Ready to work like a dog?

Posted on 06 Aug 2017 @ 2:59pm by Chief Petty Officer Crispin Snow & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim

993 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Earth - San Francisco - Science Complex
Timeline: MD 37 1400

[ON]

HG ticked off people she needed and what she could put in place and what she could afford to slip by. The allowance of only a total of twenty people maybe one or two more meant things needed choosing carefully.

Ops was going to be another area she would need at least a person or two on and whoever they were they were going to be very busy indeed. Ops was a backbone of a lot of things.

She tapped the PaDD to look at the candidate and noted two things. One another person off the former Galileo and second a person close to her own heart from the home land. It would be pleasant to hear Federation pronounced properly. She waited for the buzzer at the door.

It came a moment later, short, precise, no nonsense. The door opened to reveal a man in his early fifties, hair receeding, mild looking, with a calm, unruffable demeanour in the mustard uniform of operations. "Ms Wells?" Petty Officer Crispin Snow asked in confirmation.

HG smiled, she did not care if technically it was doctor. In fact, the later usage to her sounded most pretentious. "Please HG," she waved him in. "Have a seat please." HG waited a moment and then went right to the point.

"Well Crispin," she did not bother to ask if that was alright, she frankly did not care or have time for conventions like that. "Got a little expedition to Akkadia. You familiar with the place?"

Snow gave a hint of a shrug. "I'm aware of it, my old CMO is a native. But I don't really know anything about it. Its a way away, kind of isolated. But I couldn't say I'm familiar with it."

"Thought not, most are not. That being said, it is a somewhat isolated world but right on the boundary to the Sagittarius arm and Fleet has gotten permission to put a base on some M class moon. So we are sending out a team to explore the place and do siting and scientific analyses before the base is put there. For jolly jackanory reason there is some odd agreement that we cannot have much over runabouts and no more then twenty or bit more personnel. Since need engineers, scientists, a few medical types, that means less for the backbone of anything which is ops. I see your currently unassigned so offering you the chance but I will warn you, because of the limited personnel ops people are going to be working like dogs."

A wry smile crossed his face. "That's the default for anyone in Ops who actually knows what they're doing. Busy all the life long day. Are you trying to put me off?"

"Not at all, I know ops works hardest of all Fleet departments but this is going to be a real challenge. Look," she leaned forward, "I might be a civvie but I am first and foremost a scientist and know just how picky and demanding we types can be. Considering the restraints on this mission, we are going to be a jolly bloody Hecate of a lot. I just want you to be aware before we get there and you finally get mad and phaser some poor bloke down." HG almost chuckled as the scene played out in her minds eye.

Snow smiled back. "Oh, I think you've not really met Ops people. If you vex us, we'd never use something as obvious and easy to see coming as a phaser. And everyone has to sleep sometime..."

HG leaned back and laughed out loud. "Bugger me, I like that!" She said finally getting herself together. "I see I best keep the strong tea coming and be careful where and when I sleep." She shook her head and said, "So think you want the job? Last chance to walk away."

Snow shook his head. "You had me at 'work like a dog'. Are you using standard prefabs for the base, or taking over an existing structure?"

"More likely close to tents. Not sure going to have enough room or enough processor power to synthesize prefab but your welcome to try when we get there. As far as I am aware from the limited data, there are no structures. Not sure exactly why the Akkadians themselves did not colonize the place but perhaps that might be mystery we can solve. Anything else that I probably do not have sufficient answers to?"

"Not enough power to synthesize prefab?" Snow asked in surprise. Any decent sized ship could make the habitation units for temporary shelters. It was question of having a big enough replicator. "What are we going there in?"

"Two Danube class runabouts," Helena replied with a little chuckle. "About as little as Fleet can get away with right now. We will have nothing there and lots of analysis to do so we might be using every bit of available power. However, I will lend an ear to ops recommendations as much as I can."

"Danube classes have full transporter capabilities. The differences between transporters and replicators aren't that great. I can work something out that will let us beam down some modular shelters, without needing to replicate them first and it won't take anywhere near as much energy as beaming sentient individuals."

"I am glad you signed on. Well we head off in three days time. Danubes are parked on Ring C, berths 42 and 43 if you want to get a head start. I will make sure Fleet gives you your official orders so we can all be nice and tidy about this."

"Knowing most quick and dirty expeditions, this will be the last time we'll be all neat and tidy," Snow replied, "I'm sure it will all be okay by the time Thursday rolls around." He shook her hand. "I'll be there."

[OFF]

2CPO Crispin Snow
Operations officer
[NPC Derani]

HG Wells
Civilian science officer
[NPC of Allyndra illm Warraquim]

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