Subordination, Respect and a Little Humility

Posted on 20 May 2015 @ 11:33am by Commander Andreus Kohl & Commander Norvi Stace
Edited on on 20 May 2015 @ 11:47am

2,021 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Nautilus - Deck 1, Ready Room / USS Galileo - Deck 1, Ready Room
Timeline: MD 02 - 0745 hours

[ON]

The Captain's Ready Room aboard USS Nautilus had undergone a redecoration. It's previous resident's spartan aesthetic was in danger of being replaced by something more like a junk shop demeanour. The ready room was was filled with totems to represent mentors from throughout Andreus Kohl's life. He hoped each person's kind guidance might follow the totems as they cluttered the compartment. Beside the sofa was a reproduction of the stringed trysette Kohl's father had once played. Hanging on one of the bulkheads was a Starfleet marine phaser rife, to remind Kohl of the USS Nautilus' last Commanding Officer. Hanging behind his desk were a couple of engraved plaques; one of them was emblazoned with the Starfleet Medical emblem. It was an award Kohl had won with Doctor Pola Ni Dhuinn. Beside his desk was sat potted reeds, which were native to the Trill homeworld. The inspiration for that totem was on Kohl's mind just then.

He was seated at his desk, wearing his command-division uniform. He frowned at the LCARS display protruding from his desk. "I think I'm going to vomit," he said.

"Then I'm glad that this meeting isn't in person, Andreas," Stace jested, looking off to the side and then back to him with a smile. "And if you really did really vomit then you'd ruin your lovely, brand-spanking new Ready Room and we can't be having that now, can we?" She smiled a congratulations and then tilted her head to the side, dropping her smile as she relaxed her face. "What's up, Captain? You seem a little on edge and distracted."

Kohl nodded heavily at her assessment. "That-- that is probably true. I think? I'm afraid to report to the Bridge. I'm panicking, a bit?" Kohl said, although he sounded reasonably calm and collected. If anything, he sounded intrigued by this development. "I don't know how to prepare for this, for actual in-charge command. I don't know what to study."

Stace relaxed her face into a sympathetic yet playful expression. She understood completely. And yet the fear of command, or doubt in her own ability, seemed like a lifetime away. Which, in fact, it really was. For her, stepping up to the First Officer position was like slipping on a familiar, worn glove. And Commanding Officer much the same but without the support of someone leading the way.

She remembered the self-doubt like a shadow in her early days of command. But this was not the time to indulge in such trivialities. "Captain, you don't need to study anything. You already have. And obviously succeeded in it otherwise they wouldn't have assigned you the position in the first place. Commanding a ship is much like heading a department and we both know that you've got that down. Don't make me doubt leaving the Science department in your ever so capable hands. After this, that should be a synch."

She paused and then reinforced her point. "Those pips on your collar, and your promotion to Second Officer, were awarded to you for your competence in this kind of duty. This is merely putting those new skills to the test. Because when myself and Captain Holliday need you, you may have to do the same on the Gally."

Stace had been winning him over. Kohl's breathing and his posture were starting to relax, as she made wise points. Calling him Captain was a subtle measure to undermine his panic as well. But when she spoke about him commanding Galileo, that was an eventuality he hadn't entirely thought about. His sapphire eyes took on a severe quality, and he started breathing shallow breaths all over again. Continuing on his original line of thinking, Kohl rambled, "One of my professors in leadership at the Academy, he was a great man. He told me once that the Commandant's syllabus on command training was bullshit. He said all a good leader needed was to read the Horatio Hornblower series of novels. ...I don't think I ever did, because they weren't on an exam..."

"I'm not even sure if I want to ask what a Hornblower is, Kohl, but I can't imagine that simply reading a novel series can provide you with everything you would need to know about Command." She sighed a little as she saw the struggle in his eyes. "I know that I come to it with a different viewpoint than yourself; one of experience even before my previous host was promoted through the ranks, but if it's one thing I've learnt over the years it's that there are some things that can't be taught. They're innate. Just like ones' morals. And that is why you've been selected for command. Both here and now, and on the Gally. If you don't have faith in that, they neither the brass nor your crew can."

"I think... I'm struggling... because I did have faith in it," Kohl said. He struggled to get the words out, because he was struggling to understand the meaning beneath them. His realisation, then, only came as he said it aloud. "When I was promoted to Chief Research Officer, and even Acting Executive Officer, I knew I would be capable. (I mean, yes, I was nervous about leading a ship into battle of all things), but I felt capable. I knew in my bones I could do it. It's only after serving as XO for a week that I'm starting to have doubts. My empowering leadership style has been replaced with ridicule and shouting as soon as I put on the red uniform. I don't know why that happened."

"There's a vast difference between First and Commanding Officer, Kohl," she said somewhat unreassuringly. "One," she indicated with her finger, "you have the full support and guidance of your direct superior, who is usually stood by your side. You almost tailor your style to suit them. It's their ship. But the other," she now moved onto her second finger, "when you're stood alone, the responsibility of ship and crew planted firmly on your shoulders, it can feel a world away from what you've known. But you have to adapt your experiences to push forward into something different." She paused a little, feeling that she was going off on a tangent and not making much sense outside of her own mind. She sighed and then added, "Why do you think you're shouting at your crew?"

Despite Stace's feelings, Kohl had been nodding attentively throughout the twists and turns of her tangent. He could follow the logical progression of what she said, and he felt the ring of truth to it. At her question, Kohl stared back at her and his tone went dry. "Because I am shouting at my crew," he said. He dropped the deadpan tone for something more genuine. "If I'm honest, I only shouted at one of my crew, and she was being insubordinate." --He visibly winced and shifted uncomfortably in his chair-- "It's your crew I've been shouting at. I've been feeling protective of the science team. I keep in touch with most of them to make sure they're doing well and impressing your socks off. ...Only, I've never noticed before how many of them appear to resent serving aboard a Starfleet vessel."

"I hate to admit it, but that's scientists for you," Stace countered back with an ease that portrayed her resignation to it. In fact, she had shared this opinion of the crew for several months since being thrust into the Chief Science Officer's position. "And they're not my crew anymore. They're yours." She paused and then tilted her head. "They're mine in a much more general sense now, but ultimately they're your responsibility."

What Kohl had said had irked her a little and it cut her back to her conversation with Arandon. "Some of the crew don't realise how privileged they are to serve on such a vessel. Not for us, the Command staff, or for the reputation we have carved out for ourselves but for a science-specific vessel at the forefront of Starfleet. And with that comes a price. Subordination, respect and a little humility. If you felt that someone stepped out of line then it must be dealt with. Even the civilians have to respect that this is a military installation. Speaking of which," she brought it back to her own predicament, "what's your handle on Ensign Arandon Khnailmnae? I seem to have had a run-in with him recently."

"Oh, I gave him a proper shouting; believe me," Kohl replied a little too eagerly. He waved an index finger at the display for emphasis to boot. Only after his point had been made did Kohl furrow his brow in re-consideration. He sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. Kohl said, "But, honestly, I don't know what to think of him. In one conversation, I encouraged him to volunteer for Bridge duty in preparation of the wargames, and he flat-out refused. In another, he eagerly accepted a stretch assignment that Oren Idris was balking at."

"That's another one," she rolled her eyes. "And to be honest, I'm not sure what the best way to deal with them is. They're both highly insubordinate and yet don't seem to respond well to 'good cop', either." She paused and then pursed her lips. "Idris is one thing. He may be a civilian but he is aboard a military vessel and has to play by our rules. But I just don't know about Arandon. He was practically hostile when I introduced Mr. Lane to the botanists yesterday and then emotively exploded during the diplomatic tour. I'm not saying that he doesn't have his reasons but he also since hasn't seemed to back down. Ideally, now this is your jurisdiction, I would leave it in your hands but with my transitional promotions - Chief Science, XO or captain, take your pick - something must be done."

"You could transfer him to Nautilus," Kohl suggested in an increasingly tongue-in-cheek manner. "I could have him bent over the rollbar and summarily flogged." He flashed a grin at Stace, and then replaced his expression with something somewhat more sombre. "Really though, I trust your judgement. Whatever you deem appropriate --based on the severity of his outburst-- I'll be sure to follow through."

"A flogging sounds a little lenient if you ask me," Stace countered, a flash of jest in her eyes. "But I'll have to deal with it myself until the ship is back to its normal compliment. And even then, I have Captain Holliday as a sounding board." She paused and then realised what she had said. "Even now, with the Nautilus, you have the backing and support of myself, Captain Holliday and the admiral. Don't be so hard on yourself. That's what families are for."

As fond as Kohl was of Stace, as highly as he knew she thought of him, that still hit Kohl where he lived. Hit him hard. "Thank you," Kohl said. He spoke very softly, caught off-guard by her sentiment and his own emotion. More clearly, he said, "That means a lot to me. I know who I'll call the next time I feel like yelling at an uppity ensign."

"Don't think that a well time emotional explosion doesn't have its merits. But if you think that it's unreasonable then your crew will. And you don't want them to lose an ounce of faith in you. But if you can't analyse and explore new ground with more seasoned and experienced counterparts, then how can we expect to learn and grow?" She paused, feeling that she'd hammered home the point and laboured upon it long enough. And then she broke into a wide and hearty smile. "You'll do all right, kid," she said, giving him a wink. "I know you will."


[OFF]


Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Commanding Officer
USS Nautilus

Commander Norvi Stace
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

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