A Word?

Posted on 05 Feb 2022 @ 11:02pm by Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Morgan Tarin

2,025 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Bridge, Conference Room
Timeline: MD 05, 0502 hrs

[ON]

The Nova-class starship USS Galileo was finally underway on its latest mission in the Pleiades Cluster. Several minutes ago, the small science vessel cleared the Remidia system and accelerated to high warp. Stars now streaked across the main viewscreen in a familiar conal pattern. The bridge of the ship was quiet and subdued, with only the occasional chirp sounding from the running consoles. At the center of the command chamber, Commander Morgan Tarin finished entering data into her PADD then stood from the captain's chair. Galileo and its systems appeared to be performing well and there were no issues on the bridge requiring her immediate attention. None except for one.

Tarin looked over to her XO and spoke in a low voice. "A word in private?" The two of them needed to discuss the incident on the bridge which had occurred less than a half-hour ago.

Blake searched her features for just a moment, as if to try and read her before nodding. She pushed herself up to stand and made her way off the bridge, grateful to be up and moving. She just hoped it wasn't another surprise. She wasn't sure she had it in her to handle another surprise without at least a glass of something.

"Mister Sandoval," Tarin spoke to the chief science officer who also happened to be the next-highest ranking officer on the bridge. "We'll return shortly. You have the bridge."

The captain walked to the port exit at a quick pace while tugging the front of her uniform down to smooth it out. The door hissed open, presenting the two senior officers with Deck 1's small corridor which they quickly disappeared into.

The entrance to the ship's small conference room soon parted and Morgan motioned with her hazel eyes for her XO to enter first.

Blake moved in carefully, but turned quickly so she could watch her, clasping her hands lightly behind her back. She needed to learn how to better read the virtual stranger in front of her. She'd had a long time to learn Lirha's cues. The silence felt awkward, regardless of whether it was meant to, but she wasn't one for filling silence just for the sake of it.

Morgan followed her in and ran a hand up through her hair's loose curls. She looked the other commander in her blue eyes then lightly bit down on her bottom lip before speaking. "What happened out there at Ops?" she queried in a neutral yet forceful tone.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure," Blake shook her head with a slight frown, turning her head a touch, as if looking back. "Ensign Mimi had fallen asleep. I don't recall it ever happening before, although Marika made a case for it being due to her species needing more rest. I sent her to Sickbay in case there's something wrong."

"Yes. I saw." Her voice couldn't be more dry and unimpressed. "Let me rephrase the question: why is a bridge officer aboard this ship unable to keep themselves awake during a critical undocking sequence?" The inflection rose.

"You would have to ask that officer, Captain," Blake replied calmly, tilting her head before shaking it lightly. "Any answer that I give would be a guess at this point. She could be ill. Or maybe Marika is correct. Or maybe...I'm sure you recall me telling you how this crew was in the middle of some sorely needed respite; perhaps that has something to do with it. I don't know, but now that we are properly underway, I can go and find out?"

Tarin's eyes narrowed and anger manifested across her features. "'You don't know'?" she repeated Blake's words back to her, somewhat incredulous. "You'd have to 'guess'?" She shook her head with vigor at those statements. "That's not good enough, commander. It's your job to know. You're the XO. You are their superior officer. The buck stops with you." Tarin pointed her index finger at Blake's chest to emphasize her point. "This crew has had three-and-a-half days of shore leave since arriving at Regula I. That's plenty of time to sleep!"

Morgan let out a deep breath then turned away from the other woman for a short moment. She could feel her face becoming flushed and tried to control her emotions. She envied the Vulcans at times like this, despite their cold nature. "It's interesting. I recall seeing many of this crew on the station while Galileo was docked..." she added before turning back around. "Many of them at the bar and distillery until late in the evening..."

Blake kept her eyes on her, having remained motionless throughout the barrage of words. Her eyes were icy blue and her body remained rigid despite Tarin's pause and change of direction. "Respite after trauma doesn't necessarily just mean sleep," she replied evenly. "And it is probably safe to assume they thought there would be plenty of time for sleep towards the other end of leave."

Folding her arms across her chest, the captain pondered the validity of Blake's explanation. She didn't drink much herself but had served in Starfleet for many years. Long enough to observe that crew members did tend to indulge themselves when given the opportunity. Maybe the commander was right. Or maybe Tarin's gut instinct was also correct. "Look, I don't have a problem with any member of the crew consuming alcohol while on shore leave or off-duty," she agreed, then added a caveat. "...As long as it's in moderation and doesn't affect their ability to do their jobs. That means being able to report to duty at a moment's notice if necessary, while remaining competent. I don't know if the ensign had been drinking, but in either case, we're always on duty in Starfleet. Even when we're not. The nature of this service means sometimes plans change. The galaxy's affairs don't just wait until it's convenient for us."

"I agree," Blake nodded with a frown, her jaw tight as she glanced to the view for a long moment. The answer may have been unexpected to this new Captain, but it was honest. "But I think after more than their fair share of service over the last year, some may have dropped their guard...maybe expecting it to be someone else's turn for a few weeks," she gave a slight tilt of her head with the measured words, as if weighing it up. "For the record, Captain, I don't find it anymore acceptable than you that an officer fell asleep at their post. I'm just considering that there might be a reason. And if there is, I want to get it fixed. I would also expect an officer to be aware of when they're not fit for duty and make it known."

Morgan's temper was under better control now. The first officer's candid response helped with that. No crew could be perfect and she started to understand - in an abstract way - that what Blake was conveying could be attributed to mental fatigue. Unfortunately for the Galileo crew, their current mission didn't present them the luxury of returning to port for additional shore leave. "Oh, we'll fix it. Nothing a healthy dose of early morning PT and discipline can't cure." Lapses in judgement often went hand-in-hand with a lack of clear expectations.

"Send a message to the officer corps," Tarin quickly decided. "Starting tomorrow, all commissioned officers are to report to Holodeck One at 0530 for physical training. Including us. No exceptions. We're the leaders aboard this starship and I won't let the ensign's transgression percolate down to the lower ranks. Then I want you to go check on her down in sickbay...make sure she's alright and knows this can never happen again."

Scarlet was nodding slowly as she gave her orders, wondering if it could work out well. A bit of physical training helped to sharpen the senses and refocus back into work. It would give everyone the chance to work any frustration out. And...she knew better than to say it to Tarin, but it could work both ways, allowing the acting Captain to get to know the crew a little better, and vice versa. A different person might use the word 'bonding', but Blake would have to roll her eyes at herself if she chose that word. "Understood, Captain."

"And as far as alcohol goes," Tarin continued, "I want it all confiscated until we return to Regula One. Just in case. That includes personal stashes and everything in the bar and mess hall." She thought it slightly absurd that such a small science vessel had its own dedicated bar and lounge, but that was a different conversation for another time. "Only synthehol is to be served."

"I can arrange for that, Captain," Blake nodded, frowning at the notion of crew drinking real alcohol while out on a mission. She would hope that no one thought that was a good mix. "Although...if you gave the order for no alcohol to be consumed, you can trust the crew to follow orders without the need for confiscating it."

Tarin regarded Blake and spoke with honesty. "I'm a strategic operations officer whose been given a temporary command here. I'm an outsider. Some of them probably don't trust me or particularly like me, and I don't blame them. If a new CO showed up on Lexington when I was the XO, I would have felt the same," she admitted. "You, they trust. We can't always operate on the honor system. Especially when addictive substances are involved."

Blake nodded, understanding the reasoning, although she still felt that they would follow the order given, regardless of which CO gave it. But she nodded all the same; if that's how she wanted to do it, then she'd get it done. "As you wish, Captain."

Another moment of silence manifested. Morgan slowly paced to one of the conference room's small viewports embedded into the wall where she gazed out into space at the passing stars in a moment of contemplation. "Your work recalling the crew and getting Galileo out of dock on time was excellent. I'll be sure to note it in my log. Nevertheless, you and I will conduct a full ship-wide inspection to make sure nothing was missed. The Pleiades Cluster is a bad place for something to go wrong. Let's plan for 1400 hours tomorrow."

"Definitely a worthwhile precaution," Blake agreed, watching the woman with more attentive eyes now that she was half turned away. Lirha ran a tight ship, but she had the feeling that some crew might feel friction with the way that Tarin ran things. And working through that in the middle of what could be an emergency wasn't the ideal situation. "And we'll need to be sure of what we have to work with if we end up needing to give aid."

"Precisely." Morgan turned from the window and walked back to her fellow red-collared commander. "I've been coordinating Starfleet's assets in this region for over a year and this new development has everyone back at Earth on edge. We can't take any chances."

Blake watched her for a moment and wondered, not for the the first time, if she knew more than she was letting on. She simply nodded though, keeping the question to herself. The truth usually came out in the end, just often at the most inconvenient time and in the most damaging way. "I understand," she assured instead.

"Good. That'll be all, for now." Tarin headed for door which hissed open as she approached. "When we get back to the bridge, you can run me through some of Captain Saalm's tactical patterns and maneuvers in the ship database."

Blake hesitated at that for a long moment, wondering, absently, how Lirha might feel about that. She supposed the answer to that wouldn't change the reality either way. "Yes, Captain..."


[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Saalm]

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

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