Bribe or Promotion

Posted on 15 Jan 2013 @ 2:00am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman

1,062 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 1, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD -02: 0255 hrs

[ON]

Watching as Pola left her ready room, Lirha smiled to herself with approval at the new woman's rank. She was happy to now have a more senior member of the senior staff, and was confident that the doctor would settle in just fine with her new role. Fortunately for Lirha, Pola was not the only crew member who had received a recommendation for promotion.

Tapping her commbadge, she summoned her chief intelligence officer into her office. "Lieutenant Coleman, please report to my ready room." she said, then waited patiently for the gray-collared woman to arrive.

Evelyn quickly entered the nearest turbolift and made her way to the bridge. Her mind racing as to what the topic of this meeting with the captain will be. When the lift halted and the doors parted, she straightened her stance and stepped off onto the bridge. She gazed at the new layout, still not used to the new bridge. She shook her head and proceeded to the Captain's ready room. Evelyn walked in and spoke, "Good Morning, Captain."

Lirha let out an internal smile as her attractive, blond intelligence chief quickly replied to her request and arrived in her ready room. Despite her sometimes-confrontational nature, the Orion was quite fond of Evelyn and strangely enjoyed her company. Perhaps it was because Lirha was a former intelligence chief herself, but most likely it was a more...personal feeling. "Good morning, lieutenant." she replied politely, then motioned towards a nearby chair. "Please have a seat. I have something rather important that I need to discuss with you."

Evelyn arched her brow as she took a seat on the chair in front of the Captain's desk. "Very well..."

"Yesterday, I received a communication from Starfleet Intelligence. At first I thought it was in regards to Project Sienna, but instead it was one of your former supervisors, Admiral Helmeczi." Lirha said, then paused for a brief moment before continuing.

"He apparently has taken a personal interest in you, and has been very pleased with your recent performance aboard Galileo...even going so far as to recommend you for a promotion." she added, looking into Evelyn's blue eyes with a raised eyebrow.

Evelyn's smile faded as she remembered the name. Admiral Joel Helmeczi was one of the few higher ups that didn't object to her return to traditional service work. "I bet he is. Considering I was recently promoted to a full Lieutenant the Admiral's recommendation has been carried out."

Lirha shook her head. "No, this is a new recommendation...for the rank of lieutenant commander." she revealed, watching the intel chief's expressions to try and get some insight into her mindset.

Eve nodded, "That is quite flattering." She casually remarked, "however I don't see what I've done recently that could merit a promotion...considering we were on shore-leave."

"Well..." Lirha began as she took a deep breath, "Besides being an over-opinionated and very stubborn member of my crew, you were instrumental in helping us discover the source of the data rod and prevent an unauthorized intrusion onto our ship. And as you might have guessed by now, I value loyalty and competency above most other personal aspects."

"True, so this could be a bribe to keep this incident quiet." Evelyn commented, leaning back in her chair. "Having been a part of Starfleet for so long, promotions don't hold the same...emotional impact as they once did."

Lirha was well versed in intelligence techniques and manipulation, and didn't discount the admiral's recommendation as a form of bribe. However, she also had her own personal reasons for which she thought Evelyn should be promoted. "I agree with you, lieutenant. However, as your commanding officer, I recognize you long and detailed history with Starfleet, and personally I think your promotion is long overdue."

Rising from her seat, the Orion captain walked to the back of her office and, using a series of command codes along with a fingerprint, opened the secure box and retrieved a medium-sized wooden box. She opened it delicately and retrieved a small, hollow pip, then re-placed the box in the safe and closed the hatch. Returning to her desk, she walked around the side and stood in front of the lieutenant. "Please stand at attention." she simply said.

Evelyn stood to her feet and placed her hands behinds her, clasping her hands behind her back, standing stall and proud for Lirha.

Reaching up with her green hands, Lirha expertly placed the new pip on Evelyn's collar and adjust it into the proper position. After a final inspection of the officer's uniform, she happily smiled and gave the woman a gentle squeeze on her forearm. "Congratulations, Miss Coleman. I hereby promote you to the rank of lieutenant commander, and bestow upon you all the rights and privileges associated with it." she said, then offered her hand for Evelyn to shake.

Evelyn gave the Orion a small smile before taking her green hand in hers, shaking it. "At this rate, I'll be Captain by the end of the month." She joked.

"Well...let's not get too carried away." Lirha replied with a light laugh. "I'm not exactly sure Commander Holliday would approve of you leap-frogging him in the chain of command." she said, referencing the common Earth amphibian idiom.

"I was merely joking ma'am. Besides I've denied twice the opportunity for Command. While the chair is comfortable, the job itself is very limiting. Especially since the color change from gold to red." Evelyn smirked and looked down at her uniform, "I admit, these feel more comfortable than the older style, back then I was stuck in those skirt uniform and boots, my Rao were they uncomfortable."

Lirha smiled up at the blond woman. "Personally, I think you would look nice in a skirt and boots." she replied, indulging herself with a quick mental image of Evelyn's long and slender bare legs. "Well," she continued after a brief pause, "If there is nothing else, you're dismissed, commander."

Evelyn felt a sensation of desire fall upon her as she noticed the shift in look Lirha was giving her. She blinked and then nodded. "Captain." she smirked before turning about and head out of the room.

[OFF]

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CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. Commander Evelyn Coleman
Chief Intelligence Officer/ 2XO
USS Galileo

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