Training and Punishment

Posted on Wed Sep 22nd, 2010 @ 9:35pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell & Lieutenant Jimmy Cooper

1,440 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Structured Shoreleave - Marchwiel
Location: Captain's Ready Room

ON:

T'kaarch, still slightly sore, but other then that quite alright, had taken the liberty of quickly nipping into his quarters to put on a fresh uniform. No need to aggravate the captain further by showing up in a torn and blown up uniform. He also had a quick word with Ensign Thompson who was in charge of the shuttlebay at that moment, but while he couldn't tell him much, it was clear that the shuttle had taken a beating, and above the captain’s punishment he feared that his breakthrough in holo-technology may have been destroyed due to the Ranger's torpedo.

Just one of those days.

Sure, he shouldn't have tried the thing out without talking to the captain, and using the Borg as testing material probably wasn't a good idea either, but he was leaning on the sense of humor of the captain. As was quite obvious by now, her sense of humor was clearly very different from his.

Anyway, what's done is done, and so T'kaarch pressed the chime on the captain's ready room.

“Come in,� Elsie barked loudly.

T'kaarch entered silently, and it took a bit before he realized the captain wasn't alone. Still silent, he nodded towards the pilot, then sat in the chair free for him, avoiding all eyes.

Zhukov was already in the Ready Room, sitting at a chair in front of the Captain's Desk. It was the second time he had been in there in the past hour.

“Now that everyone’s present,� she began, flicking a cold look to T’kaarch as he sat down, “let us discuss this infraction of protocol.�

"Captain, it is more than just that." Zhukov stated with the Assistant Chief Science Officer sitting next to him. "He made unauthorized modifications to a shuttle, and took it from the Shuttlebay without proper authorization. Then he sends us all into a Borg panic and almost gets himself killed. And now one of my shuttles is offline for at least a week while we repair the damage HE caused." Vladimir stated bluntly. He was trying to keep his cool, but it was becoming more difficult. Basic failure to follow the chain of command was one thing, but this was worse.

"I know he is a skilled pilot, and has been at the helm of this ship and others, but he just can't do what he pleases with the shuttles." finished Zhukov. He had read the Caitan’s service record and actually thought highly of him, but he did need to learn to follow orders and respect the chain of command. He was a Starfleet officer and had to act like it.

T'kaarch wisely decided not to interfere in the discussion about him, and waited until he was spoken to.

"I was worrrking on advanced holo-technology to use forrr defensive purrrposes." T'kaarch answered docilely. "It worrrks by combining the holo-technology with a small device in space which emits false sensorrr rrreadings, communications, everrrything one would expect frrrom a ship."

"Well, I wasn't notified that there would be modifications, or that there was a shuttle flight scheduled. There was no flight plan filed. I had no knowledge at all of your experiments. Now, the captain did tell me that you manned the helm on occasions and that you had pilot experience, but that was the extent of it." said Zhukov. He wasn't blaming anyone, he had just never been informed that one of his shuttles was being tinkered with, a shuttle he was responsible for. "If I had known you were going out, I could have had one of my personnel go out with you." finished Zhukov.

"In my defence, it worrrked..." T'kaarch didn't really defend himself, he knew he was in trouble and anything he said would probably make it worse.

Zhukov looked back at Halliwell who was clearly annoyed with the entire situation. Her face was still red and blotchy in a few places as it appeared she was trying to keep back her anger at the large feline as well. Zhukov took a deep breath and tried to even out his tone. "Captain, before you say anything, I'd like to state that I am in need of another officer to assist me with pilot training." stated the Chief Flight Control Officer, hoping to try and keep T'kaarch out of too much trouble, but also getting some help at the same time.

“This whole mess cannot be swept beneath the carpet under the premise of ‘community service’ or ‘additional duties’,� Elsie began, taking in a deep sigh before continuing. She looked at the charred Caitan and couldn’t help but soften inwardly toward him, for his methods and his intentions, but this was a matter of principle, and if there was one aspect of Halliwell’s rigid personality that she would never compromise on, it was her principles.

Looking at them both, her face remained stoic. In the hour it had taken for T’kaarch to straighten himself out, and for Vladimir to be fully apprised of the fiasco, Halliwell had played out every emotion to herself. From frustrated anger to a slight humourous chuckles at the preposterous mess the Lieutenant had gotten himself in. But to herself, and especially to her crew, she needed to remain professional and official.

She looked at T’kaarch and said, “I should take away that pip for starters. Mr. Zhukov is right. To take a shuttle that I know you had ‘authorisation’ for and to do what you did without due process is unacceptable. As an officer of Starfleet, and one under my command on the Ranger, I cannot let this go unpunished.�

"Captain, I neverrr meant to hurrrt anyone... I neverrr knew it would end up like this..." He took the onyx pip off his uniform, and put it on the captain's desk. "Captain, I am verrry prrroud to have this, and I would verrry much like to keep it... I am awarrre I would need punishment. " But isn't it a bit strict to take away a promotion on a single infringement? He decided not to speak out that thought, as it would most likely be considered out of line.

"Mam, if I may?" asked Zhukov.

Elsie remained tight-lipped and nodded to him.

"It's clear to me now that if he had known that I wasn't aware that he was making shuttle modifications, he would have let me know. Also, I believe what he did was for our benefit in the long run," stated the Helmsman, not knowing if it would have any effect on the ultimate outcome of the entire situation.

Leaning in, somewhat intimidatingly, Elsie interlaced her fingers on the desk before her and lowered her voice. “The matter that you were not aware of the lieutenant’s intention and carelessness is not my main concern, Mr. Zhukov. What I fear the most is that a newly promoted officer on board my ship,� and she picked up the pip and handed it back to the Caitan, “disregarded protocol, disregarded the chain of command, and disregarded not only the safety of technology that does not belong to him and himself, but the safety of the entire crew.�

She narrowed her gaze on T’kaarch and then said, “Oh, you will be held accountable for what you have done, Lieutenant. You will assist Mr. Zhukov with the repairs to the now-damaged shuttle, utilise your less than professional and florid piloting skills by also assisting the lieutenant with his additional training, AND you will be restricted to quarters during any such time that you are not performing these tasks or on duty until I deem differently. Your holodeck privileges have now been revoked as have your replicator’s. Am I understood?�

T'kaarch quickly set the onyx pip back to its original position, then nodded, still without making eye-contact, "Yes, ma'am." In the end, it was to be expected, and deep inside he was happy he could at least size up the damage to the holo-technology he developed himself, and see if there was anything salvageable on it.

“Does that suit, Mr. Zhukov?� she asked, flicking her look over to him.

Zhukov stood up and nodded. "Yes, Captain, I believe it will." he said.

OFF:


Elsie Halliwell
Commanding Officer
USS Ranger


Vladimir Zhukov
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Ranger


T’kaarch
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Ranger

 

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