Surprised to see anyone in the mess hall at this time in the early morning hours, Campbell paused as he saw his yeoman sitting on one of the circular tables. Knight had a desktop computer in front of him and tablets on either side of him as he worked hard at whatever he was doing. He hadn’t heard Campbell enter, so the captain called out to him. 

“Romeo, what are you doing up at this time in the morning?”

Hearing his name, the young yeoman turned around and automatically stood to attention at seeing his captain before him. “Sorry, sir. I wanted to get ahead with sorting out department reports.” 

Gesturing for him to sit back down, Campbell walked over to him. Like him, Knight was wearing his civilian clothes. A pair of grey joggers, a white t-shirt under a dark green hoodie that had the words: LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY etched across it. “I appreciate the dedication to your work Romeo, but seriously you should be in bed asleep. Can this not wait until the morning?”

Knight slightly smiled before answering. “It could, but I’d prefer to keep ahead of things, sir.”

“Romeo, all work and no play makes Romeo a dull boy,” Campbell stated as he looked down at the tablets to see what he was doing. “Need a hand?” 

“No, it’s fine, sir. I can do the work. Thank you,” Knight answered nervously.

“Romeo, seriously, we’ve known each other long enough now that you know I won’t bust your ass for not doing your work,” Campbell explained. “Listen, how about I fix us up with some drinks and raid the snacks that chef keeps hidden away, and we get this done together.”

 Knight eventually relented and agreed with a nod. “Thank you, sir, that’s very kind of you.” He paused. “The issue is, I’ve had a problem sleeping recently.”

“Oh?” Campbell asked, sounding concerned as he stood up to get some drinks. “Nothing serious, I hope?”

Shaking his head lightly several times, Knight shared what was keeping him up. “I’m sharing quarters with a couple of technicians from engineering who one of them snores and the other talks in his sleep. If I don’t find something to help me fall asleep, then I’m awake most nights.”

“How come you’ve changed quarters?” Campbell enquired as he walked over to the drink dispenser and ordered two hot chocolates. He then proceeded to the hatch, where chef put some snacks out for those on gamma and delta shifts.

“We had to move around due to the damage sustained during the Orion attack. My quarters with Crewmember Merriman are still uninhabitable due to the environmental controls not being repaired yet.” Knight answered. 

“And I take it they weren’t repaired while we were at Risa?” Campbell said after finding two slices of chocolate cake with the thickest chocolate cream on top waiting for him. Picking those up along with the drinks, he carefully balanced the plates on one arm while carrying the mugs in his other hand. 

Knight shook his head. “It’s one of the many areas that were missed out.” He picked up a tablet and showed it to the captain. “The repairs, from what Lieutenant Leclerc says in his report, were pretty basic.”

“That’s annoying,” Campbell said as he sat down and passed Knight his midnight snack. “Well, I’m happy for you to move into one of the guest’s quarters for now.” 

Knight was taken back by that. “Are you sure, sir?”

Picking up his mug, Campbell nodded. “We’re not planning on picking anyone up on our way home. Do it.”

Knight smiled. “I appreciate that, sir.” 

“I can’t have my yeoman falling asleep while in the middle of a briefing,” Campbell said.

Knight chuckled, “No, sir, I’m sure I don’t want to repeat what happened on the Poseidon during my first month.”

Straight away, Campbell chuckled, “Ah yes, I’m recalling a very young, eager crewman wanting to impress their first officer by saying they shared all of the same interests, and after several stints of those interests, he was found by said first officer asleep in a shuttlepod.”

“Not my finest hour, sir, I’d admit,” Knight admitted as he picked at the cake with his fork.

Poseidon (NP-01)

Monday 21st April 2155 

“Ollie, where are you off to at this hour at night dressed like that?” Captain Paulsen asked as she stepped out of main engineering and saw her first officer walking down the corridor. She gestured at his attire.

Commander Oliver Campbell looked down at his appearance; wearing just a pair of sporty-looking shorts, a black vest and a pair of boxing gloves over his left shoulder, he couldn’t see the problem. “I’m off to write a romance novel.” He sarcastically said with a smirk. 

Chuckling a bit at his sense of humour, she lightly slapped his left shoulder. “No, come on; honestly, it’s gone past twenty-one hundred hours. Are you really going to do exercise at this time of night?” She checked.

“I am, and it’s with your new yeoman.” He replied.

“You two seem to spend a lot of time together recently. Should I be worried?” Paulsen said, still with a smirk as they crossed a junction and went down another corridor. “Do I need to remind you that you’re a married man?”

Rolling his eyes, Campbell shook his head. He and Paulsen were close; she adored his husband Fynn and often reminded him how lucky he was. Though right now, things between him and Fynn were pretty patchy. Fynn sent him a letter a few months ago saying he wanted to separate. His need to not be a Starfleet widow was at the forefront of his thoughts. “You don’t need to remind me right now, but there’s nothing wrong with me having a bit of fun.”

Paulsen paused and placed her hand in front of Campbell to stop in his tracks. Looking around, she made sure no one was in earshot. “Ollie, I know you and Fynn’s marriage is on the rocks right now, but don’t make it worse.”

“Is that an order as my captain or advice as my friend?” Campbell said for a moment. 

She considered his question before answering. “Both,” She eventually said. “I really like Mister Knight; he is very efficient and dedicated. Unlike some other yeomen I’ve had, he is proactive and knows how to make a blinding mug of coffee.”

“He is good,” Campbell admitted.

“And I like that you’ve taken him under your wing as a mentor, but that’s all it needs to be, Ollie. Are we clear?” Paulsen said as she placed her hands on her hips. “You told me the other day you loved Fynn and want to make it up to him and see what you can repair with him.”

Hating that she was right, Campbell sighed heavy and nodded. “You’re right.”

“For better or worse,” Paulsen said, reminding him of his vows. “Knight is a handsome lad, but keep to just a purely platonic relationship.”

“Okay,” Campbell whined, “I get it. I can’t play with the new toy!” He mockingly said back to her like a child having a strop over not getting their own way.

She chuckled. “Now, that’s not the response I expect from the first officer I’ve trained and moulded these last two years.”

Taking a breath, Campbell knew she was right. “That’s true.” He paused again. “I’m sorry, I should be aware of how I take things with Knight.”

“You’re a leader now, Ollie and a well-respected one here on the ship. It’s nice you two share almost the same interests,” Paulsen said as they carried on walking down the corridor, “though I’m not sure how genuine he was being with you the other day about liking soccer. Did he really understand the off-side rule?”

“He was partially right,” Campbell said. “And who said there’s nothing wrong with him sucking up to a superior?”

Paulsen paused again and gave Campbell a ‘look’ of not being impressed with that.

“I’m joking!” Campbell said quickly in defence. “He’s a smart kid, but you may be right. He may be trying too hard.”

“So, are you really going to do boxing with him?” She asked.

He nodded. “He may change his mind; I said I’d meet him in the hangar bay before we have a little spar.”

“This I have to see,” Paulsen replied as they walked towards Campbell’s destination.

Entering the bay, Campbell called out for Knight, and when he didn’t get a response after the third time, he looked a bit worried. Exchanging the same concern with Paulsen, they both noticed the hatch on Shuttlepod Two open. Stepping over to it, both peered in and soon found Knight sitting at the back, snoring his head off.  

Both officers looked at each other, sharing a grin before Campbell shook the young crewmember awake. “Hey, Romeo, wake up!” He called in a low voice.

Knight quickly sprung to life; the tablets over his chest all fell to the floor as he appeared startled and looked around his settings. “Oh my god, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep here.” He looked to his superiors and tried to stand to attention.

Chuckling somewhat, Campbell indicated for him to calm down with a simple hand gesture. “Romeo, it’s okay. You’ve had a busy few weeks.” He looked at Paulsen, then back to the yeoman. “How about we postpone our session tonight and pick up at another point? You need to head to bed and get some rest.”

Paulsen nodded in approval with Campbell’s direction and response. 

Knight shook his head, “No, sir, I’ll be fine. I promise.” He said, sounding eager.

“Romeo, it’s not a suggestion. It’s an order.” Campbell said with a friendly smile. “We can’t have you burning yourself out.”

“Listen to him, Mister Knight,” Paulsen added. “Go home, get some rest and then why don’t you join us both for breakfast tomorrow at oh-eight hundred hours in my mess hall. We can catch up over some toast and tea.”

Appreciating the offer, Knight nodded. “Thank you, ma’am, sir.” He said to them. He got up and left the shuttlepod straight away.

As soon as he left, Campbell looked at Paulsen, “So fancy going a few rounds?” He said, looking at his gloves.

“Ollie,” Paulsen said as she started to walk away from him, “you wouldn’t last five seconds with me in the ring.” She left the hangar bay, leaving her first officer and chief helm officer behind with that thought to consider.