Ever thought about Command route

Posted on Thu Jun 6th, 2024 @ 3:25pm by Lieutenant Etan tar-Lexros & Captain Xavier Carey

Mission: Brief Stay
Location: Captains ready room

Xavier had been going through the reports of the incidents from Lantea, several officers have been making a name for themselves, considering the ruckus that happened. The Chief Operations officer had been one of them. Needless to say he had a second look at his file.

"Lt Tar-Lexros report to the ready room please." He replied after he tapped the combadge.

Etan had been going through the reports from Lantea, confirming that the ship's computers and systems weren't affected by that self-inflicted virus. He looked around at his small team when he heard the message, swallowing hard. "tar-Lexros here, Captain, I'll be right there, sir." He looked at the two Ensigns. "Uh... if it's bad, I'll tell you. Just, uh, just keep going."

He walked over to the turbolift carrying a PADD with all of his conclusions, and a few minutes later, he touched the bell on the captain's Ready Room. "Captain? tar-Lexros here."

"Enter Lt." Xavier replied as he looked up from the pad he was glancing over, at the moment it was for cO's only, however it would soon come to light, and the Resolution would be in the midst.

Etan walked in, looking around somewhat suspiciously. In truth he was looking to see what, if anything, was malfunctioning. After all, he was Chief of Ops, and that meant if something broke for the Captain, he was the one on tap to fix it. Seeing nothing (and thus realizing it'd either be a very easy job or a near-impossible one), he looked at the Captain as he fully stepped in. "You wanted to see me, Captain?"

"Yes Lt. Please have a seat. Want anything from the replicator?" He replied placing the pad down. "Just wanted to go over a few things from Lantea, as well as discuss something with you."

Oh, it was a debriefing - that was easier than a repair call, in some ways. All Etan could hope for at that moment was that the Captain didn't disagree with the way he handled the initial discovery. He knew he'd gone a little "off-book", sending London off to get help personally rather than going over comms. He'd been scared in that moment, worried that they'd been lured there by a trap and that there was real, physical danger. It seemed like the best thing to do, and no one had questioned him. He would openly admit to being very afraid at that moment. He sat down, still somewhat stiff. When he was offered something from the replicator, he shook his head. "No thank you, sir, but I appreciate the offer."

He waited patiently for the Captain to speak.

Xavier leaned back in the chair, "Before I give my view on how it went. Why don't you give me your take on it." He inquired.

Etan thought for a moment, and decided to start where he could highlight positives. "Well, before we found out about the virus, I believe that my team made an excellent effort getting resources in place and helping to manage the aid situation. The distribution of food and supplies went well, and I haven't received any comments from other department heads saying that they were missing anything." For him, that was the priority - both that his team had done well, and that the rest of the crew had the things they needed. He sighed. "I honestly don't know if I handled the discovery of the virus in the best possible way, sir. We could all tell that there had been intentional sabotage to the underwater equipment we'd been assigned to, and I felt that it would be best if Lieutenant London alerted you personally, hoping not to raise any alarms among the planetary personnel, which might have endangered other members of the crew. I've never been in an active sabotage situation outside of simulations, and I apologize if my initial reaction was the wrong one. But I do believe the Operations and Engineering departments handled the situation very well after we discovered that it wasn't intended maliciously against us, sir."

He looked at Xavier, hoping that his 'take' was in line with the Captain's. If it wasn't, it would be another lesson he'd need to take to heart.

"Honestly Lt. I couldn't have handled it any better. You were given one set of variables, and others were sent your way. Thinking on your feet is something I admire, would I have sent London by herself. Probably not. But in the end it worked out, and no one else was injured. I have put a commendation in your file, for your explary work considering what happened."

Etan nodded with a slight smile. "Thank you, sir, I appreciate that. I did my best, and I'm glad that I had a great team to support me in it. So that I know, in case we ever end up in another unusual situation like that, what would you have done, rather than sending Lieutenant London?"

"Honestly, with something like that... I would have sent her with someone. Computers arent my forte, Security and tactical was my strong suit."

That was the difference, certainly. If anything, Security and Tactical were Etan's weakest knowledge bases. He could repair a phaser if it was damaged, and he'd dealt with several "unusual" issues with photon torpedo tubes and shield systems in the past. But all of his Tactical knowledge bent toward the technical along with his knowledge of Security. On the other hand, computers absolutely were his forte, and staying with the computer to figure out what was wrong was probably the best use of his skill that he could think of. But it was good advice, and something he would think of, the next time he was in a difficult situation like that. "Thank you for the advice, sir. I'll make sure to send at least two people the next time we encounter a situation like that where there's reason to believe that comms might be compromised. Mr. Zaal and I are more technically inclined, I thought it would be best to try and figure out what was going on with the system, and if we could repair it from the virus. I'm just glad that we were able to resolve it safely."

"Absolutely Lt. You did the right thing, and it all worked out. There was actually no real reason to send two people. Its a preference, and situation depending." He replied as he looked at the padd. "I was going over your service record. With your academy marks, and your service, there is a good chance you would do well in a command position. Have you given any thought to the Commanders exam?"

Etan blinked at the Captain's question. In years past, he'd heard the exact opposite about his experience and the way he approached situations. He wasn't a born leader, he knew that. He got too flustered, and he wasn't good with people. At the same time, the thought of it didn't immediately seem awful; he'd learned to cope with his issues, and in the last two or three crises, he'd managed to hold himself together, with support from people he trusted. He didn't move, but responded after his customary pause for thought. "Uh, not really, sir, no. It wasn't something that crossed my mind. If you feel that I would do well, I'm willing to give it a try."

"The only thing you can do is try. I do believe that everyone deserves a chance. I also believe that you, given the opportunity, can grow into."

Etan nodded, considering the praise he was being given. He'd really not expected a positive response to the Lantea situation when he'd walked in here. He honestly blamed himself a little bit for not seeing through the deception of what they'd done, but going over it, there was no fault to be had. "Thank you, sir. If you believe I would pass, then please do sponsor me for the next round of testing." He smiled slightly. "After all, the, uh... the worst that happens is that I fail, and learn from it."

"One cannot succeed without failing at some point." He tapped a few buttons. Handed him a padd. "Just need your thumb print, and we shall get you started, asap. With war here, we often can see what we truly are made of."

Etan nodded and pressed this thumbprint on the PADD. He checked it over, quickly, and handed it back to the Captain. "Yes, sir. And if we end up fighting, my team and I will keep this ship functioning as long as we can."

"I am sure we all can count on you Lt." Xavier replied with a smile. "I will sen this in to Command and get you set up."