Changing The Guard

Posted on 27 Oct 2014 @ 4:43pm by Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Norvi Stace & Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant Commander Amynta Markos

1,821 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: Starbase 84 - Deck 22 - Meeting Room
Timeline: MD06 1400hrs

[ON]

Having followed a map of his own to reach the correct section of the Starbase, John let out a sigh of relief of no longer having to negotiate the corners and corridors of the enormous facility. Having sent for the necessary officers he required for this engagement, John resigned himself to simply sitting at the meeting table in the centre of the room, and waited for his crew.

The meeting facilities of the Starbase were similar to anything that would be found on a starship - a rectangular gunmetal grey table sat in the middle of the room with the Starfleet emblem etched into the centre, with a chair at either end and three seats on either side, making a total capacity of 8. On the walls hung a few small pieces of artwork, mostly of stellar phenomena near to the Starbase.

Out of the three, Stace seemed to enter first and greeted the captain with widened eyes and an open smile. She briskly nodded to him as she walked in and over to the table. "Captain," she said by way of hello and took a seat on one of the sides of the table.

She hadn't spent much time throughout the previous mission progressing her relationship with her captain, and actually couldn't remember being in the same room as him without thirteen department heads jostling for floor space and the spotlight. It wasn't uncomfortable for the Trill, nor familiar, just unprecedented. As she lowered herself into the seat, she turned to face him fully. "How are you, Sir?"

John remained relatively silent, as a rule he liked to keep things strictly professional when things related to his position as Captain were involved, and this was turning out to be nothing less. Orders from the Admiralty needed to be carried out efficiently and within the given time frame.

"Fine thank you Lieutenant" He replied curtly, not bothering to ask for a response at this time.

When the door opened next, Andreus Kohl entered the room. His pace was an approximation of a Starfleet march. If Stace had spent little time with the Captain, Kohl's shared experiences with the Captain would be considered microscopic. Kohl nodded at Holliday --but held back a salute-- and he said, "Captain," in his most formal timbre. Kohl turned to Stace, turned his whole body to keep his face out of Holliday's line of sight. He grinned at Stace goofily as he greeted her with a brief, "Lieutenant," and he followed it up with a widening of his sapphire eyes that seemed to ask, what did we do wrong?

Stace beamed a glance back and raised her eyebrows in surrender of the understood question. She then broke into a smile and replied with, "Hullo, Lieutenant."

Keeping his gaze solely on Stace, Kohl answered back with something colloquial that came out of the universal translator as, "Howdy." After one last worried look, Kohl continued his grin as he eased himself into the chair beside Stace. Kohl folded his hands on the table and he turned an impassive expression in Holliday's direction.

Markos frowned as she entered, dressed properly in her skirt uniform. Truth was, she never felt quite at ease when called in to the Captain. She always expected some shoe to drop. She gave a nod to Holliday, moving to sit down, taking a slow breath. The starbase was, at best, a gathering of meeting rooms in her eyes.

When Kohl turned his head and saw Markos arrive --looking severe as ever-- it all fell into place in his head. They thought he and Stace were spies working for the Cardassians, he assumed, and this was to be their interrogation.

"Thank you all for coming." Holliday began, taking a moment to look at the three faces sat around the table, yet keeping his voice sombre and mellow.

"As you are all aware, our last mission provided some rather stressful moments - the impact on both the ship and the crew were extensive, and as such the capabilities of many were tested."

Pushing his chair back from the desk John rose to his feet, stepping slowly to one side to examine some of the framed images on the wall, stopping to look at one in particular of the Horsehead nebula - something he knew well, and had taken students there several times as an Academy instructor as part of their tactical training.

"All three of you showed your true colours during our last mission, and as such I received orders to take the required actions. If you would please stand?"

John returned to the table, and reached underneath it to produce a small golden box with a hinged lid. Waiting for the group to come to their feet, he moved towards them.

"Lieutenant Norvi Stace. I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and assign you to the post of Second Officer with all the rights and privileges thereof. Congratulations."

Reaching up to the woman's collar, John reached up to add a third pip, this time a hollow one to sit alongside the two existing gold.

"Congratulations Lieutenant Commander. You have some rather interesting challenges coming up."

Stace's blank look said it all. Her slender fingers flew up elegantly to her collar, rounding the onyx pip with their tips. But second officer? This was a surprise. A grunt was formed in the back of her throat and all she could really utter was, "Um, thanks," before she turned to cut Kohl a look of delight. She suddenly straightened up and nodded fiercely at him. "I won't let you down, Sir!"

It had been hard for the Trill during her second career in Starfleet. She knew that having been a captain prior that certain allowances and adjustments had to be made. Not everyone would listen to what she had to say any longer, and that innate respect that rank grants someone was now lost in the murky haze of distant memories.

Kohl grinned over at Stace, and her worthy accomplishment. This time, he didn't hide his smile.

Moving along, John stopped in front of their medic-turned-science-officer, Andreus Kohl. He too had been through some experiences during his tenure aboard the Galileo and as such he could think of nobody further suited to the role he had in mind.

"Lieutenant Andreus Kohl. For your conduct aboard this vessel I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and assign you to the post of Chief Research Officer, effective immediately."

Reaching up John added a hollow pip to the man's collar to match that of his Department Head.

In response, Kohl said, "Thank you, sir," but his astonishment made the words come out at a whisper. Kohl had hardly noticed the promotion in rank. He was an officer. These things happened some times. He was so consumed by his whirlwind of thoughts, Kohl hardly even noticed when Holliday added the pip to his collar. Rather, what had astonished Kohl was the change in position. Chief Research Officer. He hadn't been expecting that one.

With a nod, John moved to the final member of the trio, and the only one of the three not in the teal uniform of the sciences division. Markos had served with him for some time now, and whilst not always the most noticed officer aboard, she was certainly one of the most vocal and one of the most attentive.

"And finally Lieutenant Markos. Effective immediately I promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Congratulations."

Reaching into the box for the final hollow pip, John completed his trio of promotions. The three officers had earned their new ranks, and the Captain was secretly pleased to see them advancing through their careers. He too had been only a Lieutenant Commander when he had joined the crew of the Galileo as First Officer, and now he had a command of his own. It simply proved to him that the possibilities were endless for those who applied themselves.

Amynta watched Holliday closely before giving a small nod. "Thank you, Captain," she said, her voice firm. Truth was, she didn't find herself particulary deserving of it, considering what had been going on in her department. Hex's injury, the Intelligence Operative they had extracted in a less than conventional way, even the whole debacle with investigating someone in her own department and her Assistant Chief having a baby. Intelligence had felt, and still did feel, like a mess in her eyes. It would only really be a matter of time before she said or did something and got demoted. So she wasn't going to keep her hopes up for it lasting.

"Well." John began, retreating back to his seat before settling in to sit across from his officers.

"That concludes the meeting - any questions Lieutenant Commanders?" He finished with a smile, enjoying the fact that he was the first person to address the trio by their new respect ranks.

Kohl shook his head. It was a languid movement, his responses slowed by how disorientated he was feeling. "No, sir," Kohl said, keeping it simple. But he knew there would be plenty-o-questions to come.

Amynta shook her head, keeping quiet as she watched Holliday. Yes, she still wasn't exactly sure she'd last with it, but that wasn't something she'd mention to her Captain.


"Very well - consider yourselves dismissed. Carry on." Holliday replied, moving his hand in a swiping gesture to indicate the door.

Moving towards the door, Kohl walked in step beside Stace. He bumped her in the hips on one side and leaned close to whisper, "Not even a hint, huh? You let me walk in here thinking I'm a Cardassian sleeper spy?"

Stace cut Kohl a look as they disappeared beyond the threshold of the room. At his jest, she burst into a smile and jostled him with her shoulder, knocking him a little off balance. "I couldn't say anything, could I? But I've been looking for your replacement for a few days now."

"You may select a new Assistant Chief," Kohl said, "But I don't imagine you can replace me. Not if those people" --he waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the ceiling-- "think I'm Chief Research Officer material."

"It's well-deserved though," she replied to him and they both stood next to Markos. "Congratulations to you, too, Commander," Stace smiled, nodding to her. "It'll be a fun year, I think."

Amynta looked at Stace for a moment before nodding weakly. "I suppos it might be. And congratulation too," she said frowning as she walked away from the others.



[OFF]


CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Commander Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer & Second Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Commander Amynta Markos
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

RSS Feed