Joint Duty Log - Ens Charlson & Lt Zheer - "With Unwanted Attention And A Need For Explanation"

Posted on Thu Dec 11th, 2014 @ 3:50am by

876 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: All Hallows’
Location: Security Offices

Lily had been worrying for ages about this meeting, and now it was time. She walked nervously down the corridor towards the security offices where she knew the lieutenant would be waiting for her. She was still worried, even after everything Noah had said. She got to the lieutenants office and pushed the door chime. Now she was here she was even more worried about what would happen. Had she done the right thing? Now was the time to find out.

Thalla looked up at the sound of the chime, and shifted slightly in the chair behind the desk. The idea of having a desk and an office was still odd to her, even if she was only acting head in light of PontBrillant's sudden transfer. Eventually the Captain would select someone to head this department, and she could go back to just being a tactical officer. She sat up straight, and pulled a neutral expression across her face. She could feel her left antennae twitch slightly — her tell when she was being careful to hide her thoughts, she'd have to hope the Ensign wouldn't notice, or if she did not know what to make of it.

"Enter," she called.

Lily walked into the Lieutenants office and snapped off a crisp salute. "Ensign Charlson reporting as ordered!" She said, noticing a slight twitch from the Andorians antennae.

"At ease, Ensign," Thalla said returning the salute, eying Lily's form. She certainly hadn't forgotten the protocol of the salute. "Talk to me about what happened during the Romulan battle," the Andorian woman prompted, folding her hands on the desk in front of her and keeping her tone even.

"Well I had not received any orders from Commander PontBrillant, and presumed he was otherwise occupied on the bridge, so I used my initiative and started putting the security and tactical departments resources to use as I thought was required, given the situation." Lily said, feeling her nerves getting worse and worse.

Thalla sat silently for a moment, watching the ensign carefully. Lily had certainly jumped over a few heads to take charge, there were others in the department that outranked her even if the commander had been otherwise occupied on the bridge, but she hadn't necessarily done a bad job of it. And sometimes the difference between the safety of the ship or not was the actions of one person who didn't necessarily have the authority to make the decision in the first place. Still, chain of command existed for a reason.

"He was occupied on the bridge, as was I. There were others that outranked you in the department though. How might you have gone about it without jumping over their heads?"

"I could have contacted the commander or yourself to make you aware, or asked you what your orders were. I didn't do this however due to the proximity of the Romulan vessel, and the possibility of us being boarded." Lily said, now worried about what she'd done.

Thalla nodded slowly in response to Lily's answer, then let a soft smile slip. "There are times when what's happening is urgent enough that acting without checking in first can be important, even though the chain of command is important too, and is there for a reason. Ultimately, the department did its job during the incident and that was in part because of your quick thinking. As punishment for your ignoring the chain of command though," Thalla smirked as she said this, but with a twinkle in her eye and a kind curve to her antennae, "I'm going to give you some responsibility. You're to coordinate with Chief Rose for some training for the department. Do a good job, and I'll punish you with more responsibility." She winked.

"Permission to speak freely?" Lily asked.

"By all means, Ensign," Thalla returned.

"I've been nervous about this all day, I even spoke to Noah about this...of all people. I'm happy you trust me enough for the responsibility though!" Lily said, relieved by the Lieutenants words.

"Noah?" Thalla repeated the name with a thoughtful tweak to her antennae. "You mean Pond's brother?"

"Yes, he gave me some good advice!" Lily said.

"Did he?" Thalla could only imagine what pasta and rum had to do with advising an ensign who'd bucked protocol, but she knew Pond thought fondly of her brother, so maybe there was something to his advice. Thalla had only met the man fleetingly once, and his sister had been quick to steer him away from her.

"Yes. So what now?" Lily asked.

"Now you finish your duty shift, then show me that this trust I've put in you isn't misplaced. I expect a report on my desk by the end of the week with your training plan," Thalla explained. "Any questions, Ensign?"

"None ma'am, thank you for your time!" Lily said as she saluted, turned, and exited the office.

If nothing else, Lily was young and eager, Thalla thought as the ensign left. Hopefully that would be enough to carry her until she gained the experience she needed to really make for a successful career.

=/\= End Log =/\=

Lieutenant Thalla Zheer
acting Chief Security/Tactical
USS Vindicator, NCC-78312-E

Ensign Lily Charlson
Security Officer
USS Vindicator, NCC-78312-E

 

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