Keon had found himself in the Captain’s office more times than he could count. His parents made a remark about it last time he was called; he had not made this much trouble in school or the academy. But, for some reason, he had earned the ire of Captain Kopl’o. The latter was a jovially loud Klingon man, but whenever Keon was around it felt like they were about to fight to the death. It was so much so that Keon studied himself up on Klingon traditions and thought it wise to ask the Chief of Security for some lessons in hand to hand fighting – in case the Captain got any ideas.

“Lieutenant Seong – ” A pause, while the Captain took a swig of coffee (or Keon assumed) from his giant tankard. “Why did you feel it necessary to run off and adventure in the abandoned district – nearly exposing ourselves?

Maybe the mission to a pre-warp world would have suited a better scientist, but when Keon heard the people were highly suspicious of the specters in the aforementioned abandoned district, he volunteered. “I was dissuading a family of locals that their ghost problem was from an outside force.”

The Captain’s hand twitched, causing Keon’s gaze to snap down at it as if he were expecting an issued challenge. Kopl’o let out a growl, which Keon assumed was his version of a sigh. His tone was louder than expected, but still eerily even keel. “But it went against the direct command given to you by the mission leader.”

“With all due respect-” Keon paused, waiting for the eruption. But said eruption never came, so he continued, “The Lieutenant Commander would not listen when I told him that I suspected Jem Hadar activity, which was why I surveilled the area overnight to ensure that they would not interfere with our mission.”

Kopl’o’s eyes narrowed and Keon was certain the other man was about to blow a gasket. “So you decided to bring a native with you?”

“No,” Keon insisted. He had mentioned this a number of times before to the Lieutenant Commander. “The young child followed me. I thought she had lost track of me before I happened upon the Jem Hadar encampment.”

There was a paused beat, before the Captain’s tension left both his face and his shoulders. “You should not disobey your direct superior next time. That will not be taken lightly.” Then came the next pause, but the Klingon Captain snorted soon after. “But if you had not found the encampment, we would have had other problems.”

Keon’s rapid-fire blinking was coupled with the confusion on his features. “Sir?”

“Do not consider this praise, Lieutenant,” Kopl’o stated in annoyance. “You should never disobey your superior. But that does not mean your actions did not bare fruitful results. So instead of doing what your superior suggested, I am answering the request for a transfer for you.”

“… Sir?” repeated the scientist in the same tone. Kopl’o slid a PaDD across the desk for Keon to take. “You are being reassigned, Lieutenant. Soon we will be on Esquimalt, and there is a ship there looking for a Chief of Sciences.”

The look on Keon’s face returned to it’s neutral expression as he took the PaDD. “The USS Hou Yi?”

“Yes.” The confirmation was firm. “But, Lieutenant Seong, do not see this as a reward. We shall see how you like it when you have to give people orders and they disobey you.”