Date Night 2

Posted on Tue Apr 7th, 2015 @ 8:40am by Commander Sinek & Lieutenant Commander Ethan Chaparral MD & Lieutenant Dylan Santiago & Staff Warrant Officer Nexi

Mission: Temporal Kickback
Location: Ethan/Dylan's Quarters
Timeline: Aftr Date Night

Previously

You have no idea how good that makes me feel, but I better go now. We both better or we're going to be in deep shit."

"Yeah...good impressions and all that." Dylan grumbled as he reluctantly moved away from Ethan.

Ethan glanced over at his husband to be. "Yeah keep that thought for tonight after our little double date is over."

"Oh I intend to." Dylan grinned as he walked towards the door, his step light as he considered what fun they could have.

And now the continuation

Ethan paced nervously as he waited for their two guests to arrive. He was dressed casually in jeans and maroon short sleeved polo shirt and had checked the pies he had in the oven twice in the past thirty minutes. He looked over at Dylan who at least on the surface seemed calm and reassured.

"You know," he commented, "I'm starting to have second thoughts about this. Sinek is a really nice guy and I don't want to hurt his feelings, or for him to take this he wrong way. How did things go with Nexi?"

"She's uh...an interesting person." Dylan replied, still not sure what to make of the woman and definitely not sure if it was a good thing to introduce her to Sinek.

"Interesting in what way?" Ethan asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.

"In a weird kind of a uh...psycho way." Dylan replied awkwardly as he ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Oh, just great, Mr. Cool Calm And Collected and Ms. Psycho, yeah that is going to make for a fun evening. What did you tell her to get her to come?"

"She asked for money, I promised her wine." Dylan chuckled, remembering his conversation with Nexi as he reached into his pocket and extracted the datachip. "Oh and I almost forgot. She wanted me to give you this...says it's proof that you're safe now and that those pirates can never hurt you again."

'Okay," said Ethan as he took the chip, "oh and by the way, I called my mom told her about everything I don't remember seeing her so angry. Not at me, or you, but at Ian. She wants to talk to you about it. She uh, probably has questions about the marriage too."

"Questions as in she doesn't approve?" Dylan looked concerned. The truth was, Ethan's mother was a force of nature and in his own mind he was pretty sure that she didn't like him.

"About the wedding? Oh, I don't think she's upset about that, she described you as the 'young muscular boy'. I think the questions are more about Ian. That or she is going to make your babysitting me the rest of my life a condition of her blessing."

"Young muscular boy...great." Dylan sighed, "Nice to know that she holds me in such high esteem."

"Dylan, its okay," Ethan responded, caressing his cheek, "that's just how she remembers you. She also knows that you are in Intel. She likes you. Besides she hasn't seen you naked like she saw my first boyfriend. Count your blessings."

"Do I really want to know how that happened?" Dylan cringed at the thought of being caught naked by Ethan's mother.

"Probably not, let's just say it was our first time, we fell asleep, she called and woke us up. I was clumsier than, then I am now. But to be fair I was surprised. Looking back on it now its funny, but it wasn't then. The sad thing is that was the last good memory I have of him, of us. We were kidnapped, or he was and I just got caught up in things. Mom rescued me, but too late to save him. He disappeared with one of the kidnappers. I'm sure the killed him."

In his quarters, Lieutenant Commander Sinek was preparing for the evening. This was one occasion he decided it was not good to wear his uniform. This was not business as usual. He was not going there to be the CSO, but as a...friend. He was not used to suppressing what the humans called butterflies in the pit of his stomach.

Looking into a mirror, he looked at the elven-eared face reflecting back at him. Sinek had on a classical Vulcan hooded cloak. Satisfied with his appearance, Sinek picked up the bottle of Chianti he figured would be good for a gift and headed to the doctor's new quarters.

As he walked, he realized he never had met Dylan Santiago before. If he were anything like Doctor Chaparral, he would be a good man. This thing called love, he still did not understand. Particularly that of man and man. It was certainly different than the Vulcan understanding of mating. But the CSO was open to trying to build relationships on his new ship. Reaching his destination, Sinek rang the chime. It was precisely 1900 hours.

Dylan had just been about to respond to Ethan's comment about his first love being a likely murder victim when the bell rang and he said "We'll talk later but right now I guess we'd better get this show on the road."

Ethan nodded,"Yeah we need to talk, but you're right, let's greet our guest and hope we don't have a Category 5 storm on our hands." Then, rather than just calling for Sinek to enter, something he found hugely impersonal, he moved to the door and opened it manually. He looked approvingly at the Vulcan officer. "Commander, so glad you could make it."

Sinek held up the bottle of Chianti. "You said you did not need a gift. However, I had heard it was appropriate to offer wine at an occasion as this."

The Lieutenant Commander looked into the quarters empty of people. "I must be the first to arrive."

"Yes," Ethan said, "trying not to look as guilty as he was starting to feel, "We decided to keep it small." He took the bottle from the Vulcan and passed it to Dylan.

Following the track of the bottle of wine, Sinek took in the appearance of Dylan. "Lieutenant Santiago, I presume." It was a statement, not a question.

"The one and only." Dylan grinned at the Vulcan and held out his hand in greeting, "Pleased to meet you Sinek and call me Dylan."

Ethan, took the bottle of wine, wondering where Sinek had gotten it and placed it on the table, wondering where their other guest was, and when, or if, she would show up.

Sinek took Dylan's hand, knowing about the human way of greeting others. He wondered if it had to do with their need of closeness with each other. For Sinek, it was logical not to offend his honored hosts, as this was their day. The Vulcan was not certain which way he was to shake Dylan's hand, so he just held it and followed the human's lead.

After a few shakes, Dylan awkwardly pulled his hand away and smiled before saying "So...you're new here like us, what do you think of the Hera?"

"Yes," Sinek flatly acknowledged. "I transferred to the Hera from the USS Bacon to become the Chief Science Officer. I find the Hera stimulating to the mind. Based on history, as the original Hera was crewed by mostly Vulcans. Also, I find the crew of the current Hera exceptionally performing their duties. I find it fascinating."

The way Sinek expressed himself, there was no way to know he was truly stimulated. The tone showed no emotion at all. In fact, a truly emotional being would surmise that the Vulcan was bored by all that he had experienced. Such was not the case.

"USS Bacon..." Dylan shook his head, "Do you think Starfleet had some kind of brain storm the day they named that one?" he grinned.

The Vulcan raised a brow, not knowing the human thought that "everything is better with bacon." He continued in his even tone, "Yes, it was named after the famed 16th and 17th century philosopher and scientist, Sir Francis Bacon. It is a logical name for a science vessel."

The corners of Ethan's lips curled upward, "I believe that would be score one for the Vulcan, babe." he said.

Nexi was running late, but it wasn't her fault! First she couldn't think of anything to wear that would be appropriate for this sort of thing, then she had the bright idea to ask her sister for a help.... turns out that was a very bad idea, as Aewia decided to play a dress up game instead of actually helping. Once she finally got away from Aewia, Nexi escaped to her shuttle where she still had a few articles of clothing stored and found something that looked... passable; a fitted shirt of deep blue and a pair of baggy khakis. Hardly 'dinner' material, but at least she would be comfortable. She dressed, combed her hair and tied it back with a leather strap, then headed to her boss' quarters, bouncing nervously on the balls of her booted feet as she rang the chime.

Ethan, hearing the chime said, "Excuse me," then he turned and walked to the door. He pressed the release and greeted their latest arrival, "Well good evening, " he greeted, "welcome to our home. Won't you come in?"

"Um, yeah, hi..." Nexi said as she stepped inside. She didn't normally do things like this unless she was being paid to spy on someone or steal something, so she didn't know how to just be around people for the pure sake of enjoying their company. She looked incredibly uncomfortable and felt terribly out of place, but still she was here and making an effort. "I, uh... was gonna bring something for dinner, but I kind of got distracted," she admitted.

"Not to worry...we're all set." Dylan chimed in and smiled as he added "Glad you could come."

Nexi nodded and followed Dylan back to the others where she waved uneasily. "Um, hi," she said awkwardly.

Sinek beheld the female he had not previously met. She appeared to possibly be human, pleasing to the eyes with auburn hair and eyes as black as his own. Nodding his head slightly forward to recognize the newcomer, Sinek introduced himself. "I am Lieutenant Commander Sinek, the Chief Science Officer."

Remembering Dylan offering his hand earlier, Sinek stuck his hand toward Nexi.

Nexi took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "I'm Nexi, Collector for the FCA and freelance... well, just about anything you could pay a person to do, I'll do it," she said with a somewhat devilish grin.

Ethan exchanged glances with Dylan, "Hey babe," he said, why don't you help me in the kitchen, kind of hard with just one hand, you know."

The Vulcan's logical response came, "Can I be of assistance anywhere?"

"No, thanks, "Ethan replied quickly, "you just stay here and visit with our other guests. Dylan and I can handle things, but thanks for the offer."

As the two left the room, Sinek raised a brow. The other guests?

"Am I missing someone other than you?" he inquired of Nexi.

Nexi shrugged. "Beats me," she said, though at the back of her mind an inkling of something bothered her, something almost felt from Ethan and Dylan. She cast a suspicious glance at their retreating hosts before returning her attention to Sinek. "So, Science Officer? Is it any fun?" she asked. What the hell does a person talk about at one of these dinner things?!

Fun? Again, the Vulcan raised an eyebrow, confused as to what was fun. His brow raised so much in the last few minutes, it seemed as though he had a nervous twitch.

"I do Science because it is logical," came the even reply. "Perhaps Lieutenant Chaparral was referring to letting in the guests as they arrive. What do you ...freelance?"

"Killer for hire, smuggling, theft, kidnap and ransom, sexual desires... about the only thing I won't do is deal in slaves," Nexi said, so casually she could have been talking about the weather. "What's so logical about Science?"

Another brow raised on Sinek's face. "Science is based on facts. Hence it is logical."

The Lieutenant Commander was attempting to grasp why Starfleet had someone aboard the Hera who had just admitted to being an assassin and prostitute among other things. "May I ask, what is logical about doing what you do for payment?"

"I work for the Ferengi Commerce Association, and you're asking what's logical about getting paid?" Nexi said with a hint of a laugh. Damn, this boy was naive. "Just about any place you go that ain't under the jurisdiction of the Federation is run on a commerce system. If you want anything you gotta pay for it, to pay for it you gotta earn money. I do what I do because it gets me a lot of money so that maybe I can retire one day and do nothing for the rest of my life."

"So your loyalties are to yourself," came Sinek's monotone reply. A statement, not a question. "You do not serve a crew, the Federation or allies. You do not serve the Hera. You serve only yourself. When you retire, will it be in isolation?"

Sinek became convicted at his own words. He had been guilty of isolating himself by throwing himself into his duties on his previous starships. Even though he had worked so hard at serving those ships and the crews, he was not a part of the crew. He was slightly beginning to understand the words of Ambassador Spock.

"No, there is one person I will keep with me," Nexi replied, her expression softening for the briefest moment as she thought about her sister.

Sinek was intrigued with this change of emotion. Nexi turned from the hardest person he had meet thus far on the Hera to one of the softest.

"You have a mate." Sinek assumed.

"No," Nexi said a bit more harshly than she meant to. "I'll never let myself be owned," ever again, "least of all by a mate."

"A mate is not about ownership," Sinek observed. "Obviously, you do not see any type of ownership between Lieutenants Chaparral and Santiago or you would not be here." He made that judgment based upon how harshly her response came.

Of course, they didn't exactly meet his definition of mating. However, Sinek had made the commitment to build relationships. In starting to build those relationships, Sinek became more curious about how humans could function with their emotions. Would they be able to function by suppressing them?

"You've clearly never been to Ferenginar," Nexi said with a snort. "And there ain't nothing wrong with the Doc and my boss shacking up. They're adults, they can do as they please."

"Indeed," the CSO confirmed. It was one of the few things upon which he did agree with Nexi. "I'm beginning to think the union is not popular with the rest of our ship mates, though. The Doctor stated that a couple invites all of their friends to the housewarming." He looked around the mostly empty room wondering whether they had no friends or if most of the ship were objecting.

In the kitchen, Dylan whispered to Ethan, "Take a peek...see how they're getting on."

Ethan nodded and peaked in, something between a smile and a smirk crossed his face as he heard Sinek's words. He turned back to face his future husband. "I think we've been had. Sinek thinks others don't like the fact we're getting married, because no one else is here. Should we tell them the truth?"

"No way." Dylan replied, "That chick will probably kick me in the balls for tricking her, she's unstable." he added, keeping his voice low so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"Well, I could kiss them and make them feel better if she did, but what do you suggest. Oh and why did you let me talk you into this?"

"Because I love you." Dylan shrugged as if it were obvious, "Let' just play along, say a few things about wondering where everyone else is and then eat."

"I think we're just digging ourselves in deeper, but okay. I won't even tell you I told you so, when this comes back and bites us.

Now let's take the food out there, you ready?"

"Better than a kick in the balls." Dylan quipped as he picked up a couple of bowls filled with various foods, "I'm ready." he nodded.

The two men stepped out into the main living area, "Well hello welcome guests, we're back. Are you making yourselves at home?"

The suspicious glare that Nexi sent them spoke volume of what she thought of this bullshit. "Right..." she said, drawing out the word to let them know for certain that she was on to them. She didn't need to be a telepath to know that something was up; with the abruptness of their 'departure', she'd had a feeling that she and Sinek had been abandoned, but feeling their plotting in the other room had just confirmed it. "What are you two up to? This ain't a housewarming party, is it?"

Ethan glanced over at Dylan, "Uh, well no, not exactly. It is however a party. It's just that you two are the only guests."

Again, Sinek raised a brow. The logic was flooding into his brain full force. Very quickly, he had to suppress various emotions. His cheeks turned a darker green, then quickly faded to their natural color.

"Doctor," Sinek made an appeal, "May I have a word with you?"

"Of course Commander," Ethan said, trying not to blush himself, "Over here, he said motioning with his one hand towards a shallow alcove that held a viewport. He walked in that direction, wondering what he was going to say.

The Vulcan walked calmly to the alcove, his hands folded in a triangle. He thought over what he was going to say as he approached Ethan. He knew Ethan was aware of the meeting with Spock and his recommendations.

"It is my understanding," he began, "that this is what humans refer to as a date. Did you do this in order to assist me in building relationships?"

"Yes, Commander, that is exactly what I did. I admit that being honest with you and explaining what we we, what I was trying to do, would probably have been the better thing to do, but I was afraid that you would refuse and so would she.

"I wasn't doing to hurt you in anyway, or to make a joked out of it. I was really just trying to help. And I drug Dylan along for the ride. So, if you're upset, blame me, not him."

Nexi had overheard enough and cast Dylan a sidelong glance. "Really? You thought you could set me up on a date? You couldn't at least ask?" she said to Dylan, crossing her arms. She was wondering why Dylan was worried about getting kicked in the crotch and now she knew why. And now she was actually considering it.

"Would you have turned up if I'd told you?" Dylan countered, refusing to cower before her.

"Dunno," Nexi answered honestly. "Probably not, but I might have if I thought it would have amused me."

Suppressing more, keeping an even keel, Sinek attempted to be quiet with his words to Ethan. "Doctor, I understand your efforts. You are a..." I am still unfamiliar with the term "friend; it is to be expected that you help a friend."

He glanced toward Nexi, then returned his attention back to Ethan. "However, do you not see that my logic and her..." for a lack of a better term "...logic are not compatible? I will continue to build relationships aboard the Hera. But if I pursue a mate, she will be of my logical choosing."

Ethan let out a sigh of relief, glad that the Vulcan understood his intention. "Love isn't logical, Commander. If it were Dylan and I wouldn't be together. Sometimes as we humans like to say opposites attract.

"Give her a chance, assuming of course she doesn't kill us all right now,that is."

Sinek hesitated as he thought the situation over. He then tilted his head to the side as he replied, "Regardless of the circumstances, we are here to celebrate your moving in together. We were invited under a ruse. However, you are a friend and I assume Nexi is also a friend. To stay and eat to continue the celebration would be logical."

"Yeah, it would be logical," Ethan replied, "I'll go get our dinner. I knew you, or at least I assumed that you were vegetarian, so we have an apple walnut salad, soup and garlic bread. I've also fixed some chicken that can be put in the salad for those who want it."

The Vulcan nodded, "That is appropriate." Looking toward the other two, Sinek added, "Shall we commence the meal?"

"Yes, let's do that," said Ethan as he walked beck towards the dining room table.

"Are we not mad at them?" Nexi asked Sinek. "Does this mean I can't kick him in the nuts?" she asked, pointing to Dylan.

"A Vulcan does not get angry," Sinek pointed out. "I cannot answer for you. We are, however, here to celebrate. So let us celebrate."

"I can live with that," Nexi said with a nod, brushing off the setup without any further remarks. She joined the others at the table. "So, what are we celebrating, exactly? If the housewarming thing was just a setup for a date, then what are we celebrating?" Okay, so maybe she had one more remark...

Ethan looked over at Dylan then over at their guests, "Look, I am sorry about the whole set up thing, it was all my idea, Dylan just went along for the ride. But I'll tell you what we can celebrate. My being back and almost whole, I'm getting my new arm tomorrow and the fact, that this man that I love, has asked me to marry him."

"What's so good about not being able to screw other people?" Nexi asked bluntly.

Ethan's brow raised, slightly, "We take turns," he replied jokingly, "but to answer your question, I don't have any desire to screw anyone else. Because a relationship involves a lot more than just screwing, its being there for each other, having the other's back and just being together. Talking, doing dishes, watching a holovid."

Ethan cast his eyes at his husband to be, then back at Nexi. As far as that goes, screwing others that is, I've been there, done that, and got the tee-shirt. I only want to be with Dylan. I have no desire to screw anyone else but him."

"Wow, that sounds so boring," Nexi replied. "But congrats anyway?"

"Maybe one day you'll understand." Dylan looked at her, still grateful that he hadn't been assaulted for their subterfuge.

She would definitely not be one I would seek for a mate, Sinek thought while taking a bite of the salad and thoroughly chewing it during the ongoing conversation. Turning toward Nexi. "You are contentious on this point," he vocalized in observation. "Why are you bitter against mating in general?"

Ethan failed miserably at concealing his eye roll and waited for her to answer as he continued to eat his salad, which he'd added a generous helping of chicken to. For the moment he remained silent, resisting the urge to comment further.

Nexi wouldn't be caught dead eating a salad unless it was a bacon salad smothered in chili and cheese, so instead settled for a plain broth. "What'dya expect, I was brought up around Ferengi," Nexi grumbled. "They ain't exactly the best example of marital bliss."

"We all have baggage we have to deal with Nexi " Ethan inserted, "there has to be something else that would make you feel the way you do."

"You wanna know what my baggage is?" Nexi asked seriously, casting a cold glare his way. "Alright, I'll tell you. Before becoming a Collector for the FCA, I was a slave. I was lucky that I was smart enough to help my boss keep his books up to date, but that didn't stop him from using me for sex, or lending me out to others for those services. I had a... client... that took an interest in me, thought I was way too smart to be wasted as a prostitute and contracted my boss for an extended use of my time so he could train me to be something more. I made a lot more for my boss as a Collector and since then I've been slowly trying to buy my freedom. Now that I got my freedom, I ain't giving it up for nothing, sure as hell not for a lover or a mate."

"And this wasn't my first time to be kidnapped either, "Ethan replied, "Okay, my past doesn't seem as horrible as yours, but when I was 16, I was kidnapped along with the only other guy I've ever really loved, the boy I thought I wanted to marry and spend the rest of my life with.

I knew that my mother would come to our rescue, my mother was Intel and she's tougher right now retired and sitting at home, than anyone I've ever met, including you. Anyway when I saw Kyle get hurt, I just reacted, because I thought I was a tough guy.

Turns out I was wrong, I wasn't tough at all. I got shot. My mom and her men did wind up rescuing me. Me but not him, because my effort at playing hero messed up that transponder and it had to reboot, or recharge or whatever it had to do. Anyway that delay cost Kyle's his life.

It took me months, years to get over that, over him. And yes, like I said, I know it's not the same, not by a long shot, but we all have had things happen to us. And you still have both your arms. You need to give love a chance."

He cut his eyes to Dylan and reached out to take his hand, "because you will find that right person, that soulmate, to come along. And it will make all the other shit you've gone through worth it."

"You know what ain't worth it?" Nexi said in a strangely soft tone, looking down at her soup with hollow eyes. "This... date." She rose from her chair and rather neatly tucked it back under the table, such a contrast from the crass personality she had been presenting all evening.

"Sinek, you seem like an interesting guy and I've enjoyed our conversation," she said to Sinek, her expression unreadable. "If ever you wanna go have a few drinks and compare your logic to my nonsense, I'm game. It was fun." Then she looked at Dylan and Ethan and gave them the finger. "Fuck you for thinking I don't know what love is. Just cause I ain't tying myself to a lover don't mean I don't know what it means to love and lose and sacrifice and grieve and all that shit. So go blow it out your ass, I'm outta here." And then Nexi turned to leave.

"Wait, Nexi," Ethan said, "It wasn't like that. I'm sorry, please sit back down and I promise to shut up."

Nexi stopped abruptly, turning to look at Ethan, but this time her eyes weren't hollow, they were full of anger. "Why? So you can look down on me because I ain't lookin' for that special someone who completes me? No thank you, I got better things to do, like take care of my sister who was fucking lobotomized by Romulans for the information she had on that zombie shit we stopped!" Fuck, she hadn't meant to tell them that much... Nexi sighed in defeat. Well, the cat was out of the bag.

"That's why I was late, you know... Because my sister was reduced to the mental capacity of a child and wanted to play. How could I tell her no?" Nexi had no room in her life for a romantic interest because her life was full with her sister and her antics, but what surprised Nexi the most was how much she loved it; even on the days when Nexi wanted to strangle Aewia, she love it all and wouldn't trade that time with her sister for anything in the 'verse. She didn't want for anything more in life; for the first time ever, Nexi was content with what she had.

Ethan, released Dylan's hand, stood and moved towards her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "No one is judging you Nexi," he said quietly, "now please just sit down. Tell us what we can do."

"Do?" Nexi asked, looking at Ethan like he was crazy. "What do you think you can do? I neither need nor want to be set up on a date. And to be blunt, Aewia is more important to me than your arm, you two shacking up, or getting hitched." Then she looked to Dylan. "Sorry for mouthing off, boss, I'll see you at the start of duty shift tomorrow."

"That's not the kind of help I meant,"Ethan said helplessly to her retreating form, "I meant help with Aewia."

Sinek had been closely observing the discussion. Nexi had experienced deep trauma and was hurting; this was evident. The heated discussion seemed to have climaxed with the result softening each sides view of the other. Sinek had no intentions of creating this atmosphere when he had made the inquiry of Nexi. However, the each individual had used these emotional outbursts to seem to bring out a sense of caring for the other.

"I was not aware of your circumstances; that is why I inquired," Sinek inserted. "I also offer my services."

"I don't want your help!" Nexi barked out. She could use all the help she could get, but she didn't know how to accept it. Her whole life, no one ever just gave her help without wanting something in return, so she didn't know what to do with help that was so freely given. More to the point, she was feeling a bit selfish; Aewia was her sister, her responsibility! She had finally reconnected with her only living relative and she wanted to keep Aewia for herself for a while. "Just leave us the fuck alone!" She didn't wait for any responses, she simply stormed out.

Sinek raised a brow. "Was it something I said?" he stated to no one in particular. He didn't understand how his logic didn't aid the situation. Instead, it seemed to make matters worse.

"I'm sorry,"Ethan said, "This is all my fault. I was just trying to help."

"You need not take the blame for anything," the CSO reported. "Obviously, Nexi's emotions run deep. This event may have happened to help her confront those feelings and find the help she needs. She wishes to be free, but the emotions have her chained."

"Well I don't doubt you're right about her, but I just can't help wondering if I triggered something that is going to blow up in everyone's face."

"Under the circumstances Doctor, I suggest we end the festivities for this evening," the Vulcan suggested without emotion.

"Perhaps, you are right Commander." Ethan admitted.

Lieutenant Commander Sinek tilted his head and said good night to both men, then exited their quarters. In his mind, he was wondering how people of other races considered emotions as helpful.

Ethan turned to Dylan and said,'Well, that went swimmingly."

Having remained silent for the entire exchange, Dylan finally sat forward and said "Does that mean we're done with playing matchmaker from now on? Because I would really be okay with that." he leaned forward and picked up a lettuce leaf out of the salad bowl and quipped "Told you she was kinda nuts."

"Oh I am so done trying to play matchmaker hun and yeah let's finish our dinner, clean up and go to bed.
End/Tag?
A joint post by

Lt. Ethan Chaparral
ACMO

Lt. Dylan Santiago
Chief Intelligence Officer