A Tale of Two Walshes

Posted on 05 Apr 2020 @ 4:15pm by Ensign Daniel Walsh & Commander Terry Walsh

1,221 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Sentience
Location: XO's Office
Timeline: MD01 || 1658 Hours

Having the same surname as the ships XO was beginning to be a real pain in the ass for Ensign Walsh. Everyone assumed a familial connection that didn't exist. Brother, cousin, nephew; Danny had heard them all. One person had suggested that they were father and son, despite the Commander only being nine years older. Danny was still trying to work out if they had been joking or not.

Today brought a whole new example of how their shared name would cause that pain in his ass to intensify. He'd been handed a PADD by a Crewman that had been meant for Commander Walsh. Before Danny had a chance to spot the mistake, the Crewman was gone leaving the task of delivering the PADD to Ensign Walsh.

Danny approached the reception area outside the XO's Office and requested a few minutes of the Commander's time. He was told to take a seat until the XO had a few free moments to speak to him. Of course Daniel could have just left the PADD with the duty yeoman but part of him was curious to meet the man with whom his only connection was the same surname.

Terry was already accustomed to some slightly longer hours as the Squadron Commander, but that was nothing compared to his first day as XO. There had been an early morning briefing, the ship's launch from drydock, department visits, and moving out of his old office into his new one. As such, there were still a few things scattered on the table and the couch that needed attending and a small stack of padds. He was about to pick up one up when he'd received notification of a visitor. Terry put the padd back on the stack and shifted some things around on his desk. He then moved the stuff from the couch to an obscure corner, but left the things on the table. When got back to his desk, he notified the yeoman that the visitor could be sent in.

Ensign Walsh stepped into the XO's office a minute later. "Good evening, sir. I'm sorry for interrupting you."

"Evening, Ensign," replied Terry. It wasn't often that he got office visits from Ensigns in gold. "What can I do for you?"

Danny approached the XO's desk. "This was delivered to me by mistake," he held out the PADD, "but I believe it was meant for you."

Terry accepted the PADD and nodded. "Well let's give it a look, shall we?" He gestured over to a chair. "Have a seat if you'd like." He gave his thumbprint as authorization. "Hmm, yeah, this looks like it's all for me." He put it down on his desk. "Question is though, how in the world did you end up with this?"

"I think they got their Walsh's mixed up." Daniel told him with a lopsided grin as he took a seat in the offered chair. "Or maybe they thought it didn't matter which of us they gave it to, it would wind up with the correct Walsh eventually."

Terry grinned and cocked his head to the side. "That's interesting. I don't think I caught your name, Ensign."

'Of course the XO doesn't know who you are. You're the most junior of junior officers and have been onboard for all of five minutes. Walking in like he's supposed to know who you are. Idiot.' Danny thought, silently berating himself. "Daniel Walsh, sir." The young Ensign replied, feeling even more awkward than he already had. "I'm a Propulsion Specialist. Just arrived onboard a few days ago."

"Ah, well, welcome aboard, first off," said Terry. "Daniel Walsh, well that explains the whole PADD situation. With everything that's been going on the last few days, I'm not surprised. People must be in a crazy hurry to pass things off and aren't really paying too much attention. I think this is going to be an interesting cruise for the both of us. But since you're here, tell me about yourself. Are you fresh out of the Academy or a transfer?"

Daniel shifted in his chair. "Transfer, sir. I graduated three years ago and have been on the Livingston since then. Once we got news that Starfleet was to decommission her, I received my orders for the Black Hawk."

"Excellent," he replied. "How have you found everything on the ship so far?"

The young engineer couldn't stop himself. "It's amazing, sir." He replied excitedly. "After three years on an old Excelsior-class workhorse, being on such an advanced ship feels like such a huge step up. Instead of maintaining everything, keeping her running for a few more years, everything here is new. The holo-interfaces are incredible. Though the computer's holographic avatar is taking some getting used to. It just appears out of nowhere."

Terry leaned back as he listened. He smiled as he saw and heard the excitement from Ensign Walsh. "Yeah, I bet this is quite the upgrade for you, then. There's enough stuff on this ship to keep you busy for a long time as an Engineer. But since your specialty is propulsion, have you had a chance to really get into the engines yet?"

"Oh yes, sir." Daniel replied, still sounding more like an excited child than a Starfleet Officer. "I've spent the past few days getting to grips with the Black Hawk's engines, reviewing the engineering logs and the refit logs. It's been like Christmas everyday since I arrived onboard."

Letting out a hearty chuckle, Terry smiled and nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. She's got a lot to offer and I'm sure that you'll really get to know the ins and outs over the next few days." He remembered being that excited when he first sat in the cockpit of a fighter going out on a mission. But that was years ago... "Do me a favor, Ensign. Don't let this excitement fade. No matter how long you're in, don't let humdrum overtake you. You'll have to put a lot of effort into that, but it'll be worth it in the long run."

Ensign Walsh chuckled. "I'll do my best with that, sir." A month ago he if he'd been asked if he'd found his job fulfilling, Daniel would have said no. Sure, he enjoyed his work but he didn't feel challenged by it. The humdrum had overtaken him, as the Commander put it. But after only a matter of days on the Black Hawk, Ensign Walsh found his work fulfilling for the first time since he graduated from the Academy three years ago.

"Excellent," said Terry. He reached down and picked up the padd that had been delivered to him. "And thanks for bringing this up. I'll make sure that the department knows next time to ensure it gets to the right Walsh. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, by the way."

The Ensign stood. "No inconvenience, sir. Not this time anyway," he offered a lopsided smile, "I appreciate your time."

Terry chuckled a little bit and stood. "Not a problem, Ensign," he said extending his hand for a shake. "Officially, welcome to the Black Hawk."

Daniel gripped the Commander's hand firmly. "Thank you, sir." When he pulled his hand back, he snapped to attention momentarily before turning on his heel and leaving the XO to continue with his work.

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