Reporting in

Posted on 21 Dec 2013 @ 3:55pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Asahi Kita

1,849 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD 06 - 1815 hrs

[ON]

Inside of her quarters, Lirha popped open a bottle of analgesic pills and dumped two of them into her hand before tossing them into her mouth and swallowing. She took a long drink of water to wash them down, then rubbed the side of her neck and shoulders where she was currently having rather intense pain. Tubules... she grimaced at the thought and shuddered when she remembered the sickening feeling of being penetrated by the thin and slender devices. She let out a deep sigh to try and wash the memory away, then moved to her desk and sat down at her LCARS terminal to begin some post-shift administrative work.

Asahi had checked everywhere else, but the Captain's quarters. It wasn't in his nature to disrupt anyone while they were off-duty, but the circumstances were... quite pressing. He had to report in! Having gone three days on the vessel without reporting in, while still managing to lead a successful away team through a Borg Cube. They may have been lucky enough to catch the Borg at an odd time, but Asahi was still relatively proud of the achievement.

But it didn't mean he was going to continue on without first reporting in. He would eventually have to go through the other hoops, but first, to the Captain.

His nerves got the best of him as he reached the door. There was no way of knowing what Lihra was like at all, or whether he was interrupting anything at all. She seemed decent enough, but it didn't stop the engineer from feeling the pressure.

Carefully, he knocked at the door.

The rapping of knuckles against her door was a most unusual sound, and Lirha curiously looked towards the entrance to her quarters wondering why the person outside had neglected to use the more efficient chime. Maybe it was Nesh? No, she would have just let herself in without saying a word. The same with Siren. "Enter," she called out, her eyes fixed on the door.

If Asahi gave it more thought, he probably would have used the more efficient means to get the Captain's attention. But, it seemed not to matter, as he heard the woman's voice. He stepped through the door as it opened up, carefully stepping into the woman's quarters before nodding a small greeting. "Ah, sorry if I caught you at a bad time, ma'am. I... just wanted to make sure I had reported in properly, now that the chaos seems to be bubbling down."

She took in the sight of the short gold-collared officer who was familiar to her as team leader of one of the rescue teams aboard the Borg ship earlier in the day. "Hello, Mister Kita," she replied pleasantly enough with a small smile, then motioned to a nearby chair with her green hand indicating for him to take a seat. "No, we have not formally met, but you and your team did a good job aboard the cube."

He breathed an internal sigh of relief, nodding and sitting in the motioned at chair. "Thank you ma'am. I... have to admit, it was a bit unexpected, but I had a good team pitching in, considering the circumstances." Borg Cubes weren't all that great for morale, after all. "... And, if I may ma'am, I'm relieved you aren't the ah... 'fire-breathing commander' that I've heard about from some of the other engineers." After a small pause, he smiled nervously. "... I hope."

"'Fire-breathing commander'?" Lirha repeated with slight amusement in her eyes, perplexed by the term and not sure whether it was a reference to herself or her XO. She had never considered herself to be a very stern captain, but of course, that judgement was best made in the eye of the beholder.

"Mmm..." Despite the rising embarrassment, he found himself smiling mischievously. Many of the other COs on his other vessels would have probably given a stern glare by now, but the captain's response put him a little more at ease. "It just so happens that that's a running rumor with my first vessel too. It's easier to imagine an intimidating CO than it is to try to get along with them I guess."

"Oh. I see," she replied, now understanding what he had meant to convey. "Commander Holliday would probably better suit that description...personally, I have always believed in being approachable. I find the crew seems to respond to stressful situations better that way," she explained with a light shrug. Her XO, on the other hand, was a man of discipline and came from a strong tactical and military background. They had very opposite command styles, but strangely they complimented each other very well.

That was slightly more uncanny than Asahi would have imagined. The engineer was extremely thankful for Lihra's thought process, however. "I like that thought, if you don't mind me saying so ma'am. Not that there's a damn thing wrong with the rules or regulations, but it's easier to try to follow them when you're not cowering from command, in any sense of the term." Being Orion still threw him off a little, but hey, it would throw anyone off on their first encounter, right?

Lirha gave the Japanese man a small smile of agreement. "In my experience, commanding through intimidation has never been a strong leadership style. Especially not in the long run," she replied. "Being deployed in space has its own stressors and I do with to add to them unless necessary. Besides...our crew knows what they should be doing. Discipline is rare on board." She was definitely thankful for that. "What about you previous commanding officers? What were they like?"

Asahi nodded. "As long as it works, right?" No need to fix something that isn't broken. At the question, the engineer smiled weakly. "Different. Captain Killick was a little more heavy-handed on her command instructions, but she wasn't all that bad. A little more intimidating." Then again, Asahi saw a very different side of the woman, as she took a liking him very early on. "The Grendel on the other hand, had a CO every year I was there. Each more stressed out than the last, so I never really got a command style out of them." He shrugged. "It wasn't something I had the security clearance to know, but such a switch in command so quickly isn't just a coincidence." It was just something Asahi never truly thought about. It wasn't his clearance level, so it was someone else's problem. "I have a sort of skewed view of command, to be fair."

A legacy was a legacy after all.

"A skewed view?" Now this, Lirha was curious to hear. She always enjoyed hearing from junior officers regarding their thoughts and opinions of life on board a starship, particularly hers, and it often gave her better insight into those members of her crew.

"Mm..." Asahi nodded. "My grandparents are Starfleet officers, and they left behind a bit of a legacy. They were both proud when I decided to join Starfleet, and didn't hesitate to tell... everyone at the Academy. And maybe a few of their former fellow officer-types." He didn't seem all that proud when he said it, eyes cast downward. "I'm trying to make my own path, but it's difficult when all of this is hovering over my head. My father used to work with Captain Killick before she was promoted, so I think in that case... she may have taken a liking to me simply from my bloodline." He smiled, almost bitterly. "I've been transferring farther and farther out in hopes to get away from that."

"Guilty by association, yes?" the captain grinned, showing her very white teeth. "I am the first in my family to join Starfleet so I confess, I am not sure what it would be like to have so many connections to the organization at such a young age. But I sympathize, and I think Galileo is an ideal post if you want to get away from it all. We operate mostly on the frontier of Federation space, far away from Academy instructors, overbearing admirals, and the rest of the fleet."

"Very much so. I still get the occasional instructor attempting to check up on me." He chuckled, now extremely relieved that he wouldn't have to worry about such things looming over his head. The captain was pleasant and understanding about it all.

Oddly, the only thought that ran through Asahi's mind was 'Boy, I wonder what she's like when she's pissed.'

"I think it'll work out well then. Even if they manage to find where I've run off to, my instructors and such can't really actually come find me." Another reliving thought. "And I don't expect to slack off ever." A slacking engineer was never a good sign, after all.

"Excellent...I would not want to think one of my engineers was leaving our warp core unattended," she teased but in a serious tone, then changed the subject. "So, have you reported in to Lieutenant Fahad and Commander Holliday yet?" she inquired, wondering how many of the senior staff he had managed to meet since his arrival.

"That sounds like a cadet mistake." Asahi shook his head, pausing to register her question before shaking his head again. "In all the chaos, I've only spoken with Lieutenant Fahad once or twice... So he knows I'm about, but the official reporting in has yet to occur I suppose. I've managed to fall into duties fairly well. Aside from that, I have had a bit of trouble contacting anyone else."

Lirha supposed it was understandable given the hectic nature of affairs aboard the ship recently. "I understand. Well, when you get a chance, it would be prudent to meet your superior officers and introduce yourself. In addition, you will need a quick physical exam and mental checkup once sickbay clears out. Lieutenant Warraquim can assist you as necessary."

"Of course ma'am." Asahi nodded eagerly. "I mean to meet with them as soon as I can, and once the sick bay clears up, I'll go straight to Lieutenant Warraquim, and get myself checked in with the psychiatrist as well." The engineer meant to be thorough. No sense in leaving loose ends.

"Very good. I realize the routine checkups are not always very fun, but they are a necessary evil," she added with a sympathetic tilt of her head. Glancing over at her desk's LCARS terminal and noting the time on the chronometer, she realized she still had some work to finish up before dinner. "Well, I believe everything appears to be in order. Was there anything else you wished to speak to me about before I return to my work?"

Asahi nodded in understanding. "... Mmm, no. Thank you for taking some time out of your schedule for this. I'll let you get back to that." He immediately stood, bowing lightly and smiling.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

LT JR Grade Asahi Kita
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

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