Changing Factions

Posted on 31 May 2015 @ 9:33pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D.

1,647 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Atlas/ USS Galileo - Private Offices
Timeline: MD 02 - 1140 hrs

[ON]

Thumbing her desk's LCARS terminal's keypad with a lithe green digit, Lirha brought the dark screen to life and began to tap away on the controls in order to begin yet another important communique aboard Galileo for the purpose of keeping the crew's hierarchy intact. Hierarchy was a bit of a crude word, she supposed...rather it was the proper order and efficiency of the starship which needed to be maintained, and it didn't help that the Nova-class had been left rather understaffed on such quick notice causing both Lirha and John to scramble to find temporary replacement officers and new permanent department heads.

"Computer, open a secure channel to USS Galileo. Oren Idris' office," she instructed, then watched the familiar blue and gold Starfleet emblem begin to spin on the monitor while the system processed the request and attempted to open a comm link.

Nose stuck in a paDD detailing the specific practices involved in Lysian childbirth, Oren was tempted to cut the comm after the beep startled him. Leaning forward as if that would somehow help him ascertain the nature of the call, Oren realised just how long it had been beeping and answered. While the link was established, Oren stared down at the length of his body to make sure his clothes were properly set against his slight frame. As the face of Admiral Saalm came into view, Oren couldn't hide the surprised look in his face.

"Admiral!" he said, tilting his head curiously. Finally getting hold of his manner, he gave the woman a friendly smile. "To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure?"

The green eyes, blond hair, and boyish features of the El-Aurian came into view across the monitor, and Lirha politely smiled at Oren while trying to do her best to not think of him as an average teenager. Not that she did on a regular basis -- in fact, he was probably older than she was -- but often times it was hard to look past appearances, especially for some of the less refined races such as Humans.

"Hello, Mister Idris," she said in a light and pleasant voice. "I hope I am not disturbing you?"

"Nothing I can't toss aside to speak to you, Admiral," Oren said, pushing the paDD he'd been reading aside. "What can I do for you?" Oren was just now recovering from the surprise of her call as it wasn't often that the Rear Admiral, or anyone of higher rank, spoke to him directly. It was always a strange experience for Oren because, apart from the inspection, he's never really seen Saalm and Holliday. To him, they were more ideas than actual people. It was easier to apply romantic attributes to ideas. People had flaws and he didn't like the person making all the calls (including whether they all lived or died) to have flaws.

It was easier to sleep at night that way.

"There are a couple matters I would like to discuss with you," began Saalm somewhat casually. "I am not sure if you are aware, but recently several of our senior officers have departed Galileo after being reassigned on short notice?" She wasn't exactly sure how much Oren was aware of or if he'd been kept in the loop so-to-speak, and she felt it best to not make any premature
assumptions.

"Yes, I'm aware," Oren nodded, resting his hands in front of his on the desk. The departure of Prudence was the one that had affected him directly and, through it, he'd learned of the others. It was a sad reality of Starfleet life.

Good, thought Lirha with a mental nod, secretly happy that she didn't have to once again explain the personnel reassignments to yet another one of the crew. "As you can imagine," she continued, "this has created some vacancies aboard Galileo and also in the task group. Captain Holliday and I have had to move several of the crew to new positions, including Commander Stace who is now the first officer. And...with her promotion to the Command department, Lieutenant Commander Kohl had been moved to chief science officer..."

It was only due to countless years of mingling with fussy scientists and fickle professors that Oren managed to keep a straight face at that moment. Kohl, the new Chief Science officer? The Starfleet way of just pushing people up the line of succession reminded Oren of his University days and studying monarchies across different cultures. As soon as one heir succumbed to a deadly disease or poison or assassination, the rest were pushed forward.

Instead of reacting the way he would once the conversation was over, Oren simply nodded to the good Admiral.

"Good for them," he said finally. "I'm sure they will both acclimate to their new roles very quickly. They're very capable officers." Oren spoke diplomatically, still unsure of what the Admiral wanted. Surely, he would've found out about all of this sooner or later. There was no reason for the Rear Admiral to call him about it unless it affected him directly. Perhaps he was getting transferred as well, Oren thought. The idea alone sent a slight chill through him.

Despite his negative experiences on the Galileo, he realised he didn't want to leave. He'd made friends here and, although he'd never admit it to himself or anyone, his thoughts immediately turned to Ellsworth. While the more cowardly part of him thrilled at the thought of leaving, he didn't want to abandon the man in such a way. Mostly because he knew that, if he did leave, they would likely never see each other again and that thought alone was terrible to consider.

"Yes, I believe so as well," she replied, now thinking about how best to approach the civilian in front of her with a new job offer. "And with Mister Kohl now serving as chief science officer, that leaves a vacancy at the chief research officer position. I have spoken with your captain and we both believe you are a prime candidate. If you are interested, that is?"

Oren's green eyes widened considerably in surprise and, for a few moment, he was speechless. Blinking a few times, he took another few seconds before speaking to make sure he didn't stutter.

"I...I'm not an officer," he said because it was the first thing that came to him. Considering how much that was pointed out to him lately, he wasn't surprised.

"No, not yet." This was true, but it didn't necessarily disqualify the El-Aurian from such a position, especially not in Lirha's mind. "If you were to assume the duties of chief research officer, you would most likely be assigned a provisional rank. in essence, you would earn a temporary field commission for as long as you held your duties," she explained. "With your prior education and background in archaeology and anthropology, as well as your prior Starfleet service, I believe a rank of lieutenant junior grade would be a good fit."

Oren shifted in his seat, visibly discomforted with the idea of holding a rank being an officer, temporarily or not. Despite his service with Starfleet during the war, Oren knew he wasn't a soldier. Still, the Chief Research officer position didn't feel like a military role and Oren couldn't help but feel flattered by the offer.

"And what, exactly, would be my role as the Chief Research officer?"

Picking up a nearby PADD and browsing through it to find the appropriate file, she tapped a few commands into the silver device and linked the contents to her LCARS display, which she then transmitted through the comm to Oren. It was a detailed document which explained the implementation of the CRO position as well as the official duties and responsibilities involved. "Essentially, you will be responsible for the management and supervision of all ship-wide research and development projects. The document I have just transmitted to your console contains the exact details," she answered.

Oren made a small noise of acknowledgement as he checked to see that the document had indeed arrived. He gave the admiral a quick, slightly apologetic look before taking a few moments to skim through the contents of the transmission. The emphasis on separation from the Chief Science officer appealed to him and Oren couldn't help but feel flattered and excited to be offered such a position. As an important science ship in Starfleet, the Galileo was, above all, a scientific research vessel, with all of the latest methods and personnel such a role needed.

"Well, I have to say, Admiral Saalm, I'm really surprised by your offer, but I'd be honored to accept," he said, only half aware that he was actually saying it.

Lirha smiled at that, now content that she had found her new chief research officer. "Excellent. In that case, I will notify Commander Stace and Captain Holliday, and they will guide you through some basic officer indoctrination. And, they can give you your new uniform and pips. Exciting, no?"

As Oren listened, the word indoctrination definitely stuck out and he found it an apt description, considering his thoughts on Starfleet. Maybe accepting wasn't such a great idea...

Deciding it was too late to back out now, Oren gave the Admiral his best smile and said,"Very," hoping she wouldn't catch on to how nervous he suddenly felt.

"Well then, you are dismissed, Lieutenant Idris. And congratulations again," she smiled before tapping the large red icon in the top corner of the screen to end the transmission.

"Oh...good, I can be dismissed now..." Oren said with a deep sigh when the call was cut off before slumping back in his chair.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Atlas

Oren Idris, Ph.D.
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

RSS Feed