Command Team

Posted on Tue Feb 3rd, 2009 @ 8:04pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell

1,592 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Restricted Independent Operations
Location: Lane's Ready Room
Timeline: Current

Lieutenant Commander Lane sat in his Ready-Room chair surrounded by a fortress of data PADDs and a steaming cup of black, delicious coffee. There was so much work that needed to be organised before the Archimedes could leave Starbase 351 that the Trill did not know which piles he had worked through and which were untouched. It was a highly anticipated day when Lieutenant Commander Arkham could assume her role as his new First Officer and share the load.

As he delicately balanced the PADD he had held in his hand for the past three minutes, without reading, on top of a stack of others, he knocked the base of it placing down his coffee cup and it cascaded down over the side of his desk.

“Blast,� he cursed as the clattering sounded reverberated around his Ready Room. Leaving them on the floor, he arose from his chair to stretch his legs and clear his mind a little. Applying pressure on his blue eyes with his fingers, the late nights working hard, and an eager, good-humoured eleven year old bouncing around the quarters were clearly taking its toll.

Leaving the mess behind him on the carpeted flooring, Commander Lane made his way to bridge to survey the final repairs and refits still continuing on Deck One. As the doors breathed open onto a bustle of activity before him, he smiled and straightened his uniform up. The creases around his washboard waist from the chair looked, admittedly, awful, however, standards could slip when a ship is docked, he thought. But not afterwards. Spying the Bridge Duty Officer near the center of the bridge, he strolled forward and smiled as he approached.

“Mr. Owens,� he opened with. “This Starbase must really be working you close to the knuckle. You never seem to be off my Bridge,� he joked, his blue eyes sparkling with a stifled laugh.

“Commander, how are you today??� he asked, laughing back. “I know. I sometimes feel I should put in a request to transfer, I’m here that much.

Putting his strong hand on his shoulder, he gently shook it. “If you did, I’d have it approved, you know.�

“Well…� he replied.

“Well, why don’t you at least consider it, Mr Owens?? And then we’ll say no more about it.�

“Aye, I will, Commander.�

“Good. Now, back to the order of the day. What’s the status here??�

Taking in a deep sigh, the young Ensign before him mentally checked and unchecked a list he had been working to.

“The Engineering display and Science’s have just been upgraded. The Helm, too. And, as you can see with their clear plastics on them, as you requested, the Captain’s and First Officer’s chairs have been replaced. With that I agree with you. You should always start with your own.�

“You should, indeed, Ensign,� he replied. “Now, what of my First Officer?? Has she reported aboard??

The Ensign looked at one of two data PADDs he was holding. Scrolling down to its familiar ringing, he looked up.

“Yesterday, sir. Her and her attendant.�

“Thank you very much, Mr. Owens. Now, please, continue with that you were doing.� With that, the Trill nodded respectfully and went back to the sanctuary of his Ready Room. Swiftly tapping his combadge as he entered, he cleared his throat.

=A= This is Commander Lane to Commander Arkham. Ma’am. Welcome aboard. I’d like to get together as soon it’s convenient for you, naturally. Do you have a spare few moments?? =A=

Arkham was just getting settled in her office--she'd accumulated quite a bit of crap over the course of her career, she realized. Of course, Catherine had been saying that for years, but Arkham had never quite been receptive to the entire concept. She was just throwing out some of the crap she'd accumulated while aboard the Artemis--the longest several weeks of her life!--when she received Lane's page.

=A= Thank you sir. I'd be glad to join you for a few moments--I'm not doing anything in particular =A=

Exiting her office and heading up to the CO's Ready Room, Arkham barely paused to scowl as much as her ruined visage would allow at a couple of passing crewmen. Finally arriving--which didn't take that long; the walks here were nothing compared to the Akiras she'd served on--she knocked politely on the doorframe before letting herself in.

"Well, with all due respect, you look like shit, sir," Arkham rasped. "Not getting much sleep, eh?"

“That was with ‘all due respect??’� he asked with a chuckle. “I can see I made the right decision in requesting you to be my Number One, Ms Arkham,� he continued.

Arkham chuckled--or as close as she ever got to such things. "Yes, sir, that was 'with all due respect'. Tact is....not an area in which I have ever been proficient."

The full visible shock of Lieutenant Commander Arkham’s features was muted, somewhat, by the low levelled light emanating from the Ready Room. But, the Trill could see quite clearly his new First Officer’s reconstructed jaw, and the crumpled grafts of skin layering her throat and the side of her face. For himself, the sight was nothing as shocking as what it would be for the younger amongst his new crew. However, their opinions of Ms Arkham’s physical attributes did not concern the CO, and her fresh attitude pleased him immensely.

“It’s been a long couple of days, Commander,� he said. “But, now that you’re here, I hope that that will elevate some of the workload. But, before I’m ready to hand over the responsibilities so quickly, how are you settling in?? She is a little smaller than you’re used to. Not as fast or as grand. But just as advanced. I hope that you’ll enjoy your first full command with her…�

Pausing for a moment and clicking her jaw--she was rather uncomfortable; looks like Dr. Halsey would have some work to do. "I'm settling in fine; it's...not what I'm used to, but the good Doctor is settling in nicely. She likes the labs here--I think she'll be quite happy. I understand she ran into your little girl, as well, out and about the ship. Catherine loves kids--neither of us have families; I travel too much for such things. She says she's adorable -- I'm sure she is; kids aren't usually very fond of me. I'm too much the monster from bedtime stories that growls and barks and comes to get them in the dark."

Arkham smirked as much as she could manage. "Ah, enough of that--I'm ranting. We're settling in fine. It should be an interesting experience. Now, what do you need of me, sir?"

“Nothing more than you’re prepared to give, Commander. Your service record, as I expected, is locked up tighter than a Ferengi’s wall-safe. But, I’m sure that, working side by side, what I need to know about you, in time, I will. And that’s all I need from you. And, as I mentioned in my communiqué the other day, I expect you to help me run this ship tightly. Which, I believe, you’ll have no problems with.�

"Of course not, sir," Arkham said, smirking as much as her ruined visage would allow. It was unsurprising that he'd been unable to get to her service record -- in Intelligence, trying to get anyone's service record was a project that most didn't have the necessary resources to undertake. "Keeping people in line is very much my specialty. I still have yet to meet them.�

He smiled at the thought of his daughter onboard, exploring the crew as well as the ship.

“And, thank you about your kind words for Lorelai. She’s a treasure and the most important thing in the world to me. She did actually mention running into her. On such a small ship, there isn’t that many children to play with. That was my only concern here. But, you can tell you’re good Doctor that she’s welcome to take her off my hands, any day.�

He chuckled again, half playful and half serious.

"Oh, I'm sure that she'd enjoy that," Arkham rasped, trying to mentally ascertain how much time she'd have to spend in her office if Catherine ever took Lane up on that-- Arkham made it a point to stay away from kids; she didn't want to traumatize them anymore than necessary, but at the same time didn't want to deny Dr. Halsey; she hadn't been able to do that in years. Clearing her throat, she said finally, "Is there anything else I should be made aware of?"

“Not to my knowledge, Commander. I’m sure that once we both get settled down, things will arise as they invariably do… The crew should be reporting in any day. I’m just waiting on them to arrive. Perhaps you could ‘touch base’ with them, if you’ll pardon the mundane expression, when they do. Start them off on the right foot, so to speak.�

Arkham smirked. Something told her that this crew was going to give her quite a bit of work to do--if they hadn't reported in already, it probably meant that somewhere along the line, Arkham was going to need to do some ass kicking.

"Of course, sir," she said wickedly. "I'd be more than happy to put the fear of God in them for you. In fact, let's consider it done."

 

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