the side, but he is a bit on the large side. Maybe sit him here on the couch?" Joey suggested.

"That would work." Harvey set the mug on one of the wrapped PADDs on the desk, the liquid inside wobbling a bit as he did, leaving a small water ring for later. He stood, and picked up the Kermits and took them over to the couch to see.

"Perhaps sit on arm of couch," Mila suggested. "So they are to be looking at you."

"The whole room is looking at me," Harvey noted, placing the dolls on the edge of the couch. "Eyes! Eyes everywhere I tell you!"

Joey couldn't help but laugh. "It's a bit creepy, though, isn't it? So many eyes."

Harvey finished adjusting the dolls and took a step back. "At least they're not real." He turned back to the desk to get his mug. "I have to say, this is much better than the balloons. How long did it take for you two to do this?"

"About forty-five minutes, and that was with some hustle," his wife replied. There's no way she would have been able to pull it off without Mila's help, which had her turning toward the Russian woman. "Thank you for all of your help. I'd still be hanging this stuff if it wasn't for you."

Mila laughed at Harvey's comment about the eyes being everywhere. "Is not being a problem and I am glad you are liking it, Harvey," she said.

"So am I. I was a bit nervous about this time since it is your ready room, but figured it was harmless enough," Joey said, then lit up. A smile formed on her lips as she looked toward Mila, then back toward her husband. "I still haven't told Mila what we're having yet with everything that's been going on lately. Do you think now is a good time to make that reveal?"

Harvey could not stop his face from revealing his surprise. "You really haven't told her yet?" he asked.

Joey shook her head and appeared a little sheepish. As busy as everyone had been lately, that particular bit slipped her mind. "No," she said, looking toward Mila with a look on her face that expressed just how bad she felt about it. "Besides, I think it would be better to tell her now while the three of us are together, but we don't have any names picked out yet. I just want to put that out there first." Then, she turned toward her husband. "Do you want to do the honor of telling their godmother?"

He picked up on her instance. Harvey had, after all, been the keeper of many secrets as of late. Though he hadn't revealed everything to Mila, he was certain he'd hurt her enough holding that information back. "A boy and a girl," Harvey told Mila, smiling. "One of each."

"I am congratulating you both!" Mila nearly squealed before she hugged Joey, then Harvey. She stepped back after a moment and beamed at them. "I promise I will be best krestnaya ever. They will have all that they are desiring."

Joey smiled and returned the hug. "They're not even born yet, and they're already spoiled rotten." she said, feeling better now that Mila would be thrilled about the news and was happy. Her smile was quickly replaced by a frown at the thought of her dream, her brows furrowing slightly. At some point, she'd need to make her way to Medical to have that checked out.

"I am already having plans," the Russian woman said with a smile. "They will be smelled in Alpha Quadrant."

"Of that, I have no doubt," confirmed Harvey, sipping his tea yet again. "Well, I am due back on the bridge. You two are welcome to remain here. And don't be in a rush to dismantle the room."

The Intel Chief rose to her feet and adjusted her uniform a bit. "I need to get going, too. I've got to see a doctor about lizard babies," she said, and judging by the look on her face, she wasn't kidding. Joey pressed a kiss to his cheek, then leaned in to give Mila a hug. "I'll see you both later." With that, she made her way out of the Ready Room and onto the bridge before leaving the area entirely.

Mila walked over and removed the wrapping paper from the PADDs. "You will be needing these when you are coming back," she told Harvey. "Why is Joey still talking about lizard babies?"

Harvey winced, not relishing the idea of paperwork at the moment. Then again, half of his life was about requisitions and reports and sensor data. "I'm... I'm not really sure," he remarked, recalling the early morning incident. She hadn't told him what that was about, but she was worked up about it.

"Were you able to try guarana beans?" the Yeoman asked since he looked uncertain.

"I have," Harvey replied, figuring that Mila had noticed he wasn't drinking a concoction involving them at the moment. "I've been alternating between that and this Jamba tea that Selah down in Talons suggested. Both seem to be working well."

"Is being good thing," Mila said. "Be trying ginseng if you are needing extra energy. Is not coffee but can be spiced with many things to add to taste."

Harvey nodded. "I certainly will do." Using his half-full mug as a pointer, he gestured around the room. "Let's make sure this stays up for a while. Couple days at least."

"I could be putting in request to Operations to be making it permanent," the Russian offered.

Harvey chuckled, heading for the exit. He knew that she was only half-kidding. If motivated correctly, she would definitely pursue that request.

Mila laughed as she headed out after him. "I will be seeing you later," she told him. "For now, I am having mission in Ops."

Shaking his head, Harvey exited the Ready Room to return to duty. He could only imagine what his office would look like the next time he entered it.

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