Off to a Bad Start

Posted on Sat Nov 20th, 2010 @ 5:38am by Lieutenant Commander Joseph Thompson & Vice Admiral Iluvar

Mission: Episode 1.4 - "Confusion in the Cluster"
Location: Transporter Room II, Bridge, Ready Room
Timeline: Pre-Mission Day 01

ON: [[Transporter Room II, USS Pandora, Pre-Mission Day 01]]

As the hum of the transporter faded, Joe looked around and saw a gruff-looking man in a security uniform waiting for him. "Hello," Joe said, stepping down from the transporter pad with his suitcase and duffle bag in hand. "I'm-"

"The new CS/TO, I know," the man interrupted, his tone as gruff as his appearance. "From the Draco, right?"

"That's right," Joe said, frowning slightly. He had read some files on his department before arriving; now, he realized that this must be Senior Chief Petty Officer Felle. Though Felle was the most senior NCO in the department, he had never gotten a major leadership position and was understandably bitter towards commissioned officers. Still, it wasn't good to let his NCO's get away with such such blatant disrespect, so Joe said, "A little respect would not be amiss, Mr. Felle."

"My apologies, sir," Felle said, a little less gruffly; Joe decided to ignore the sarcasm in Felle's voice. "If you'll come this way, I'll show you to your quarters." Joe nodded, following Felle out the door.

The trip to the Officers' Quarters was silent; Joe was lost in thought, and Felle was plotting on how best to get the new CS/TO in trouble. When they reached Joe's door, Felle finally spoke. "The CO will likely want to see you."

"Alright," Joe said. "I'll head up to the Bridge once I'm done settling in." Joe had planned on meetin with the CO anway; he might as well take care of it now.

"Oh," Felle said as he turned to leave. "Iluvar likes an orderly Bridge, so you'll need to make sure everyone pays attention when he comes on."

"Thanks," Joe said. "I'll keep that in mind." Felle nodded curtly and left, and Joe turned to get settled in. The room wasn't quite as spacious as he had had on the Draco, but he quickly turned his thoughts away from those painful memories. Always the Marine, he traveled as lightly as possible and had few personal positions, so it didn't take long to finish. Nodding in satisfaction, Joe headed up to meet his new CO.

[[Main Bridge]]

As Joe stepped onto the bridge, he looked around. Seeing that there wasn't anyone at the Tactical station, he decided to go take a look at it before checking in with the captain. Crossing the bridge, he accessed the station and took a look at the settings.

Joe heard the doors to the Ready Room hiss open and quickly looked up. Remembering Felle's advice, he called out, "Captain on the Bridge!" and snapped to attention.

The announcement drew Iluvar's attention as he emerged from his ready room onto the bridge. His eyes scanned the room until they came to rest on the lieutenant commander standing at attention near the tactical station. Immediately, he could tell that the commander was new to the Pandora, not only by the fact that he was unfamiliar to Iluvar, but also because it was he who had called the bridge to attention.

"My ready room, commander," Iluvar said calmly, "If you please..."

"Sir," Joe said, nodding and following the captain. Though the man seemed calm, Joe had picked up on a subtle inflection in his speech - something wasn't quite right here.

[[Ready Room]]

Leading the way back into his ready room, Iluvar waited for the doors to close before turning to face the man who had followed him. It didn't surprise him that Starfleet had seen fit to make yet another change to his senior staff without consulting him. Perhaps he had grown too accustomed to having control over the selection of his own crew, but it seemed as if Starfleet Command had been making some rather noticeable changes since the conclusion of his inquiry and there was no doubt in his mind as to the reason for their sudden interest in his crew assignments. He had a feeling that this was something he would be dealing with for quite some time.

Iluvar pushed those thoughts aside and turned his attention to the matter at hand. "I'm afraid Starfleet Command neglected to inform me that we would be receiving a new Chief Security/Tactical Officer," he said observing the commander for any signs of a reaction to his words, "Would you care to explain to me what just happened out there?"

"Sir, I'm not quite sure what you mean," Joe said, standing at full attention as an old reflex from his Marine service. "When a commanding officer is present, the senior-most officer or NCO calls the rest of the crew to attention. This is standard regulation, is it not?"

While the commander's response did not necessarily surprise him, it seemed rather textbook for someone who had achieved the rank of lieutenant commander. Iluvar would have expected to hear such a response from a cadet, ensign, or enlisted-man but not from an officer with such experience. Then again, Iluvar realized that it was entirely possible he had become too accustomed to the lack of such traditional procedure under his command that perhaps he was the exception to the rule.

"That may be the expectation of some commanding officers, but it is not an expectation that I hold of those under my command," Iluvar replied after a moment, "I would ask that you refrain from doing so in the future, Mister..."

"Thompson, Sir," Joe replied immediately. "Lieutenant Commander Joseph Thompson." If he were honest with himself, Joe would have to say he wasn't surprised; outside of the Marines, few CO's liked such procedures. He would have to have a nice, long talk with Felle about this.

"...Mister Thompson," Iluvar continued, "I am sure you'll find that there are a great many things we do out here that are going to be different from your previous assignments."

"I very much hope so, Sir," Joe said. With an effort, he forced his mind away from thoughts of the Draco. "I requested a transfer here specifically for a change in assignments."

The fact that the commander had requested a transfer to the Pandora caught Iluvar's attention. If he was being honest with himself, he would have been forced to admit that the number of personnel actually requesting to transfer to the Pandora had declined significantly since the conclusion of his inquiry. The results of that investigation had affected more than just his own reputation...it had affected the reputation of his ship and his crew as well. Thus, it seemed somewhat unusual to hear that someone had asked to be assigned to the Pandora after all this time.

"May I inquire as to the motivation behind your transfer, commander," Iluvar asked.

"I'd rather not go into the details, Sir," Joe said, somewhat stiffly. "Suffice it to say that I did not wish to stay on my previous ship because of...personal concerns, and the Pandora is somewhat of a prestigious vessel. I've heard some good things about her, and her captain."

"I see," Iluvar said slowly, "Well...welcome aboard, commander. You are dismissed."

"Sir," Joe said in acknowledgement, turning and heading for the door. As he left, he made a mental note to quietly check into other, more reliable sources about standards on the Pandora.

OFF

A JP by

Captain Iluvar
Commanding Officer
USS Pandora

and

Lieutenant Commander Thompson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora