Dress Down Time

Posted on 29 Jun 2024 @ 11:49am by Lieutenant JG Lisald Vaat & Lieutenant JG Christina Hartley

1,593 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Stranded
Timeline: Before "Tugboat"

Sitting in her office, Christina was waiting for Lisald Vaat's arrival. She wasn't looking forward to this meeting, but it was going to be important, especially with what had happened on the damned freighter.

For Lisald, it had been a while since he had been to Engineering. Last time he was down here, he had been Chief of Operations of the Cygnus, and was working towards his Engineering distance learning program. Since dropping from the command path, and resigning his position as Chief of Operations and going back to Science, there had been no need for him down here in the bowels of the ship. He rounded the bend, made a sharp right turn, and found himself in Engineering. A few steps and a turn later, and he was at Lieutenant Hartley's office. From her vantage point, she could see him coming, and could look out over all of Main Engineering, and to the vital warp core, from her chair. "Hey Chris, what's up?" he asked, cheerfully. Inside though, he was anxious and nervous, very much expecting to get an earful from her.

Christina looked at him. "Oh, not much. Been given awards for engineering excellence, got two months to fix this ship, and, oh yes, we need to talk about how you nearly killed all of us because you weren't thinking clearly," Christina said. "Wanna tell me what was going through your mind when you were working on the freighter?"

He was pleased, and it showed on his face, when she had announced they were getting awarded for engineering excellence, though he didn't know exactly what that meant. Was it for the work they had been doing to the ship prior to this mission, or something else? If he were going to ask the question, it escaped him as soon as her tone changed. He rubbed the back of his neck and sat down. "Yeah, about that. I was thinking about Jin'Tok and the people on Antioch III. I had been focused on the work, naturally, but soon I got into muscle memory and was just going through the motions. I didn't notice the security protocol, then I couldn't figure out how to shut it down."

"Yeah. That's pretty damned clear. Now, first of all, I haven't reported this to anyone. As far as anyone will ever know, the system was that screwed up that it decided to go into self destruct mode, which is why I've got a team aboard the freighter right now erasing and then rebuilding everything on that ship so no one can make that mistake again," Christina said, standing up.

The Bajoran visibly relaxed. "Thank you, seriously. Captain Bane already doesn't like me....ope," he said, covering his mouth. He had gone too far. "Sorry, I know he is your Uncle or something. I'm sorry. What I mean to say is," he started again, in damage control, "Is that I cannot seem to make any headway with the Captain. I figured since we were both Bajoran, he would be a mentor of mine. Anyways, thank you for not saying anything. Ever since Commander Larsen got reassigned and Spangler left the ship, I've felt really....exposed? I don't know. Still, thank you for keeping it to yourself."

"Yeah, well, you're not off the hook yet," Christina said. "Only reason I'm not letting them dress you down is that I get it. Do you know how everything went wrong on Antioch? What caused the plague or even what it was?" Christina asked.

"Yes," Lisald said, sitting back in the chair, "I know it was a technical glitch, a medical failure and a command gaffe, all rolled into one. It was several small mistakes leading to a larger.....ohhh...," he said, trailing off. "I see where you are going with this."

"Yeah. It started off with me. If I had taken the time to check the systems, the bio filters wouldn't have screwed up, and that I have to live with. The sad thing about me is that what happened on Antioch isn't the worst thing I've done. You remember the Borg attack on Federation Day? I was there, and I was assimilated, and I killed people," Christina said softly, before taking a sip of her juice.

"I'm not telling you this to compare difficulties, or screw ups. Believe me, I've done worse than you ever will. And nothing anyone can say will ever absolve me of my guilt. But when I'm here, I have to be here and focus on the job, because if I don't, then what happened before could happen again," Christina explained.

"But the one thing you need to know is that I'm not here to punish you. You'll do that better than anyone ever can, because you'll remember what happened. But I want you to use this as a lesson, a reminder of what not to do, and why we need to be focused on what we're doing," Christina finished.

Lisald had heard about what had happened at Starbase One. The Cygnus had been in unexplored territory at the time, and was unable to attend the event. Thankfully, they had been able to purge the system of the offending program after the events of that day. "I will be kicking my own ass pretty hard. Again, I really do appreciate you not saying anything, or having it reported up the chain of command. There is no way Commander Bast or Captain Bane will know what happened if you or I don't say anything. Though, now that I think about it, that does seem a little....lacking in integrity, doesn't it?"

"I prefer to think of it as more of a learning opportunity instead of needing a punishment detail," Christina said. "As for integrity, I think it's also more... down to our own point of view. Many of the truths we cling to in life depend greatly on our point of view, and as such, my view is that we don't know if you were responsible, or if the system was just shit, and believe me, that computer system was a load of crap."

The Bajoran scientist smiled at her, but it did not reach his eyes. He was not sure he bought into her idea of integrity, but he kept his mouth shut. His desire to not let the Captain down any further than he had already was greater than his moral compass right now. "Thank you again, Christina. I really appreciate it. And yes, I sure will take this as a learning opportunity, and will absolutely improve upon my actions."

Christina nodded. "You'll make mistakes, don't get me wrong. But when we do, we need to learn from them," Christina said. "Just remember, when you're looking into computer systems, be careful, keep your focus in the present, and if you find yourself struggling, and I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but speak to Counselor Morak. She might be able to guide you," Christina said.

Lisald already had a long history with the Counselor, after his brush with death after he was wounded during the engagement with the Crystalline Entity. "Good advice. I know all this, naturally, but I tell you, it is good to hear it again. And again, if necessary. Thank you, again, for your help, your concern, and your compassion and caring about me. It is not lost on me what you are doing, and why."

"You're not alone, Vaat," Christina said kindly, using the man's first name. "That's why we're a crew here. And if you need any help, I'm here, my wife is always around if you need medical help, and talking does help, believe me," Christina smiled at him.

Lisald smiled again, relieved he was starting to have a support and friend network again here on the Cygnus. It had been a long time. "Thank you. And you two absolutely have a friend in me, too. Any time either of you need anything, I'm there for you. Need someone to bore you to death about the intricacies of anthropological minutia? I got you covered," he said, smiling playfully.

"Oh, I'll likely take you up on that, purely because K'tress, our daughter, already loves studying the sciences," Christina said, with a small chuckle.

"I remember how inquisitive she was with everyone when we had that dinner in your quarters last year. I'd like that, a lot. Anyways, I think I've taken up enough of your time, and I am due back on the bridge. We are about to put a tractor on that freighter and get headed back to Deep Space 9." He stood.

Christina nodded. "Yeah, I need to oversee that. When we're back to DS9, you should come and join us for dinner," Christina offered.

"Deal," Lisald said, smiling big. "See you at Fat Alice's later? I'm hearing there is going to be karaoke. Should be fun. I've already signed up to do that new song by Cremeanolte."

"Unfortunately, I'm already spoken for, but I'll see if I can get Kin there and if we can find a babysitter," Christina returned the smile.

Lisald nodded. "Sounds good. Have a good day." Lisald turned and left, heading for the bridge. He was buoyed by the conversation, but by the time he got to the bridge, and with the glares he was getting from Lieutenant Commander Bast, his mood had soured yet again.

OFF

Lieutenant junior grade Christina Hartley
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Cygnus

and

Lieutenant junior grade Lisald Vaat
Chief Science Officer
USS Cygnus

 

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