Authorized Acquisitions
Posted on 15 Apr 2012 @ 7:14am by Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Commander Chauncey Remington III (KIA) & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Lieutenant JG Kestra Orexil
2,669 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: Starbase 234, Requisitions Office
Timeline: MD 02 - 1330 hrs
[ON]
The Beta shift was thankfully timed to perfection as the Galileo had arrived at the Starbase, already being on the Bridge had been more than helpful for John to start the ball rolling as far as resupplying the ship was concerned. He had already had problems with the ship being launched so early and without a full weapon's quota, but at least he had managed to reach the starbase without once feeling the urge to raise the shields, or arm torpedoes. With docking procedures complete, John had managed to find his way off of the ship, and towards the quartermaster's office onboard the starbase. Before leaving, he had made sure to issue orders to his Ops officer, and the young cadet assigned to his tutelage to join him here...hopefully he would not be kept waiting for long.
Remington made his way up to Holliday with Cadet Im'er following. He had a PADD in hand. "Commander," he said with a nod. "I've the recruitment roster here from the Starbase, Cadet Im'er has weapons requisitions."
Mor'an silently nodded to Holliday before glancing down at the PADD in her own hand. She was ready to do whatever Holliday asked of her, ready to learn whatever he taught.
"Nicely done, the Quartermaster should know to expect us, hopefully he has some good news for us, at least as far as our resupply requirements go!"
Heading through the large metal doors ahead of him, John entered the Starbase command centre, a large circular room bristling with officers, enlisted crew, and various other members of Starfleet staff. On the left hand side of the room, was the equivalent of the supply offices, large enough for the Quartermaster and a few of their subordinates to get their work done without having to spill out into a usually-busy CIC. Approaching the door, he thumbed the panel and listened as a faint chime sounded on the far side, before a voice gave the signal to enter.
Taking his cue, John pressed the door release and allowed the doors to slide open, revealing three desks, two smaller ones flanking a much larger central desk, set slightly behind the other two. The smaller desks were currently occupied by lieutenants, bearing the colours of the Operations department, and busily entering information onto half a dozen consoles at once, as if entranced. At the rear desk sat a rather portly looking human, not at all rotund, but certainly larger than your standard Starfleet officer.
"Yeah whaddya you lot want?" He didn't so much as glance up from his desk, staring intently at some kind of report on his PADD that seemed to be sufficient to draw his attention entirely. John was surprised that someone bearing the pins of a Lieutenant Commander would respond to another officer in such a way.
"I'm Lieutenant Commander Holliday from the Galileo, this is Mr Remington, my Ops officer, and Cadet Im'er, she will be shadowing me for the duration of this mission."
The officer behind the desk nodded as if he was half listening to the statement, before finally putting his report down and looking up towards them.
"Lieutenant Commander Harrison, I'm the Quartermaster here....overworked and understaffed...but still going strong. Well, whaddya want?"
For a moment, Harrison almost seemed to remember his protocol, before slipping back into his normal speech pattern.
"We're in need of a weapons resupply, Mr Remington has the details" He motioned to his colleague to transfer the information to the Quartermaster.
Remington tapped his PADD and stepped forward, placing it on teh table without a word. Harrison picked up the PADD and stared at it intently, reading through the pages of requisition requests until he finally reached the weapons list.
"Hmm...quantum torpedoes...phaser couplings...yep...pretty standard stuff...well...phaser couplings and power cells, no problem....torpedoes though...hmm that's gonna be tricky...got a Galaxy-class due in here at about 2100...probably gonna eat up our entire supply..."
Mor'an watched the round human carefully as he poured forth this stream of words. He seemed...extremely agitated. She couldn't help but think how easily he could correct that, if he only knew how. She refrained from saying anything, as now was neither the time nor the place.
Will took a moment to consider how much he should say to the man, and at length spoke. "Our Starfleet mission priority is high, no doubt Command will expect us to be supplied promptly." He made his statement in a firm but pleasant manner.
"High priority huh? For a science vessel? What is it some nebula in desperate need of a sensor sweep?" The Quartermaster seemed to become more and more sarcastic as the sentence went on. He certainly looked far too comfortable in his position, but nevertheless, for one reason or another, was still firmly planted behind his desk.
"Care to share Commander?" he replied to the Galileo Ops officer
Remington watched the quartermaster for a moment and took a few moment to reply. "The mission would be complicated to explain," he replied diplomatically, "unfortunately we don't have time to to go into details."
Kestra glanced at her PADD as she exited the Galileo; main operations. She knew it well. Walking quickly, she arrived at the main operations office to find the doors open and Harrison denying her XO and the others with him their requisite torpedoes. It was a hard business being the quartermaster for a star base this close to earth. Ships were always passing through needing re-supply and they never seemed able to make everyone happy. She'd watched Klask bellow at Harrison on three separate occasions with the voice he used to make marines quake in their boots and the portly man hadn't even blinked; she imagined he'd been through far worse. And he was in a mood today. She could feel the vibration of it just behind her eyes. Something was distracting him. Silently, she slipped up behind the others and watched, waiting for more information before she got involved.
John appeared visibly annoyed by the lack of options being presented to him. Once again it seemed a larger vessel was being given priority over a smaller one for no reasons other than apparent size. It mattered not that the Galaxy could be departing from here to do nothing more than chart a nebula, whilst the Galileo, although rather small, was set to be taking part in a mission seen as vital to the future of the Federation. After a few moments another officer seemed to enter the room. Whilst John hadn't seen them, he had heard the tell-tale steps of standard issue Starfleet boots approaching from behind.
"Its customary to introduce one to other officers when entering a room" He looked over his shoulder at the approaching crewmember. "Lieutenant" he added in a sharp ending to his sentence, making a note of the pips displayed on her uniform collar.
"I didn't want to interrupt negotiations, sir," Kestra explained. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Kestra Orexil. Chief of Security and Tactics aboard your Galileo. Newly transferred from the USS Churchill." She kept her eyes on her XO, but let her voice linger on the ship name with the hope that perhaps Harrison would hear the name of the border relief and peace-keeping ship and it would loosen something in him. She saluted Holliday, relaxed, but at attention; she could respect his urgency, command, and irritation at the situation, but she couldn't fold. All she could do at this point was show him the respect he deserved and try not to exacerbate the situation. There was enough tension in the room already. "Commander Saalm sent me over to see if I could be of assistance to you, sir."
"Understood Miss Orexil....nice to see a fellow Tactical officer on board...even on a science ship someone needs to know which buttons fire phasers."
Kestra let her hand fall and inclined her head, "As you say."
John had virtually had enough of putting up with this rather....temperamental Quartermaster, and had quickly come to the conclusion that diplomacy in this case was just not going to work, at least, not in the way they wanted it to."
"Harrison listen...I don't have time for your little games ok? You might be in charge of stuff here, but trust me, out there, there's plenty more going on. We don't all have the liberty of putting our fat asses behind a desk and trying to look smug up against other officers, some of us have real commissions to worry about. Now you make sure those torpedo requisitions are given to Cadet Im'er here right now, or we're going to have a problem...one that involves calling in your boss....understood?"
Harrison seemed to shift awkwardly in his chair, as if the very words being thrown at him were hitting his skin with some force, it appeared that this was a man used to getting his own way, rather than having to put up with anything else, or anyone else.
"Mr Holliday pleeeease..." He began, a sly and rather sarcastic tone in his voice, John however, wasn't going to let it slip.
"Is that understood...Mr Harrison "
With a sigh, the Quartermaster slumped back in his chair, and extended a hand, waiting for a requisition order to be passed across to him. For a moment the two junior officers flanking him grinned, they were obviously not used to their boss getting a dressing down, before returning to their otherwise blank expression that had existed before this discussion began.
Mor'an handed her PADD over to Harrison for his thumbprint, all the while fixing him with with her most intense, blue-eyed gaze. This man needed to be put in his place and, though that wasn't her duty, at least she could stare him down. He liked to get his way. So did she. Harrison handed the PADD back to her, thumbprint in place, and Mor'an couldn't help but grin vampirically at this small triumph.
"Very good" John smiled as he finally got what he wanted. He was damned if the Galileo was going to be entering Klingon territory without being stocked with every torpedo and phaser power cell he could fit inside her hull.
"Mr Remington, I have an Intel meeting to attend, and god knows if I'm late I'll never manage to sneak in unnoticed. Would you be so kind as to supervise the delivery and storage of our new armaments? I'm sure Cadet Im'er here would be glad to learn the tricks of the trade with torpedo transfers?"
"Aye aye, sir," Remington replied with a nod of his head.
"Excellent. I'll see you all back aboard ship." Nodding to his three colleagues John headed out of the office, leaving a rather dumbfounded look on the face of the now-silent Quartermaster. He had an Intelligence meeting to attend, and being late was the last thing he wanted. Looking up at one of the starbase chronometers as he headed along one of the many hallways, he realised that time was going to be of the essence and broke into a jog, heading towards his final destination.
Kestra watched the XO stride out of the office with a bemused half-smile. It was nice to know he could handle himself; then again, she'd yet to met an XO who couldn't. They didn't generally make it that far if they didn't know how to manage situations quickly and efficiently. And it was a reminder that some people responded if not better, then at least more quickly to immediacy than diplomacy. Though, she worried that - while it might have accomplished their immediate goals expediently - treating the quartermaster so roughly might have consequences the next time they passed through the station. It was never a good thing to be on the wrong side of the man holding your ammunition. She inclined her head to Harrison, "We appreciate your assistance. Thank you for your time." Looking between the cadet and the operations officer, she smiled, "Shall we get out of their way here so they can get along with their business? I believe I know the way to the weapons depot on this station."
"Indeed," Remington replied, giving the station crew a nod and headed out of the room. "Please, lead the way, Lieutenant."
Kestra inclined her head and, with a final nod to the quartermaster and his attendings, led the others from the room and headed off in the direction of the depot.
As they walked, the commander struck up a conversation. "So, you've only just arrived? Lieutenant Commander Chauncey William Remington the Third, chief of operations, at your service. You've met Cadet Im'er?" he glanced back at the young lady, "I believe she's training to be a tactical officer when she graduates, isn't that so, cadet?"
"Yes," Mor'an replied, breaking the silence she had kept until that moment. "A fascinating study, to be sure." She liked Remington -- very cool and composed from what she could tell.
"I've met no one, excepting the Captain and one old friend," Kestra smiled easily, leading them around a corner and into a turbo lift. "I am pleased to know you both."
"Ah, yes," Remington replied, "I look forward to serving with you, Lieutenant. Now, I expect you will want the torpedoes transported to a cargo transporter and then moved to the torpedo bays?"
Kestra nodded. "Thank you. Yes." The doors parted and she led the way down the corridor towards the weapons depot, "Your show, Lieutenant Commander," she told Remington as they stepped inside.
Remington gestured to the cadet. "Cadet, would you take the responsibility of seeing to the requisition? You might as well get used to it now. I believe the armory officer is over there," he gestured to a tall vulcan woman in security gold standing next to a lift with several photon torpedo. She had an air of command and while she might not have been in charge of much more than the weapons depot, there was little reason to doubt it wasn't the most efficient, well-run, logical arms depot in the quadrant.
"An inspired idea, Commander Remington," Mor'an said, "I shall see to it immediately." She inclined her head to both her superiors before turning and ambling sedately over to the vulcan woman Will had pointed out to her.
Will chuckled as Mor'an left. "Inspired," he repeated, glancing at Kestra, "She's got an interesting way of putting things."
Kestra smiled, watching the cadet work, and hummed quietly in agreement. "Perhaps you just inspire her," she murmured, crossing her arms comfortably at her back.
Mor'an hesitantly approached the vulcan woman, looking to find the pips that decorated her collar. She was a lieutenant. "Cadet Im'er Mor'an of the USS Galileo," Mor'an said, standing before the woman. "I am to see to the weapons requisition. Am I to speak to you?"
The vulcan woman stared at the youthful Tarkannan with mild interest. "You are," she held her hand out. "Requisition order and authorization."
Mor'an held out the PADD to the woman, eyeing the vulcan as the other woman eyed her.
The armory officer looked the requisition form over briefly and signed off on it. She pointed to a tellarite standing back a rack of torpedoes. "Petty Officer Groth will transport the torpedoes to your ship. You will need to wait one hour and twenty-three minutes while we handle other orders. Your presence is not required until then." She gave Mor'an a look that clearly suggested the Galileo crewmen were not wanted in the armory until then.
Kestra closed her eyes and gave a soft, contented sigh. Ancestors grant all our tasks to come are as simple and straight-forward.
[OFF]
LtCdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo
Lt JG Kestra Orexil
Chief of Security and Tactical
USS Galileo
Cadet Senior Grade Im'er Mor'an
Red Squad Intern
USS Galileo
Lt. Cmdr. Chauncey William Remington III
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo
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