Security's Newest Face

Posted on 28 Mar 2016 @ 12:42pm by Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D. & Lieutenant JG Randolf Eklund
Edited on on 07 Apr 2016 @ 7:06pm

1,608 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Security Office
Timeline: MD24 - 1045 Hours

[ON]

Gyce was glad to have a new facing coming to the department. She knew Luke had gone on Shore Leave, but the peculiar thing was that he was no longer listed as her assistant.

A new face filled that slot and like an experienced detective, Gyce had gone hard into analyzing his file. What she found were great qualifications.

While she read over his file, Gyce continued to sip on her jumja tea happily, awaiting her new arrival.

Randy was feeling pretty good after his meeting with the captain. The man seemed fair and extremely capable. In his opinion, one couldn't really ask for more in a commanding officer. Captains set the tone for their ships as well, so he had high hopes for his new department head, Lt. Benice. He'd served with several Bajorans before, and while he hated the stereotypes of Vulcan being scientists or Betazoids being counselors, every one of those Bajorans was a fantastic security officer.

He took a centering breath before entering the Security Office. Upon entering he saw several other security personnel. He also saw an open door leading to where he new the Chief's office to be. Nodding to his new teammates, he made his way there. Stopping in the doorway, he saw a slim redhead. He knew her size was deceptive as far as her abilities were probably concerned. No one worked in Security very long without learning that size was nice, but it wasn't everything.

"Lt. Benice?" he asked as she seemed to reach a stopping point in whatever she was reading. "I'm Lt. Eklund, your new second, reporting for duty, ma'am."

"Have a seat, please." Gyce smiled brightly at him. Happy for a distraction. "Most of the crew just went to shore leave, Lieutenant. So it is no better time than to get acquainted."

"Of course," Randy took the offered seat. He also handed over the PADD with his most recent performance evaluations and personnel files. He was sure she already had them, or at least access to them, but tradition was important to him. "I'm just coming over from the Lakota, ma'am. I checked in with the Captain; he gave me a bit of an introduction to some of the challenges the ship has faced. How can I best help you and the team meet those challenges?" Randy was always one to dive into things head first.

"When the department returns to the ship, we will start a whole new training regimen," Gyce explained with ease. It felt good to have someone on the same page for a change. "As there are so few of us, we'll need to double down on dirty tactics with ship repellent - While our time in the Mirror Universe proved our numbers would not of mattered, it did at least bring up the issue that conventional methods are not very effective anymore."

"Understood, ma'am," Randy nodded, thinking. "It may be a good thing I've been added to the team, then. An outsider may see things that those who've lived to tell the tales, as they say, might overlook. Also, we had a Klingon exchange officer for a while on the Lakota. She cross-trained several of us in some of their hand-to-hand techniques. Perhaps they'll be of use."

"New melee tactics are just the start of it. I'm talking making IEDs on the fly. Bottle necking from crew bunk rooms. Using emergency transport beams in some interesting manner," Gyce elaborated. "We need outside-the-box, as well as new hand-to-hand."

"Outside the box sounds great to me, Lieutenant," Randy began thinking of random scenarios they could start throwing at the team to keep them on their toes and smiling at the prospect. "In security we have to be able to think on our feet. If not, we may as well just start handing over the ship now." He wanted to make sure his comments weren't seen as a criticism, "of course, you've obviously kept that from happening, but it never hurts to see how a team would react to a pack of Borg Klingons boarding a ship through a hull breech, right?"

"I think that might be overpowered for this group, but no-win situations is a good way to determine who is and isn't rated for hard contact scenarios," Gyce agreed. "Is there anything you'd like to know, going in to this assignment?"

"It is, good to know those things," Randy agreed, "but that was more of a scenario to work up to." He grinned to let her know he was only mostly serious. "And I've seen some of the official mission reports from Galileo, but those always leave out the most important things, if you know what I mean. I guess my first question would be what is important to know that I wouldn't have seen in those reports?

"My second question would be what do you want from me?" He decided to elaborate a bit on that. "I've never beaten around any bushes, and this job isn't about me or my ego. Every ship, every department, every chief is different. Do you need a sounding board? A right hand? Someone in a supporting role to back your positions? Someone to challenge you? How do I fit into your department, ma'am?"

All very good questions. Gyce decided to answer the latter and then circle the wagons back around to his former.

"SCIS, we worked in pairs, and then as a group," Gyce explained. "It's a great system, be it beat cop or detective. Same is true for this setting... I imagine for the most part, I'll not need my cane. But if I am having a bad day, I need you to run point on things that need a physical presence where my disability might slow the team down."

Gyce drank some water from a bottle and then added, "I don't foresee many of those days, but still. It's good to know you can do that. However, I also need someone analytical that can help me with some of the cases that pop up on this little ship. Can you do that?"

"Yes, ma'am," Randy answered. "I may look like a big, dumb security officer, but that's only half right." He grinned wickedly, "more than a couple of people have wound up in the brig after underestimating me. I actually try to cultivate that belief since it makes criminals much sloppier when they think I'm dim. I am big, though, so feel free to use that as needed. I'm here to make sure the ship and crew are kept safe; however we have to do that, we do that." He was pretty sure that, being Bajoran, she would get what he was saying.

"Good." Gyce seemed at peace with his answers, So much so she circled the wagons back to his first question. "This ship has been through so much already. Before I was posted here, they faced Borg and zombie-like Cardassians and a tribble infestation. So they've been through the ringer far more times than sane people are normally able to handle."

She sounded very approvingly there, but her eyes grew dark and unamused.

"Having said that, this is a science ship, so a lot of the antics here are to be expected. But sometimes these people go a bit too far," Gyce informed with a bitter frown. "I have been here almost six months and I sit currently looking at my third sexual misconduct case - no rape cases here or murders, luckily. Just people not having much sense and getting themselves into stupid-trouble because of it."

"Scientists without the common sense of a goose?" Randy chuckled. "I never thought that was possible." He looked at his new boss hoping she got that he was joking. "I get what you're saying, ma'am. Iron fist, but a very soft velvet glove. Oddly, it's many of the same skills I had to use herding sheep when growing up. If you're too stern with them, they become sacred of you and won't listen. You have to coax them, convince them that being in the nice safe paddock was their idea to begin with. And, sheep sometimes seem to have just as much sense as many scientists."

"Oh you'll notice quickly several steer away from me because of my initial case here," Gyce laughed at that. "To the older crew, I'm an annoyance because I like to surprise Sickbay with controlled substance inspections, and inconvenience the crew with weapons checks... But some of them have figured out, that I'll defend any worth defending too."

"Good!" Randy said enthusiastically. "Rules are only good if they are followed and enforced. you won't get any argument from me there. Sure, there may be exceptions, but they are just that, exceptions. They are NOT the norm." Randy smiled, knowing he'd fit in to this security structure well now. "We do our jobs so that they can do theirs."

"Well I can't really think of anything else you should know at the moment. Though I will call a department meeting when we leave dock so we can go over the person of interest list," Gyce promised. "A few new people now, so it's best everyone be on the same page."

"I agree, ma'am." Randy stood, recognizing a polite dismissal. "I'll let you get back to your work then and finish checking in with the quartermaster, medical, and such."

"Take your time," Gyce spoke with a huge grin as she waved him out.


[OFF]

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Lieutenant JG Benice Gyce
Chief of Security
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Randolf Eklund
Asst. Chief of Security
USS Galileo

 

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