A New Venture

Posted on Sun Jul 24, 2016 @ 10:02pm by Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes & Commodore Michael Aravan

Mission: An Orion to Die For
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD 0 || 0800 Hours

Now this was unheard of. Tom had over twenty years of experience under his belt, and never before had he had to undergo so much training regarding a Starfleet vessel. He was certainly thankful for it, as the Triumphant was a gigantic ship! There was so much technology aboard that he'd never seen or used before. Even the transporter had received various upgrades. if Tom had a wife or a love interest, he would never know that woman as much as he knew the transporter. All of his operations and engineering training from over the years all began from his first years of service as a transporter operator.

Tom was always looking for the next adventure, something very obvious from his service record. Settling down, even though he was just starting his forties, was never an option for him. He never possessed any life-long goals save to see the stars and as much of the galaxy as he could. Hopefully the Triumphant would help him do just that.

On today's agenda were formalities. He'd yet to meant the Captain or the First Officer. From his understanding, several of the senior staff were around, but Tom's training had yet to take him near any of their circles. With a crew of four thousand, it was easy to see why that was. Before he could meet them, there was one person he had to start with: The Captain.

Tom arrived at the door to the ready room. He tapped the chime and awaited permission to enter.

"Enter," Commander Michael Aravan called as he looked up from his seat at the head of a huge black surfaced table which dominated the center of the room which had a dozen chairs around it. Plants were at the corners of the room and most of one wall was filled with shelves which contained over a dozen species of bonsai trees, some elaborated sculpted around tree houses, some made to look like homes built into the ground and others that looked like they were just starting. Another table off to one side held a decanter of strong black coffee with several cups around it, a bowl containing sweetener and another for some type of cream.

The doors parted, permitting entrance to Thomas Barnes. He was no stranger to Ready Rooms, but he'd never seen one so large and decorated. Obviously, this Captain had good taste and planned to be on board for a while. Thomas stepped inside the Ready Room and stopped at the foot of the table. Immediately, he stood at attention, still holding the PADDs he carried in his left hand. "Senior Chief Thomas Barnes, reporting for duty as Chief Operations Officer, sir."

"At ease, Chief," Michael said as he came to his feet. "Welcome aboard the Triumphant and allow me to say you're the first enlisted that has ever held a chief position during my two years of service on this ship. Your record must speak volumes for your service to Starfleet and I'm looking forward to working with you. Have a seat, Mister Barnes. Would you like something to drink before we begin?"

"Coffee if you have it," Tom replied, standing at ease and approaching the head of the table. "As for my record, I like to summarize it this way: I just do what I'm asked, no matter the task."

The Captain went to pour a cup of coffee from the carafe which sat on the warmer and looked back at the man. "Sugar and creamer?" he asked as considered what the man said.

"Two sugars," he replied. While most days he preferred a natural taste, he always would sweeten coffee from untested sources. To him, it would just lessen any potential bitterness. Tom stopped near the head of the table, wondering which seat to take. Finally, he settled on the chair to the Captain's right. It seemed to be both closer to the coffee and convenient as Tom had approached from the right side of the table.

Michael added the two sugars and gotten a cup for himself, black, and returned to the table to hand Barnes his before he sat down. He moved his left hand over a sensor on the table and it lit up in a giant LCARS. "Barnes, Thomas, Chief Petty Officer." He requested and the man's full history came up in view. The Captain took a moment to review it, then looked up. "When you say that you do what you're asked, no matter the task, does that extend to outside of normal Starfleet orders, Mister Barnes?"

Tom gave the Captain a quizzical look, unsure if the Captain was trying to pry under the surface. "I guess it would depend, Captain," he replied, "on what you would define as an 'outside' normal Starfleet order."

"Okay. I'll give you an example," Michael said. "You're my Chief of Operations, which means you control most of the horizontal and vertical as far as the smooth operating of the ship goes. What if I ordered you to back up the waste management system into Commander Weisz' quarters and I wanted it done now?"

Tom had raised the cup to take a drink. Had he actually sipped the coffee, it's very possible Tom would have performed a flawless spit-take. Thankfully he hadn't and arched his left eyebrow instead. He took a sip in order to give him an extra couple of seconds to select an answer. Waste management, though a very simple system, would be rather complicated to clog up. After all, clogging for one set of quarters would mean clogging at least a full section of the ship. "I'd say I don't mind a good prank, sir, but I wouldn't want to be caught in the middle of any feud you may have with the XO. Collateral damage, if it were."

"I didn't ask you that, Chief," Michael said. "I asked if you would follow an order that extends outside of normal Starfleet orders considering you said you'd do a task you were asked to do."

Tom carefully set down the cup of coffee and just as cautiously prepared his answer. "Captain, I did not get to where I am today by always following the rules. I have done many strange things in my life, ranging from changing Admiral McCoy's bedding while he stayed aboard a starship to separating tribbles that had stuck together after crawling through Yamok sauce. My point is, there is a very skewed definition of normal when it comes to Starfleet, and it exists only in the eye of the beholder. My view is that I will do whatever it takes to maintain operations and morale aboard the vessel on which I am assigned. If it falls outside of a job description, so be it."

Michael gave a chuckle at the man's cautiousness. "I won't ask you to separate tribbles, Mister Barnes and I may not ask you to back up waste management into my Executive Officer's quarters, but I may ask you to do some things outside the norm. The Triumphant is a huge ship and has a lot of people on it who need morale boosters from time to time since you consider that to fall under your purview, so I'll know who to call on if and when they need boosting. Is that fair enough?"

The enlisted chief interpreted the chuckle as passing an unknown test. Rewarding himself with a sip of coffee, he replied with a smile, "Yes, Captain. With all that said, is there anything particular you have in mind that I take care of as I settle in?"

"One a hundred and six thousand things, but fortunately for you, most of them are automated. You just need to make sure the automation process is doing what it should after you settle in," Michael said.

"Already on my list, sir," Tom replied, double checking that it was indeed on his list. Thankfully it was, and at the top no less.

"Good man," Michael said approvingly. "Now go get settled in. Senior staff quarters are on deck twenty-two. You're on Alpha Shift which is Zero Eight Hundred until Sixteen Hundred Hours. You get two fifteen minute breaks and an hour for lunch unless there's an emergency. Do you have questions for me, Chief?"

Tom shook his head. "Not at the moment, sir," he acknowledged as he finished the coffee. "I may have some as time goes on, but only because you'll know where the skeletons are." He was speaking figuratively, of course.

The Captain laughed. "Let's hope they stay where they are," he said. "We've had too many on this ship. Thank your lucky star that you weren't here to clean out the bioneural gel packs on our first mission. Some love struck Intelligence Ensign with access to more than he should have put a love story in every holodeck program."

"That sounds a little... distasteful." Just the thought of something getting mixed into the gelpacks was a little unsettling. Still, he'd check and make sure those unwanted love stories were filtered out over time.

"Just sad, Chief. Just sad. He committed suicide after he did it," Michael said. "But that's for another day. Go get settled in and get your Medical check-up taken care of. I hear the new CMO likes to get on people for not doing them as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir," Tom said rising from his seat. He had carried two PADDs into the room. One being his to-do list and the other being a copy of his transfer orders. The orders he left on the table. "I'll be sure to not keep the doctor waiting." Taking the hint, Tom nodded and turned to leave the Ready Room.

Captain Michael Aravan
Commanding Officer
USS Triumphant

&

Senior Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes
Chief Operations Officer
USS Triumphant