Inspection (Part 1 of 6)

Posted on 29 Jul 2022 @ 3:53pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Scarlet Blake & Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeysa Zeror & Laeon Wylde & Nesh Saalm

4,069 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 2, Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 06, 1358 hrs

[ON]

Deck 2, Captain's Ready Room

It was almost 1400 hours -- the previously-arranged time for Galileo's two senior-most officers to begin their walk-through of the ship to confirm its state of readiness and that of its crew. Inside the small administrative office on Deck 2 known as the captain's ready room, Commander Morgan Tarin stood at her desk shuffling several PADDs around in an attempt to organize them. The seven different departments each warranted their own status updates, progress reports and inventory lists. The new captain had done her homework the previous evening to familiarize herself with the starship's design specifications and any later refit modifications. She felt comfortable in her knowledge and expectations yet had also requested her first officer to be present. Commander Blake was a Galileo veteran and had more knowledge of the daily routine and intricacies than she did. Together, it was her hope that the ship would be proven operationally efficient before they arrived at their secretive destination. And if not, they would make it so.

"...When were the lateral sensor arrays last upgraded? '90? '91?" Tarin asked the XO with her head down in the stack, trying to search for a reminder in the maintenance records.

"I'm pretty sure it was '91," Blake was ready to carry out the inspection with her, uniform immaculate as usual, and her long dark hair twisted and pinned up. "The ship itself has had frequent and regular maintenance and upgrades; it's the strain of the last few missions that can cause challenges."

Morgan nodded then entered a notation in her personal PADD. "Nova-classes have a short resupply cycle compared to ships of the line. They're usually not designed to operate for extended periods without port calls every three months. Considering Galileo is the first of the Mark II's, I'm impressed she got to Regula One in such good shape." It was an especially noteworthy achievement when one took into account the combat action the ship had engaged in at the Latari system.

Scarlet relented with a small, half smile at the words, nodding in agreement. When she thought back to the close calls, it was always humbling, to think how vulnerable they were in reality. So little between them and the cold expanse. "We have a talented crew that take care of her, with pride."

"I hope that care is demonstrated during this inspection." Tarin started to stack her PADDs together and motioned to their yeoman to come collect them. "Where do you want to start? The mess hall and lounge, then the transporter rooms?"

Blake gave a sharp nod, clasping her hands behind her back as she looked to Jeysa with recognition. She wondered if she found it different, working with another captain, or if for a professional yeoman like her serving one captain was very much the same as serving another. "Sounds like a plan. An army marches on its stomach..."

Jeysa nodded then came to collect the Padds, she'd never done an inspection before but from what she'd heard it was going to be very boring for her. Follow the Captain and Xo, pay attention, note down anything they tell you to and try not to look bored.

"Ready?" Tarin looked to Zeror who now held the large stack of administrative material. "Let's go." With that, she stood and left her desk then departed through the ready room's door with a swish.


Deck 2, Mess Hall

The corridors on Deck Two were short in length and possessed the same narrow configuration as those throughout the rest of the small starship. The brief walk to the mess hall took less than twenty seconds before the three red-collared personnel stepped through the double doors and into the galley. The time was roughly 1400 hours which, Morgan hoped, meant there would be few crew dining in the middle of their duty shifts.

The new Captain must have put the fear of the universe into the crew, because the mess hall was empty, except those who had been assigned to work there. As such, some people were doing a clean of the seating areas, wiping down tables. Around her, she had her two assistants, one who was boiling rice and the other who was focused on the mix for the Kohlanese stew.

Nesh Saalm was wearing a plain jumpsuit, her hair wrapped up in a silk scarf, with multiple colours. She was making sure they had everything ready, checking over the recipe to make sure she had everything together. The vegetable and spice mix was ready for when she'd fry the rice.

She looked up and saw the new Captain enter. The one that was not her sister. And Blake. And Jeysa. She tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowed as she pressed her lips together. This was going to go horribly wrong somehow. It was something Nesh had figured out pretty early with her sister being in Command...the other shoe could drop and you know what? It usually ended up going up someone's ass.

Blake would have told her to be at ease, but Nesh wasn't exactly at attention. More...just present. "This is Nesh Saalm, she's started to work in the Mess recently," she gave the minimal truth as she knew it, because she wasn't entirely sure what the back story to that turn of events had been.

Laeon Wylde watched on from the far side, curiosity in his eyes even as he set the small menu card down on the table. Nesh had pretty much pressganged him into helping out for a little while, just until she found her feet. His father had been less than impressed, but he'd pointed out that he could always find his way into trouble instead.

Tarin methodically observed the entirety of the Nova-class' small mess hall. The tables and chairs, carpet and lighting, and one distinctive young Orion who was visible near the galley. The new captain squinted her eyes at another youthful-looking crew member nearby. One with long blonde hair. Then Morgan walked deeper into the large room until she could take a good look at the green-skinned woman. "Saalm? Related to Captain Saalm?"

Nesh heard Saalm and lifted her chin a little, almost in challenge. "Yes I am," she said, loudly enough to project her voice in the room.

The new captain walked closer to the sous chef. "Former Starfleet cadet Nesh Saalm?" If Morgan remembered the young woman's record correctly, she'd once served on board Galileo as a scientist's mate. A very prestigious position considering the vessel's operational record. Tarin turned behind her to the yeoman then motioned for the Trill to retrieve the starship's personnel PADD.

Jeysa had already set the PADD to list the crew assigned to the mess hall when she knew they were heading there, she handed it over to Morgan, then gave Nesh a small smile, hoping this was going to go well.

Nesh looked at her, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Former yes. Now I make sure people eat," she said, because she had picked this bed to lie and she would. But she was not going to have anyone give her lip about it, not even this woman.

Tarin regarded Saalm for a long silent moment. Morgan's hazel eyes searched those of the Orion's light green ones for signs of sincerity and commitment to the starship she now captained. "Show us your galley, Miss Saalm. We're here for a ship-wide inspection to ensure your food service is up to Starfleet regulations."

Nesh nodded and motioned for her to follow, leading her back. "So all surfaces are sanitised according to the Starfleet Galley Guide," she said, motioning towards the food. Truth was, Nesh never did anything half-heartedly. She had full-heartedly thrown a Starfleet career away, embraced art and blindly (but fully aware all the same) hid on the ship.

Point was, Nesh Saalm knew how to read and think and commit. She had committed to this and as such, learned the regs. "We have two hot options, plus salad. Unfortunately we are still catching up since the unannounced early departure, so we haven't quite gotten to the dietary meals as per sub article four B, but we are doing replicated meals for those who require it, from our own stores rather than people's allocations. Not ideal, but I think in a few days we will have the menus nailed for the week's rotation and be able to cater to everyone." She stopped, considering it for a moment. "Although I want to insist we need to start offering a sweet option as well. If only for morale."

Blake gave an inward chuckle at that. It would be the kind of ship wide regulation she would enjoy stamping. "Have you had the chance to sort through the new supplies after the fast departure?" she asked, glancing around the limited workspace.

Nesh led her to the hand sanitiser stations, letting her look at them. They were not full, clearly having been used by the staff. "We loaded 78% percent," she finally said. "There were some items missing, that were due to arrive tomorrow. Mostly fresh fruit. But everything has been scanned and we are doing the meal preparations based on what expires first. A lot if frozen too, so will last us for a few years provided no one needs to eat." She led her to the sinks, all which were currently sparkling clean. It was early enough that the pots in use would not need to be cleaned up until after they had been portioned out.

Compared to other mess hall galleys, the one on Galileo was tiny. Officially tiny, Tarin observed after she was given a quick tour. The small kitchen was cramped and the volume of storage areas left a lot to be desired. That worried her. "Show me your refrigeration units."

Nesh looked at her before she made a wave with her hand for her to follow. She looked at Laeon and winked and gave a little eye roll as if to say What do you expect? Not like we were going to have a nice day before she opened the doors for Tarin to look at. "There's the walk-in freezer too. Good for frozen items and dead bodies."

The acting captain followed the young Orion then started to visually inspect the storage areas. She leaned her head down deep into one of the lower sections, then into the top rack. The smell of various sauces, vegetables, fruits and meat permeated her nostrils. She reached out behind her with an open hand. "Tricorder," Tarin instructed the yeoman.

Reaching into her pocket Jeysa retrieved a tricorder and put it in Morgan's hand.

Tarin's hand closed around the portable sensor device. She brought it to her waist and unfolded the bottom lip, then used her fingers to input several commands. Tricorder in hand, she extended it into the refrigeration cubicles to obtain readings. Soft chirps and beeps could be heard while it processed the environmental readings it was being subjected to. Ten, then fifteen seconds passed while she maneuvered it within all sections of the cold storage unit before pulling it out. She looked at the readings.

"4 degrees Celsius internal temperature," she informed Nesh. "Within standards. Minimal mold microns."

Nesh nodded, almost making a joke, but deciding against it. The woman did not seem like she would enjoy a laugh. "We also have the cans stored here," she said and then realised it was the ones she hadn't inspected yet. Who was she kidding? She had shoved them there and scanned them, she hadn't even picked them up to look at. She sent a quiet prayer to anyone and anything that would listen and directed the Captain's attention to the cans of various exotic things from different planets. "And on the shelf above we have our cooking sauces, wines and such..."

"Wines?" Blake perked up slightly at that, looking up with a frown to the bottles in question, shaking her head absently. "All alcohol should have been seized by now, why do you still have wine?"

Nesh looked at her with surprise before she motioned to them. "They're cooking wines. You got cooking sake also. I mean, you couldn't drink it, but some of the recipes call for it. A coq au vine without the wine would be...err...just coq," she said, but there was clear she was now getting confused as she started really thinking about it.

"Petty officer..." Tarin glanced to her Trill yeoman with consternation and a mild scowl. Morgan had instructed the entire crew to relinquish their alcohol stores for the mission at hand. The first officer had even attempted to reassure her that enforcement of such a directive wasn't necessary. Yet here they were one day later, with a galley crew that apparently hadn't gotten the message. "Confiscate these bottles," she instructed Zeror before giving Blake a judgemental stare.

"Aye Sir." Jeysa said, she walked forward heading for the shelved bottles in question, she mouthed the words 'Sorry' to Nesh as she passed her, as a pretty good cook herself she knew a dash of alcohol in certain dishes made them pop just right but there was never enough to get you drunk.

Nesh grimaced before she let out a soft breath. She looked Jeysa, seeing the look and reached to help her gather them up. Wouldn't want to miss the rice wine after all. She looked over at Blake and mouthed the word sorry to her, because Lirha liked Scarlet and this had to be weird for her too. Once done, she straightened, meeting the Captain's eyes and holding them.

A pair of unimpressed eyes stared back into the Orion's. Tarin's attention returned to her tricoder which scanned the interior of a new refrigeration compartment. Again she looked at the readings, then rolled her eyes towards Nesh. "Why are some of these cans sitting on shelves opened without protective lids?"

Nesh, knowing the Captain was most likely right, went for the truth. "We haven't had the time to go through the cans properly, we just stacked them," she said, because if some were opened or damaged, it had been as received. "It's my first time, but I am pretty sure most ships get a few days warning so they can check for those things before disembarking."

"Consider this a learning experience, Miss Saalm. I don't expect perfection but that doesn't mean we can't strive for it. Pull them all out and check each one again, then re-stack them. Toss any container that's not completely sealed into the recycler." Tarin bit her bottom lip while surveying the galley once more. For a second time, her gaze fell on a young blonde-haired civilian in the near distance who seemed to be lingering about. "Who is that?" she pointed to the slim blue-eyed male teenager.

"Laeon Wylde," Nesh introduced Laeon, looking at him before back at Tarin. "I asked him to help me, since it seemed as an all hands on deck day." She did not add that afterwards, she was hoping to pick his brains on charcoal sketching. It really didn't seem relevant. "He's the son of one of the doctors."

Closing her tricorder and holstering it into her belt's pouch, Morgan once again retrieved the personnel PADD. She gestured for the one named Laeon to come closer and present himself. "Laeon..." she repeated to herself, her slender fingers now tapping on the ship's manifest's civilian section of the tablet. "Son of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde? From Medical?" she asked.

Laeon hesitated a moment as he glanced to the side in a silent expression of 'who, me?'. He moved over to the group, straightening slightly, his hands neatly at his side. He was kind of surprised that she could figure out who he was...mostly because he was so sure that no one really knew his name, it didn't seem a stretch in his young mind that the computer would be no different. "Yes, Captain. There seemed a lot to move in and get ready so, I didn't mind giving Nesh a hand," he assured.

"I see. And..." the captain frowned while looking between her PADD and his face. PADD, then face. Then PADD, then face. "...You're fifty-two years old..?" He didn't look a day over sixteen.

Yeah, he found the Fountain Of Youth, it's about five planets and 13 lightyears away, quick, let's turn around and find it, Nesh thought, opening her mouth to say it and then firmly closed it with an audible click.

Laeon glanced to Nesh, taking a breath as he realised she wasn't going to speak. "My people have a longer lifespan compared to some others," he said with a half smile. "I won't be considered an adult until I'm 70," he admitted with an awkward shrug. Because it was no small matter of contention between him and his father, his eagerness matching youths the universe over in wanting to be treated as more mature for their age.

It was hard for Tarin to suppress the bewildered expression which crossed her face. 52 years-old and still a juvenile? Until 70?! She looked to Blake and lowered her voice in a rare moment of extremely dry jest. "So that's the secret to gray hairs and good skin... Can we re-sequence his DNA and start injecting the crew?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of Blake's lips as she leant in a little closer to keep her voice hushed. "I think the Federation has laws against that kind of thing..."

Unfortunate, Morgan mused. She cleared her throat then spoke to the young man again. "Well, your assistance in the mess hall is appreciated. I assume this is your first time working in food preparation?"

He smiled at that, a laugh almost breaking through at wondering if it was a bad thing it was so obvious. "Yes, Captain, although I've only been doing the easy stuff," he assured, not wanting her to get the wrong idea that he'd been let loose in the ship's kitchen.

"The first rule of food service is hygiene," replied Tarin. She gestured at the not-so-young-man's long blond hair which flowed below his chin. "As jealous as I am of your golden locks, you need a haircut." She stepped closer to Laeon and gave him an orderly stare. "You don't want one of the crew to find strands of your long hair in their food or drink, do you?"

Nesh looked at them, her eyes widening slightly, before she walked to the replicator. She replicated a silk scarf, like the one she wore, and walked over. "Captain, if I may...he just needs to cover his hair like I am, unless I need a haircut too," she said and offered the scarf to Laeon. "I can show you how to do it."

Laeon looked between the Captain and Nesh and then back to the Captain, his eyes wide with alarm as he nodded enthusiastically in hope she would find the suggestion a suitable alternative.

Shaking her head at the makeshift solution, Tarin begrudgingly relented. "That will have to do for now. Meal service starts again soon. Not enough time for you to visit the barber." She turned to the first officer then pointed to some of the cabinets, floor spaces and replicators. "We need to do a pest control check." She handed her tricorder to Blake.

Laeon waited until Tarin's attention had switched to Blake before reaching out and grabbing Nesh's arm in sheer gratitude.

Blake took the tricorder and looked at it for a moment. The First Officer got all the glamorous jobs on a ship, she thought drily, moving to do it all the same. She started opening doors, doing a thorough sweep, and although there was no reason to think that they might be overrun, there was a primal prickle on the back of her neck at the idea something might come running out. "All clear, Captain," she finally reported, an edge of appreciation to her tone.

"Good." Morgan tugged at the waist of her uniform jacket then took a final glance around the mess hall before looking back to the young Orion and man-child. "We're finished here. I have good news and bad news," she informed the two. "You failed your inspection due to alcohol possession in violation of ship-wide orders, unsafe canned goods storage practices, and..." she gestured to Laeon's hair, "Improper personal hygiene. Fortunately, I'm not putting either of you on restriction. This time." There was a lesson to be learned, and sometimes corrective punishment was best used sparingly with young civilians. "Make sure it doesn't happen again. You're both new to this job so use this opportunity to improve yourselves. Understood?"

Nesh looked at her and took a breath. And then, she found herself remembering something, about wording. "With all due respect, Captain...Laeon did a favour to me by being here. He is a civilian minor and as such can't be put on any restrictions as that would be a violation of his rights. Not even sure you could legally threaten with that either where he's concerned," she said, meeting Tarin's eyes, holding them. "Unless, of course, the United Federation of Planets have decided to re-examine those laws, Captain?" she added, thoughtfully. Because truthfully, if it had just been her, no problem, she would have taken the slap on the wrist. But Laeon had been here as a favour to her to help her get her head around everything. And this is the part where I get put on restrictions because there's just enough Saalm in me to let my mouth get me into trouble.

Morgan's eyebrows slowly raised after she listened to the defiant Saalm sister. She cast a sideways glace to Blake then back to Nesh before stepping forward, closer to the green-skinned woman. Some people just don't know when to cut their losses, she thought to herself. "Indignance is an unattractive quality in a Starfleet officer. Your sister would be disappointed." She motioned for Zeror, her yeoman, to record something into the official log. "Since you want to cite Federation law to me, I'll return the favor. You're on restricted duty until Galileo returns to Regula I. Your holodeck privileges are revoked. If you're not on duty here in the mess hall, you're to be in your quarters. You will muster in my ready room - every day - at 0600, 1200, and 2200 hours." Her eyes narrowed. "Do I make myself clear, Miss Saalm?"

Nesh held her eyes, feeling a rise in her emotions that, she knew, felt oddly close to victory. Don't worry, my sister is always disappointed in me, she thought, but kept an easy and pleasant smile on herself. "Yes, Captain. Will you be requiring refreshments as well at 0600, 1200 and 2200 hours?" she asked lightly.

Tarin glared at Nesh, now biting her bottom lip. "Raktajino. Steamed, with extra cream," she retorted. "Don't be late." The acting captain then turned on her heels and headed out of the galley towards the exit.

Nesh looked at Laeon before she suddenly smiled, moving closer to him with the silk scarf. "Now let's get this on you..." she said, her voice playful. "Then we're back to work."

As Morgan left Jeysa finished her note taking then gave Nesh an apologetic look, she hoped the rest of this inspection went better than this had or half the crew were going to be in trouble. "See you later Nesh." She said before turning to follow the Captain.

Blake looked between Nesh and Laeon for a moment before arching an eyebrow, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips before she shook her head gently. She let out a soft breath, moving to follow.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

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

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo-A

PO3 Jeysa Zeror
Yeoman
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

Nesh Saalm
Sous Chef
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Rice]

Laeon Wylde
Crew Family
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

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