Meeting the Dept Boss

Posted on Sat Nov 2nd, 2024 @ 1:54am by Ensign Jason Reece
Edited on on Mon Nov 4th, 2024 @ 9:49am

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Mission 5: The Price of Paradise
Location: Deck 1: Main Bridge
Timeline: M5 MD07 (2268.07.30) 1030

After he finished speaking with the XO, Jason went to find his department head, a Lieutenant T'kara. Moving to a computer interface, he quarried her location.

T’kara punched up another review on the computer in front of her. The department's fitness reviews were due next week, and she was determined to finish early. She leaned over to the right and, without removing her eyes from the computer screen, forked a bite of lunch into her mouth. She had been working for the last three hours straight and was determined to finish ahead of the Captain’s schedule.

She was so engrossed in her work that she almost didn’t notice the door chime when it sounded.

“Enter,” she said, continuing on with her work.

The door hissed open, revealing Jason standing there. "Lieutenant T'Kara?" He asked respectfully.

T’kara punched a few more buttons before some part of her brain fired and told her that there was someone at her door and that they had spoken her name.

She looked up blankly at the human standing in her doorway.

“Yes,” she said, turning the statement into a question

Nodding once, he stepped inside. As he approached, he handed over the yellow data card that contained his personnel file. "Ensign Jason Reece, your new navigator, Ma'am."

T’kara looked blankly at the extended data card and then back to the human offering it to her. She blinked once, twice and then looked back to the offered card.

“Oh….I’m so sorry…” she blushed. She stood up, smoothed her tunic and skirt and then took the data card from the ensign. “I wasn’t expecting you to arrive this quickly,” T’kara said with a smile.

“I was so lost in the department’s fitness reviews…” she explained. She gestured toward one of the unoccupied seats at the desk.

“Please have a seat…” she offered and then sat back down at her desk.

"Thank you, Ma'am." He moved to sit across from her, the desk between them.

“Wow…I’ve never been here before - uh, that is, I’ve never been the department head and welcomed a newcomer,” she said nervously, still smiling.

“Tell me about yourself,” she prompted, leaning around the computer screen to look at him.

Jason grinned as he replied. "Well, not sure what else I can say that's not already in my file. I mean, I did okay in school, I'm third generation Starfleet, though I'm the first who was actually in the fleet, as both my father and grandfather were in the MACOs." He took a breath, then continued. "Oh, I do enjoy orbital skydiving alot!"

While Jason began sharing his details, T'kara simultaneously inserted his file card into a slot on her computer. She divided her attention between Jason’s narrative and what the file card displayed on the screen.

"Orbital skydiving," T'kara exclaimed when he mentioned the sport. "Isn't that on the dangerous side?" Her voice conveyed not only a sense of genuine concern but also interest.

Jason both grinned and nodded. "It can be, if not done correctly." He paused briefly, before adding, "My grandfather actually started it as a sport, back during the Earth/Romulan War, when he was a MACO. It came to be when they needed to make a tactical insertion onto one of the moons that the Romulans had occupied. Every shuttle and dropship that was launched kept getting shot down. So, he had the idea that, ingle individuals falling through the atmosphere, would evade the enemy sensors easier, and he was right!" He took a breath and continued. "After the war was over, he kept doing the drops for fun. His fellow MACOs started with him, and it soon took off as an amateur sport."

“I see. Well, I can tell you you’ve landed a great ship for your first posting, Ensign. Uhm, by the way…I like to keep things informal. As long as we’re not having a serious professional conversation or on the bridge on duty, please call me T’kara. Would it be ok if I call you Jason…or is there something else I should call you,” T’kara asked.

This caused Jason to frown slightly as he replied. "While, as my superior, you can certainly call me by my given name, respectfully, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing the same, at least not until some time has gone by. Would you be opposed to me referring to you as Miss T’kara?"

“I think that’s acceptable, Jason,” T’kara answered, smiling. She glanced back to his records displayed on the computer screen.

“Looks like you have great marks across the board from the Academy. I have to tell you, navigating a Connie is no easy task. It requires more attention to detail, more finesse, and, most of all, more technical know-how. But,” she paused, gesturing to the personnel record on the screen in front of her, “you keep doing this, and you’ll be just fine.”

She ejected the tape and handed it back to Jason.

“For right now, let’s get you settled in. Have you been to your quarters yet,” she asked, standing and smoothing out her skirt.

"No, Ma'am," he said, out of professional habit. He then grinned softly. "Not yet. I just came from the bridge, after reporting in to the XO. I haven't seen the CO yet either."

~Truncated~

Ensign Jason Reece
Navigator
USS Midway

 

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