Orders

Posted on Sat Oct 24, 2015 @ 11:41am by Lieutenant JG Rhe'la Daughter of the Forty-ninth House & Lieutenant Kivan Ta'Gas

934 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: BACKPOST (Shortly after Pangaea)

ON:

'So my number two is a Bajoran-Cardassian hybrid? Can't say I have much experience dealing with either of those. Though there WAS that Gul I met on Omerius III that time...' Rhe'la shuddered at the thought. That particular Gul took a rather odd fascination with her.

Odd in a way that made her want to go take a shower and ask a doctor to wipe her memory. She could only hope that either that nauseating fellow was an outlier for his species, or Ensign Kivan favored his Bajoran heritage.

The Zarnac ultimately found her subordinate in engineering, checking repairs at the Master System Display. Though completely unnecessary (due to her being the senior officer and both of them being the same rank), she bowed slightly to him. Then proceeded to look WAY up - for Kivan completely towered over her.

"Ensign Kivan? We haven't been properly introduced, what with the station being in a multitude of pieces; Ensign Rhe'la." Slipping the PADD she was holding under her arm, she held out a gloved hand for him.

Ensign Kivan Ta'Gas put down his spanner and slowly rose to look down upon his new superior officer.

"Ensign Kivan, but I go by Ta'Gas, either one works." Ensign Kivan said as he shook her hand. Kivan stopped and glanced at her hand for several moments before withdrawing. "Yes ma'am, it is a pleasure to meet you." He finally responds.

The little Zarnac blinked slightly; not entirely certain if she had been corrected or not. "No need for formalities. We're the same rank, after all." she said politely, her forked tongue flicking slightly. It was the closest her species came to smiling.

Taking the PADD from under her arm she held it out to her fellow engineer. "Both of us have been assigned away team duty. Specifically, you're on the Ararat under Commander Soran. With both of us off the station, is there anyone you'd recommend placing in charge of the department until we get back? I haven't really had a chance to meet all of the staff yet."

Ensign Kivan's brow furrowed. "Ma'am, The Commander and Senior Chief's departure left us at a significant disadvantage. I've had to pull from the Dyson Shipyards just to get competent hands on deck to keep the station in one piece." He replied tersely.

"Right now, you and I are the senior most Officers within the Engineering Department. We have Petty Officer for days, but we can't continue on in this fashion." Ensign Kivan continued on. "What do you plan on doing about this, ma'am?" He said as his frustration bore through.

Clearly insisting that formalities weren't necessary wasn't going to work, so Rhe'la decided not to stress the point. "Despite my rank, I've got seven years of service under my belt. So it's not like you got saddled with some fresh from the Academy lizard who's never been in the field before. First order of business is going to be to select a new engineer's mate to replace the Senior Chief. Commander Wyman suggested Petty Officer Lebowski, but since he's gone and you're here I'd like your thoughts on the matter."

She knew it seemed odd for someone to still be an ensign after all that time, but being the engineering officer on a four person security team didn't leave a lot of room for advancement. "If there's nobody suitable from within the department, I may be able to get us a more senior enlisted person. A couple of guys at Utopia Planitia owe me a favor."

Ensign Kivan was taken aback, "Lebowski? He's almost as deep in the bottle as Lieutenant Trellis in Security," The Cardassian said dismissively. "It appears that we have no choice but to borrow a senior NCO from the Dyson Institute until the sector command can send us more help." Ensign Kivan stated.

The recent events on the station had spread the department thin in simple manpower. Engineers had been diverted throughout the station, but various vessels had also requested engineering assistance, further depleting the station's resources.

"As for the mission onboard the Ararat, what exactly will I be focusing on?" He asked.

"You'll be with Commander Soran's team. There's evidence of a large underground labyrinth, and your team will be looking for any evidence of infrastructure. Bring anything needed to reinforce the caverns. And bring a subspace amplifier; there's a lot of interference down there, and anything we can use to get a commlink through will help."

Was Lebowski really that bad? She found herself wondering if Commander Wyman was a bad judge of character or if he was messing with her. The massive disparity between the assessment of her mentor and her subordinate meant she was going to have speak to the Petty Officer herself.

Ensign Kivan nodded. "Very well, I'll get started gathering the material. When do I report to the shuttle bay?" He asked?

"Half past ten minutes ago. The teams are already preparing for launch. I just figured I would bring you your orders in person so we could get some face time."

"Aye, aye, ma'am," Ensign Kivan said as he did an about-face and made his way to his office to start gathering his equipment. He wasn't sure what he was going to find, but he wanted to be ready.

For a moment, she watched the Cardassian go. She hadn't really gotten a feel for him, but if Wyman had trusted Kivan, that was good enough for Rhe'la.
OFF

Ensign Rhe'la, Daughter of the Forty-ninth House
Chief Engineering Officer

Ensign Kivan Ta'Gas
Assistant Chief Engineer

 

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