Flight Control Management

Posted on 03 Nov 2018 @ 10:33am by Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Oliver Sylver

2,232 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 4, Main Shuttlebay
Timeline: MD -181, 0804 hrs

[ON]

Oliver Sylver walked into the Main Shuttle Bay, looking around for a moment. He had been surprised to be asked to attend the meeting but he wasn't going to turn down the chance to be around the department Chief. Finding it relatively empty for the main shuttle bay (there were always things to do on a ship so there were people around), he moved over to the shuttle he had flown in, the Livia, touching the side gently before he turned around to take in the space.

Truth was, Oliver was happy. He had...so much here. And with the long journey ahead he knew this was where he belonged. On the USS Galileo-A with Verity. And sure, he knew that there was a lot of waiting around but did it matter? He had been a Marine, waiting around was about 60% of what the Corps had done. So no wonder it had been ended when peace and the values that Starfleet held dear settled in. Truthfully, he was surprised it hadn't happened sooner.

Tris Shizn entered the Main Shuttle Bay, feeling very nervous. He carried a large PADD with his agenda. He had spent at least two hours going over the listing of items and duties and incidentals that needed to be discussed. Yet, even after all that preparedness, he still felt nervous. Flying anything was easy for him. Running a meeting and getting things accomplished was another. There were too many possibilities where he could loose control of the conversation and possibly the entire meeting. He had the Starfleet training, but putting that training to use had been, up to this point, few and far between.

Tris saw Chief Sylver and walked toward him. Before he came to a stop he saw another 6 people making their way toward the pair. Before they even arrived he said, “Good morning Chief Sylver.”

The shuttlebay's entrance door swished open to allow Lamar to enter. With a fresh uniform and a large mug of coffee in his hand, the chief warrant officer quickly sighted the only two other conn officers aboard the ship and moseyed on over. "L-T. Sylver," he greeted the two of them while suppressing a fatigued yawn.

Sylver smiled warmly to Tris and then to Lamar. "I am impressed, Sir," he said to Tris. "Look at us, we all look relatively decent considering last night." It was said warmly, but a little bit of banter never really hurt. And Tris did not strike him as someone who would not see the humour in it.

A smile came to one side of Tris’ face. He defiantly understood banter and could appreciate Sylver bringing it. He felt so tense, he wasn’t sure he could at the moment.

Shizn began, “As you know, I am part of Team 1.” He knew that they knew this already, but felt it was appropriate to go through it all. “So, for the first week, I will be on the Bridge from 0100 to 1300.” He looked to Sylver, “You will then replace me at 1300 to 1900.” He looked to Darius, “And then you come in at 1900.”

Lamar picked up his PADD and double-checked the duty rota just in case there were any discrepancies he was unaware of. Everything looked good at first glance, but he couldn't help notice the elephant in the room. "What happened to Derani?" he asked, wondering why she wasn't present with at the briefing. He'd only heard rumors and figured the lieutenant might know more. There'd only been four of them originally but now they were down to three.

Tris lowered his hands with the equipment, looking to Darius, “To be honest, I don’t know. The XO didn’t give me a reason when she asked me to step up into this role.” He looked to Sylver and raised a curious eye, hoping he might know something.

Sylver looked over at Tris before shaking his head. "Scuttlebutt said some emergency, but no one knows anything, so there's extra rumours that I always ignore flying about. Regardless...this department is in safe hands with you, Sir."

Tris wasn’t all too sure about that comment, but appreciated the sentiment. Looking again at his PADD, Tris said, “There are many non comms on board that are trained to pilot the ship, and can sit-in for us for a few minutes when needed. I have selected these 6 to be our relief.” He touches a command that sends the information to their PADD. “Do you have any issues or problems with any of them?”

The dark-skinned chief warrant officer half-frowned while he now looked through some of the junior crew who were supposedly flight-qualified. "Not to rock the boat, L-T, but I wouldn't trust half of these petty officers at the conn. They're not trained flight crew like we are," he replied, looking between the three of them with pride for their unique profession. "Can we just stick 'em on shuttle detail instead?"

"If we do that, we will have to make sure their paperwork is properly filled in. Some of them are less diligent in it," Sylver said before he frowned, considering something. "If we can't trust them at the CONN, we can train them up to be trustworthy. We have six months of a steady flight. I don't mind training some up and supervising them while at the CONN until we are confident they are capable alone." With Verity's work, he predicted he wouldn't be on the standard shifts so it was no issue for Sylver to cover extra hours to train people. In fact, he suspected it would break up some of the boredom of the long-haul flight.

“My thoughts exactly Sylver,” Shizn responded. “If I get hurt while at the Conn or just need to step away to use the water-closet, then I want someone on stand-by that can step in for a few minutes or until one of you can take the big chair.” He looked at both of them and added, “And just like you said, we have 6 months to bring them up to speed, to ‘our’ expectations.”

Lamar sipped his coffee as if he were in deep thought pondering the origins of the universe. "Do we get extra holodeck time if we train them?" That was, of course, his primary concern at this early hour of the morning.

“Holodeck time?” Tris quieried. Looking at Darius, “This is training. It will either be on the holodeck or in a mock up of the bridge, running through scenarios until they get them right.” He looked to Sylver then back to Darius, “I couldn’t guarantee how that will happen at this point.

"Yes Sir," Oliver said before he considered it, looking at Darius. "Perhaps we can look at some training plans that we can present? Might as well spread the load a little bit. It would have in what we think we would need in holodeck time and resources."

"No," Lamar shook his head with a smirk at the two of them. "I meant extra holodeck credits for ourselves. You know, for personal time. I found some old WW3 simulations in the database and want to try them out," he semi-invited.

Tris was a bit frustrated with Chief Darius. He seemed to want some personal time on the holodeck, beyond his allotted amount. Tris had no desire to address that question.

Shizn looked down at his notes on the PADD, then looked up speaking cautiously, “I know both of you are quite capable at the Helm and don’t need specific training. However, . . . I know we have a few knew tactical personnel.” Crossed his arms and looked concerned. He wanted to use the right words so not to insult either of them. “Communication . . is a key factor, and especially during tactical situations. I would like to see tactical drills on the holodeck for each of us, working with each of the tactical officers.” His eyes glanced back and forth at the two before adding, “Your thoughts?”

"In a high stress environment, it is more important to have a set communication structure," Oliver said thoughtfully, thinking back. "Sometimes when you are so scared you can't remember your name, you fall back on training and protocol. So let's drill them. All the jargon, abbreviations and command structure. If we can drill into them clear communication, at least that is something that might help?" he met Shizn's eyes, having given his suggestion but not necessarily deciding that it was the right thing.

Lamar simply nodded in agreement with the two of them after hearing the proposal. No doubt the tactical maneuvers coming from the captain needed to be coordinated with the weapons officers, and he thought it was an excellent idea to run some test simulations.

“I’m with you all the way on that,” Tris looked to Sylver. “But, it’s not going to be us drilling them as much as that communication from the top down and everyone understanding the commands.”

"I smell trying to coordinate a lot of departments..." Sylver said and the small smile he gave said it would not be an easy task, but one he believed they could handle.

Tris nodded slightly in agreement before adding, “It wouldn’t be that many departments. In a crisis situation, there is the Commander on Deck, Helm, tactical, and Engineering. The other sections would just be following orders.”

Shizn continued, “Knowing and understanding each other is crucial.” He brought his hands together, fingers spread with tips touching. “We want to be two hands working together.” Then interlacing his fingers, his hands fitting tightly together, “Understanding each other to the point that we could complete each other’s sentences.” He looked at the other two for their response.

Sylver frowned at the words as he considered them, looking thoughtful before he nodded weakly in response to the words. It was idealistic. He doubted the journey they had ahead would be able to build that sort of relationship. And yet, he took some hope from the optimism of Shizn.

Tris saw a touch of doubt in Chief Oliver. He wasn’t sure what about, but it wasn’t his place to pry. They would discuss disagreements when the right time came.

"No offense L-T, but we're not telepathic like you," Lamar replied, noting Shizn's half-Aenar heritage which was evident in his lighter-blue skin color. "How about we just settle on cheeseburgers instead?"

Sylver grinned at the words before he looked at Lamar. "Cheeseburgers, Chief? I am thinking steaks myself..." he said lightly before he looked at Shizn.

Tris felt very frustrated with the talk of food, but closed his eyes for a second and breathed, trying to accept their humor for what it was. He looked at them and smiled, “Yes, I’m sure a nice meat sandwich would be easier and much more enjoyable.” He chuckled, “I’m just getting at, that we will be working on communication and better understanding between major participants.” He looked at each again and added, “An now you’ve got me hungry,” and chuckled again.

Sylver watched him closely before he gave a small nod. "What do you believe is the best course of action in ensuring that the participants will reach a better understanding and communication, Sir?" he asked Tris, curious to hear what he had planned.

“That’s an excellent question,” Lt. Shizn replied. “I feel that setting up a schedule of drills. Each drill would be planned for a different situation, everyone knowing in advance what to expect.” He saw a bit of doubt in their eyes and quickly added, “We would later add in drills with unknown situations and perimeters, where we would rely on these skills and understandings previously practised.” He looked to each, hoping for a positive response.

"Good plan. So how many hours a week?" Darius asked, wondering what the time commitment would be like. "If we want to keep their skills fresh, they should be doing simulations at least three times a week."

"Agreed," Oliver said and thought about it, frowning slightly. "I suggest minimum of three hours a week...but it depends on what you think," he looked at Darius and then at Shizn.

“Yes,” Shizn agreed, “Three one-hour sessions per week is what we will plan for. That may not be exact once we plot out all the training, but definitely a place to start.” He looked down at his PADD checking his notes, then up at the other two, “Anything else?”

A brief shake of the head let the junior lieutenant know that Lamar had nothing further to add at this early hour of the morning.

Oliver shook his head as well and smiled gently. "No Sir, think that sums it up."

“Alright then,” Tris heard himself saying. That’s it! The Andorian thought. I’ve completed my first meeting and I survived. Hah! To the other pilots he said, “I’ll be creating a schedule. Look for it in the next day or so.” His eyes darted from one to the other and back again, finally saying, “Dismissed.”

[OFF]

--

CWO3 Lamar Darius
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Saalm]

Lt.JG Tris Shizn
Lead Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

CWO2 Oliver Sylver
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vansen]

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