A Rocky Start

Posted on Sat Jun 24th, 2017 @ 2:44pm by Commander Leah Sullivan & Lieutenant Commander Gwilym Bevan & Lieutenant Torn Thoveh & Chief Petty Officer Maurek

Mission: Overhaul
Location: USS Protean - Ready Room

Japori Sector
Starbase 343
USS Protean - Ready Room

The ready room was decorated to her liking and Leah was beginning to feel much more comfortable being in their daily. With the ship laid up while being refit, Commander Sullivan had plenty of time to check, double check, and triple check everything about the ship and crew before they were sent out on their first mission with Leah in command. So far, she still didn’t know what that mission would be but she was certain that Admiral Francsizka would provide that information soon. For now, however, she awaited the arrival of her new first officer and Lieutenant Thoveh.

The door chime rang. “Enter.”

Torn entered and stood in front of her desk. “Reporting as ordered, Commander,” Torn said.

“Please, have a seat, Lieutenant.” Giving him a moment, she continued. “You are aware of the promotion list I sent out this morning, yes?”

“I am,” he replied. He had hoped his name would appear on that list, but he had only been a full lieutenant for three years and knew an early promotion was unlikely, even despite the circumstances.

“You are not eligible for a promotion at this time. I attempted to find a pressing reason for an early promotion, I want you to know that, but it simply was not possible.”

“I--” he started. He would never have thought that Leah would have attempted to have him promoted early. “Thank you, Commander. I understand.”

“On the other hand,” she continued, “I have decided that there is no one better aboard Protean to be second officer than you. Your knowledge of the ship, its crew, and your leadership abilities make you an excellent candidate for the position and I would like you to take the position. That is if you’re interested?”

Had he misjudged her? Torn had always thought of Leah as a substandard officer, someone who wouldn’t know how to lead even if her life depended on it. In this instance, however, he could not disagree with that assessment anymore.

“I will serve you well, Commander.”

The door chime rang again. “That should be our new first officer. Come.”

Torn and Leah both stood as the door opened. Entering the room, the new XO stood at attention in front of Leah’s desk. He was tall at six feet even, slim but obviously fit under his fitted uniform, brown hair, blue eyes--the man could have been a model. Something about him, though, unnerved Leah a bit. Was it his swagger?

Torn felt the same. The man’s...bravado as he entered the room, as if he had just taken command of the ship himself, was very off-putting. But being senior to Torn, he was required to be respectful.

“Lieutenant Commander Gwilym Bevan, reporting for duty, Commander,” he said.

Dammit, even his voice sounded nice, Leah thought. “Welcome aboard,” she said, rounding the desk and shaking his hand. “Commander Leah Sullivan, captain of the Protean. And this is Lieutenant Torn Thoveh, Second Officer and Chief of Security.”

Bevan, knowing Andorians weren’t much for the touchy-feely, didn’t offer to shake hands. He simply nodded his head. “I was to understand we did not yet have a second officer.”

“I was just appointed.”

Bevan said, “Sir.”

“I was just appointed...sir, is what I believe you were to say, Lieutenant, as per Starfleet policy.” While saying this, the smug smile never left his face.

Leah watched as either anger or embarrassment coursed through Torn, his skin tone fluctuating rapidly. Finally, the Lieutenant replied, “You are correct, sir. My apologies.”

Leah cleared her throat. “Gentlemen, have a seat. This meeting is about introductions and to bring Commander Bevan up to date on the ship’s status. It might be best if we start with what you know already and we can fill in any holes.”

“Your last mission was to Obrora where...ah, well, Commander, Lieutenant, you were there,” Bevan began. He may have an aire of superiority about him, but at least he was sensitive enough not to bring up what were obviously painful memories. “After the mission, you were given temporary command of the Protean and ordered to report here where your brevet promotion to Commander was made permanent as was your command of the Protean. Admiral Francsizka placed the ship and crew under her command in Task Force 343 and ordered the Protean’s refit as a Nova Variant class.” He paused. “Beyond that, and my appointment into the ship as XO, that is the extent of my knowledge.”

“It seems like you’ve done your homework,” Leah responded, then handed him a PADD. “This is everything that has occurred since your appointment, to include the promotion list I sent out this morning. It also includes the recent update on the refit and any personnel assignments that may have changed.”

“Thank you, Commander. I’ll get commit this to memory as soon as possible.”

“According to Lieutenant Tepic, sir,” Torn interjected, obviously a bit butt-hurt about earlier, “it should be approximately a week and a half before the refit is complete. What news of our first mission, Commander?”

“Nothing yet,” Leah replied. “I have a meeting with her tomorrow morning where I hope she’ll provide some input in the regard.”

“Chief Maurek to Lieutenant Thoveh,” the comm message interrupted the meeting.

Torn tapped his communicator. “Go ahead, Chief.”

“We are ready for your inventory review, Lieutenant.”

Leah nodded, dismissing him.

Torn stood. “On my way, Chief,” he said as he walked out the door.

Once alone, Leah continued. “Do you have any questions about the ship or crew?”

“I’ve made myself familiar with the ship’s former mission profile and, after hearing of the refit and reclassification, have attempted to prepare myself for whatever mission we may be assigned.”

“I read through your service jacket,” Leah said. “You have very impressive academy scores, and your service since then has been exemplary. I see why the admiral chose you for a first officer position.”

“Thank you, sir--”

Leah held up her hand. “I realize it goes against Starfleet policy, but I refuse to be called sir. Call me ma’am, Commander, Captain, or once we get to know each other and are in less formal settings, you may use my first name.”

“Commander, I’m afraid I can’t do that. Starfleet is very specific about formalities and how to address superior personnel.”

“You can, and will do that, Lieutenant Commander,” she said, her tone turning serious. “While Starfleet does outline forms of address, they also allow ship captains quite a bit of latitude on how they run their ship. Having read your file thoroughly, I thought this sort of thing may become an issue.” She handed him another PADD. “While your service has been excellent, there have been instances outlined by your former department heads and commanders where your adherence to regulations were noted as being more of a detriment than a benefit.” She paused while he opened the PADD and began reading.

“What is this?”

“Starfleet regulations specific to a captain’s prerogative. I set the tone for how things run on the Protean. Things may be a bit different than what you were used to on the Gryphon or your other postings, but I assure you that each commanding officer has their own way of doing things.”

He read through the information quickly. “My apologies, Commander. I...I guess I got so caught up in taking this new position that I let the excitement influence my ability to recall the rules effectively.”

“I appreciate your respect for the rules. As a matter of fact, that is one of your qualities that I was fascinated with the most as I read through your profile,” Leah said, sitting forward in her chair. “But there is a time and a place for browbeating with the rulebook.” She smiled briefly. “Let me cut to the chase. As you well know, this is my first command. I wasn’t even given the benefit of having been first officer. That being said, between the both of us we are an untested command staff, with this being your first posting as an exec. We will rely heavily on each other to do right by our crew, by the Admiral, and by Starfleet. I would like to think that I run a tight ship, but I will not drag our crew through the wringer every time there is a minor infraction.”

“Understood.”

“I also want to make it perfectly clear that this is not, in any way, an admonishment,” she continued. “I would like for us both to develop into a tight-knit command structure, along with Lieutenant Thoveh. I’m certain that many eyes will be on us, watching our every move to see how we handle things with such an untested command staff. I believe that we will give them something to be impressed with.”

Bevan smiled again. “I agree, Commander. I look forward to serving under you.”

“Good. Glad to hear it,” she replied, standing. “We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other, but for now I believe you would be better suited getting your gear stowed and maybe wandering around the ship to get acquainted with her. Dismissed.”

With a nod, he was gone. She closed her eyes and shook her head. The last thing she needed was an over-zealous officer coming in and setting everyone on edge, rattling their calm when, for the most part, everyone was already accustomed to the way things worked on Protean. But she couldn’t help the cards she was dealt, and she couldn’t force Bevan to go against regulations. She just hoped that he might loosen up as he became more familiar with the ship and crew.

Gwilym, on the other hand, walked out of the meeting unphased. Walking out of the ready room and onto the bridge, most of the skeleton crew were put off by their new XOs ‘cock of the walk’ attitude as he disappeared into the turbolift.