CSO, Reporting for Duty (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 15 Oct 2012 @ 9:48pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,206 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo - Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 02 - 1815 hrs

Previously,

Picking up the PADD containing Maenad's Starfleet file, Lirha proceeded to skim through it, and several long moments of silence passed as she scrolled down with her thumb through the service record and took note of her former CO's comments. She looked up briefly at the science officer with a raised eyebrow before turning her attention back towards the file. "It seems you've gotten yourself into a bit of trouble in the past..." she commented quietly as she read through a couple insubordination citations.

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

A slight grin formed at the corner of Maenad's lips. "Yes," she said after a few seconds. "Well," she wanted to start off by justifying herself, but decided it might be better to just explain what had happened. "On my first assignment, almost five years ago now - the USS Zebra - I was made the assistant science chief's personal assistant." She paused, feeling her lips curl. "A position, mind you, that I didn't feel was necessary in the first place, especially for a ship that size." She shook her head. "The man's name was Ron Bitman." Maenad switched one crossed leg for the other; just thinking of him made her angry. "After leaving my successful career at McGill, I was told that I would begin as an assistant chief science officer, but instead they made me an assistant's assistant. I dealt with that in my own way. The mission was basically a rehash of my PhD, taking me to all the worlds I'd already spent considerable time on. Now, I would have been happy because I had the experience and knew exactly what we were doing. But, Lieutenant Bitman made a total fool out of me. He would assign me piles of work: research, review, checking. Which, I would do without a single complaint. But, I started to realise that he wasn't giving me any credit, not to mention his rotten attitude." She leaned forward somewhat, getting a little closer to the captain. "Bitman was passing all my work, exactly as it was, as his own to the chief. He was doing nothing while I did everything. This went on for several weeks, until I finally called him on it and refused to do his job for him. We were supposed to be a time." Maenad let out a long sigh and sat back in her chair, arms crossed. "It didn't go over so well," she laughed quietly at herself.

"I see." the captain replied, keeping her eyes on the PADD as she continued to read. "And then you had another incident on your next assignment, USS Ocean." she continued matter-of-factly. "What happened there?"

Maenad let out a small breath through her nostrils. She felt like she was being grilled. Was the captain judging her, was she buying her explanations? They were the truth, after all. "The Ocean was even more difficult. I was the assistant chief; Lieutenant Humbridge, my superior, continuously undermined everything I did. I'm sure my complaints are in there somewhere." She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes before continuing, looking back to the captain. "We had just finished a survey mission of a dying star, it wasn't really all that interesting. On our way home, sensors detected that some kind of spacial distortion was following in our wake. We dropped from warp; Humbridge was on bridge duty while I was at work in the science lab. He determined that the distortion was attracted to our ion trail. We observed it for some time, maybe twenty minutes, until it came into contact with the hull." Maenad sighed. "It still amazes me that not a single person on the bridge thought that it could have been a lifeform, which is what I determined it to be. Through my own analysis of the routed data, I observed behaviour and hypothesised that it was alive. I sent my analysis to Humbridge, who actually laughed at me." Again, Maenad shook her head. "The creature started to encompass the ship. In our engines' wake, there are residual postively-charged ions. Once the creature had consumed the wake, it wanted more. It sensed the organic carbocations inside the ship, inside of us and all organic material. Carbocations are positively charged ions in organic materials." It was more complicated than that, but Maenad thought the details were unnecessary.

"It was going to destroy the ship to get to us. The stresses on the hull were increasing by the minute. It took me about two hours to come to my conclusions, while everybody else sat around and twiddling their thumbs. I told Humbridge to recommend firing a modified torpedo, filled with positively-charged carbocations. Doing that would have diverted the creature's attention long enough to let us ago. At least we could confirm whether I was right or not; Humbridge dismissed me again, telling me my science was impossible. He didn't even look at my data. He didn't pass on my theories. I knew I was right. When the senior staff met, I saw no other choice but to enter the meeting and tell them what was going on. If the captain hadn't listened to me, I wouldn't be sitting here right now." She pushed on her fisted fingers with her thumb, cracking them. "Captain Benson was a good and reasonable man. I knew he would listen, that's why I did it."

As she listened to the woman's explanation of her second reprimand, Lirha leaned back in her chair and pushed a stray lock of dark hair from her eyes before speaking. "Thank you for explaining." she said, "Regardless of your past troubles, you are obviously still a member of Starfleet...and alive, as you so tactfully pointed out. I'm not here to question your past decisions, that's up to your former COs and the Judicial branch. I simply look for explanations. Reasonable explanations, which you have provided for me." she added. "You will find that I am a rather accommodating captain, and my door is always open should you ever need a place to voice your concerns. Having said that, it is important to maintain discipline and respect the chain of command...at all times."

Maenad allowed herself an appreciative smile. "I understand. Thank you, captain." She wanted the conversation to move away from her. "What is the condition of the science department right now, and what kind of staff should I expect?"

"Well," Lirha began with a sigh, "Some of the labs were damaged during our previous mission and we lost a couple personnel. But I expect replacements to be delivered soon, and our engineers are working to the best of their ability to repair the damage." she explained. "Our science department is rather diverse, and Galileo is the property of Starfleet's Planetary Sciences Division, which means those associated personnel...mostly life and engineering sciences, have their own sub-depart. They're a mix of civilian and Starfleet personnel, but ultimately they will all be under your supervision."

Maenad paled. She really didn't like hearing that several scientists had been killed. Normally science was one of the safer departments, or at least that was the perception. She was a pacifist by nature; blood and gore, violence in particular, profoundly disturbed her. By the sound what Captain Saalm was telling her, this ship of exploration would see more blood spilled than it already had. The words back to the frontier echoed through her skull.

"I've never had civilians under my jurisdiction before," Maenad wanted to think of something else. "If they're working in the science department, while they're under my supervision, do I have the same authority over them as I do my staff?"

The captain nodded in reply. "Yes. Though they might be civilians, they serve aboard a Starfleet vessel which means they must follow the chain of command. All civilians scientists on board should be in-uniform while on duty, and though they won't have a rank insignia, are at the bottom of the CoC. Should you so desire, you are free to recommend them for a provisional rank." she explained.

"All right," she smiled to the captain. Her hands were feeling cold, so she tucked them between her thighs."Is there anything else I should know?"

Lirha shook her head as nothing immediate came to mind. They had covered quite a lot of ground in their initial meeting, and she couldn't think of any further questions at the moment. "I believe that's all for now, lieutenant. Do you have any final questions for me?" she asked, offering Maenad a last chance to inquire about anything which might be on her mind.

Maenad frowned, thinking. "Two things," she said after a few seconds, "Where are my quarters, and when should I report back for duty?" She asked.

"You can contact the Operations department and they should be able to tell you where your assigned quarters are, as well as help you get settled." Lirha answered. "My best guess is somewhere on Deck 2, but please keep in mind that due to the extensive repairs which are currently taking place, you might be relegated to a smaller living space until your unit is ready. As for reporting for duty...I've been informed by my superiors that we will be given a little R&R and some shore leave in the coming weeks. So for now, get yourself settled and familiar with the ship. It looks like we aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

"Of course," Maenad closed her eyes and gave a slight nod. "Thank you, captain. I'll spend the next few days acquainting myself with my staff and the department."

Lirha nodded, "I look forward to working with you. You're dismissed, lieutenant. Welcome aboard Galileo." she said with a small smile.

Maenad nodded back to her. "Thank you," With her right hand she picked her bag up off the floor and quickly stood, sliding the strap over her shoulder. She offered her hand to the captain and gave a polite smile. Standing after sitting for so long had made her realise just how tired she was; a wave of light-headedness struck her. She looked unwell despite her composure, with a shade of purple starting to form beneath her eyes.

The captain stood from her chair and shook Maenad's hand. As she looked up closely at her features, Lirha noticed that she looked rather fatigued. There was no doubt a lot of stress involved in new assignments, and Lirha wanted to look after her new crewman. "Do your best to get some rest, lieutenant, you look tired." she said softly. "And if you can't get your quarters arranged in time, you're welcome to stay with me tonight." she offered with a friendly smile. "I'm located on Deck 2 and will leave the door open."

Maenad let go of the captain's hand and wrapped her long fingers around her bag strap. She could still feel the captain's warmth in her palm, wondering why she would be so kind to her. After all, they were total strangers despite their meeting. Was she this friendly to everyone? Maenad formed a nervous smile, unsure of what to say. "I'm sure that won't be necessary," she said uncertainly. It was almost nineteen-hundred hours; most of the crew were probably off-ship, and the people responsible for quarters assignment and maintenance long off-duty. All Maenad wanted to do was lie down in her own bed and go to sleep, but the prospect of that happening seemed much more unlikely than it had only a few minutes ago.

She eyed Captain Saalm, trying to figure her out. "If it's not too late, I'll get in touch with operations and see they can do anything for me." Maenad tried to remember then when the last time was that she'd slept in the company of another. She was always alone and had gotten used to it, both preferring and unknowingly hating it. "Thank you, captain," she repeated with an anxious nod before quickly turning to leave the ready room. On the bridge, after the doors had closed, she paused for a moment, still wondering why Capatin Saalm would extend such a courtesy. Maybe this assignment would be a lot less stressful than it had sounded. Maenad sucked on her lips, heading for the turbolift.

Lirha watched the tall woman leave, then leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. She needed sleep also, but wanted to speak to Maenad more. The captain found her very intriguing...knowledgeable and cultured, and her interest had peaked. She hoped the new lieutenant didn't take her offer the wrong way, but being an Orion, hospitality was often a sign of friendship, and Lirha was not shy of interacting with her crew. The stresses of recent days had taken a toll on her, and a soft yawn escaped her lips and she closed her eyes as she began to doze off in her seat.

[OFF]

--

CMDR Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

LT (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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