New Opportunities

Posted on 25 Jul 2013 @ 8:47am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Petty Officer 2nd Class Lorenzo Donati

774 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 12 - 1135 hrs

[ON]

Donati crossed the bridge, PADD in hand, and stopped outside the captain's ready room. Anyone who knew the man would have been able to tell from his fidgety behavior that he was containing some zealous outburst about archaeology. He reached out and tapped the captain's door chime and waited impatiently for the two seconds it took to get a response.

Lirha sat in her comfy desk chair while thumbing over the contents of the PADD in her hand. Absentmindedly, she chewed on the side of her lower lip while reading through one of the latest intel reports regarding the surrounding sectors. Nothing in the contents seemed too terribly strange, but she couldn't help but think back to the recent interrogation she had conducted at SB-185 the previous day.

The sound of the door chime interrupted her thoughts before she could ponder any further. "Enter." she called out, then sat up straight in her chair and pushed her dark hair back behind her ears.

"Captain!" Donati charged into the ready room and tossed the PADD down on Lirha's desk, disregarding her current work. "I submitted a report to the Archaeology Council for Rojar and they were so impressed that they offered me a leading position on the excavation team!" The man was beaming and he seemed about ready to explode with energy.

Lirha was startled at the sudden outburst from one of her blue-collared personnel which was also accompanied with a loud thump as his PADD landed on her desk. She looked up at the man with a frown - Petty Officer Donati she quickly identified - then shook her head and pointed towards a nearby chair. "Have a seat, Mister Donati." she said, first things first in an attempt to get him to calm down.

"What?" Donati exclaimed, turning, "Oh, of course." He sat. "Thank you, Captain.

"Now, start from the beginning. Are you informing me of a transfer request which was granted?" she asked. The older man was obviously excited, and Lirha wanted to know more about the reasons why.

"It has to be approved by you, of course, but the Federation Archaeology Council has submitted the necessary paperwork- isn't that an archaic term? Paper... ha! Originated on Earth with the ancient Egyptians, but Vulcans were using a plant-based writing surface by the time of Surak and the Bajorans were writing with ink brushes even earlier. When was the last time you used paper for your paperwork? Certainly never with a consideration for its historic significance, hm?"

Lirha interrupted and held up her green hand, indicating for him to slow down. "Yes, I am sure the origins of paper and Earth papyrus are fascinating...but what exactly are trying to tell me? Has the Archaeological Council reassigned you?"

"If I want it, which I do, and if you approve the transfer..." Donati gestured to the PADD on the desk.

Finally picking up the PADD and quickly skimming through its contents, the captain didn't see anything out of the ordinary with the request. In fact, it seemed like a great opportunity for the seasoned Starfleet officer, and would provide him with a more hands-on experience than he would probably get on board Galileo. In addition, a new archaeologist/anthropologist had recently been assigned to the ship, and the small Nova class did not have much room for redundancy.

"I do not see any problems with this transfer." she quietly commented while she finished reading the details. Eventually she pressed her thumb into the signature box and slid the PADD back across the desk to Donati. "Transfer approved, petty officer. I hope you enjoyed your time aboard our ship, and hopefully you will find something of interest on the moon's surface."

"Thank you, Captain." Donati gave her a huge grin. "This is the greatest opportunity of my life, and I have the Galileo to thank for it. I'll send holos of the dig, when I can, show you some of my discoveries." He took the PADD and began to back away without being dismissed. he'd never been very good at following protocol. "Keep an eye out for an article by Donati when they announce the discovery of the century." Really it was hard to tell if he was joking.

Lirha nodded and gave the man a small smile, one of gratitude for his previous service aboard her ship. "I will, indeed." she replied as he grabbed his PADD and wandered away out of her ready room. "Enjoy yourself, and be careful down there."

[OFF]

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CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

PO2 Lorenzo Donati
Archeologist
USS Galileo
played by Psylus Anon

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