Opportunity vs Fit

Posted on 31 Jan 2018 @ 12:30am by Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,612 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Rigel II - Avondale Production Facility Administrative Complex
Timeline: MD 102, 0757 hrs

[ON]

The second day of onboarding interviews for USS Galileo-A was already off to a troublesome start. Unlike the previous morning which was filled with optimism and excitement for the opportunity to meet the new crew applicants, a sudden last-minute incident had now left the captain with a pending vacancy in the conn department.

Inside her administrative office, the captain dug through her files to do some last-minute research on the replacement she'd selected just six hours earlier. After notifying the young ensign of the opportunity to join the crew, she now hastily prepared to interview him and determine if he would be a suitable fit for the assignment.

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Opportunity: One never knew when that special chance would come about. Tris had piloted a shuttle full of crew members for a new vessel, out to the shipyard in orbit of Rigel II. He expected a quick turn around and then back to Starfleet Command, but had received a message to report for an interview for reassignment. It was not something he had been searching for, but he was pleased that it was finally taking place. He had been working as a shuttle pilot for many weeks now. It had been different, fun at times, and very enlightening on that rare occasion.

Ensign Shizn had made his way through the shipyard to the correct office, stepped up to the door, made a quick check of his uniform, and pressed the chime button.

"Yes, come," replied a woman's voice from behind the door as it parted with a swish. The interior of the office was sparsely decorated since it primarily served as a temporary hub for senior officers, but the unmistakable sight of a green-skinned Orion in a red-collared Starfleet uniform contrasted sharply with the rest of the light gray furnishings.

The Ensign entered the office, stopped at attention across the desk from the officer, and reported, “Ensign Tris Shizn, reporting as ordered.” He continued to look straight at the wall behind the officer.

Captain Lirha Saalm looked up from her chair at the light blue-skinned man whose appearance suddenly seemed very familiar. "At ease, ensign. Have a seat," she instructed, gesturing to the vacant chair across from the desk. "Are you...the same Andorian I met at the art exhibit in San Francisco months ago?

Tris found himself caught in a half sitting position when his eyes met the Captain and considered the question she had asked. His eyes glared at her in disbelief as his antennae laid upon his scalp pointing directly at her, but then he shook it off quickly and sat down, slower than normal. He turned and glanced behind himself to see if there was anyone else in the room. He felt very uncertain for a moment, his antennae extending off to the sides, taking in all senses. This was way too strange to be normal.

Ensign Shizn then apologized, “I’m sorry . . Captain for my hesitancy. Yes, I believe we have met before, as you say, at the Art Exhibit.” His mind went back to the time when he walked side by side with the Orion, trying to remember all they had discussed, wondering if he had said something ‘then’ that would seriously jeopardize this new position or even remaining in Starfleet.

Interesting, she mused in her head. "It seems it is a small galaxy after all," she remarked to him with a small smile before changing the subject and grabbing a PADD to enter a few notes. "Well, thank you for coming on short notice. You know why you are here, I assume?" Her recent request for a helmsman had been done on short notice, which prompted her to be sure to not neglect any vital pieces of information.

“Yes Ma’am,” Ens. Shizn replied promptly. “You have a Helmsman position open for a new ship.” Several thoughts ran through his mind, distracting him, then added, “It was your new crew members that I was ferrying out to the station when I received the notification to report . . . to be considered.”

"Yes," she nodded in confirmation, happy he was fully briefed on the matter. "There was an accident planet-side, and Ensign T'kul was killed. He was assigned to be one of my conn officers," she solemnly added. The mishaps in non-combat situations were always the toughest to handle, in her experience. "I put your name at the top of my shortlist when I searched for currently unassigned helmsmen." She paused and looked intently at him. "Would I be right in doing that?" The interview had begun.

At the mention of the death of the Ensign, Tris felt concern for a person he had never met, most likely a Vulcan based on the name. His expression somber until the Captain’s question was made to him. Ensign Shizn came fully alert and replied confidently, “Yes Ma’am. That is correct.” He hoped his slightly distracted look had not influenced the Captain in a negative way. He had heard every word she had said. He thought, Come to think of it. She just said she moved my name to the top of the list.

"Good. Well, we can start by having you tell me about your last posting. USS Hope, was it?" she queried, trying her best to remember the info off her PADD. "Were you satisfied with your duties?"

Tris was very pleased that the Captain didn’t want ask about his recent reactions, but preferred to continue with the interview. With a touch of a pleasant smile on his face the Ensign replied, “Yes Ma’am. I found the Hope to be a good posting. I served there for little over a year as Helmsman.” He continued with the explanation, hoping more details would help provide a better understanding, without having to ask so many questions. He knew some officers didn’t like dragging information out of officers. “The Hope being a hospital ship, we were on the front line many times. It was emphasised to me to be ready to ‘move out’ at a moments notice and sometimes how I left a system was just as important as the velocity of doing so.”

The captain nodded in agreement. "Yes, I imagine it would be a very fluid assignment. Always on call, never a day's rest. You have experience managing the shuttlebays as well, yes?" she added, assuming he'd been given at least a few duty shifts supervising the deployment and piloting of the starship's support craft.

Tris chimed in, responding, “Oh, Yes Ma’am. I was initially brought in as one of the many shuttle pilots. I quickly demonstrated my proficiency and was placed in charge of secondary training of shuttle pilots on board, which led me to managing the small fleet of shuttles they carried on board the Hope. The XO soon thought I deserved a chance at the Helm slot.”

"It sounds like it was warranted," she approved. Her eyes were locked on her PADD while she browsed through his former executive officer's notations. "I have a small group of shuttles on Galileo. And a small crew. That means all our pilots must be qualified for both conn and support craft duty," she added.

Tris thought through that policy and replied, “That is very understandable.” Tris felt the interview was going well, but knew that she would soon ask if he had a question. He definitely needed a good one.

Looking back at his personnel file on her PADD, Saalm continued her review with a few more questions. "I remember your mentions of serving in the Imperial Guard. Do you still have any ties to your homeworld? Do you visit often?"

The Ensign considered the question for a second and then replied, “I believe the correct answer to your question, would be ‘no’. I have not returned to Andoria since entering the Academy.” After another second or so of hesitation he added, “The only regular contact has been with my mother via written dialog, about every 20 to 30 days.” He looked down and dismissive for a moment and added, “Most of that contact is personal about family members.” He looked up again toward the Captain and smiled as he would sitting before ‘in-laws’. It was just a polite smile. He hoped, that this hopeful senior officer would not ask about his home life, at least not today.

"I see. Your family and friends, then," she continued now that he'd mentioned them, "you feel comfortable being away from them for long periods? Or maybe you prefer it that way?" she added with a knowing grin.

Tris found the question phrased in a slightly ambiguous way, so he simply stated, “I have no issue with being away from my family and friends. Starfleet and the vessels I’ve served have been like my extended family and friends. I’m sure it will no doubt be the same with my next permanent assignment.”

Tris was not too concerned. He had not phrased that last statement as if this vessel was going to be his next assignment. He hoped that the Captain would not see this as a negative statement towards her vessel and crew.

"And you...yourself," she gestured towards him, "Are you prepared to deal with this kind of isolation we will experience? Being so far from all the worlds we know and surrounded by strangers?" she tested.

He considered the question for a second or two. It was never good to spit out an answer for such a ‘thought provoking’ question. Ens. Shizn then replied calmly and rather matter of factor, “No. I won’t be alone. Unless you stick me in a room away from the rest of the crew.” That last part was meant as a jest, and he smiled with a little chuckle.

Saalm regarded him again with a steady gaze. "The brig is reserved for third-time offenders only. And anyone who doesn't enjoy wing night in the mess hall," she winked. Of course, wing night for an Orion meant wing slugs, not chicken.

Tris’ initial frown changed to a jolly smile, realizing the Captain was just playing along with him.

To get the interview back on track, Shizn asked, “When do you expect for the ship to depart?”

"Four days. Maybe three if the dockworkers are quick with their final maintenance checks," she answered. It always seemed like guess work to try and determine the yard engineers' work pace. "I trust you brought all your belongings with you? Do you have any dependents you'll be bringing?" She didn't remember any children belonging to him in his file but needed to double-check.

A twinge of pain went through Tris’ mind by that question, but he kept a straight face as he replied, “No. No dependents. As for belongings, I have everything I need.” He hesitated as he thought and spoke further, “I have a few personal items, but I can contact residential support back in San Francisco to secure and store them for me.” He smiled, pleased that he now had a ship to fly, still hiding the pain of his lost love.

"It's good you came prepared. We leave soon." Saalm knew there wasn't much time left before their departure, only a few days, and only an express courier would be able to deliver on time. "Are all your medical records up to date?" she then asked, glancing at his file again and noting he would need a standard evaluation soon.

“Oh yes,” Shizn replied eagerly. He recalled the battery of tests he went through just 3 weeks back. At the time it seemed a bit redundant, but he didn’t mind too much. “I am one healthy Andorian specimen.” A mental twinge past over him, knowing that he is half Aenar, which didn’t effect him physically, but some ‘unfortunately’ found it to be an inferior trait.

She entered notes into her PADD which were obscured by her fingers and the position of the slim silver device. "I'm more concerned with an updated mental evaluation. Not that I think you're a danger, of course," she smirked before looking back up. "Well, perhaps you are, with your Imperial Guard training," she jested.

One side of the Andorian’s mouth came up in a smile, and he replied in like, “One never knows of deceitful intentions, hidden from the world.” Tris smiled again and explained, “A quote from Andorian literature.” His eyes fell for a second in thought, then looked at the Captain again, “But I, Ma’am, am an open book. All my ‘demons’ have been written into my official file and articulated more than once.” He gave a little shrug just to say that he didn’t care that he was ‘an open book’.

"You seemed approachable when we last met," the captain agreed. "We all have secrets...I don't want to know them all. Just the darkest ones," she replied with playful glint in her light green eyes. "Well, if this is a deployment you want and you accept the risks," she continued, changing the subject, "you are welcome on board. Do you have any questions for me about this assignment?" she asked, affording the young ensign a chance to inquire about anything on his mind.

Tris’ white eyebrow came together in a furrow as he looked down at the desk in thought for a moment. Then looking back at the Captain, “Does this vessel have any special alterations or modifications that a Helmsman should know about?” His eyebrows raised in a curious and questioning fashion.

"Special alterations? Well, our starship incorporates the latest technological improvements, and both the atmospheric and spacial performance charts have been revised," Saalm answered. "That information should be available to you and I suggest reviewing it and spending some time in the simulator."

“Definitely my first choice after coming on board,” Shizn replied with a positive attitude. He then asked, “I assume I will be reporting directly to the Executive Officer or would it be the Chief of Operations?"

"Yes, you will report to my XO. For now, at least," the captain clarified with an affirmative nod. "I have several helmsmen interviewing for the senior conn officer position later today, but their status is uncertain. If there are any changes to your chain of command, our XO will notify you." She reached down into her desk's bottom drawer and retrieved a silver-and-red keycard, then held in next to her PADD and input several authorizations before handing it over. "You'll need this," she added, offering it to the ensign. "It's an access card to the starship while we're still in spacedock. It should give you clearance to all essential areas for your department."

Tris reached forward and accepted the card, examining it as he turned it about in his hand, as if the surface of the card would provide any answers to questions. With hands back in his lap, Shizn astutely asked , “Very good Ma’am. Will there be anything else?”

"No. That is all for now. Welcome aboard Galileo-A, ensign," she finished with a polite smile to the young Andorian hybrid. "The quartermaster can assign you to your new berth."

Tris rose properly at the statement, recognising it as a casual dismissal. “Thank you Captain. I’ll take care of it.” With a slight smile and a grateful nod of his head, Ens. Tris Shizn exited the office on his way to a new adventure.

[OFF]

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CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Ens. Tris Shizn
Helmsman
USS Galileo-A

 

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