Introductions and Beginnings

Posted on Fri Oct 15th, 2021 @ 12:33pm by Lieutenant Callisi Veera & Captain James Stewart

1,677 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: New Home
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: SD:239610.05 09:30

[On]

Broad paws in broad boots landed on the deck as the newest officer took the first steps through the airlock, and onto the craft that would be her home for the next, well... however long. Her last cruise was four years. Her time before that was almost as long. She balled up a fist gently as she did the math, and the memories came back. A shake of her head, brown highlights in her hair moving side to side as she did. "Got more important things to do than remember," she said to herself as she consulted a panel map of the ship. Locating the Captain would be easy, all of these ships tracked everyone with a command. However, she wasn't officially on the ship yet, so she had to resort to the old fashioned GPS system: People.

Except it was actually harder than one would think to accidentally bump into someone. She eventually did and inquired about the Captain's position. A quick search from her helpful crewmate told her the next step, and with that, the rabbitess was off. Up the turbolift... Federation Turbolifts were so odd. They had a hum to them, a hum that made her grateful she was wearing boots. No ding, just a swish of the doors, and the rabbitess were on her way. Standing before the literal door of destiny, she paused to clear her throat and calm her mind. Why was she nervous? She didn't get nervous.

With that settled, she put on a soft smile and rang the announcer chime.

Having his Daughter arrive and then leave again along with the Chief Engineer which he now had to find a replacement for, James sat behind his desk going over possible candidates for the role; suddenly his door chime buzzed which gave him the chance to take a break from the screen. He said "Enter,"

The door swished open, allowing the Daughter of Ts'usu entry. Two crisp steps before the door swished shut, and then the rabbitess gave a crisp turn on her heels to face the Captain, "Captain sir." she began to close the distance, a PaDD gently held under an arm. Everything was professional, and really the only thing that could be considered a 'flaw' about such a beautiful and well-mannered creature was her eyepatch. Over her right eye was a black eyepatch, exactly like how one would describe a pirate's eyepatch from ages past. A savage scar peeked out above the patch, and below. Something terrible must have happened.

"Callisi Veera, operations department, reporting as transferred." and she presented the PaDD to James before returning to something of an 'at attention' posture. Not fully rigid, but there was certainly military training in that stance.

James looked up at the officer and said "Welcome aboard Lieutenant," as he took the PADD from her and began to scan the Transfer orders and check that they were all in order; as he applied his thumb-print to the PADD, he asked, "So, Lieutenant, Please tell me about yourself and why did you want to come to Churchill?"

Welcome aboard. Those words made her visibly relax in just the smallest of ways. "Scored five marks in secondary across computer operational and programming courses. Served as a pilot during my tour in the Empire. Once I was..." there was a pause, "... grounded, I doubled down on my SHCs. Software, Hardware, Compliance. I don't know if Starfleet has anything comparable."

"Passed Starfleet academy placement tests with over ninety-five marks. Though I think you just say I scored over a 95 here. Still getting used to that." she admitted. "Other than that, I'm... I'm blood type K, not a fan of walks on the beach but I prefer city strolls, and I've been told my good eye is dazzling but to be honest sir, our eyes don't dazzle."

"Transferring to the Churchill seemed the next likely step. The ship needs an operations officer to ensure everything runs smooth, and the first one I applied for was full. I'm not afraid to start over, but I don't like being the base hands. The, oh what's your term.... a gopher. The new guy, who does all the groundwork. Not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I didn't come all this way just to get coffee and be pretty."

"I see," replied James as he rose from his chair; he asked, " Can I get you a drink?" as he moved towards the replicator, James knew that not having a drink this morning after his daily briefings with command and still even now waiting on the crew to arrive was a pain in the ass and he and his wife just wanted to get out there and explore.

"Yes, please," she replied. "I've grown fond of Terran coffee in my time with Starfleet. Cream and sugar, if you would." Callisi requested. "I know I know, everyone expects me to drink tea or something. Trust me, in my youth I had my fill," she admitted, a smirk on her features.

As James stopped next to the replicator, he tapped in a few commands as he didn't trust the verbal command system until the system had been checked and verified as he ordered the drinks, James asked Callisi "so, What made you want to Join the Churchill?" as he wanted to know why she had chosen this ship.

"A solid change of scenery, and I had heard that the Churchill hadn't left the dock yet so it was still highly likely that my request would be accepted. To be honest I don't know the historical significance of the name so I can't claim that. Simply a matter of 'Right Place, Right Time." she stated. "Thank you." as she claimed her drink and gave it an appraising sip. Pleased with the results, she gave another sip.

"Ah," replied James, "so you see the Churchill as a stepping stone then?" he continued as he waited for the drinks to arrive, James hoped that the ship would get more crew so that they could depart spacedock. as he knew the admiral was to arrive tomorrow.

"Yes, but don't take that as an offence. We treat our stepping stones a little differently than most. While others stand on their stone and look forward to the next one, my people appreciate the time they have where they are, and look to the next step as simply that: The next step." she offered, "I guess what I'm trying to say is you don't have to worry about me looking through catalogues of others ships while I'm serving under your command. I'm here, now, and that's where my attention is."

"That is good to know Lieutenant," replied James as the drinks appeared and James picked up both mugs and carried them both back to the desk and placed the lieutenant's mug in front of the officer and his own onto his coaster.

She accepted the mug, holding it gently to just appreciate the warm object in her hands before she closed her eye and took a slow sip. She appreciated the bite it held, the smoothness it promised, and the warm feel down her throat. "There are those who say they can taste the difference between fabricated food and real food." another slow sip. "I can't. I just appreciate a welcoming cup. Thank you."

"Were there any questions you had of me, sir? I'd invite you to ask anything, but that's asking for trouble." she offered.

"First off what are your plans for the department?" asked James as he needed to know if she knew how many section heads she needed to appoint and her assistant chief, he continued "and how long do you expect us to need to be supplied with stores?"

She considered the question for a moment. "I'd be arrogant to say I didn't need to appoint an assistant chief. Under them, I'd like to be able to appoint a section head to ensure that the ops department always has at least one member of leadership available regardless of the time. Operation is a department that cannot sleep." she paused before shifting topics. "We can fashion most of what we need from the onboard fabricators, and Operations usually only requires three per cent of the reserves to ensure they're fully prepared for any situation. I would request a buffer of four per cent just to be certain, as long as we aren't planning any long term incursions into regions utterly devoid of material, I can program the transporter array to automatically skim and scan local asteroids or comets to keep the reserves topped."

"Operations won't be a choke point for resources, sir. That would be engineering." she offered with a nod, then grew a little quiet, "My prosthetic is very low maintenance. A credit to the crafter." she was an edge there. She hated to admit how well made it was.

"Well do what you need to do Lieutenant as you see fit," replied James looking back at the officer in front of him, continued "and appoint who you see fit," as he knew that Operations was going to be run smoothly He finished "And as of this moment You are to oversee Engineering til we get a new CEO,"

She stepped to attention, "Yes sir. Operations will be the pride of the Churchill." she said, her pride returning. Though, a dual overseer role? "Engineering as well, sir? Ambitious, but I won't let you down." It was a temporary assignment, yes, but one she'd own until it was time to hand it over.

"If my workload is doubled, I should start organizing everything at once. With your permission, sir, I'll start immediately."

"Very good Lieutenant, You're dismissed," replied James as he looked back at the New Ops officer as he hoped that she would get everything ship-shape as he watched her get up and head towards the exit now all James had to find was a chief Security officer.

OFF

Captain James Stewart
CO
USS Winston Churchill

&

Lt. Callisi Veera
Operations
USS Winston Churchill

 

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