Natural Philosophy

Posted on 29 Dec 2015 @ 3:00am by Lieutenant JG Manuel Lucero & Lieutenant Wilhelm Von Haeften
Edited on on 31 Dec 2015 @ 6:18am

1,644 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo - Asst. CSO's Office
Timeline: MD 22 - 1015 hrs

[ON]

Lieutenant Junior Grade Wilhelm Von Haeften was unsure how to approach his new Assistant Chief. Part of him said that he should establish himself as the authority figure and the final word in the SCIDEP. The other part said he should be relaxed and informal.

Better to just be natural Wil...you are both the same rank, and he's been aboard ship longer than you, so he is the resident expert. Only a small blurb on a PADD makes you his nominal superior.

The German found LT Lucero in his office, looking over a PADD. Manners demanded that Wilhelm knock on the door, so he did.

Reading reviews on his latest updates to Quantum Electrodynamics was fun for the first... well... three seconds. Lucero perked up at the sound in the doorway. Anything to break him from the exciting world of academic 'critique'.

He swung his feet off of his desk and stood up. At seeing the Commander's replacement he began to feel a variety of mixed emotions. He fought off the powerful urge of placing undue judgement upon the new CSO. He obviously had to have proved himself worthy to the powers that be to have received the position upon the fleet's premiere scientific research and exploration vessel as a junior grade lieutenant. Lucero was dedicated to figuring out whether his boss is going to make for an interesting colleague or intellectual rival.

"Come on in." He relaxed.

What am I thinking?... Too much apparently.

"Hey. I guess you heard that I'm LT Von Haeften, the new CSO. Wanted to meet you informally if that's ok." Wil said, offering his hand in greetings.

"Of course!" Lucero takes his hand across the desk and smiles. He maintained eye contact with the other Lieutenant, checking for any cues of behavior detrimental to the science department's chemistry. In brevity... this man intimidated Lucero.

"May I sit?" the CSO said, gesturing to the open chair before Lucero's desk. Some chiefs would have simply sat down whether it was ok with their subordinate or not; Wilhelm could not bring himself to do that. It might be his department by responsibility, but this was LT Lucero's office. Von Haeften could deal with being judged incompetent right off the bat, but he'd be damned before he was thought rude.

"Yes, I don't mind." Lucero took a seat on his side of the desk as well. Von Haeften was rather polite, but still had an authoritative demeanor. An extremely rare feature among science officers. Even Kohl couldn't maintain such a powerful duality in presence among peers or even subordinates. This CSO was impressive, indeed.

"I'll cut to the chase: I wanted to meet you so that we can flesh each other out so that we can see how the other thinks, acts, and feels. I suppose you can consider this your initial counseling as my assistant."

"Ah, yes. I love counseling," the sarcasm was evident in his voice. Initial professional development counseling has to be one of the more awkward pieces of paperwork to complete. So much so, that the fact that the CSO was doing it at all told volumes about his work ethic. He must really care about his job and the effect he has on the department.

"What's your style of command, if you don't mind me asking, Von Haeften?" Lucero was indubitably curious.

"First off, I was a Reservist, as I assume you heard somewhere, and yes, the rumors of how we are are mostly true, although we don't sacrifice our firstborn to the Gods of War." Von Haeften said, trying to inject a little humor into what could be a serious situation.

Lucero let out a chuckle.

"As such, I am mostly a military man by habit and by training. Let me say that this does not mean I expect a salute every time I bump into you, nor do I insist on strict regimentation while I am the CSO. I plan to treat you and every other member of SCIDEP like a human being unless otherwise necessary."

Wilhelm took a breath and looked at Manuel to gauge his reaction so far, but the other man was hard to read one way or the other.

"I'm going to organize this in three parts: one, I'll tell you what I expect from you. Second, what you can expect from me. Third, any questions you have have that I do not cover, clear?" the German said, waiting for a flash of understanding in the other LTs eyes.

Getting it, Von Haeften continued. "Firstly, I expect you to have a damned opinion on everything; I am not a martinet who wants a 'yes man' as my right hand. If I give instructions that are nonsensical, it is your duty and obligation to point that out to me. This way, I don't do anything that brings discredit or bad reputation to SCIDEP. To that end, I will regularly ask your input on things, to the point you will probably get sick of it. We are both JG Lieutenants, so I don't expect you to call me sir; come up with some nickname if you wish in front of the men, but in private, you are free to use my first name if you wish."

Wilhelm realized his throat was dry. Motioning with his head toward the replicator, the German asked "Mind if I use your replicator?"

Lucero gave a nod of permission. It had just been repaired so it should be fine.

Wil got up and walked to the replicator and ordered an orange juice on the cold side. Once materialized, Wilhelm retrieved the glass and went back to his seat.

"In that same vein, I do not know if you are friends with any of the Ensigns on our staff, but if you are I'm going to have to ask you to distance yourself from those friendships. I assure you I do not do this to isolate you or to be a tyrant; as the ACSO, you need to be able to tell these people some tasks that are dangerous, unpleasant, or otherwise unlikable, and you need the backing of your position to do it. Trust me, its very hard to order your friends about."

Taking a sip of his orange juice to quench his throat, and to buy time to collect his thoughts, Wil continued. "I also do not expect you to know all the answers or pretend that you do. We as officers are supposed to be generalists, not experts. Our jobs as heads of this department is to find out answers through whatever means we can, whether that be to look up the damned thing in the LCARS or by asking one of our staff members whose knowledge is the forte of the day."

Another sip of the orange juice.

"I also expect you to ask questions and seek knowledge in your craft as a science officer; look especially toward our NCOs. They are masters of their crafts and experts in their individual fields. They are not here to always agree with you or to look pretty in formation; if they are disrespected in any way, I will be very unhappy. If you hear about such disrespect, I expect you to smash it down hard, clear?" Wilhelm's voice turned harder than he intended with that last order.

LT Von Haeften definitely had a command presence. Lucero comprehended completely.

"Finally on this topic. I do not expect you to agree or be happy with everything I order or ask of you. I expect you to make up your own damn mind and tell me as much. All I ask is that when I finally make up my mind and it is not what you suggest, you support me and do your best to carry out my orders regardless of your personal feelings. To that end, your first priority in this department is not me or yourself nor even our research, its the people who work here. God help you if you do not look out for them at all times; this is my one inviolable rule."

A sip of the juice to buy time.

"Second, you can expect me to support you and SCIDEP in all things; if you do well, I give you the full credit. If something goes wrong, I assume the full blame. You can also count on me to provide any and all professional development that I can. I will back you up at all times, and I will ensure that this department is cared for administratively. Also, I have an open door, both literally and figuratively, so I can be accessed at all times with questions or concerns. I also prefer a light atmosphere, so you'll find that I can be a goofy SOB at times; not gonna change myself if that annoys you, so, sorry."

Yet another sip to finish off the glass.

"Third, having said all that I have said, do you have any questions?" the German said, putting his glass down on the desk and awaiting the other officer's response.

Lucero looked solemn for a moment and dropped his head darkly, as though he was taking it all in.

After a few moments, he looked back up at Von Haeften slowly with a smirk.

"None at all."

We are going to get along just fine.

"Excellant." the German officer stood up and extended his hand once again, not as a superior officer, but as an equal and a fellow scientist.

"Wil." the CSO said, pointing to himself with his other hand as he shook Manuel's with his right.

"Manuel." Lucero returned the shake with a slight hint of enthusiasm.

[OFF]

--

Lieutenant JG Manuel Lucero V
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

&

Lieutenant JG Wilhelm Von Haeften
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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