Getting Operational

Posted on Thu Aug 4, 2016 @ 3:40am by Captain Madelina Weisz & Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes

Mission: An Orion to Die For
Location: Bridge
Timeline: MD 0 || 0830 Hours

Following the meeting with the Captain, Tom avoided the urge to check his to-do list. He'd never been much for one, but the Triumphant's size seemed to demand that Tom stay organized. His greatest fear right now was that he'd forget something. Life had been easier as a boatswain or a transporter chief, but Operations provided so many unique challenges for him.

Still, he felt he knew much of his to-do list by heart. It was, after all, just a backup. His talk with the Captain had caused him to add a few things to it, especially since he knew all too well what that a Captain's priorities were rarely his own. Now it was time to learn if the ship's First Officer had anything of importance, aside from Tom actually meeting the individual.

"Computer," Tom asked, outside of the Captain's Ready Room. "Location of the Executive Officer?"

"Commander Madelina Weisz is on the bridge," came the computer's reply.

Thankfully, the Ready Room wasn't far from the bridge. In fact, he was standing on the bridge. He didn't have to glance behind him to know that he was getting strange looks from some of the bridge crew. There was even a good chance that one of those people was the first officer. Still, he quickly took a breath, looked around, and spotted a red haired woman, the only person who wore command red.

With PADD in hand, Tom approached her. "Commander," he greeted. "Senior Chief Barnes, Chief Ops."

"You," Maddy said, opening her mouth to bark an order at some poor soul until she heard someone address her. She turned to look to the individual. "Senior Chief and Chief Ops? That's a bit unusual isn't it? Don't hear of many enlisted making it into the position of department head." She looked as though she was sizing him up. "What's your story?"

"It's not that uncommon, ma'am," Tom replied, sticking to formalities. "For seven years, Chief Miles O'Brien was the Operations Chief for Deep Space Nine. Skill rarely is defined by rank and position, at least that's what twenty-plus years of service has shown me."

"You're right, it isn't. I've just never seen it since I've been serving is all," Weisz stated. "Have you ever served aboard an Odyssey class starship before?"

He smiled. "First time, ma'am. All part of the journey to explore strange new worlds. I must say, it's certainly bigger than I expected." He had, after all, seen glimpses of the spacecraft designs in his service at Utopia Plantia and did advise on the cargo transporter functionality, but that was all just on paper and years ago. Paper never prepared one for the real thing.

"Before this goes any further, Mister Barnes, I've got a question to ask you. As Chief of Operations, you will control quite a bit on the ship," Maddy began as she clasped her hands behind her back. "What if I were to ask you to do something you might not find... appealing... would you do it?"

Tom smiled and exhaled through his nose. He briefly considered telling the Commander whom he still didn't have a name for that he'd just been asked a similar question by their superior officer. That didn't seem to be prudent in this regard. Taking a similar approach with her that he did with the Captain, Tom replied, "Depends on the situation, Commander. As long as it keeps this ship running and morale high, I'm fine with about anything."

"I'll keep that in mind," the Commander said with a smile of her own. "I should probably introduce myself, shouldn't I? Commander Madelina Weisz, Executive Officer. Welcome aboard, Mister Barnes. Have you met the Captain yet?" She wanted to call Michael Moon Moon, but it was best to save that for another day.

"Just did, Commander," Tom confirmed. "Have you served with him long?"

"Nearly a year and a half," Maddy answered. "He's a great Captain and a good man. Just not when he decides to start with his pranks. He's quite good, and no, you aren't safe. No one is when he decides to get started. Which, is one of the reasons I asked you the question I did. When it comes to Captain Aravan, one has to fight dirty."

Tom chuckled, thinking of the Captain's specific mention of manipulating the waste extraction system to give the Commander an unpleasant surprise. "So, it's like a rite of passage, then? Does anyone push back?"

The redhead smiled. "Something like that, and I do. All the time. I'd appreciate a heads up should he attempt to have you reroute waste extraction into my quarters."

"Something tells me I won't be able to avoid getting caught in the middle of these, will I?" Tom asked, choosing to not directly answer her question.

"I will try to keep you out of it as best as I can, but I cannot speak for the Captain. Of course, we know that there is a time and place for this kind of thing, and won't be holding prank wars in the middle of a mission," she said. "Tell me a bit about yourself. Something I won't find in your file."

This was an easy question. "I collect soil samples and rocks from every planet I visit if I can," he told her. "I started when I just made P O Three. It's a nice reminder of both where I've been and that I've just barely scratched the surface of what the galaxy has to offer."

Maddy listened as he spoke, gesturing for him to walk with her. She'd been stagnant long enough, and needed to check up on the crew prepping the ship for their departure. "What else can you tell me, Mister Barnes? I will admit, I haven't had a chance to go over the personnel files of our newest crew yet, but I will remedy that this evening."

He fell into step beside her. "Honestly, I don't like to talk about myself much. When I enlisted, I planned to just be that fly on the wall, the non-descript crewman who was just a cog in a machine. Either that plan didn't work, or it worked all too well."

"I don't like talking about myself, either," she said. "Do you have any questions? And that was my not so subtle attempt to get you out of the hot seat."

Tom chuckled. "That was a hot seat?" he quipped. "It's all good, Commander. I've seen plenty of strange things and have been asked to do stranger in my career. Why would it stop now? As for having questions, I can't say that I have. This is my first real Department Head position, so I guess I would ask if you have any certain requirements aside from making sure duty rosters and personnel reports are submitted in a timely manner."

Maddy grinned. "Not exactly, but I can put you there if you really want me to. All you have to do is give me the word, and we can make it happen." She looked thoughtful for a minute as she continued to walk with him along the bridge to monitor progress. "As far as requirements go... make sure the ship runs as smoothly as possible. If you run into any issues at any time, don't hesitate to come see me so we can figure it out. That being said, there's a long list of things I could give you, but we'd be here until it was time to launch. A short list..." She took a breath and let it out. "You're going to be required to handle personnel allocation, resource allocation, mission operations, traffic control, procurement, communications, transportation and the ship's computers. If you need a better breakdown of that, I'll get the details and send them to you. But, I want you to keep in mind you're dealing with two hundred personnel in your department, but they'll help you with it. It's a fairly large job. Are you up for the challenge?"

Why was it both the Captain and the Executive Officer took the opportunity to explain his job to him? Tom wondered if he came off as too naive or uninformed. That certainly wasn't his intention. "With absolute enthusiam, Commander," Tom replied with a smile, hoping it would be enough to hide the dent to his pride. He'd have to work extra hard to impress the both of them during this next mission just to prove he'd earned those chevrons and dots on his collar.

"You'll fit in just fine, I'm sure," Maddy said. "Keep the ship running smoothly, and I'll be happy. That's all I ask."

"And that I can do," Tom stated with a smile. "I have a feeling your bad side is a place I don't want to be."

"I normally play bad cop to the Captain's good cop, but he can be pretty vicious if it's warranted," Maddy said. "My bad side, though... sometimes I don't even wish to be around me when that happens. How's that for bad?"

"I'd say pretty terrible, ma'am." Tom kept his smile. "I'm sure a counselor could comment further, but I am not one, so I shall endeavor to not bring out the worst in you."

Weisz couldn't help but grin. It seemed their new Operations Chief had guts, which she appreciated. "Are you suggesting that I see a counselor about my temper, Mister Barnes?"

He chuckled. "Of course not, sir. Ma'am. Commander."

"I suppose I should let you get to your department so you can get acquainted, shouldn't I?" Maddy asked as she came to a stop to give him her full attention again.

Tom merely nodded. "I should head down there indeed. Thank you, Commander," he said with a nod, actually thankful that he was able to meet her. He was anxious to get downstairs and to work.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mister Barnes, and I look forward to working with you. Dismissed," the redhead said, knowing he had to be a bit eager to see the department he was going to be running. "And welcome aboard."