Taking A Few Days Off
Posted on Sun May 28th, 2017 @ 6:50pm by Vice Admiral Diana Francsizka & Commander Leah Sullivan & Lieutenant Kari Burke & Lieutenant Torn Thoveh & Staff Warrant Officer Victoria Sparks & Master Chief Petty Officer Tommie McDaniel
Edited on on Tue Jun 20th, 2017 @ 10:53am
Mission:
Overhaul
Location: Starbase 343
Japori Sector
Starbase 343
USS Protean - Bridge
A skeleton crew remained aboard the Protean as was the procedure when docked at a friendly starbase. The only time a ship was allowed to be completely emptied of crew was if some sort of repair required life support systems to be shut down. That was not the case this time, but the ship had just received orders from Vice Admiral Francsizka’s office that they would be at 343 for a month or more.
“A month?” Kari asked, one of only a few officers still on the bridge. She turned from her console to Lieutenant Thoveh who was now sitting where he believed he should be: the Captain’s chair. “That’s quite a bit longer than a normal resupply.”
“The message says that the ship will be outfitted with upgraded defensive, and offensive systems as well as an upgraded warp core assembly,” Torn replied, still reading through the message. “The Protean will be reclassified as a Nova-class variant.” He pushed the message out to all crew members, on board or not, so they could read it themselves.
Kari scanned through the message. “We’ll be able to fly faster and punch harder.” She smiled, mostly to herself. “Being in a smaller vessel, I kinda’ like that.” Continuing to scan through the message she frowned. “Huh. No word on whether or not Leah will continue on as CO or who a potential XO will be.”
“That’s ‘Commander Sullivan’, Lieutenant,” Torn replied tersely. “I’d remind you that you are on duty and, until we are notified otherwise, she is your commanding officer.”
“Aye aye, Lieutenant,” she replied, rolling her eyes as she swiveled back around to her station. “I guess you’re eyeing the first officer position?” She didn’t turn when she asked.
“My aspirations are none of your concern,” the Andorian angrily replied. His eyes bored a hole through the back of her skull almost daring her to say more.
She shrugged. “I was just curious. It’s not a secret that you--”
“Lieutenant!” he snapped. “I believe you’ve asked enough questions for today!”
The ready room doors hissed shut as Master Chief McDaniel appeared on deck. “Give it a rest, Francis,” Tommie said dryly as he walked to the XO’s chair.
“I’ve told you several times, Master Chief, that my name is not Francis. And do I need to remind you that I vastly outrank you? I don’t appreciate your tone.”
Tommie sat calmly in the chair and slowly turned to the Andorian. “And do I need to remind you that I am still the acting first officer of this vessel, which means that I currently outrank you?” The multiple shades of blue that ran through Torn’s skin was enough to make Tommie smile. It was a mix of embarrassment and anger on the Andorian’s face that thrilled him. Andorians are famously known for adhering strongly to military structure and Torn’s misstep in speaking to his first officer, acting or not, in that manner was unheard of. “You can’t reprimand her for being curious. You also cannot force her to stop talking unless it would affect security operations.” Tommie paused for effect. “Are we in a state of security that her talking would make us more vulnerable?”
Torn clenched his jaw and didn’t answer right away.
“I asked you a question, Lieutenant,” Tommie prompted.
“No...sir.”
“That’s what I thought. Besides, you are eligible for the first officer position and everyone knows you desire it. So unless you’re embarrassed about that, there is no need for hostility. Hell, I think you’d be pretty good at it,” he added but thought that it would be the downfall of the Protean if Torn did become XO.
The Andorian’s attitude changed completely. “Uh...I...thank you, sir. I appreciate you saying so.”
Tommie nodded and turned to the console on his chair. “You’re dismissed, Lieutenant Thoveh. I have nowhere to be for several hours and there is no need for both of us to be here. Go, enjoy the base.”
“Aye, sir. I appreciate it.”
Moments later, he was gone. Tommie, Kari, and Staff Warrant Officer Sparks were the only crew left on the bridge.
“Kari, you beautiful, button-pushing minx,” Tommie said with a chuckle. “It’s a good thing I walked out when I did.”
She turned and smiled, her blue eyes sparkling. “I was actually going to say that he was qualified for the position. But I liked what you did better.”
“With all due respect to the Lieutenant,” came a bright voice from the back of the room, “I’m glad he’s gone. He’s kind of like a storm cloud with legs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him happy about anything.”
Tommie grunted with a smile. “Storm cloud with legs. I like that, Sparks. And that’s right on the money.”
“So we still don’t know who is going to take over the ship?” she asked. “I enjoyed working with Commander Clayton and I hate having to get to know a new captain all over again.”
“What they like, don’t like,” Kari added. “How they do things, why they do things.”
“We can speculate all we like, ladies,” Tommie interjected, “but my money is on Leah.”
“I hope so,” Sparks replied. “I really like her. But being in charge would change things for her. I think it would make it more difficult.”
With a nod, Tommie said, “Command has its advantages and disadvantages. But she’s a good kid, smart, and level-headed. She’ll be able to handle it.”
Kari spun around and squinted at him, studying his face. “You know something.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know something, Tommie. You said ‘she’ll be able to handle it’, instead of ‘she would be able to handle it’.” Kari eyed him for several moments. “You know something.”
“My dearest Lieutenant Burke,” he started, putting on his most honest face, “I would never divulge information I had knowledge of if it hadn’t yet become official. Who do you think I am?”
“Oh, I know who you are, Tommie,” she said with a smile. “And I think Leah just became the Protean’s commanding officer.”
“Is it true?” Sparks pressed.
The Master Chief sighed heavily in mock concern. “I can neither confirm nor deny Commander Sullivan’s status as commanding officer of the USS Protean.” It wasn’t what he said that excited them, it was that he was nodding when he said it. Seeing and hearing their excitement he quickly added, “However, if I were to accidentally give something away, I can assure you that finding out you had prior knowledge of it from some people would be grounds for reprimand. Am I clear?”
Both Burke and Sparks stifled their excitement and replied almost in unison, “Aye, sir.” But it didn’t keep them both from exchanging a wide smile with each other before turning back to their consoles.
Starbase 343
Deck 4
Vice Admiral Diana Franciszka's offices
After two hours of discussion about Leah’s past, why the Admiral thought Leah would be an excellent ship captain, and authorizing some transfers off of the Protean and filling any senior positions left vacant, Diana had decided to call it a day.
“Since you will be with us for a while, I’m not going to rush into assigning your first officer.” She poured herself a small glass of sherry and offered Leah some, who declined. “I will be assigning your first officer from a list of personnel I have compiled. I don’t know who it is yet, but I will tell you that your Number One will be your opposite.”
“My opposite?” Leah asked. “Please don’t send me an idiot…”
“Ha! No, not an idiot, but she or he won’t be from a scientific or medical background.” She sipped her drink. “Listen, I need your level head and clear thinking personality in charge of the ship. You prefer to think your way through things. I need someone on your six who prefers to think with their fists.”
It was if someone had just scooped everything out of Leah’s head with those words. She stared blankly at Diana for several moments.
“Wow.” The admiral snapped twice. “That is literally the first time I’ve reached out to someone’s mind and found nothing there. I guess I really threw you for a loop?”
“With all due respect, Admiral, I’d prefer not to have someone second-guessing everything I do simply because they’d rather shoot first.”
“Oh, honey, I know. But, I’m not doing this just for funsies.” Diana downed the last remnants of the sherry and placed the glass on the coffee table in front of them. “I know you have a leg up on space and land battle tactics. Your tactics scores made the security and tactical students in your academy class look like children, something they didn’t like very much, being shown up by a scientist. You have your father and uncles to thank for that. But your focus has been on the scientific for quite a while. I strongly believe that having someone who is your opposite would allow you both to learn from each other. You would continue learning tactics, and she or he would learn to give things more thought before pulling the trigger.”
“I hope it’s not Lieutenant Thoveh,” Leah thought to herself. “He’s already a pain in my ass.”
“No, not him,” Diana replied, then her eyes went wide. “Oopsie! Sorry. You just kind of broadcast things making them hard to miss. But to assuage your fears, Thoveh didn’t even make it on my list. I would suggest he be made your second officer, but that position is entirely yours to fill.”
Standing, Diana straightened her uniform. “But that’s enough work for today. I have a dinner date that I don’t want to miss. Who knows? It might turn into a breakfast date, too!”
Leah stood and looked down at her new boss. “Well, uh...good luck.”
“Awkward, I know,” Diana said as they began walking to the main entry corridor. “I’ll send you all of the upgrade schematics that will be added to the Protean. Share it with your crew, especially your engineers. With their help we may be able to shave some install time and get you back on your way. In the meantime,” she handed Leah a PADD, “take this and become intimately familiar with it. You are now part of Task Force 343. This has all of the ships assigned to the task force as well as our primary mission.”
“I’ll get right on it.”
“Uh, no,” Diana said, taking Leah gently by the elbow. “Leah, you need some time to unwind. You’re going to be here no less than three weeks. I’ve assigned separate quarters on the station for you, so go there and sort your roster, read a book, sleep for days--I don’t care. Then, once you’ve done that a few days, make the information on this PADD your bible. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am. Some time off would be appreciated.”
“Good girl. Now, I’ll have my aide contact you for our next meeting.” She seemed to stop short and her demeanor changed to that of a sultry vixen. “I was beginning to think you had forgotten our date, you old rogue!” she said, moving past Leah.
Turning, Leah came face to face with none other than Tommie McDaniel. She tried to avert her eyes.
“I could never forget you, Diana! Remember those three nights on Risa two years ago?” he asked, sliding an arm around her. “I still think of it often--oh, Commander Sullivan,” he said, removing his arm. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
Diana, pulling his arm back around and placing his palm on her bottom, said, “Not at all, Tommie. Leah and I were just getting to know each other. I’m giving her a few days off, so once I’m finished with you, take care of things on the ship, will you?”
Nibbling at her ear he whispered, “Anything for you, Diana.”
“And that’s my cue to exit,” Leah said, now completely embarrassed. “Thank you, Admiral. I look forward to our next meeting.”
“Me too, sweetie,” Diana replied, no longer listening since both of her hands were now cupping Tommie’s ass. “Me too.”
