New Second Officer

Posted on 11 Dec 2023 @ 12:10am by Lieutenant Maralen Seitha & Captain Bane Plase

2,400 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Shoreleave
Location: Captain's Quarters, USS Cygnus
Timeline: Two hours after "Bling Bling"

ON

Bane started to set the PADD down on his desk in his quarters, having made all the changes in personnel that he had announced during the awards and promotions ceremony when a name on the list jumped out at him. "Oh, damn," he said, under his breath. He had forgotten to announce it to the rest of the staff and crew, and even to the person in question. Bane stood up and put his uniform jacket back on, then tapped his badge. "Bane to Lieutenant Seitha, if you have a moment, please come to my quarters."

Maralen looked up from where he sat on the cushion on the floor of his quarters. For the briefest of moments, his expression registered confusion. That was then replaced by curiosity. And finally, both of those were replaced by his seemingly ever-present calm. Standing, he picked up his comm. badge from the nearby small table and activated it. "Seitha here. On my way, sir," he answered evenly.

He put the cushion back onto the couch from which he'd taken it and retreated to his bedroom to put his uniform back on. As a cat, he preferred to not wear an extra layer of "fur" when he didn't have to, and so had removed the uniform to meditate. Dressing quickly, he made sure that his fur was neatly laid down and his tail wrapped around his waist. Then he left his quarters.

Making his way quickly to the captain's quarters, he tapped the door chime and waited to be admitted. Curiosity tugged at the back of his mind, but he silenced it with the reminder that patience was the order of the day, every day, and waited silently and patiently.

Inside, the Captain stood from his desk, where he had sat back down to complete more work in the time it took for Seitha to arrive, and said, "Come on in." He then started moving towards the replicator as the doors opened and allowed entry. "Care for something to drink, Lieutenant?"

Maralen entered at the invitation to do so and stopped just on his side of the desk. In many cultures, he had learned that it was rude -- in some, it was more an insult than just rude -- to refuse an offer. "Merridian tea, please," he answered then added by way of clarification as that was not normally contained in the Starfleet replicators and he had added it himself, "You can find it in my personal preferences. Thank you." He did not sit yet as he had not been told to or invited to do so. He was not, however, at full Attention either as the captain had not indicated that this was a formal meeting and therefore requiring it.

Plase nodded and ordered the drink. To him, it smelled disgusting and even had an unappealing yellow tint to it, but Bane didn't judge. Ordering his own drink, he collected the cups and handed the tea to Maralen. "Thank you for coming under such unusual circumstances. Please, feel free to sit," Bane said, gesturing to one of the many places to sit.

Maralen took the tea. "Thank you, sir," he said as he studied the choices of seating on offer. He noted which seemed the most comfortable and selected another. By all rights, the most comfortable seat should always belong to the one to whom the venue belonged, in this case, the captain. Seating himself, he took a small sip of the tea. The replicator could never equal the original, but it was pleasing nonetheless and caused a soft purr to rumble forth.

He considered the rest of Bane's statement and tilted his head slightly. His expression shifted to curiosity, and for once he did not force it to the pure calm; he let it be what it was. The captain still had not "formalized" the meeting, so he was not inclined to do so. Always follow the lead of the host. "And what circumstances would those be, sir?" he asked with respect, the curiosity creeping into his tone as well.

Bane looked at the Lieutenant for several moments before continuing, slightly amused at how Maralen drank. He had never seen a Ledaran eat or drink. Breaking the silence, Bane continued. "What is your opinion on this last mission?" He pointedly ignored the question, for now. He would circle back to it.

Maralen noted the avoidance of the question. It was not something new to him, those in authority not answering a question immediately. Even before Starfleet, he had been used to it with the Executive. Most of the time, the Executive would eventually answer his question, but sometimes he did not. Either way, patience was key. This was why it had been the First Lesson, he suspected. Now, Bane was doing it too, but he was doing something the Executive had only done as a test, asking Maralen his opinion of a situation, mission, or event.

Relax, Mar, he told himself. He is not the Executive, and this is not the Realm.

Outwardly, he had not changed his position, but the look of curiosity had been replaced by the Calm Efficiency as he analyzed the mission as requested. He knew that Bane was not asking for him to analyze it from a strategic standpoint, but that was his mind's immediate, well-trained inclination. So he forced his mind to realign itself, analyze in a more... general fashion.

"Well, obviously, it did not go as we had intended," he began, his tone now thoughtful and analytical. That statement was true, but no mission, in his experience, ever went completely according to plan. That statement was also, he knew, excruciatingly obvious, but it gave him a place to start. "In fact, it did quite the opposite. It spiraled out of control far too fast. Even with all of my training, I couldn't keep up with the problems." When a whole planet loses its collective mind, there just aren't enough security personnel to stop it from tearing itself apart. They both knew that. "All of it stemmed from one initial problem which might have been avoided." He was not placing blame or judging, merely analyzing as he was asked to.

"This is a case of causality. One event leads to another, which leads to a third, and each one is bigger than the one before it." He sighed softly, setting the mug down on his knee, still held in one hand. "That is only my analysis, though. How I feel about it is more... complicated," he admitted. "Is that what you are asking me for? How I feel about it?"

Plase smiled. "It was not. But, since you have brought it up, I would like to hear how you felt about it, too." Bane was enjoying the purr, but it stopped suddenly. Bane knew why.

Well, you walked your furry ass into that one! Maralen took a breath and let it out slowly as he formulated his answer. Being asked how he felt about an assignment was something he'd had to get used to with Starfleet. The Realm had only cared about how he felt about assignments during the early days when they had been teaching him the Cold Precision. Once they had moved him out of that area, they had asked him for his analysis of things. And then there had been the Singers who cared how he felt only in so far as it served their needs. Starfleet had been a massive change, therefore.

There were moments when he still was not used to being asked how he felt about an assignment, like now. Therefore, it took him a few moments to put his thoughts together. "I feel... sad for the Antiochians. I feel angry at myself for not being able to strategize a way to protect more of them from the madness that such situations cause. I am conflicted on the subject of guilt or responsibility if you prefer that word. To me, they are different things, and I can't help but feel the latter. The former, however... I try not to take on what is not mine to carry." He studied Bane for a moment, knowing that commanding officers tended to take on guilt that was not theirs to bear because they were in command. "It is not yours to carry either, sir, if I may be so bold," he offered "In truth, there is no one really to blame. Accidents can happen even to the most vigilant of people."

He paused to think again. "But I have to say that I am also saddened that we cannot go back to that world and make amends somehow. In a way, that bridge has been burned because a mistake was made, and that is very sad."

The Captain nodded, pleased with the answer. The Ledaran was showing sympathy, something every command-level officer needed to show. He was also showing responsibility by acknowledging two points, that he couldn't do more on the planet, and how very sad it was to leave the planet and never be able to return. With some training and coaching, Seitha would one day make a fine Captain. He circled back, leaving what was said to hang out there, as it should. It was a lesson each of them needed to learn again, and again. "The unusual circumstances I alluded to a moment ago, I generally do not invite people over to my quarters. You can count on one hand...er...paw?...how many people I've had in here. You can count yourself among them, now. Lieutenant Commander Larsen, and then independently, Lieutenant Commander Bast, mentioned you. Larsen did so about a month ago; Bast only tonight. Both of them seem to think you have a quality about you that is desirable for command-grade ranks and positions within Starfleet. Is that something you are interested in, or are you content with your station and career where they are now?"

Maralen indeed did feel honored to be among the Chosen Few, and he gave a bow of the head when Bane stated that, a gesture of respect and of acknowledgment. Larsen and Bast had both mentioned him independently of one another? That was high praise indeed. Still... The question made him pause, but he gave nothing away in his expression, years of training helping him to keep his expression showing only the Calm. Inside, however, was a different matter.

He recognized the question for what it was, a test. It was not a pass or fail test, but merely a test of who he was and who he desired to be. Tests were something he was very familiar with, and so it did not bother him. It only made him think before answering.

"I am honored, both by your inviting me here and by their praise of me," he began. "I am content with my place, but not satisfied. If one becomes satisfied with where they are, then they do not progress in life. But being content with your station is necessary for happiness." He was not lecturing the captain, merely stating his own belief on the subject and thereby informing Bane as to why he used the language he did when answering the question. "So to answer your question, I am indeed interested in command positions, sir."

Bane leaned forward. "Good, excellent. Both of the Commanders believed you to be someone they, and therefore I, could count on. Despite the insurmountable odds you faced on the planet, you never gave up. You kept working the problems and turning them into opportunities. That is the type of officer I need to surround myself with. You have the admiration and respect of the whole crew, myself included. Lieutenant Seitha, as of this moment, you are now the Second Officer of this ship. Congratulations, Lieutenant."

For a long moment, Maralen said nothing nor did he move. Not so much as a blink. In some ways, he was surprised as he had not been with this crew terribly long. Then again, Starfleet was not as difficult to please as the Realm had been. And as for what the captain had said about his actions on the planet, Maralen had, to his way of thinking, only done as a) his training demanded and b) any other officer of caliber would do.

He was pleased, though. Whereas the Realm had promised rewards, but he never saw those rewards, Starfleet did reward good performance, and this was an example of such. But this type of reward also came with greater responsibility. He did not mind this, though.

"Again, I am honored, Captain," he began, the truth of those words reflected in his tone and eyes. "I thank you for this promotion and accept it with grace and a promise to always give you, this crew, and Starfleet the best of my skills, knowledge, and abilities."

Plase was pleased. For a moment there, Bane didn't really know what to expect, what with the long stare and the silence. "Good, excellent. Computer," he said, never taking his eyes off Maralen. "Enter into the record that Lieutenant Maralen Seitha, Chief of Security, is now hereby recognized as Second Officer of the U.S.S. Cygnus."

"Confirmed. Lieutenant Maralen Seitha is now Chief of Security and Second Officer," the computer responded.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant. I know we will continue to expect amazing and wonderful things from you."

"Thank you, sir," Maralen responded, allowing himself a smile and a sip of his tea. He then returned the mug to his knee. He paused for a moment, considering. His experience, however, did not give him any answers this time, so he asked, "So, what happens now, sir?" Was he supposed to leave now or was there more to be done before that?

Bane thought for a brief moment. He could dismiss the Lieutenant. He could set him about a task to help build his command potential. He could also send him to take over Bridge duty for command experience. In the end, he decided, "Now we just talk. Get to know each other a bit more."

OFF:

A Post By:

Captain Bane Plase
Commanding Officer
USS Cygnus

&

Lieutenant Maralen Seitha
Chief Security Officer / Second Officer
USS Cygnus

 

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