Performance Review - Rho

Posted on Sun Jul 7, 2019 @ 11:52pm by Captain Madelina Weisz & Lieutenant Commander Alex Rho

Mission: Refits and Reviews
Location: XO's Office
Timeline: MD 7 || 1000 Hours

Maddy sat behind the desk in her office looking over a very long list of names belonging to the crew she needed to conduct crew evaluations on. The first name on the list... one Lieutenant Alex Rho. The Captain had to admit his performance was pretty spot on lately, and could be classified as downright impressive. Still, there was a need to get to the heart of things, and in order to do that, the other party needed to be present. She reached up to tap her combandge. "Weisz to Rho, can you report to my office?"

This time of refit and downtime was eating at Alex. He’d been on the move since his transfer to the Triumphant. Just sitting here in his office and looking over the PADD’s of the department’s new recruits was stifling. He picked up the next one and read the name aloud. “Ensign Kendar, Intelligence Officer, Signals Analysis, Bajoran.” He scrolled through the personnel file. "Just like the others; top percentage of his specialization, excellent physical conditioning, best of the best that Starfleet has to offer." He put it on the stack with the others. "Why couldn't there be something interesting like a Gorn Infiltration Specialist." At that moment, his combadge chirped and the Executive Officer's voice came through. He tapped and responded, "I'm on my way, Captain," and then tapped again to close the link. Alex instinctively reached for his personal transporter, but stopped short. A nice walk would be a change of pace. Besides, the ship was docked and this wasn't an emergency.

A few moments later, he found himself standing outside of Captain Weisz's office. Instead of touching the door chime, he smiled and rapped his knuckles on the door itself.

Maddy had expected to hear the chime, so when there was a knock at her door, it threw her off just a bit. After collecting herself and straightening out her uniform, the redhead rose to her feet. "Come in," she called. How many of these was she going to have to do? Far too many, but it came with the position.

Alex pressed the panel to open the door and walked in. It swooshed close behind him as he stepped up to where the ship's Executive Officer was standing. "Reporting as ordered, Captain," he said with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Please, have a seat, Lieutenant. Can I get you anything before we get started?" she asked, gesturing to one of the two chairs on the other side of her desk.

Alex sat down in one of the chairs and relaxed. "I'll have a glass of water, Captain. Thank you."

"Of course," Maddy said, making her way over to the replicator. It didn't take long before she had a glass of water in hand for him, and a glass of tea in hand for herself. She turned and moved over to him to pass the water off, then returned to her own seat to settle down. "It's performance review time, Lieutenant, and I would like to start off your evaluation by asking where you see yourself in the future?"

Alex took the water and nodded a thank you. "Ah, review time," he said after taking a sip. "My future as a Intelligence officer is mostly up in the air. It's wherever they need me to be. But I understand what you're asking. So in that regard, one day, I plan to be the one telling the Intel officers where they need to be. Whatever it takes."

The Captain nodded her head. She could see him in a high ranking position one day, and he'd be damn good at it, too. "You'd do great in such a role when the time comes," she said. "So, next question. How has your time been aboard the Triumphant thus far? And don't worry, we're not letting you go anywhere. In case that's what you might have been thinking."

"Thank you, Captain. And when the time comes is very apropos," he said. "I like my time aboard the Triumphant and I'm glad to hear that there are no plans to get rid of me. This ship has all of the fine toys that an Intelligence officer needs to complete missions. Any other ship would be a downgrade. As humans are fond of saying, I can't complain. It's been a good and profitable tour."

"As far as your performance goes, I have nothing negative to say. You go above and beyond what's expected of you, and Commodore Aravan and I couldn't be more pleased. Which is why..." Maddy trailed off and reached to grab something, then tossed the small, square object in his direction. "Open it."

Alex's reflexes kicked in and he caught the box one-handed. "I appreciate that, Captain. I'll try to keep that up, too. As for this," held up the box and opened it. There weren't many things that caught Alex off guard, especially as he usually kept an 'open mind.' But he'd taken to keeping in his own head during meetings like this one.

Inside the box was a single hollow pip. "It would appear to me that you're out of uniform, Commander Rho," Maddy stated, wondering if he would catch on.

Alex looked from Maddy to inside the box. He removed the single hollow pip and rolled it between his fingers. He looked back up at Maddy. "I thank you and the Commodore for your confidence in me and will try to move beyond my current state." He tossed the pip up into the air and caught it in his hand. "And as for this, it would appear that I am out of uniform." He reached up and placed the pip in it's spot.

The Captain offered him a smile. "That promotion is well deserved, Mister Rho, and I trust you'll continue to keep up the good work as time continues to progress."

"I'll do that, Captain," said the newly minted Lieutenant Commander. He took another drink of the water she'd provided him. "As time continues to progress...I look forward to that progression on this ship."

"I'm glad to hear it. And with that out of the way, we can focus on other matters," she said, bringing her cup toward her lips, only she didn't take a drink of her coffee yet. "Anything new going on in your department you wish to report? Issues with personnel, equipment, things like that?" Of course, such things would often be found in reports, but she liked to hear it directly from the department head.

"Equipment is the same as it has always been, topnotch," answered Alex. "Personnel...now there's something. I've seen my fair share of people come and go. Some recently and some without an explanation. But such is life in Starfleet Intelligence. As far as the new transfers I'm getting...well, I've going over their files. Please don't misunderstand, they are excellent officers and enlisted. They're in the top percentage of their specializations, have excellent physical conditioning...they're the best of the best that Starfleet has to offer. The issue is precisely that; they're the best and they know it. It'll be like commanding an Academy dorm filled with Nova Squad Cadets. How does Starfleet expect a flagship to carry out it's duties when they keep assigning personnel like that?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. It seems we're dealing with things like that more and more as time progresses," she told him. "We're always going to have members of the crew who think they know it all, or are wet behind the ears. We just need to find the best way to deal with that."

Alex sat back. "You're right and I know that. But it feels good to get stuff like that off your chest." He took another drink of his water. "So is there anything the Intelligence Department can do for you, Captain?"

Maddy offered him a smile. "Yes. Keep doing what you've been doing."

Alex chuckled. "That, my dear Captain, is something that can easily happen."

"I'm glad to hear it, Commander," she said as she rose to her feet and extended a hand in his direction. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Alex said as he stood and shook her hand.