A Thing Has Been Started

Posted on Wed Jun 14th, 2023 @ 12:31pm by Commander Amaya Lance & Lieutenant Didrea Zade

Mission: Wrath of the People
Location: USS Athena : Arboretum
Timeline: MD5 :: Before 'How Hard Could Breaking And Entering Be?'
2103 words - 4.2 OF Standard Post Measure

After the first officer left Zade's office, the Trill read through Lance's file in more detail to try and make sense of what she had skimmed through the first time. The medical leave following the destruction of Obsidian Command and the transition to a remote teaching position caught her attention. More specifically, it concerned her. She had no doubt that the medical leave was related to what happened at Obsidian Command, giving the commander the time to recover from such a traumatic event. But this was recent, within the past year. It was enough to push the Trill toward wanting to meet the commander before they worked on the bridge together, specifically so she could gauge for herself just what had Zora so tense.

Zade spent a few minutes drafting a report of what the security department had been up to over the last couple days. That would be her key to chatting with Lance. After reading it over a couple times, Zade nodded to herself, content with the report. "Computer, locate Commander Amaya Lance."

Commander Amaya Lance is in the arboretum the Computer responded.

The ship had an arboretum? Zade double checked with the computer where it was before giving the PaDD a slight tap in her hand. There were some doubts in her mind as she thought over how to start the conversation, let alone maintain it while her intent was to gauge how well she could trust the new Commander. She figured the worst that could happen is an awkward first encounter, and it was easy to justify her concerns given the nature of her presence on board. Taking in a slow breath, the Trill left her office before she changed her mind.

A few minutes later, Zade found herself at the doors the computer had indicated led into the arboretum. She briefly glanced at the PaDD in her hands before entering. "Whoa..." she quietly said, looking at the vast flora she just stepped into. Several paths wove their way into tree-like plants, some tall and narrow with pointed tops, others shorter and more like an indiscernable blob of leaves, and a variety in between the two. While mostly green, there were a few other shades of orange and yellow. Around a bend in one of the paths, some wildly colored flowers peeked through the bushes, as if beckoning the wanderer to see what was around the corner. Not sure where exactly Lance was, Zade decided to wander down one of the paths, hoping she'd run into the woman.

The first thing she heard was a light high-pitched humming, expressing a fairly upbeat tune into the air.

Amaya was standing over a Kreetassian Tulip, purple-red hues glittering as the sounds she made affected the shades of the bloom. Her look was distant, almost happy. The sounds stopped abruptly when she saw someone in uniform approaching.

"Oh!" She flushed. "I must have been light years away. Lieutenant...?"

"Zade," the Trill finished for her with a slight smile. She had followed the humming sound and spotted the Commander conducting a small orchestra of tulips. The flower Lance had been looking at seemed to pause in its transformation between hues when the humming ceased. "I figured as one of the department heads, I should introduce myself." Zade eyed the flower the woman had been looking at, "I've never seen a flower do that."

"Until two years ago, neither had I," Amaya replied with a smile. "Not much to do while you're cooped up in Starfleet accommodation outside San Francisco," she explained. "I discovered that gardening has therapeutic benefits. Something I miss about it, being back on a starship."

It sounded like Lance preferred quieter, more peaceful settings, which was an odd dynamic with a ship such as the Athena. But that conclusion came entirely from Lance's initial response, and Zade knew that wouldn't be enough for her to draw any conclusions. "I guess it's good that the ship has an arboretum, then," Zade said, before slightly crinkling her nose at how awkward that sounded. "What I mean is, it's nice to have something to help focus the mind."

"Yes. Exactly." Amaya smiled and brushed the petals with her fingertips. After a moment she looked back at Zade again. "I'm sorry - very focused, it would seem." She folded her fingers back together in front of her. "Department head, yes, of course. Chief of Security, wasn't it?"

"That's right," Zade confirmed with a nod. There was a brief pause before the Trill remembered that she was holding a PaDD, and held it out to Lance. "A status update on the department. I usually give a report to the Captain and first officer on a regular basis." It wasn't necessarily a lie, but she usually just sent the report to Zora's and Kane's computers for them to read at their convenience. She didn't personally hand them over like this, because she knew that the chain of command had more than one department to oversee and she suspected they didn't really care for the nuances of what goes on in a department. The only time she'd bring news directly was if there was a problem. "I'm happy to elaborate as needed, ma'am."

For the most part, the report was not that interesting. It was organized into sections, starting with security threats before moving on to system readiness, department readiness, and ship personnel changes. The section on security threats was thankfully small, and all of the listed items were marked with relatively low priority, indicating that they were not an immediate danger. The other three sections were longer, as they described systems and personnel statuses in more detail.

Amaya glanced at the list, looking for anything that might immediately stand out. It was a skill that she had used often in previous postings, but not one she had exercised of late. "It seems Captain Kane inspired a lot of loyalty," she noted. In some ways, she wasn't sure she would ever be able to match that sort of leadership style. Even so, a crew that was apparently holding some ill-will and frustration could be problematic. "Would you send these names to Doctor Savin? We discussed the impact of recent events on crew morale."

"Aye, Commander." The response addressed both parts of Lance's words. Kane did inspire loyalty, and it's never easy having a captain replaced. Even outside of the circumstances of the trial, Zade suspected that the crew would probably act very similarly to the news of a new captain. She may have imagined it, but Zade swore she spotted a hint of doubt when Lance commented on Kane's leadership, and watched the woman. "None of the listed crew have shown signs of action, but I'm keeping an eye on them just in case." The last thing either of them wanted was a mutiny.

"They're Starfleet officers, Lieutenant," Amaya looked almost chastisingly back at her. "As are we. And the ship doesn't exactly operate like that. As much as they respected their Captain, they also respect the institution we all serve. I don't expect there to be a hijacking. And I suspect this crew is smart enough to realise that would do more harm than good." She turned back to the tulips, a silent wish that personnel could be as straightforward to tend as a simple flower. Keep it watered, and watch it bloom. Or perhaps there was something in that. "What is your overall perception of their morale, Lieutenant? Would there perhaps be some way of improving it?"

Of course they were Starfleet officers, but that hadn't stopped anyone from causing trouble on a ship before. Zade agreed with Lance that the chance of a hijacking was slim, but it didn't stop her from being prepared. Has she even spoken to the crew yet, to junior officers? In fairness, the officers freely expressing their concerns to Zade certainly wouldn't express them to their new commanding officer. While keeping the eye roll inside her head, Zade's expression took on a faint aura of judgement as she watched Lance. "Morale is a bit low, which is understandable." She was going to suggest asking Zora about improving morale, but after the conversation she just had with the first officer, now was probably not the best time. "They want their Captain back, but they also know that changes in command happen. As for improving morale... the current mission might help? I think they just need to see what your command style is."

Amaya nodded, not responding immediately. No command style at all, she reflected silently. "I've always felt that I could trust my senior staff to take a lead on that," she said. "Do what you think is best."

Asking chief of security to improve crew morale? That wasn't Zade's job. While she tried to build a rapport with the crew, ultimately she was there to keep them safe, not to cheer them up. "Uh... I can try, Commander," she responded, hesitation clear in her voice. The response from Lance sounded like a deflection, almost like she didn't want to handle crew morale. It was merely an impression, of course, and Zade would reflect on it later. "Is there... anything else I can assist with, Commander?"

"Not unless you like pruning," the Commander smiled, holding up a pair of clippers.

Slightly confused, Zade looked between the woman and the clippers in her hand before accepting the tool. "I suppose I could use a break," she said. The Trill was never really one to tend to plants, but she did know that pruning meant to get rid of dead things. Spotting a wilted leaf, she positioned the clippers and snipped. "So, Commander, aside from pruning, what other activities do you enjoy?"

Amaya was momentarily surprised that Zade was so quick to accept. It had been rare that anyone sought to befriend her the last few years. "Art. Music. That makes me sound terribly boring, but when you spend your time on your own most of the time, it's those personal pursuits that last."

Zade was quick to notice that that was the second time Lance had mentioned her isolation, in some way or another. There was a benefit to solitary activities, but only to an extent; even solitary activities had to get boring after some time. "There's no harm in such pursuits," she offered, snipping another dead leaf. "Do you play an instrument?"

Amaya shook her head. She'd tried her hand at a couple, but the tremors never went away; and that made it ten times harder. "But if the ship were to ever host a karaoke night, I might be persuaded to participate," she noted with a faint smile.

"I'm not one to sing, but I'll at least come to support." Zade was going to add more but was interrupted by the sound of her communicator chirping.

[[Wrea to Zade. Heeeyyyy Dee, you got a few minutes? I could use your help with something.]]

What did Nayisa need help with? There wasn't really anything to do while they were en route for this mission, aside from whatever mission-specific preparation was required. Offering an apologetic look to Lance for the interruption, she tapped her badge, "Sure. I just need to wrap something up first."

[[Take your time. Meet me in the intelligence offices.]]

The Trill acknowledged before ending the call, now slightly more confused. As usual, the silver-haired woman gave no insight into the conversation to come. "Sorry about that, Commander," Zade told Lance, pausing in her clipping to check the time on the PADD that sat between them. It was definitely the end of the day, when tasks would start winding down for the next shift to take over. "I should see what Ensign Wrea needs before the shift change. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Amaya smiled politely.

Zade set the clippers beside Lance and paused briefly. While not quite what she expected, and maybe secretly hoped, she did learn a little about the Commander. She'd simply keep an eye on her for now. "If I may, Commander; I know this whole trial situation has us all on edge. If there's a way I can help ease that tension, please let me know."

"I'm sure you're doing everything you can, Lieutenant," Amaya replied, motioning her permission for Zade to be excused. As she watched Zade depart, she whispered under her breath, "Goodness knows some of us aren't sure we're succeeding..." With that, she turned back to her flowers, and the simplicity of gardening to ease her own.