Incoming
Posted on Fri Nov 5th, 2010 @ 4:14pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell
1,403 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Structured Shoreleave - Marchwiel
Location: Captains' Ready Room
Timeline: Current
[ON]
Captain Richard Northcutt sat in the Captain's Chair on the bridge, and he found himself sympathizing with the Captain of the Ranger. He stroked his hand through his short grey hair from front to back and sighed. It appeared Captain Halliwell had run into some bad luck, and Northcutt knew that sometimes that was hard to shake. He knew very well that it could have been the Ranger coming to rescue of the Fairfax if the situation had been reversed.
They were still six days away from the stranded Intrepid Class vessel, and Northcutt had received two orders from Vice-Admiral Adams. The first priority was to get the Ranger ready for space operations again. Some spare parts from Starfleet Engineering in the cargo hold of his Nebula Class ship, and a few days of hard work by a dedicated repair crew should be able to remedy that situation and get the Ranger back to 100%.
Secondly, Admiral Adams had sent a new set of mission orders to be given to Captain Halliwell in private. For some reason, the Admiral didn't want them traveling through subspace communications. It was slightly out of the ordinary to deliver mission orders in this fashion, but it wasn't unheard of.
Northcutt turned in his chair slightly and looked up at his tactical officer. "Lieutenant Wells, open a channel to the Ranger." he said to her.
"We aren't quite in range yet, Captain, but I might be able to amplify our comm signal by rerouting auxiliary power."
Northcutt nodded. "Do it." he replied.
"Aye, sir." she responded. Wells tapped a few buttons, and withing a few moments, the main view screen on the USS Farifax showed the interior bridge of the Ranger.
"Channel open, sir." said Lieutenant Wells.
"This is Captain Richard Northcutt of the USS Fairfax calling the USS Ranger." he stated. "Do you copy?" he asked.
Ensign Olan’s eyes flickered as her Ops terminal began to furiously beep and flash. She smiled, noting the Starfleet signature and hammered at the keys, opening the hail. “This is Ensign Olan of the USS Ranger, sir. Reading you loud and clear.� Her heart leapt at the thought of something – anything – to do. Performing a quick and local scan she furrowed her brow and looked up to regard him properly. “I can’t seem to locate your ship, sir.�
The screen flashed with static, then back to clear again. "Ensign, we are just coming into long range communications now. We should be on your long range sensors in an hour or so. One of my officers is using a signal amplifier to communicate with you. May I speak with Captain Halliwell please?" he asked her.
Olan smiled widely, and then tapped her badge almost instinctively. “Captain, you have an incoming subspace message from the Fairfax. They’ve just entered communications’ range.�
Halliwell heaved a sigh before tapping the badge to respond, smiled, and began to make her way to her ready room.
“Understood,� she replied, not allowing the utter relief to taint her tone, “I’m on my way!�
Halliwell made the short walk to the turbolift, entered and was propelled quickly to the bridge. Entering, she nodded to the screen courteously, and then strode to her ready room. “Patch it through, Ensign,� she ordered as she stepped down and into her office. Sitting at her desk, she activated her console and smiled as her contemporary filled the small screen.
"Ah, Captain Halliwell. Good to see you. This is Captain Richard Northcutt of the Fairfax. We have been dispatched to your location to help you get back on your feet so to speak." he said. "I also have an issue that I need to speak with you about in private upon our arrival. Our ETA is six days, four hours, fifteen minutes." Captain Northcutt said to her.
“Private?� she immediately questioned, her brow now knitted into a hybrid of intrigue and concern. Then, she relaxed, her face softening somewhat as the futile sentiment washed over her. “I assume that since you intend to keep the matter private, you aren’t about to tell me over an unsecured subspace transmission.�
Northcutt just smiled. "I can tell you it's not disciplinary related, but mission related if that will help put your mind at ease, Captain." he said. The Fairfax was probably Northcutt's final command and he knew it. He had been a starship Captain for almost twenty years, and he had been passed over twice for promotion. There was not really an Admiral level opening for him, and he had come to terms with that. He was actually quite content with the thought of being a "Senior Captain" in the fleet. As for Halliwell, he knew she was fairly new to command. He had not yet met her in person, but knew of her through reputation and a few mutual acquaintances.
Northcutt continued. "Now, Captain, if I may offer a bit of advice?" he asked her.
Halliwell stopped short of a smile and raised an eyebrow to the viewscreen, offering an “Oh?� expression that, although did not convey displeasure, but hinted at its telltale presence. “Please,� she uttered, almost sarcastically.
"I have been a starship Captain for almost twenty years and commanded four different vessels, and sometimes incidents happen on board that appear to be, well, almost bad luck. The crew will pick up on that and some of them may begin to think that they cannot do anything correctly. If it's any consolation, I myself have been in a similar situation that you find yourself in now." said Northcutt. He continued. "What helped me out in that situation, and what I have found worked in other situations that were like yours, was to simply give the crew very small tasks, and then praise them for their work in front of their peers and their departments, even if they only just met the standards you were seeking. It will build them up, and over a short period of time, the level of confidence that they have in themselves will return and I think you will find that your officers and crew will not only perform to the standards you set, but will exceed them." he stated to her with a smile.
Elsie hesitantly paused for a brief moment, having just endured what, to her mind, was reminiscent of a lecture from a superior officer back in the Academy. Damn her pride and self-righteous beliefs. She waited, calmed herself a little and decided to walk an avenue that, should the officer before her not be coming to rescue both her and her ship, she wouldn’t have considered taking: Diplomacy.
“Thank you for the advice, Captain,� she forced through clenched teeth, attempting to smile sincerely. “I appreciate the thought, as no doubt will my crew.� Changing the subject, she looked down out of site and tapped at the controls to her console. “Once you are in established communications’ range, I shall transmit what my Engineering crew have diagnosed as the issue so that you can prepare yours en route. We’re not sure if it’s the newly added nacelle that’s caused this interruption, or something the deflector didn’t shift during warp-flight. Either way, we’re going nowhere… and fast.�
Northcutt nodded. "Understood, Captain. We have a large Engineering replicator from Starbase 17 on board in our main cargo bay, so we should be able to fabricate almost anything you need if we find something that needs to be replaced." he replied. "I will have my Chief Engineer standing by for your transmission once we are in range." he added. "See you in a few days, Captain. Northcutt out." he said as he ended the transmission.
Halliwell sat silently staring at the now darkened viewscreen, torn in two with the concern of the incoming captain on one side and the relief of knowing that they would be soon space-bound on the other. She sighed and then smiled, the relief winning through.
The would soon be up and out.
OFF:
Richard Northcutt
Commanding Officer
USS Fairfax
AND
Elsie Halliwell
Commanding Officer
USS Ranger
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