How We Work

Posted on Thu Dec 13th, 2018 @ 5:05am by Petty Officer 1st Class Tobias Beckett & Chief Petty Officer Leslie Calhoun & Staff Warrant Officer Jennifer Masters - Calhoun
Edited on on Thu Dec 13th, 2018 @ 5:14am

2,295 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 5 - It Would Be Their Pleasure
Location: SCIF USS Pioneer Deck 9
Timeline: MD009 1000 hrs

Jennifer walked in to the SCIF and saw Billy and Beckett. She walked over to them. This was her first time as a department head. Of course they did cover this in the academy, but that seemed so far away now. She wasn't yet comfortable with ordering people around. She was used to getting orders and of course doing things that weren't exactly allowed. She was a rebel and now she had to lead.

Her instinctively looked for Billy hoping to find a little support. She was also trying to find some words to say something. She had to say something, or did she?

Billy noticed Jennifer walk in and followed protocol. "Officer on deck!" He snapped to attention as did Beckett, the Marine guard and the two engineers that worked on the SCIF's systems.

Jennifer just smiled and then said, "At ease, please continue what you're doing." She felt a bit flustered. She knew she shouldn't be, but she couldn't help herself. She looked at everyone going back to their business. "Oh, eh...mister Calhoun could I speak with you a moment in my office?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am" Billy said as he followed her into the office. "What gives boss?"

"Boss, wow, I need to get used to that." she sat down in her chair and then started to tap her hands on the desk. She nodded to the only other chair in the room. Her predecessor didn't believe much in decorations it appeared. "Can I get you anything?" She offered. She wanted a report from what was going on. She hoped he could help her a bit.

"No ma'am. Thank you" Billy smiled he was happy for her and although he would not admit it to himself yet falling in love with her. However, protocol was protocol so while on duty she was ma'am.

"Alright," she said as she started to look around the desk. "So, I am just trying to get up to speed." She opened a a draw and found Thal's smoke stuff. She dropped them on the desk. "I think I found Thal's stash. Should I store them or get dispose of them?" She knew what she would do with them, but she wouldn't say it out loud.

"I would say send them to storage, hey you never know if he is going to come back. When you are lost to time you are never lost for long. Well the only thing that I have been working on is a new data collection for our new XO. The Commander would like me to compile a report as to what happened in the galaxy and to the ship in the past year." Billy said by way of report and bringing her up to speed. He wondered if she would do the same with Beckett.

"I wasn't aware of such request, I would think the XO would think as Chief Intelligence I would I think I would be made aware of such request, wouldn't I?" Jenn put the smoke stuff in a box and put them aside. "Did the new XO asked this of everyone?"

"The request came from the Commander by way of security. I think he doesn't believe that the ship was empty while we were gone. I don't fully understand his reasoning, but mine is not to reason why." Billy responded with a shrug.

Jenn nodded. "I should probably have to read through his personnel file. I am sure he would want to talk to me as well. And better to get in knowing, then not."

"From what I saw he is either what in the old days we would call a hard a*$ or he is out to prove himself for some reason. I did meet his wife, she seems like a very nice woman. Works in the Science Department." Billy replied.

Jenn nodded. "Well, I have been here so far. Haven't met any of the other senior staff. Aside from Lieutenant Myles and Lieutenant Wakefield. But those were more social encounters."

"You need to get out there and see what can be seen. You are one of the top dogs now, have to start acting like it." Billy smiled broadly.

Jenn smiled. "You're absolutely right. I will do that. But first I need to talk to my people. Which is you and Beckett. How is Beckett about the promotion?" She asked.

"From what I can see he is taking it in stride. I believe him to be a man who will do as ordered and act accordingly. However, I believe it is us that is causing Beckett a bit of trouble." Billy replied with a bit of a frown before he continued. "I think he takes issue with you being my superior and us in a relationship."

She sighed. "I guess I have to go face the music then." She nodded and then continued, "Send him in. It's high time I had a little chat with him."

"Yes ma'am" Billy replied as he left the office. He informed Tobias that Jen had wanted to speak with him and took over for Beckett. Beckett had been compiling data from the past year from around the fleet.

"You wanted to see me ma'am" Tobias said as he stood in front of the Intel Chief's desk at attention.

Jenn nodded. "Yes, please, have a seat." She pointed to the seat near her desk. "I have been meaning to talk to you since the attack on the SCIF. I can no longer push it forward." She got up. "Let's cut to the chase, I don't like you, and you don't like me. But I don't think our personal feelings matter, given the fact that we have to work together and I am your superior officer now. So let's get it all out now and get whatever it is between us resolved. I hate to good people go. And you have been here longer than I have, I still need you here, weather I like it or not, the Pioneer still needs you."

Tobias cocked an eyebrow he was intrigued by the tone of her voice. He had never hated anyone in his life, he disliked many people. Masters was among them, but hate that was too strong of a word. "I understand that ma'am and I was about my duties as you had directed before you summoned me in here. Shall I just return to them then?"

"No," she said a bit resolute. And then she heard the tone in her voice. She sighed and then said again a little softer, calmer and warmer, "No, please, I just want to clear the air between us. We don't have to be best friends, but we do have to work together." She sat back down.

"Very well. As far as I am concerned the air is clear ma'am." Tobias crossed his legs as he realized that he would be here for a bit. The fact of the matter was Masters had not given him permission to speak his mind and so he would not. Lord knew that he would not ask, and this fact simply proved what he had discussed with the Commander.

She sighed. She began to realize he wasn't going to make this easy on her. She leaned forward as she said, "I know you have been talking to the commander and he hasn't spoken to me yet," She looked straight at him. "But let me make myself clear, mister Beckett, if you have a problem with me, you will come to me. I know you were here before and your probably have more years on me. But the captain chose me. And I suspect you might think of me as a spoiled brat, and also not suitable because of my relationship with mister Calhoun. And for the record, my personal relationships are none of your concern, or Starfleet for that matter. When I wear this uniform I will conduct myself as is expected of a starfleet officer. I wouldn't treat him any different from you while on duty and I expect him not to treat me any different from any other officer on this ship."

She got up again. "So do we have a problem, mister Beckett, and please don't hold back, I am not a baby anymore. I am used to work with people far worse than you and they didn't treat me like a queen either. So on the table with it, cause I have to hear it trough Commander O'Flannagain I will give you no quarter." She wasn't sure what that last one would mean, but it sounded quite like starfleet.

She struck a nerve, and in all of his years in the fleet Tobias had never been angry with a superior but now she had him riled up. "Permission to speak freely Warrant Officer?" He asked his voice dripped with sarcasm.

Jenn raised an eyebrow and calmly said, "I think I just did," She crossed her arms and waited for the storm.

"In one respect you have me pegged wrong. I have no ill will toward you being made the Chief of the SCIF. That is the Captain's decision to make and although I may disagree with it, it is not my place to argue. So that is fine..." Tobias' voice trailed off as he gathered his thoughts. "What I do have an issue with is that you have been given a great opportunity, a very rare one as well. You may become one of the few enlisted folks who bridge the gap and become an officer. However, you slap this opportunity in the face by shirking protocol and regulations. You have been looking at the SCIF as a dorm where we can simply do whatever we please. There needs to be rank and file that is what Starfleet is about. On top of all of this you carry on and flaunt a relationship with someone under your command. Also a breach in protocol and regulations. If these were simply decisions that you made I would not question them because as I said it is not my place. However, this is a slap in the face to Starfleet as a whole and that I do take umbrage with." He had leaned forward while he spoke, and it all came out in a diatribe. He never took a breath, he had been holding these words in long enough. Now he leaned back and took a cleansing breath as he calmed down.

Jenn sighed deeply before speaking, "I guess you must feel better now." There was no sarcasm in her voice as she was being sincere. She dropped herself back in to the chair. "I am not going to deny I hold a certain disregard, sort of speaking, towards some of the rules, regulations, protocols in starfleet. But you must understand I had the opportunity to be in starfleet before. To be an officer. And I failed." She chuckled before continuing, "Before I came back to starfleet I even considered joining the Maquis. That was when someone approached me to return to starfleet. And as enlisted officer you swear an oath to starfleet as well. I swore an oath to protect the Federation to the best of my abilities. To uphold the laws of the Federation. So far in my conducts I have done nothing that would... could even be considered of breaking that oath. So maybe I need to be a little more discreet in my relationship with Bill...Mister Calhoun. And if you want more rank and file, then that is how it's going to be from now on. But you can't expect me to change in my off hours." She fell quiet to see how he would respond to that.

Tobias ran his hand through his hair, an affectation he did when he was deep in thought or frustrated. Right now it was for the latter reason. "No one is expected to follow rank and file when off duty. However, your on duty methods need changing. Everyone thinks that the heart of a ship is the bridge. On most ship's they would be correct. However, on ships that have a SCIF it is there where the real brains of a ship are located. The amount of information that passes through here every hour is around twice what happens decks above us. For that reason we all have a duty to treat this place with the same respect as the bridge if not more so." His tone had changed but the emotion behind his speech had not. In one respected he hoped that Masters would fail and prove him right, and then the Captain would have no choice but to replace her.

She crossed her arms staring straight at Beckett. She was letting his words go through her head. She then took a deep breath and said, "Your words are noted, mister Beckett. I believe you have work to do. Dismissed!" She picked up padd laying on her desk and started to read it.

Tobias stood to attention as his demeanor went right back into business mode. "Yes ma'am" He performed an about face and walked back into the SCIF proper. While he returned to his duties, his thoughts loomed on whether or not his words would be taken to heart. Perhaps only time would tell...

A Joint Post By

Warrant Officer Jennifer Masters
Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer

Senior Chief Petty Officer Tobias Beckett
Intelligence Specialist, USS Pioneer

Senior Chief Petty Officer Leslie Calhoun
Data Systems Analyst, USS Pioneer

RSS Feed