A Call to Arms
Posted on Mon Feb 4th, 2013 @ 2:08pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell
Edited on on Sat Feb 9th, 2013 @ 12:46pm
1,427 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Sowing the Seeds
Location: Lieutenant Stensrud's Office, Main Engineering, Deck 5
Timeline: Backpost. Just before Ranger had departed for the Calamai Sector.
Lieutenant Mikaela Stensrud hadn't completely dissected the information on her PADD so much as she was quick to obtain its overriding picture from familiar cues. Engineering's variable leadership over the past few months didn't stop her staff from accruing enough mileage to make them attractive marks for routine personnel redistribution if they weren't already looking to move, and indeed, the reassignment orders transmitted earlier today were putting several back on the starbase with their belongings. Turnover may've provided an inherent opportunity to tailor a department more to one's liking, yet it was her belief that change was most effectively pursued when people other than the leaders understood the fundamentals sufficiently to implement them into a new system. Those with the kind of knowledge and experience she thought conducive to facilitating development were the ones plucked from Ranger, and while their slated replacements didn't lack upside, the idea of sliding a group comprised largely recent academy and technical school graduates directly into supervisory and leadership vacancies wasn't an attractive option.
Nor was promoting internally, as liberty impeded on her chance to gage incumbent prospects, and Reynaldi left no indication of cultivating anyone. Mikaela wouldn't have blindly adhered to his judgments, but there would've at least been a starting point for her to follow up on if he didn't have any successions lined up. Instead, she'd have to spend the next few days deliberating from scratch instead, which rankled her into lightly flicking the PADD onto her desk and setting her forehead atop clasped hands. Ignorance to the circumstances behind Reynaldi's departure didn't keep her from spinning cynical judgments about the man. . .
Elsie strolled into Engineering with a wandering eye and as she walked down the linear, blue walkway that channeled up through to the core, her attention darted about from console to engineer. As she strolled casually, she realised that she hadn't as spent much time in the hub of the ship as she had promised herself. The busying, mustard-collared crewmen and officers seemed to criss-cross in a busy, satisfactory manner; passing PaDDs to one another, tools; leaning over shoulders to assess diagnostic results. She halted for a moment and drank the kinetic energy in. It crossed her mind in that instance of how much she missed the hive-like unity of Engineering, and of generally milling about in the engine room. It seemed to be one of the few places on board the Ranger where her quartet of pips fastened tightly to her collar went by unnoticed more than most; the distractions of display consoles and technical minds focused on whatever was before them unbroken.
She spied Stensrud in her office, and made a beeline without a face looking up in her direction. The door was fastened open and Elsie ceremoniously knocked on its frame as she rested one hip below it. "Unannounced department inspection, Lieutenant," she joked, shifting her weight now off the frame. Looking to the vacant chair opposite Mikaela she asked, "May I?" before sitting down and crossing her right knee over her left.
Along with the chain of command, Mikaela suffered the intrusion because Captain Halliwell and she had interacted fleetingly, even for the brevity of her tour thus far. She didn't mind given the intricacy of the Taylforth mission; she suspected that its international implications bombarded her new captain with greater and heavier administrative perusal than usual. Halliwell's unfettered presentation suggested a desire to redress, and with Ranger still docked and largely in the care of refit technicians, the perfect opportunity arguably existed in that neither was explicitly needed for ship operations.
The socially recalcitrant Mikaela felt more so, however. Her commanding officer's joke poked at the heart of her conundrum, souring her to the point of not really wanting to bother with mustering the decorum appropriate for receiving her. Unfortunately, Captain Halliwell's quiet insistence left room for little more than a late gesture toward the vacant chair.
Elsie narrowed her eyes at her new Chief Engineer and smiled. "How've you been, Lieutenant? We haven't seen much of you up top."
Mikaela's quirked eyebrow also acted as an EKG for her mood's response to the inquiry. "Mister Reynaldi's lack of staff development to thank for that, Captain," she replied.
Elsie cocked her head to one side in a quizzical, almost perturbed nature and then allowed her gaze to fall back softly into a gentle manner. "Myself and Mr. Reynaldi never did see eye-to-eye on many matters concerning the department but far be it from me to slander the reputation of a colleague. I assume that you have a development plan in mind, then?"
"Until about ten minutes ago," Mikaela answered with a levelness she forced, as she was further irked by the implication of inciting slander since the word was defined partly by lying, something she absolutely didn't believe in resorting to in dealings with others. She couldn't say the same for harboring malice, though for her, it was mainly in the sense of hoping that an opposing position collapsed beneath the weight of its own absurdity.
"Our relief engineer, three lead specialists, and several senior engineers have been transferred," she resumed, reclaiming the PADD she'd half-thrown earlier. "We're to receive replacements before we get back underway, but most are a half-step out of the academy. Between them and everyone remaining, I can think of only two, perhaps three who are ready to step into those roles. I think there's enough potential here to fill the rest internally, but it's going to take some time get them up to speed. With all due respect to Mister Reynaldi's reputation, he wasn't really grooming anyone to advance."
Elsie widened her eyes at Mikaela, took in a deep breath and sighed through her cheeks. "Not an ideal situation, then?" she asked rhetorically. "It looks like the entire department will be training on the job. And although it's going to be tough, we don't really have an alternative. Is there anything that you need of me?"
She allowed the question to hang loosely in the air between then for a moment. It was difficult as captain to put yourself out to every member of the crew, and despite Ranger being a relatively small ship in the scheme of things, she was stretched without delegating the mass bulk of her workload. But she felt as though she wanted to stretch and reach out to head her department heads at least. She wouldn't be the officer she was today without her own command guidance.
Behind her cool, yet attentive mien, Mikaela's darkened mood sputtered. Cynicism tried its damndest to keep its flame alight by inciting the possibility of having Halliwell's attention solely because of her hierarchal rise, which would've really chafed the idealistic sensibilities Mikaela harbored once upon a time. The problem was that Halliwell wasn't quite the first CO to try and look out for her interests. Even if she was, why fret over motive when in addition to every aspect that satisfied her aboard Pelican, Mikaela gained another in that she had one less person to answer to? In fact, chiefmost of them was sitting before her, asking if she needed anything.
If she didn't smile, Mikaela's countenance at least softened.
"I'm fine, Captain. Just frustrated to be baking preparedness for personnel's redistributive meddling into the group after the fact. . .and that 'the fact' came so soon."
Elsie relaxed and managed a small and brief smile. "We wouldn't be a traditional Starfleet ship if we were fully manned with trained personnel and with every system performing at optimum efficiency. However, I have full faith that you can at least make efforts with regards to that second slight."
"I should hope that I'm up to the task." Mikaela's lips subtly crept into an faint, askew smile. "Ranger is coming off her second refit in as many months, and the Intrepid is the most tried and supported class currently produced. I couldn't get a ship more conducive to succeeding short of being assimilated, and the collective mind aspect of that gives me pause."
Elsie managed a small, delicate smile as she rose from her chair and nodded, somewhat in commendation, to her new Chief of Engineering. She made to head to the door of Stensrud's office and, over her shoulder added, "Do both me and Ranger proud, Lieutenant. I can't ask any more of you than that."
She smiled more widely to herself as she exited and made her way through Main Engineering.
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