Reporting for Duty

Posted on Tue Jun 20th, 2023 @ 11:04am by Lieutenant Commander Tanaka Miyahara & Captain Ansel Benoit

956 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Raising the Mast
Location: Bridge/Ready Room, Deck 1

The turbolift doors swooshed open and the young Lieutenant Commander wearing a gold uniform stepped through them onto the bridge. He stopped for a moment to take in the majesty of the New Orleans class bridge. It was, in many ways, a miniaturized version of what had proven successful in the Galaxy class. It was classy, yet modest at the same time.

He hadn't been aboard very long, but the young man standing on the bridge had to admit, the New Orleans class was growing on him.

Checking his uniform one final time to ensure that it was crisp and spotless, and his glasses to ensure there wasn't a spec of dust on them, he turned and made his way over to the ready room door, pressing the chime and waiting to be let in.

Luckily for the person on the other side of the door Ans had put away Tangerine and Clementine for a nap so there would be no guinea pigs running around underfoot for anyone else who reported in. Assuming that's what this was, a simple reporting for duty call, Ans called out, "Come in." And sat behind his desk waiting for the next ensign who would most likely freeze at attention. That was not, however, what he got.

"Commander," Ans said noticing the rank and therefor knowing who the man was before he said anything. "Have a seat."

"Captain Benoit, I presume?" The young commander pronouncing Ans' surname correctly as he took a seat. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Tanaka Miyahara, your new Chief of Security."

"Yes, welcome." Ans replied looking over the man's file in front of him. "You've got your work cut out for you Commander. New ship, probably lots of ensigns who need their hands held. Are you sure you're up for the job?"

"Captain, if I wasn't ready for the job, I wouldn't have taken it." Miyahara stated. "I think you'll find that my service record speaks for itself. I can guarantee you I'll have even the most frightened of ensigns ship shape."

"You say that now, but you haven't met the rest of the crew yet."
Ans smiled. He didn't know why teasing was his coping mechanism, but it always had been and he was nervous. It was a new starship after all, though not his first command. "Very good. I expect a lot from my officers, the first of which is honesty. So at least you passed that test. Have you had a chance to meet your department yet? I assume you've been assigned quarters?"

"Meeting my department and seeing my quarters are on my list." Miyahara stated. "However, they are lower in the sequence of events I follow. In my opinion, reporting in to the captain should be every good Starfleet officer's first action upon arriving for their new assignment."

Ansel didn't really think it necessary but he nodded solemnly. "Just thought I would check. You never know when something might have been . . . . forgotten. Tell me a little bit about your last assignment Commander. I'm afraid Starfleet made some last minute crew changes and I haven't had a chance to read about all the new members of our team."

"My previous assignment was the USS Silver Stallion, sir." Miyahara stated. "She was a Galaxy class cruiser, but, pardon my blunt opinion, she had been assigned the crew of a garbage scow. Security department alone was an absolute mess, and you wouldn't have recognized it between when I got there and when I left, if that gives you an idea for the kind of officer I am."

"Really? I thought Starfleet would be a bit more picky about who they chose for a Galazy class. What specifically made you think the crew was unworthy?" Ans asked curiously. This wasn't typically a conversation he had with new crew and he was interested to know the man's opinion.

"Well, no offense to Captain Kazeela, but she was a very hands off kind of commander." Miyahara said. "Not that there's anything inherently wrong with being hands off. If you have a great senior staff under you, it could work well, but the senior staff of the Silver Stallion, they seemed to interpret Kazeela's command style as a competition, and they were more concerned about one upping the other department heads for the captain's approval rather than running their own departments. As you can imagine, with such an epic breakdown in the chain of command, we crewmen at the bottom found ourselves picking up a lot of slack, and while the bridge crew was busy having a pissing contest, their departments were falling to shit as their underlings began cutting corners to keep things running."

"Ahhh, I see." That did seem to be a general problem in Starfleet, it attracted people who wanted to win. "Well there will be no cutting corners here. If the transporter pad needs cleaned with something as small as a toorthbrush then it will be cleaned with a toothbrush. But I also don't want my officers getting burnt out on their work. You have to have a balance of work and pleasure in your life."

"An... Admirable position to have, Captain." Miyahara said. "So long as the pleasure side doesn't bleed over into one's work."

"True." He knew all too well that this could happen easily. A beep interrupted their conversation, a message Ans felt he needed to attend to. "Well thank you for coming in Commander, unfortunately I have another appointment. But if you have any questions or concerns you know where my office is."

"Very well." Miyahara said, rising from his seat. "Good luck with your next appointment."

Captain Ansel Benoit
Commanding Officer
USS Victory

&

Lieutenant Commander Tanaka Miyahara
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Victory

 

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