New Broom

Posted on Mon Nov 13, 2017 @ 4:45am by Captain Maritza Soran & Commander Caleb Ryan & Commander Amia Telamon M.D. & Lieutenant Mikaela Locke & Lieutenant Liam Reynolds & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant JG Noelle Bennett M.D.

2,329 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Rumours
Location: OPS Conference Room
Timeline: MD08 0900

::ON::

The meeting request had been brusque. Please attend a meeting of station management at 0900. Commander Soran.

Now, at 0855, the Commander herself, hair pinned up with iron rigidity, sat waiting for her senior staff to arrive so she good given them the news of the change of command.

Liam was confused as to why the request for a staff meeting had come from Soran. Usually the XO’s office made such requests. Luckily he'd managed to shower after his run before getting the request. He replicated a kimden roll filled with raspberry jam, eating it on route, before finding himself the first to arrive and awkwardly stuck in a room with just Maritza Soran. It dawned on him that the captain was yet to sign off on his put through request to take the command examination. He wasn't sure why it was taking so long, as he had submitted it with plenty of time.

"Ma'am," he nodded curtly at the blond Trill, taking a seat and pulling his padd out to pull that request up ready in case she decided to chew him out on that subject again while they waited.

There was little indication as to what the meeting was about, and the fact that Commander Soran had called it didn't help anything. There was only one way to find out, and that was to show up. Annora showed up to find herself only the second person present aside from the commander.
"Commander, Lieutenant."

Caleb’s long strides brought him into the conference room, along with the smell of strong coffee from his giant mug. It was good to be out of that Lissepian cell, but he hadn’t even barely walked into his office before Jessica handed him a padd full of work to catch up on, and then the call for the staff meeting came. It was unusual, since this wasn’t their normal time for staff meetings. And Caleb really did have a lot to catch up on after being in confinement.

“Mornin’,” Caleb greeted, nodding to the others before taking a seat. He glanced around, not seeing the captain or the executive officer.

Amia arrived next and stopped for a glass of cold water at the replicator before hurrying to her seat as soon as she had it in her hand. She juggled it with a padd in her other hand, but didn't get into any trouble with putting them both down before heaving herself into a seat in a rather ungainly fashion. It was no fun being heavily pregnant and under the stress of having your husband absent.

As Noelle moved to her seat, she looked in the doctor's direction, as if to silently ask whether she was
okay. Being heavily pregnant was difficult under the best of circumstances, but the counselor also knew the doctor had been through some difficult times of late. Offering a smile, and satisfied the other woman was as comfortable as she was going to get, Bennett turned her attention to the commander.

Soran looked at the discrete clock on the top of her padd and the empty chairs. It was now 0905. She wasn't going to wait. "Thank you for coming. I have some news." She glanced at Amia, who must already know.

“I was contacted at 0200 hours by Starfleet Command. Commander Aldrex has been called away unexpectedly and has requested an extended leave of absence. They do not know when or if he will return. At the same time, Captain t'Vaurek has been removed from her post, effective immediately."

She let that sink in.

Liam's immediate reaction was to look at Amia. He could sense her worry at suddenly being alone and with child. Cade had just gone. His best friend and her husband disappeared over night. He would, as soon as he could, speak with and offer support to his friend. His second reaction that hit him like a brick wall was that meant...oh, by the goddesses! That meant Maritza Soran was now the acting CO of the station. He was rapidly getting a headache at that idea.

Bennett didn't need empathic or telepathic abilities to know she and Liam were thinking the same thing. They both wanted to offer support to their good friend as soon as possible. It was the nature of Starfleet, but the timing of this new reassignment couldn't be more difficult with a child on the way. Briefly, she considered taking the doctor's hand in hers, but she decided against it, not wanting to make Amia feel any more exposed or vulnerable in front of her peers than she did already. She also couldn't help but feel a bit guilty the Romulan commanding officer would no longer be returning. Even though the counselor couldn't have controlled any circumstances that contributed to such a decision, she felt a certain responsibility to provide the quality therapeutic support that might've made a difference in the outcome. That the Romulan woman wasn't coming back led Bennett to feel somewhat that she had failed somehow.

When Amia came in, Caleb got up and helped her with her chair, since her hands were full, before settling back down himself. He listened as Commander Soran began the meeting and frowned at the news. He had a good relationship with Aldrex, but he and t’Vaurek had never really clicked. The idea of a Romulan in command of a Starfleet installation had rubbed him wrong, as had her handling of the Ferengi hostage crisis. But he had softened a bit toward the captain after she lost her daughter to the Fae. He sort of knew how that felt, losing his wife, and almost losing Zandy. This all left significant gaps in senior command, however, and Maritza Soran had recently been...compromised.

“Starfleet Command has put ya in charge.” It wasn’t really a query, but not really a statement of simple fact, either. There was a bit of...skepticism. He vividly remembered her telekinetically throwing him around when she had been possessed by the energy entity.

"They did," Soran confirmed. "As of 0200 this morning, I became the commanding officer, and I was instructed to fill my senior officer posts as soon as practical."

The idea of filing for transfer immediately went through Liam's head. This women was intent on destroying his career in Starfleet and unwilling to bend. His headache threatened to progress to full on migraine.

“Very well,” Caleb said. “What do ya need from us then? Our departmental reports? Ah admit Ah am still catchin’ up,” he said, tapping the padd. “The Lissepians weren’t keen on allowing me ta keep up while Ah sat in their cells.” He looked to Liam. “And Ah really hope we are puttin’ in a formal protest ta the Lissepian government. It is one thing ta be able ta apprehend someone with a warrant. Quite another ta maintain private detention facilities on a Federation space station,” he said darkly. “Ah have half a mind ta drag the Lissepian ambassador inta mah detention facility.”

"Acknowledged, ma'am," Liam said simply to Soran. He decided not to offer anything further.

Liam then nodded at Caleb. "It's already been drafted, Chief. In fact, I intend to speak with the Lissepian ambassador at length once I was able to touch base with you as to their treatment of you and the full circumstances of what happened. I did try to come visit you in this private facility, but was denied entry. And was unable to get much information about what was going on. Regardless to say, I've filed a personal complaint too. Rest assured, I will be doing everything in my power to get you a formal apology.”

Honestly, Annora wasn't too upset about the captain being relieved of her command of the station. Maybe it was her background, but a Romulan in charge of a Federation starbase on the Romulan border didn't seem like a good idea. As for Commander Soran, she seemed a bit inexperienced in the command track, but everyone had to start somewhere. For now, Annora would give her the benefit of the doubt.

Amia didn't comment. Cade's sudden disappearance had been because his father had been taken ill and was being care for and further assessed on Trill Prime. She hadn't accompanied him home because of her condition and her own work.

They had agreed that Cade's dad's coma was such that he wouldn't know his son, but his mother would need her son's support. Amia couldn't add anything to that, and risking the baby on such a long and difficult journey was probably unwise. Cade's mother had insisted they shouldn't come because she was concerned for Amia, but Cade had felt that despite his mother's unselfish denial of need, she was more than likely being thoughtful about the granddaughter she was hoping to protect rather than honest about her own distress at this difficult time. They had agreed he should go and she should stay, but this wasn't the place to explain all that. She did think about that discussion and the tearful parting that had followed. She worried for her father-in-law... and her mother in law too. It was very distracting and difficult, especially as she was very pregnant now and her emotions and hormones were messing with her head as it was. She fought for concentration and returned her mind and eyes to Soran again.

Soran made a note of Liam's comments and then moved on. "Going forward, we need to correct some of the things that have got left behind because we're so short handed. There is a lot of basic certifications that have got missed. Therefore I want everyone here to get their yearly medical by the end of the week. And that includes a mental health exam as well. And on top of that, I want everyone here to complete their firearms proficiency as well. Any questions?"

Firearms proficiency was no problem, Annora kept up with that on a regular basis. The medical exam shouldn't be too bad, but Annora wasn't looking forward to the mental health exam. While she had come to anticipate most of the questions, she was always concerned the doctor would find something in her past to question her ability to serve in Starfleet.

Caleb frowned. He didn’t like shrinks, or doctors, really, but he’d been getting regular checkups as his leg repair progressed. And it would give him an excuse to see Opal -- Doctor Oliver again. He wasn’t at all worried about the firearms proficiency. “Yes, sir,” he said simply.

Amia groaned inwardly. A glut of medicals suddenly sprung on them all. "Yes, ma'am," she said without emotion in her voice. Now she was in for it. She would try to delegate a lot of those if she could, but she wouldn't shirk responsibility for overseeing the results, especially if any were not as standard as they should be. It would just be easier to let someone else do all the bending and lifting.

Seeing everyone's unhappy faces, or, at the very least, questionable looks, Noelle teased, "Oh come on, guys. I'm not that bad, am I? Careful, you'll give me a complex."


"Not at all," Amia soothed. "We all miss Cade, but I know he had faith in you. It's a tough thing to be suddenly robbed of not only your CO, but also your XO at the same time. We're all a bit taken aback and confused. It's nothing personal." She was too absorbed in her own confusion and anxieties to really know what anyone else was thinking, but she did know she hadn't wanted any of this to happen. Her thoughts went back to Cade's dad again, then his mum, then his sisters, and back to her own baby.

What if Grandad didn't make it to see his first little grand-daughter? Amia was doing her best to keep it together. It was all too much, but in all of that, she did feel for everyone else too. It felt like they were all lost amongst the stars for a moment here.

Everyone wanted a return of stability, and they all needed to pull together, in her unspoken opinion. She just sat there fighting back tears and wishing she wasn't so hormonal at a time like this, not to mention so worried for her father-in-law.

At least he got to go shoot some firearms, Liam mused. Diplomats rarely got do any of the fun stuff. He couldn't carry a phaser in his role.

Caleb noted the tenseness in Amia’s posture, the slight lines of concern. This obviously couldn’t be easy for her. He didn’t know the details of Cade’s leaving, but it must have been urgent if he left his pregnant wife. He thought maybe he should talk with her. He didn’t know her well, but she had kept Aleczandra’s secret, and they had made a connection at the Christmas party. And he knew a thing or two about losing a spouse, even though Cade wasn’t dead.

"If there aren't any further questions, then I will say if anyone has anything they'd like to discuss in private, please come and find me. I expect all these check ups to be finished by the end of the week. Dismissed."

The only question Liam had was for Amia. Namely starting with was she okay, and what could he do? He furnished Soran with the obligatory, "Aye, ma’am," and turned to leave with everyone, intent on speaking to his "little sister".

Caleb gave Soran a nod. They would see how she did. As with Isha, he would give her her own rope to hang herself, and hopefully contain the fallout.

OFF:

Lieutenant Liam Reynolds
Chief Diplomatic Officer

Commander Maritza Soran
Commanding Officer

Commander Caleb Ryan
Chief of Security/Tactical

Commander Amia Telamon
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant (jg) Annora Tessaro
Assistant Security Chief

 

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