One Step Closer

Posted on 18 Aug 2013 @ 3:51pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Ammar Fahad

1,895 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 02 - 0805 hrs

[ON]

With a mug of warm and frothy hot chocolate in her hands, Lirha settled down into her office's plush chair and let out a sift sigh. It was early in the morning and her shift had just begun, yet already the stack of PADDs on the corner of the desk waiting for her attention was piled high. She twiddled her thumbs for a long moment then finally picked up the first one, and began to sort through any pending administrative work which required her immediate attention.

Ammar walked through the bridge toward the Captain's ready room. He hadn't had much trouble finding it, which wasn't a surprise. Most ships had the Commanding Officer's Office right off the bridge. He straightened his uniform coat before pressing the chime.

Hearing the door chime sound, Lirha called out softly from behind her desk, then gently placed the PADD she was reading down on the table and looked towards the door to see who her visitor was. "Enter."

The doors opened, revealing a man with red-rimmed eyes with dark bags under them. His skin was pale, and the uniform he wore was just too large for him. It was clean, however, and that was something.

He entered the room and stood at weary attention. He tried hard to maintain the stiff backed posture required, and managed by sheer force alone. "Lieutenant Ammar Fahad, reporting for duty."

Lirha took notice of the man who walked in, silently commenting to herself that he looked a bit worse for the weather. In particular, he looked very fatigued, but he was here nonetheless and apparently...reporting in? She frowned, not expecting another officer to be joining her ranks so soon or reporting in in the middle of the Setisar Nebula. Perhaps she had overlooked a transfer request?

"At ease, lieutenant." she replied, trying to recall his name on one of the last pending transfer reports she had read, yet to no avail. "Please have a seat." she motioned with her green hand towards a vacant chair across the desk from her.

He visibly relaxed and sunk into one of the chairs opposite the Captain's desk. "I was just released from sickbay. I'm sorry for my appearance. One of your security officers was kind enough to lend me a spare uniform. My other one was ruined."

It wasn't exactly on topic, but then again, having gotten almost no sleep in more than 48 hours, a sneak attack by the Borg, and a harrowing day spent barely keeping another man alive would make anyone's mind wander a bit.

Lirha nodded at his brief explanation then suddenly the pieces of the puzzle began to click in her head. "Ah, I see. I admit...you had me a bit confused. I was not expecting any new officers to arrive before we returned to the Rojar system...but I am assuming if you were in sickbay, you were on board USS Venture?" she surmised, also with a bit of sympathy for the man if he had indeed been part of that hellish ambush. It was an experience no Starfleet officer should have to live through, in her opinion.

Fahad nodded, "I was set to transfer to Galileo when Venture met up out here." He shrugged, "The Chief Engineer pulled some strings to delay the transfer. Apparently he needed some additional officers to work on some issues he was having."

He looked down and then back up at his Commanding Officer, "We were some of the last to make it to the escape pods."

Ammar frowned, "I would present my transfer orders, but they were in my quarters on Venture." He rubbed his face tiredly, "I'm sure my file is accessible in your computer."

"I would hope so." she answered with a wry grin. As unorthodox as it was for a new senior officer to arrive without transfer orders in his hand, the lieutenant's explanation was more than valid, and considering the circumstances, it was quite alright with her. "I am pleased to hear you are in good health after the disaster aboard your vessel." she commented, "Now let us see about your transfer..." she mumbled as she activated her desk's LCARS terminal and began to sift through Starfleet's personnel files pertaining to her ship.

"Ah yes," she piped up after a short moment when Fahad's file and service record finally popped up on her screen, "you are indeed scheduled to transfer to Galileo. Excellent." she added, then leaned back in her chair and began a standard new-department head interview. "First things first, can you tell me a bit about yourself and your previous assignments? The information here in your file is most useful, but I prefer to hear you tell your own story."

"Uh," Ammar took a deep breath and shook his head, "um, I enlisted when I was eighteen. I've served on a number of ships, mostly in salvage and response. I got the nickname MacGyver because I can piece things together pretty well. Mmm," the man took another deep breath and blinked a few times, "I eventually got a degree and got a commission. Since then I've served on India and then I got transferred here."

It was a short version, and clearly just the bare bones. "I'm sure you wanted more, ma'am, but I'm just not thinking too well right now. Not enough sleep."

Lirha nodded in understanding. She didn't want to push the new officer too hard, especially with all that he had just been through, but she also had a few questions remaining. "That seems like a prudent career path," she commented with a small smile, "And what made you request your transfer to Galileo? Or, were you simply assigned this new post?"

The tired engineer looked up at his Captain. "I was transferred here after being turned down for promotion aboard India. The Chief Engineer there thought that a position would be a better career move for me than remaining as his assistant. So far that hasn't really been the case though." He grinned. It was a wry smile.

Despite the trauma of barely surviving an attack like that, the small attempt at humor was a good sign.

She returned the man's smile with a small and sympathetic one of her own. "Is this your first time serving aboard a Nova Class starship? If so, how do you feel about operating aboard such a small vessel? We are quite different than Venture and even smaller than India." she proceeded to ask.

Ammar nodded, "It is my first time aboard a Nova class. I'm pretty familiar with the systems. Despite being half the size of India, I believe I'll have a bigger team to work with than I did there."

"Well, there will be six of you in our Engineering department." she informed him. "A standard compliment for most Novas, but it does mean that there are usually only two on duty per shift. Fortunately, our Operations department is available to assist should you need an extra hand with any maintenance and/or repairs."

He nodded. "Smaller than my last department, albeit not by much." The comment was nearly muttered. "That should be fine," he said more clearly, "we ought to be fine, barring any extreme circumstances." He didn't add on the, 'Like we might face with the Borg around.'

"I agree. We have made it this far with an even smaller team, and no doubt our former-chief engineer, Lieutenant Peers, will appreciate the extra help." she paused for a long moment to look through Fahad's Starfleet file on her computer, checking to make sure there were any abnormalities or issues which he had neglected to mention. As far as she could tell, there weren't any, which was always a relief.

After tapping several button sequences on the keypad, she nodded to herself then looked back at the new engineer. "Everything appears to be in order so I have just approved your transfer." she gave him another small smile. "Welcome aboard, lieutenant. Though, as I mentioned, I wish it were under better circumstances. Do you have any questions for me before you report to duty?"

It took the man a second before he looked up at the Captain. "Wait, the former chief is still aboard?" That could cause some serious issues, many senior officers didn't like giving up their position, and even if they were okay with it, they felt that they were better equipped to lead than their replacement.

It was also just then that he realized that his Commanding Officer was an Orion. It was blatantly obvious, the green skin gave it away, but his level of exhaustion was such that it had escaped his notice.

"Yes, Lieutenant Peers is our former chief engineer but has recently been reassigned to the assistant chief position. I unfortunately cannot provide you with many details, but she is still on board and a member of your department." Lirha explained to the best of her ability. There had been much ambiguity surrounding Peer's recent change in position, and it was not a subject which Lirha particularly wanted to explain in detail.

Fahad took the hint. "Is there anything I should be concerned about in my department?" He hoped there wasn't more than a former chief there.

Lirha thought about his concerns for only the briefest moment before shaking her head. "No. Our current engineering team has done an outstanding job with their duties over the past ten months, and so far I have not received a single complain regarding any crew member." she answered with a bit of pride glinting in her green eyes.

"As for our systems, they are performing slightly above specifications thanks to the diligent work of Lieutenant Peers and our recent upgrades at Vega Colony a couple months ago. All in all, Engineering is performing exceptionally well." she added.

That sounded good. Very few ships got by without a single complaint in an entire year. "I'm glad to hear it, ma'am."

He looked to the Captain and said, "Before I go, I should let you know that I was ordered to get at least eight hours of sleep prior to beginning normal duties. Apparently sleep deprivation isn't good for a department head."

Nodding to her new chief engineer, Lirha knew she couldn't refuse such a request especially considering the condition Fahad appeared to be in. "Yes, of course. Actually...if you are able, I would like for you to get a full twelve hours. You look like it would do you some good." she replied with understanding.

"I think I can manage that. Or at least close." He smiled, "Is there anything else you need from me, Captain?"

"Nothing for now." she answered as she leaned back in her chair. "You are dismissed, lieutenant. I will see you for our next morning briefing tomorrow at 0745."

"Thank you, ma'am. I will see you then." He trudged out of the room, wondering if he had missed anything. He was certain that he had. Only a few more errands to run before he finally had the chance to get some rest.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

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