Meet The New Boss

Posted on Thu Aug 31st, 2023 @ 1:23am by Ensign Carter Page & Lieutenant Commander Darrod Hanous & Lieutenant Georgette Lemare & Lieutenant Yōji Itami

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Mission 4: Through a Glass, Darkly
Location: Deck 16: Main Engineering, Engineer's Office
Timeline: M4 MD02 (2268.07.11) 1300

Darrod had snuck into his new office a little early after meeting the Captain, and found it to his liking. Now that he was fully read in and an duty with his physical cleared up, it was just a matter of getting the team aligned. In sincerity, he didn't expect there to be much of a challenge with the handover - after all, he wasn't out to introduce huge shakeups or changes yet. So, he pinged both the primary Bridge rep from Engineering and the most senior staff member down here aside from himself, and requested this meeting after lunch. He was standing in front of the ship's MSD displayed on his wall, which gave him a shipwide overview of power distribution and basic data from system function. It wouldn't diagnose anything short of a major issue, but it was one of those things that made a Chief Engineer "feel" like they were directly in control of the vessel. It was small, but important.

He smiled at the other officers as they walked in, gesturing to the chairs if they wanted them. He extended a hand to shake theirs as they entered. "Good afternoon. I'm Lieutenant Hanous. Just wanted to check in on the team, and make sure we're all on the same page. So, at the top, do we have any major pain points I should address? I haven't seen anything, but I've only been on the ship for 48 hours."

Ensign Carter Page was the first to speak up, "Sir, if I may," the young man started, "We could use more on damage control. We've been tasked with the responsibility to repair the ship from the battle, the sabotage and check for any lingering affects from either. It's been a daunting task for the fifteen of us."

Dar nodded at him, glancing at the Bridge team. "Understood. I'll get whoever I can to help you - including myself. Get me your search patterns, I'll get on it as soon as we break here, and I'll get some people to help the Damage team, temporarily."

A young looking woman stood amongst the others. Lieutenant Georgette Lemare smiled as the new chief engineer walked in. "The bridge engineering console needs some tweaking. I can do the work as that's my primary station, however I need authorisation from you sir," she explained.

Darrod nodded at the woman. She looked young for a Lieutenant, but it was possible that he just looked old. At least she seemed confident; and from his review, she was also competent. Having a good Bridge support was essential on a ship this large. "You have it, then. Whatever tools you need, book them out. Just make sure you get the secondary console fully online, functional, and manned before you take the primary down for repair; I don't want us to caught with our pants down if there's an emergency. Make sure we stay within spec, and I want a report when the repair's done. Anyone you don't need for the repair or active Bridge duty for the next week or so, tell me. They're going to be my damage control squad."

Dar's goal right now was to support his people. On a ship that had recently suffered a sabotage event and a betrayal (even under mind-control, it would still sting), making sure that the whole team understood that he wasn't here to be an enemy or an impediment was essential. No one was asking for something outrageous yet; just trying to get everything back in order from the troubles they'd faced. That was his plan, too; he wasn't rocking the boat today - he was setting it right.

"There is one thing from me, to nip a problem I've seen on other ships in the bud; and I can't say I'm innocent of it. We're probably all going to be pulling long and difficult shifts until everything gets settled. I'm requesting, firmly, that you make sure your teams understand from you that alcohol isn't the way while we're scrambling here. If anybody needs help sleeping in between shifts, go to Sickbay, do not self-medicate. I know many of us do it, and it's a hard habit to break. I'll be sending the same message in general to the whole team. When we're back to normal, that goes away and I go back to 'officially ignoring' the ship's still; but the focus now has to be on efficiency and getting things done right the first time. Anything that comes out of the still until we're fully on-spec is strictly for degreasing and cleaning. Understood?"

For him, that was an important moral message to send. It wouldn't make him popular, and he knew that, but it was important. All too often, a ship's engine room was hard to differentiate from the ship's bar. If there was a place to find a crewman three sheets to the wind, it was there (in, ironically, the most dangerous place on the ship). But right now, they were just out of a crisis, with a new Chief, and a ship that hadn't had her proper shakedown before she was sabotaged by one of the people who'd built her. This wasn't a time for being anything but sober and sharp. As soon as it was resolved, he could relax, and even celebrate with the whole team.

Ensign Page nodded, "Yes sir," he responded. He was glad maintenence and damage control was being made a priority. Novo always viewed such matters as distraction from his mad experiments. This was definitely a breath of fresh air, although he was a little unnerved by the lieutenant's green skin. Not because of any specific predjudice, but after their constant fighting with the Orions.

Georgette nodded as well. "I can always cook up something for the long shifts?" She suggested. "I find that snacks can help keep your energy up..." she said nervously. She wasn't sure how the new chief would take it.

At the offer of snacks to help keep people energized during work hours so that they wouldn't end up overexhausted afterwards, Darrod smiled and nodded. If either of them had ever seen an Orion smile before, they'd notice that his expression was brighter than most - there was no guile, sleaze, or hidden intrigue behind it. He looked, in other words, very much like their expectation of a Starfleet engineer. "Snacks are always gratefully appreciated, Lieutenant. Just be careful not to overexert yourself, with the fact that you'll be handling the Bridge panel repairs. We have a lot to do and very little time to do it, but I don't want anyone putting themselves in Sickbay from it."

He looked over at Page, still smiling. "As I said, Ensign, you've been doing a fine job heading up the damage team without a Chief. That'll go on record when we're functional again. Give me a rundown report and I will communicate with you about where I'll take a squad."

He shrugged. "I don't have much else right now. Lemare, just forward the paperwork to me to authorize the Bridge teardown, along with the name of whoever will be running Engineering II while you do it. Book out whatever tools you need. I'll put my name across it and get it to the Yeoman. Page, get me that report. The authorization to book out any tool needed goes double, and extends to any of the DC squads. I'll also have one of the mates running a department switchboard - we should all be communicating regularly, and we're the one department who can take the burden off the Comms team. We need all of this done right the first time. If you need my help, ask. If I can't do it, I'll find you someone who can. So, unless you have a good reason to hang around here, you're dismissed. Thank you."

Georgette simply nodded in response. "Yes sir," she replied.

 

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