Abdication

Posted on 15 Sep 2013 @ 11:45am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Lilou Zaren

1,615 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 01: 1405 hrs

[ON]

Lilou had read the message too many times. Be careful what you wish for - wasn't that an old Earth phrase? The day she'd been assigned to replace Quinn as Chief Engineer of the Galileo, she'd sent the request in to Starfleet command that they find someone more suited, more experienced to the role. She'd done the best she could in the time since, but now - reading Fahad's profile - she couldn't debate their choice. He was experienced and more, he'd been trained to lead. Trained to be an officer. Her pips had been foisted upon her out of necessity in the moment. Now, she read the message on her PADD yet one more time, before rising from Quinn's chair and looking around the office.

It would be good for them to have someone to look up to. Someone who knew the proper protocols and methodologies, rather than a skrimp of a girl flying by the seat of her pants. On a quick exhale, she straightened her uniform best she could, tucked the PADD under her arm, and headed out, passing by Willis with a quick wave.

The turbolift was too fast, as was the short walk to the door to the Captain's Ready Room, but Lilou pressed the button to request entry before she could talk herself out of it. This was the right thing. The only correct course of action in the given circumstances.

Casually munching on a bowl of salad while sitting at her desk, Lirha's head glanced up at the sound of the door chime. On her computer screen was the latest revision of her ship's duty roster to look over, but she wasn't particularly swamped with too much administrative work at the moment. Rather, she had taken the break in paperwork to grab a quick bite to eat from her replicator, and she wiped her mouth clean with her napkin before swallowing and then inviting her guest inside. "Enter." her voice softly called out.

Lilou stepped through as the door slid open before her. Great. Interrupting the Captain in the middle of her lunch. 'Well done, Peers,' she thought, berating herself. "Sir. It wasn't my intention to cut into your personal time. If there is a better... that is, this shouldn't take very long, I just thought I should... I can come back later, if you'd prefer."

The captain watched the lithe Trill engineer enter her ready room, and quickly disregarded her perceived interruption with a shake of her head. "It is no problem at all, lieutenant. I was just grabbing a quick bite to eat." she gestured with her fork to the empty chair across from her desk. "Have a seat. What can I do for you?"

Lilou took the seat offered, perching on the edge, her spine stiff. "As you know, sir, I have had no formal training as an officer of the fleet. Nor have I the leadership experience that, under other circumstances, might be a prerequisite to being named a department head. I have done my best, but - for the sake of the ship and the best interest of those in it - I think you might be better served by someone who has been trained to run a department, rather than to simply keep it from breaking down. When you first promoted me to this position, you said that you and Quinn believed in me, and I did not take those words lightly. But part of being loyal to the ship, means putting her needs ahead of my own personal wishes, so I contacted Command and asked if they had anyone they were looking to place as a Chief Engineer. They contacted me today." She set the PADD on Lirha's desk and scooted it slightly towards her.

Lirha gave Lilou her full attention while she listened to her explain the situation. In truth, Lirha didn't know how to feel about what she had just been told; she had always thought the woman in front of her was an excellent engineer, and it pained her to think that her own -- and her XO's and COB's -- votes of confidence were not enough for the chief engineer to remain at her position.

"I...am not sure what to say, lieutenant." Lirha said, trying her best to remain even-faced. Her green eyes looked down at the PADD for a long moment before she finally picked it up and scanned its contents. "Your service aboard Galileo has been exemplary so far. May I ask why, specifically, you do not feel qualified? You might not have as much Academy training as some of the other officers on board, but your practical on-the-job training more than compensates for that, in my opinion."

"My experience has taught me to look after the needs of the ship," Lilou ducked her head, hands interlocking in her lap. "And I will continue to do so to the utmost of my ability. But what I have gleaned by watching you and Chief Quinn and Commander Holliday is that true leadership requires an ability to look after the needs of the individuals in one's department as well. I am unequal to the task, socially, sir. I am working on it, and hope to continue to learn, but none of my experiences leading up to my promotion served to improve my leadership skills. In point of fact, sir, they did pretty much the opposite. I spent a great deal of my time alone working out problems and did not learn to rely on others or give other engineers opportunities to grow and learn. Quinn was the first Chief I had who did that for me and having a Chief who is interested in his engineers as much as he is the parts of the ship is invaluable to the ship's well-being as a whole. My feet are still too small to fill Quinn's shoes."

The captain looked into Peer's grayish-blue eyes for a long moment, searching them for the truth as if somehow she wasn't already revealing it. There was a lot of honesty coming out of the Trill engineer, and Lirha wasn't exactly sure if she was being too hard on herself or if her words were the truth.

A long moment of contemplation and silence ensued after which Lirha finally decided that there was indeed some merit to Lilou's objections. Her experience with the chief engineer had revealed that Peers wasn't exactly the most outgoing person on the ship -- which wasn't a requirement for any officer -- but which could mean that the duties of task delegation and enforcement of responsibility might not be as strong as was required.

"And...you think you would be more happy not being a department head, and that your department would benefit from your departure in the role?" she asked.

"I think I would be more useful, sir. My happiness is neither here nor there. And I believe that exposure to a trained officer might help me to learn and improve so that, in time, I will be better suited to retaining the position you believe I'm capable of filling."

"I see." the Orion replied simply enough in a monotone voice, glancing back at the PADD on her desk one more time. "Are you certain about this, lieutenant?" she asked, wanting to afford the chief engineer a final chance to rethink her very-unorthodox request. "Usefulness is a relative term depending on who you ask, but if you are adamant, I will honor your desire."

Lilou bowed her head. "It might not be the decision I would make now, sir, but I sent the query in weeks ago before I'd had time to begin adjusting. At this point, it's a matter of Command wanting to move someone new ahead. So the list of candidates is there for your perusal. And I will remain at the disposal of the Galileo and her command staff."

Lirha picked up the PADD and began to peruse it, taking note of the different engineering officers whose service records were being displayed. It would take her a while to vet all of the different candidates and select a suitable one, and she also wanted her XO's opinion on the matter before making a final decision. With a soft sigh, one of sadness that Lilou had already taken the proper arrangements to find a replacement, she placed the PADD back down on the table and gave the woman a forced smile. "Very well. It will take me some time to look through this list." she explained. "For now, I would like for you to remain at your post, and as soon as a replacement is found, I will be sure to notify you. Will that be acceptable?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Lilou rose and stood at attention across from Lirha.

The Orion captain gave Peers one long final look -- as if somehow she would change her mind by being stared at -- then curtly nodded. "Thank you for coming to see me about this. If there is nothing else, you are dismissed." She looked at her bowl of salad which was still on the corner of the table, but suddenly had lost her appetite.

"Sir," Lilou saluted and turned to the door, not entirely happy, but sure she'd done the right thing for the ship. And if it kept her lower on the radar of the Captain and XO who'd threatened to destroy her when she'd left the Algonquin for the Galileo... all the better.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Lilou Peers
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

RSS Feed