How to meet the CO (And not be an idiot)

Posted on 12 Jun 2012 @ 10:16am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Aria Rice

2,060 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo - Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 07 - 1915 hrs

[ON]

With time dwindling down on their transfer deadline and less than an hour left to return to SB-152 for final checks, Lirha sat in her office scrambling to read through the latest incoming inventory reports. The amount of equipment, belongings, and personnel being brought on board was somewhat staggering for such a small ship, and Galileo's operations personnel were having difficulties allocating additional emergency space. With a sigh, the captain hunched over her desk and ran a hand through her dark hair as she focused on the PADD in front of her.

Okay...be cool. Be calm. Be collected. Aria sucked in a deep breath, doing another double check of her uniform. Okay, she looked neat. Hair pinned up...smart look. Makeup good, she had checked it. She took a few breaths and then rang the chime.

"Enter." Lirha called out absentmindedly from behind her desk, her mind consumed in thought as she attempted to sort out a new personnel problem. Hearing the swish of the door, she looked up to see who had entered.

Aria walked in, slowly, a bit unsure. Wow. She hadn't been around many orions before and her CO was...well, stunning. "Ma'am? Ensign Aria Rice...new transfer, ma'am. Reporting...in."'

The captain took in the sight of the young gold-collared ensign with a bit of curiosity. Her body was slim, rather short yet her hair was dark and striking, contrasted well by her light skin and blue eyes. She was quite attractive yet Lirha thought she looked old enough to be a cadet, at best. She couldn't be a security officer. A new operations crewman, perhaps? The last six hours had been so busy that she had not had time to review all of the new personnel coming aboard. Clearing her throat, she nodded and politely motioned towards the vacant chair in front of her. "Have a seat, Ensign." she offered, then straightened herself in her chair to look over her new crewman. "Your transfer orders?" she asked, waiting for the woman to produce her PADD and present it to her.

"Oh. Right...yes, ma'am," Aria took her PADD and offered it over, giving a smile as she took a seat. "Fresh off the USS Nova, ma'am. Captain sends his regards." Whatever that might have meant. It had been a bit of an awkward sendoff to be quite honest and she knew that her former CO had been relatively happy seeing the back of her. Which was fair enough, she hadn't made a great impression on him. But this was her chance to do good, to be good ather job and grow up. She studied the other woman with barely held back awe. The green skin looked flawless. Like one of those holomodels you could see in the more historical hologames. The ones where you did get away with blowing your ship up.

Lirha took the PADD from the ensign and quickly scanned through it, taking note of the important details in Aria's service record. She smiled at the mention of USS Nova's commanding officer, Captain Andre Michaels. He had been a senior cadet at the Academy during first year Lirha had arrived, and he had become quite...infatuated with Lirha during the school year. She had had a brief casual encounter with him, just once, and it warmed her inside to know that she still sparked his interest. Hmm.. she quietly thought to herself as she breezed through the file. Her eyes had settled on a note from Aria's commanding officer in which he mentioned the young Human woman's...attitude. "So what brings you to Galileo?" she asked, curious about the reasons behind her transfer. "Did you request this assignment, or were you transferred?" she inquired. The captain looked back up at the young woman, noticing her blue eyes intently studying her. Lirha returned the gaze for a brief moment, giving her a small smile.

Aria looked at her before taking a breath, snapping back into what she was here for. "Transferred, ma'am. Didn't request much..." she admitted openly, lifting her chin a little. She didn't want to look defeated. So instead she smiled warmly, trying to keep it easy. She was so curious to what was on the PADD, but...well. She knew better than to try and hack that stuff. It was a no go zone. "But I am hoping it will be mutually benefitial for me and the USS Galileo, ma'am." There. Diplomatic. She almost felt proud, that was a mouthful and a half to get out, especially since she was nervous. Her palms were sweaty and she rubbed her hands over her uniform trousers.

Lirha nodded silently at the explanation and turned her eyes back towards the PADD in her hands. So...she was a member of the security department, afterall, the captain thought to herself with a bit of surprise. Lirha should have known better than to judge a person by their statue, but she still couldn't help but think that Aria was rather petite for such a job. "It's good to see that you have previous experience aboard a Nova Class vessel." she commented, "How did you find life aboard Nova?" she asked, wondering how well, if at all, the young woman had settled into her routine aboard one of Starfleet's smallest and cramped starships.

"Very grateful that it isn't a Defiant, ma'am," she replied with all honesty, her eyes warm. "I mean, I know the layout. And small spaces don't bother me much..." it was said with humour. She was small enough to find most bigger ships daunting. "I like the feeling of a ship this size. It's...a bit more social. A bit more...real, ma'am. More a village, less a city as some would say..." she wanted to be honest too. She didn't mind it.

"I'm rather fond it as well." the captain mused in a quiet voice, a slow smile spreading across her gold lips. Many of her own sentiments had just been voiced by the young security officer, and Lirha agreed that she preferred the coziness of Galileo over the enormous decks of the latest Elysium Class. "How long were you aboard One-Five-Two?" she asked curiously.

"About ten minutes," she said and smiled warmly, shaking her head. "One shuttle to the next, ma'am...best thing really..." she and looked down. "Not sure what I would do if I stuck at there, you know? I wanted to come here, get settled and all that...and I am. Lots of things sorted, ma'am."

Lirha held back a grin. The ensign appeared to have a lot of...energy. And that was good, she thought, as it would help relieve the stress in the coming days. "I'm glad to hear." she replied, then paused as she thought for a moment. "Is Nova still in the sector?" she asked, wondering about her sister ship's whereabouts. If Nova was nearby, perhaps they could be of assistance during Galileo's return voyage.

"Yes, ma'am, she is still around," she said and smiled gently. "Not sure for how long though, she needs to do a restock," she chuckled softly. "I think the rumour is that we were so bored we drank her dry..." the smile faded when she realised what she had said. "Ma'am...I mean no disrepsect, it was...just a joke, ma'am. Very bad taste...I apologise..."

"Relax, Ensign," she replied quietly with a shake of head and mischievous eyes, "It's not the first time I've heard of such a thing..." her voice trailed off as she took a final glance at Aria's file. Lirha would have to send a message to Captain Michaels at the earliest convenience, but for now, her attention remained focused on the new officer in front of her. Seeing that everything was in order, she pressed her thumb into the PADD and signed off on the transfer. There seemed to be quite a large number of new security personnel, which was a comforting feeling given the circumstances of their current mission. "Well, I've just approved your transfer. Welcome aboard." she said with a smile, then shifted herself in her chair. "Have you had a chance to check in with your department head, Lieutenant Orexil?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," she nodded as she held her eyes. "I had a meeting with her yesterday. I look forward to working under her..." she stopped and frowned slightly. "She suggested that we would...link. Telepathically. She has that arrangment with other people in her staff, as far as I understand."

The captain lifted an eyebrow. She recalled the security chief wanting to do a similar exercise with her right in this same room. And of course, being the adventurous Orion that she was, Lirha had agreed. The experience had been quite intense, though not unpleasant, and it was a very efficient means of communicating and sharing experiences. "If you feel comfortable then please proceed, however if you are uncertain or have doubts, I do not want you to feel that such a practice is mandatory." she suggested, "From what I have seen, Lieutenant Orexil is very capable and...passionate about her work. There is no doubt that she only wishes to help." she said.

"Oh, I understand that!" she smiled to her CO, giving a small smile. "I suppose I...don't want to sound...xenophobic," she said and looked down. "If I say no, I mean. I don't want to be accused of that, because I am not. I just...sort of like...my head. With my own voice. My own thoughts...and other stupid things."

Lirha smiled a bit. "I understand." she said with a nod, "I don't think anyone will point a finger at you for refusing a telepathic exchange. But there are several Betazoids serving aboard Galileo and it might not be a bad idea to take Lieutenant Orexil up on her offer." she said with a wink.

She nodded, smiling to Lirha as she took a breath. "I will give it all the consideration it is worthy of," she said and smiled to her, chuckling. "I am happy to be here, ma'am. I promise." She felt the need to assure her of it, because she wanted to let her know that this wasn't just because she had been transferred. She wanted her to know she would take this opportunity and grip it.

"I'm glad to hear." the captain replied, holding Aria's gaze for a moment before shifting in her chair again. It was always a comforting feeling to meet new and ambitious officers, and Aria reminded Lirha a lot of herself when she was that age. Well...her passion, at least. "Do you have any questions for me that you would to ask?" she asked, wanting to afford the young security officer the chance to inquire about her new assignment.

"No ma'am," she shook her head, smiling gently. "I suspect all my general questions will be answered when I report for duty..." she admitted softly. She had questions, but not those a CO needed to concern herself about.

"Very well, then. Welcome aboard Galileo." Lirha said with a nod, then handed Aria's PADD back to her with the transfer approval. "I apologize for the short meeting, but I have much to attend to in the next hour. Commander Remington from Operations is available to help you get settled, should you require his assistance." she added, pushing a stray lock of dark hair back behind her ear.

She stood and nodded, her eyes warm as she took the PADD. "Thank you, ma'am," she said and gave a small nod. "Don't work too hard...ma'am," she winked, her eyes shining as waited to officially be dismissed. Protocol had to be followed.

"I'll try my best." Lirha replied with a knowing smile. "Dismissed, Ensign." she said simply.

"Thank you, ma'am," Aria nodded before leaving, giving a small smile. She considered that an utter success...a massive success. Gosh, she...she hadn't made too much of a fool out of herself. As the doors closed behind her she stopped and then jumped. "Yes!"

[OFF]

Ensign Aria Rice
Security Officer
USS Galileo

&

CMDR Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

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