Testing one's mettle

Posted on Sat Sep 30th, 2017 @ 1:38am by Captain Hailey Konuha & Commander Rebecca Dawes
Edited on on Sat Sep 30th, 2017 @ 1:39am

1,577 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Test Mission
Location: USS Endeavour
Timeline: SD240709.30
Tags: Ramatis

=/\= Bridge, USS Endeavour =/\=

Dawes watched the level indicator above the turbolift door as it sped upwards towards the bridge. "Can't believe this," she muttered, as her mind obsessed over her predicament. Despite staying up all night to transfer her meager belongings aboard and acquaint herself with the ship and crew, she had still found a way to miss being on the bridge for departure. "I should've just let them figure it out," Dawes mused - reflecting back onto the relatively trivial matter that Gamez and T`Lar had summoned her from the Endeavour to personally oversee - as she nervously rocked heel to toe. "A little trial by fire never hurt anyone." Now, instead of being on hand and ready, she was instead
responding to a summons from the captain. "Great first impression; first day and I'm late. Ugh. What is taking this thing so long?" An increasingly uneasy Dawes intertwined her fingers behind her back and began to twiddle her thumbs. Finally, seconds after the vessel slipped into the warp, the doors to the turbolift opened.

The uncomfortable engineer - still clad in Operations gold - took a cleansing breath and stepped out onto the bridge. While she may have eventually been a member of the senior staff on the Ticonderoga, she had spent very little time on the bridge. Commander Torin was of the belief that an Engineer's place was down below and, given that there was more than enough to keep her occupied in Engineering, she had always been quite content to allow a token junior officer the thrill of manning the ever so prestigious bridge station. Unfortunately, however, it now seemed that all those shifts below may not have been the best career decision. She observed the activity for a moment before stepping onto the command platform and moving to the captain. "Commander Dawes reporting as ordered, captain. I'm sorry I wasn't here to meet you; I was called back onto Versailles unexpectedly and it took longer than it should've."

Hailey gave Dawes a warm smile. "Not to worry Commander", she assured her. She nodded to the empty seat beside her. "Have a seat!," she almost squealed with delight. It was obvious to anyone that Capt Konuha was in her element. This is who she was and what she was born to do. The episode with the previous Endeavour all those long years ago had made her side step her calling. But now she was back .. and the ride was thrilling.

"Thank you, captain." Dawes managed a grin but an aura of uncertainty encompassed her as she took the seat. After a crash course on the vessel, crew, and a brief skimming of "How to Succeed in Starfleet Without Really Trying," she at least felt like she could give a decent approximation of an officer not entirely of their element. Comfy as the seat might be, it would definitely take some time to truly become comfortable in it. The sight of everyone attending to their duties as she sat idle was definitely unsettling.

"So, Commander ..", she started smoothly. ".. how's the ship appeal to you?"

"I performed a relatively quick walk-through late last night after checking in with the quartermaster and transferring my gear over." A wandering eye from a passing crewman caught her attention and the unease began to grow. Dawes looked to the small terminal afforded to her left and turned it towards her, calling up the Endeavour's specifications. "It's definitely larger than my last posting, and definitely less crowded as well. I was impressed by the Engineering spaces, the components are definitely an upgrade over the Ticonderoga." Engineering. Command. A visible look of irritation crossed her face as she paused to look down at her uniform. "My apologies, captain," Dawes began, trying to keep her voice from carrying, "I wasn't sure if I need to change departmental colors or not, it was kind of a topic of debate when I was packing."

Hailey coyly leaned over and said in a hushed voice, "Don't worry about the uniform - you look great in gold."

"Uhm... thank you, sir," she replied sheepishly, and switched her terminal over from the ship's specifications to a simplified master systems display. "As far as the ship and crew, as she's not had a proper shakedown, should we arrange for some stress tests on the critical systems before arrival, perhaps drills? I know a fair number of the crewmen brought over from Versailles to flesh out Engineering are a bit raw, and I informed the CEO - a Lieutenant Gruene <<"green">> - that they'll need a firm hand."

"Excellent work, Commander! Officer thinking! Don't let anyone tell you that this isn't the job for you. You just need the opportunity to get your feet wet." Hailey was absolutely bubbly. It was an almost 180 degree turn from the way she presented herself on the Versailles and she was sure it was making Dawes a little weary of her. She took a breath and decided to "tone it down" a bit.

"Mr Harkin - time to Ramatis?", she barked her question with all the authority of her Captaincy. "28 hours 17 mins present speed, Captain", came the response. Hailey mused for a moment. "Very well .. Lt Bates you have the Conn .. Dawes let's adjourn to my Ready Room." Hailey stood and straightened her uniform.

Dawes made a mental note of their estimated travel time - as well as the helmsman's name - and nodded to Konuha before moving to her feet. "Aye, sir." She took a quick glance around the bridge to get her bearings and acknowledged Bates as the officer moved into the captain's chair. "Only a lieutenant and taking the conn; I definitely should've taken a few of those shifts," she thought, followed the captain off the bridge.

=/\= Endeavour's Ready =/\=

Hailey walked behind her desk and sat down, shifting a couple of time to find the sweet spot of the chair. "Have a seat, Commander .. or should I call you 'Number One'?" Hailey smiled. She was enjoying watching Dawes drink from a firehose a little too much, however, there was no better teacher than trial-by-fire in her opinion.

She furrowed her brow at the question and made her way into the seat across from the captain. "I can't say I've given that much thought, sir. But that would be your prerogative, of course." Dawes shuffled slightly in her own chair, not due to anxiety but discomfort. It was indeed a sad state of affairs when a group of designers could spend days discussing the finer points of indirect lighting but be completely clueless about furniture comfort. "I'd think whatever would be easiest to yell in an emergency would probably make the most sense. It's not proper, but 'Dawes' would be fine."

"I'm assuming you've read the mission assignment. I'd like to get your views on our situational and tactical readiness." The question was straightforward without smile or jeer. This was something all Executive Officers should be prepared to answer.

Dawes' expression hardened ever so slightly at the change in the conversation's tenor. She reclined slightly in her seat and intertwined her fingers, placing her hands in her lap. "As far as the vessel itself, from what I've seen..." She paused, parsing her words carefully. "I'm cautiously optimistic, should things go sideways. Aside from the tactical systems I base that primarily on the propulsion system - it *seems* hardened enough to withstand some abuse and get us out of trouble as fast or faster than we got into it. As far as the crew... I don't know them well enough to proffer an opinion. They all seem enthusiastic, but..." Dawes glanced downwards, thinking back to her first action under fire. "...that fades pretty fast under fire."

"Quite. Each of us has our own gifts when the time is needed." Hailey eyed Dawes with quiet reserve. "However, you only answered part of the question. You neglected to mention anything about our situational readiness. There is alot about this mission that can prove to .. delicate."

Dawes thought back to the actual definition of situational readiness and tilted her head slightly. "Well given the fact we're a mixed crew with very little time together before departure, I'd have to rate our situational readiness as fair to poor. We're an untested crew on an untested ship going into a 'delicate' situation between armed factions. It's not the milk run everyone probably expected." She took a deep breath. "As far as tactical readiness, as I said before, the vessel is good to go. On paper, anyway. I'd personally feel a bit better knowing that something will actually happen when tactical tries to fire the phasers *before* there's actually a hostile in front of us pressing the issue. It doesn't need to be flashy. The charts show there's a debris field from a planetary collision that we'll pass on our present course. I'd recommend we divert for a few shots then increase speed afterwards to compensate; we'd still arrive as scheduled, and Mr. Bates and I would be able to sleep a bit easier."

Hailey nodded in approval of the assessment. "Agreed. Make it so, Commander." Hailey stood signalling the meeting was over. As Dawes turned to leave the room, Hailey stood there quietly giving herself a pat on the back. She wasn't wrong about Dawes at all.

=/\= End Log =/\=

Capt Hailey Konuha, XO - Versailles, CO - Endeavour
Commander Rebecca Dawes, CEO - Versailles, XO- Endeavour

 

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