Stace's Sensor Specialist Sweep

Posted on 29 Apr 2015 @ 10:04am by Lieutenant JG Emmarie (E'Ma'ri) & Commander Norvi Stace
Edited on on 30 Apr 2015 @ 5:31pm

1,754 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Galileo - First Officer's Office, Deck Two
Timeline: MD 1, 1305 hours

ON:

As Emmarie had been on her previous vessel ever since graduating from the Academy, she didn't have a tremendous amount of experience with introducing herself to new leadership. Still, she tried to remain optimistic as she put on her uniform and checked her reflection in the mirror. Everything's in order here, she mused, before heading off to meet with the Galileo's first officer.

A few minutes later, she waited outside Stace's office. She reached out and pressed the chime, rocking side to side a bit as she did so. She was the sort who had a difficult time standing still. Unfortunately, her current role was likely to require a bit more time on the Bridge than her last role had, which could potentially be problematic given her need to be in motion.

"Come in," Stace called out, heaving a box from the floor onto the desk a grunt. She placed a hand on her flustered forehead and rested her hip against the desk, looking forlornly at the stacked boxes she was to still unpack. "Ah, Lieutenant!" she remarked, brushing away a wisp of her hair out of her eyes. "I'd ask you to pull up a chair but you might have to make do with a box. What can I help you with?"

"A box is fine," Emmarie said, her eyes quickly making their way around the room as they took in the various surroundings. "Looks like your project is a demanding one, sir," she said. Women in the 'fleet were always a bit difficult. Some insisted on sir, others on ma'am. Emmarie answered to both, in addition to "hey, beautiful," and "green lady," though the latter she viewed as somewhat racially insensitive.

"I'm Lieutenant JG Emmarie, I'm the new Chief of Operations. I haven't officially reported for duty to the Command staff yet."

"Then consider yourself reported in," Stace smiled, flicking her attention to one of the boxes distractedly and then back over to the Orion. She heaved herself up off of the desk with her hip in graceful mood and strode over to her. She thrust out her hand enthusiastically and smiled widely. "Commander Norvi Stace. Nice to meet you, Lieutenant."

"Nice to meet you too," Emmarie said, gripping Stace's hand firmly within her own. "It's good to be aboard." And to be free of that idiot, she added to herself.

Stace spun around on her heel and looked flustered. "Since Commander Blake's reassignment, I'm trying to seamlessly unpack and keep an eye on the bridge so that when the games start I'm on top of things. I didn't realise I'd accumulated so much stuff down in the my science office."

"It's funny how that happens. I had tiny little shared quarters on the Trinity and I was amazed at how much I brought over. "Samples... prototypes... random projects. They take up far more space than I realized." She took her spot perched on the edge of a box, and cocked her head to one side.

"What classification was the Trinity?" Stace mused, walking back to her desk taking care to step over a few that were left strewn on floor and then taking the box off it's perch so that she could sit.

"Sabre," Emmarie answered, a frown forming on her features as she spoke. It had been small. Everyone knew everyone else's business. Galileo was smaller, but right now she didn't have a reputation or anything. It was a chance to start over.

"Sabre? You've downgraded a deck!" Stace chuckled at her own joke and then looked towards the replicator. "Can I get you anything? Tea or coffee perhaps?"

Emmarie laughed, "Water please," she said. "Downgraded a deck, but upgraded in sanity. You know how teeny, tiny ships are. You sneeze on deck 2 and the CMO messages you 15 minutes later to see if you need to stop by."

"Haha!" Stace almost bellowed. "And I'm sure that you'll find the Gally almost exactly the same!"

Stace then stood and made the small walk over to the wall alcove and replicated her own coffee before doing the same for her guest. As she returned, she placed both cups down on the desk, sliding Emmarie's over to her. "I have to admit," she said, the hard surface of the beaker moving across the table top, "with the new promotion and this mission coming at me all at once, I've only managed to read the crew records of the transfers from my former department. So why don't we start afresh and make the introductions a little more formally so that I can get to you know you?"

"Well, I entered Starfleet a little late because I attended Oxford first, though I wasn't too far behind as I started early. Ever since I graduated I've been working on the USS Trinity. One of the good things about it being such a small ship was that I got to dabble around assisting other departments from time to time. Our mission varied a lot. We largely worked assisting larger vessels, so I got to experience all sorts of missions."

"I did a five year tour with the Trinity, eventually getting promoted to Sensor Systems Specialist. I hope that I can not only gain knowledge aboard the Galileo, but also to teach others as well."

"That sounds like an admirable goal to have," Stace replied, a warm smile breaking across her features. "And it also sounds like you can bring with it a little experience of your own." She paused for a moment and then relaxed a little, taking up her cup and drawing a draft from it. "And we do have one of the most advanced senor arrays in the Fleet so it would appear that you're on the right track to progress your own chosen career. Where do you see yourself progressing on to? Do you think you'll be happy on an eight-decked Nova class chasing sensor readings?"

"I'm eager to get ahold of the sensor arrays here," Emmarie said, grinning with delight. "I'm happy with a Nova, though I'd love to work for Starfleet Academy one day. Or have my own command." She shrugged. "I'm good at making myself happy regardless of where I am." It was one of her best skills, in her own opinion.

"If it's one thing that I've learned over my lifetimes, it's that you need to have that quality to be happy." She paused and then mused her own sentence. "One of my original Guardians in the Caves of Mak'ala used to remind the initiates that 'no matter where you go, there you are'. And it stuck with me. I've seen so much over the years, been so many different people and worn so many different hats, but no matter what journey you start on you're still you whether you've changed en route."

Emmarie nodded, "That's good advice. And I think that-- for some people-- it can be difficult when their life doesn't follow their optimal trajectory. But, I've personally found that people are very poor judges of what they need and want in life, so just rolling with the punches seems a more sound life strategy."

Stace nodded in agreement and then took another drink of her coffee, relaxing back further into her chair and crossing her legs as she did so. "Have you managed to explore the ship much? What little there is of her..."

Emmarie laughed at that. "I've done a bit of exploring, and I like what I see. But the true value of a starship is less about what she contains, and more about where you take her." She grinned. She had a feeling that the were going to have all sorts of adventures.

"And these games..." Stace trailed off, giving her a scrunch of her freckled nose and a smile, "we're going to need keen eyes on the sensors with all these cloaked ships about. I'm sure that where we take you will satiate your expanding thirst for knowledge." She drank the dregs of her cooking coffee and then flashed a smile. "So before I officially dismiss you from your first command reporting meeting, do you have any questions from me? About the ship or this mission or anything, really?"

"I guess the biggest question I have is what qualities do you personally value the most in assistant department heads?" Emmarie asked. She had to admit, she was extremely interested in these games, and she couldn't wait to see what happened with them. It was something she'd never experienced before.

"As a department assistant head myself," Stace said with a flourish of her eyebrows, "support is the best quality you can offer. And also initiative. With one thing or another, your department head will have enough on their plate making sure that everything runs smoothly without having to worry about your workload. That's not to say that you shouldn't ask for help when it's needed, but your rank and position will stand for something much more if you take things into your own hands instead of waiting to be told what to do. Is this your first posting as an assistant department head, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir," Emmarie said. "The Trinity was small enough that it was only the chief, assistant, and myself. Everyone else was non-comm. So in a way it was kind of a step up position to this sort of a role. I'm really looking forward to being able to take on more responsibility. I like helping people out." The edges of her lips quirked up in a half smile. "Or perhaps I just like being needed. Regardless, that's what I want to do, and who I want to be here."

"We sure need you here, Lieutenant," Stace cut back with a smile. "Our sensors are one of the most important parts of our cutting edge technology so it's nice to have a specialist on board to bridge the gap in the basic training the rest of us have received."

"Thank you, sir," Emmarie said. "I'll do my best to do you all proud."

"And that's all any of us can ask of you, Lieutenant," Stace added with a nod. "Don't forget, my door is always open to you should you need anything."

OFF:

Lieutenant JG Emmarie
Assistant Chief of Operations

AND

Lieutenant Commander Norvi Stace
Commanding Officer / First Officer
USS Galileo

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