Intentions

Posted on Sat Jun 11th, 2022 @ 7:40am by Lieutenant Alexis Ryan & Commodore Jacob Kane

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: USS Athena - Computer Core (Deck 4)
Timeline: Shore Leave
2300 words - 4.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Kane rarely visited every portion of his ship. In the couple of years since taking command he'd done his best, but it was rare that he could find the time to fully explore every department and learn its detailed workings. He was a high-level thinker; concentrating on the big picture. He had department heads for the small things. That was why he was new to this part of the computer core.

The computer systems here, he understood, dealt with electronic warfare suites that were tied directly into the Intelligence hub. Them having been upgraded as part of Athena's stay in dock was only part of the reason he was here. The other part was the red-haired woman alone at a console.

Lieutenant Ryan, his new Science Officer, had a record as long as his arm despite having served in the fleet half as long. And that was another reason why he was here.

"Ms Ryan?" he inquired. "Do you have a moment?" It was a semi-rhetorical question, on his ship. People generally made time for the Captain when he asked for it.

Quite aside from the mandatory upgrades that had fallen neatly into her lap, there was plenty of scope for Alexis to be excited about the prospect of getting her hands on Athena's inner workings. Dozens of potential upgrades, several of which she'd helped design herself, sat on the list of discussion points for an appropriate time once she had the Captain's ear. To have him materialize in front of her, therefore, was jarringly convenient. She glanced up from her work, secured an expression somewhere between mild surprise and intrigue, and then lowered her gaze back to the installation sequence she was currently trying to manually adjust.

"Just the person. Captain, I'm about to take several tertiary systems offline for a few minutes whilst the warsuite upgrades install. Should be minimal disruption, it's just a precaution to bypass several identified potential conflicts. I'd rather one of my first official duties not be to take the entire Intelligence Department offline whilst I look for coding errors."

"We're in drydock. It's hardly going to cause a disaster at this point," he remarked with a slight wave of his hand. It wasn't like anyone was actively working in that department anyway. Not when they were running with a pure maintenance crew. "I'm glad you're still aboard," he continued, allowing her to work but speaking over it anyway. "I'm led to understand your transfer to Athena came through as part of the upgrade process?"

"Partially."

As much as it was Ryan's intent to give her Commanding Officer due consideration, there was a brief moment of having to turn to a secondary console that required her to continue the conversation with her back to him. It spoke to her thoroughness, however, and was less a product of disrespect as it was prioritisation. Taking her eyes off her final checks carried risk that wasn't worth a pristine first impression.

"My team on Beta Antares just got through completely refitting Athena's newest baby sister. Starfleet has a series of upgrades to roll out that you'll likely hear about in the next few months as they make it through certification."

Alexis turned back to the main console and, several taps later, was able to lean against it and raise her attention to finally fixate on Kane.

"In the meantime, I hear you've had a few issues stabilising your Science Department." A ghost of a smile threatened the corners of Alex's lips. It wasn't a criticism; she knew enough of the breadth of candidates at her level to understand why many of them just weren't suited to this billet.

"Indeed. The role has been difficult to fill; my assumption is that scientists rarely find it appealing to work on a tactical vessel like this one, as compared to a more exploratory one." In his mind, that also meant 'good riddance'. "Should I expect your transfer request in the next few days as well?"

That nearly cracked her composure. Alexis' features relaxed, humour evident behind the arch of an eyebrow. "I think you'll find me far more stubborn than that, Captain." Moving from behind the console, Ryan approached and stood at ease several feet away; engaged but non-intrusive. "Athena's primary mission might not suit everyone but I have no qualms with tactical priority. Someone has to patrol the playground whilst others play," she added.

"I'll accept the metaphor," he nodded. "I suppose that leaves another question, then." He folded his arms, considering. "Your record is virtually impeccable as far as conduct and talent goes. Yet...at this stage of your career you've never managed a department before. Never made it past Lieutenant. Was that by your own choice? Or a choice made on your behalf, perhaps?" he inquired, studying her response carefully.

It wasn't the first time the topic had been broached with Alexis, though in the past she'd been a little better acquainted with the superior officer prodding at her service record. There wasn't an easy, tidy response. "I suppose it depends on your definition of management. Reassignment to Beta Antares was application-based; two years minimum commitment, plenty of opportunities for project leads but not, perhaps, a natural streamlined fit for career progression. Captain Kerr had me lined up to take over the Archimedes' Science Department," she added, knowing perfectly well that the Trill's recommendations were all over her service record. "R & D was just the more appealing prospect at the time."

It wasn't everything but it formed a reasonable chunk of why Alexis' career had stagnated in the midst of a steady climb through layers of seniority. Her lack of disappointment might have warranted further explanation but Kane hadn't pushed that far yet.

"And an assignment to a Prometheus-class starship is hardly what many scientists would call an ideal career move," he acknowledged. "That said, we've come across our fair share of unusual situations requiring a more creative line of thought. Someone with experience and intelligence would fit the bill to run my science team, however small it might be."

A slight inclination of her head was Alex's only reaction to the compliment, accepting it without revelling for too long. Pride came from within, the marines had taught her that. Accolades were nice but accomplishment meant nothing if you needed another's validation to secure it. "Thankfully, I would wager I'm not 'many scientists'. I'm not a great believer in empty platitudes or false promises but I feel relatively secure in predicting that the nature of the assignment won't be a problem."

"Good. Then you'll fit in well." Kane stared at her for a moment, making all kinds of silent judgements, filling in gaps from the profile he had been handed. Rarely did the personnel file capture everything; it missed the nuances and subtleties of a person's character. In this case, he drew upon the assumption that her previous postings had taken a mild dislike of her soldierly background; rather than a bright-eyed scientist, this was a more hardened and pragmatic individual. Practical, not theoretical. "In fact, if I'm to assume career advancement is your objective, then this is an ideal environment to achieve that goal. We're on the front lines most of the time. You'll see plenty of action, if that's what you're looking for."

"By 'career advancement', I assume you mean command training." Call her naïve but Alexis had banked on at least a couple of weeks before the pounding insistence of several high-ranking officers' recommendations on her dossier demanded reinstatement of this particular circus. Kane had her at a disadvantage, however; there were notably less reasons to dodge the additional challenge now, not the least being her own burgeoning interest. Ryan offered her Commanding Officer a wry half-smile. "Perhaps. Eventually. I'd rather the recommendation come from the senior officer charged with the execution of my training though. If nothing else, it would be a little awkward if your estimation of my performance made it more preferable to throw me out an airlock."

The dry humour rested comfortably on the cordial side of casual informality. Alexis had learned very early in her reassignment that rigid protocol held its place but very rarely was it entirely warranted outside the officiousness of active duty. Kerr had taught her more than any, in his extremely hands-on, personable approach to commanding, that a good CO wanted to see the person behind the pips. It was next to impossible to get the best out of someone who was all posture and no substance.

"The airlock remains an option, if you don't do your job." He said it cryptically enough to let there be just enough doubt as to whether he was joking or not. "I won't stand in anyone's way if they were to out-grow their role on this ship, as difficult as that task may be. I was merely seeking to understand whether it was your intention at this stage; whether you're waiting to test yourself rather than ask to be tested."

And therein lay a dilemma that Alexis wasn't prepared to discuss openly with most people, let alone a superior officer with no prior context and certainly no obligation towards sympathy. The Lieutenant intended to revel in that as long as it remained an option, having found very little use to date with anyone's misguided attempts to coddle her. Life was a series of obstacles; you either chose to navigate them or you got out of the way of other people's attempts. For a moment, she considered Kane, as distrustful of personnel files as he was when it came to forming her own opinions, and settled for honesty without embellishment.

"I prefer to be guided by my own instincts. I've never taken the encouragement for granted, I understand the intent behind it and I'm grateful that others see merit in my performance." Alexis met her CO's gaze with unwavering confidence. "But I wasn't ready then. Command isn't an accolade to me, sir, it's a responsibility. I have several things left to prove to myself before I'd feel confident that I deserve the promotion."

"Good." Her assessment of such a path married very closely to his own. Though whereas he had been potentially held back because of misgivings over his style, she had the opposite problem. "I look forward to seeing you prove them to yourself first," he nodded. "And if there were any doubt that you belong here; I value honesty and responsibility very highly in my crew. It sounds like you'll be a fine example to the rest."

Something about the sentiment gave Alexis a moment's pause for reflection, fond and circumspect. Of all her postings, the Archimedes had been the most recent to involve ship-based assignment and also perhaps her most personally satisfying. A science vessel headed by a scientist-cum-commander had provided insight and introspection aplenty in regards to her own career. It had also gifted her a vantage point of a style of captaincy that seemed rare. Honesty had been valued back then as well, so much so that there had been an awkward adjustment period where she'd been forced to recollect that not all senior officers sought to meet their crew on level footing. She smiled faintly and inclined her head in acknowledgement.

"I'll certainly endeavour to steer clear of airlocks," she replied, a twinkle of humour reaching her eyes without disturbing her expression. "This upgrade is complete," Alex added, turning towards the console for a moment before turning back. "I'll need to run diagnostics at the other end to take care of any redundancies in the code, but I don't anticipate any problems."

"Nor do I." He inclined his head in acknowledgement, a double-meaning in his response as he pondered the potential in the officer before him. "I'm aware the rest of the senior staff are taking in shore leave. It might be advisable for you to find some time to...mingle?"

There it was again. Thus far, Alex had encountered what might be considered a rampant insistence that she bond with the crew, which in itself wasn't objectionable but the prevalence of the sentiment struck her as significant. Was it just coincidence? Or was there a concerted and intentional effort on the part of the current senior staff to promote collegiality? Certainly the constant highlighting of it seemed to suggest there was an underlying concern, which lead Alex to wonder if crew morale was suffering in some way. Her brow furrowed just slightly but she held her tongue, instead dealing with the enigma by clasping her hands behind her back and offering a conciliatory shrug.

"I'll do my best."

"The only thing I expect. As always." Kane gave a curt but pleasant nod and took his leave.

Alex stood for a thoughtful moment and then drew herself from her reverie to take a final glance at the console. Moving in the direction Kane had taken, the Lieutenant paused to sign out another console she'd used earlier in the process and then turned to pat the bulkhead on her way out. "I don't know why they're all so worried about my social life," she murmured to the silence, "I've got you to keep me on my toes."

Talking to the ship, whilst a habit she'd never fought to shake, probably wasn't going to earn her the best of first impressions. Alex turned as she hit the corridor and made an immediate bee-line for the turbolift that would take her down to the Intelligence offices. With any luck, there'd be enough of the skeleton crew on duty for it to count as mingling.

She could live in hope.