" Appreciation "
(Previous Post was Mark's "Rocking The Boat")
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Rikar / Draxx's Quarters
The young woman sat cross-legged on the couch as she watched her adoptive daughter play in the middle of the living room. As the senior-most officer of the USS ANUBIS it had been her duty and responsibility to take care of the crew, of the ship and the preparations for their upcoming mission… luckily though their next mission would not take place onboard the ANUBIS.
The SCARAB-Class Intel Cruiser had suffered extensive damage during its last mission, so it made sense that the ship would need some time to be brought back to full operational status. In the meantime though, the senior staff of the ANUBIS had been given another mission, that of giving the USS HATHOR its shakedown cruise. The best part of this new mission… at least as far as Rikar had been concerned… had been that she had nothing to do other than to keep a general idea of what was happening since the young woman had not been placed in charge, or in command for that matter, of this new mission.
Admiral Charles Koniki, the head of the NEW ALEXANDRIA complex, had decided to hit 2 birds with 1 stone by giving the ANUBIS' ExO, Lt. Cmdr. Serenna, her first chance at an actual command situation with the Shillian CSciO as her First Officer. Captain Rikar would have been happy to stay behind with her daughter and watch from a distance, but she had been convinced by her former CO, now the base's Strategic Operations Officer, that the mission would be a simple trek around the stars and that both her daughter and herself could be onboard the HATHOR without any concerns. The truth of the matter had been that James Simmons had wanted to have an experienced command level officer onboard… but the young woman had still accepted to tag along.
While Talia was having fun trying to make heads-or-tails of a molecule construction set given to her by the CSciO of the ANUBIS, the redheaded woman casually reviewed the official logs which dealt with the HATHOR and its preparations. Rikar carefully read every line displayed on her PADD until she reached a section dealing with the ship's Engineering section and more precisely the performance of the aCEO, Lt. David Dawson. Without thinking the young woman thumbed through the section without giving it a second glance, stopping only after she had reached the bottom.
**I'm only an observer… and as such I should not leave any possible problem unchecked.** The young woman silently reminded herself before forcing herself to go back through the section of text that she had just dismissed. Before Rikar could begin reading the section that she had jumped over, a beep from her communication station drew her attention away from the PADD that had been in her hands. After having made sure that Talia had still been enthralled by the Shillian's latest gift, the redheaded woman made her way to the desk where the computer consol had been located.
[/\] Sorry to disturb you Captain, but Admiral Koniki instructed me to let you know that Ensign Carft Kea has been assigned to your ship and is on final approach to NEW ALEXANDRIA, and that he has been instructed by his pilot, Lt. Onasie to report to you following his arrival. [/\] Lt. Cmdr. Argus O’Dell, one of NEW ALEXANDRIA's Operations Officers explained, obviously wanting to give the young woman a head's up before the arrival of the new Ensign.
"Thank you Commander… guess I'd better report to the bridge and greet him properly." Rikar replied with a genuine smile which was quickly echoed by the Irish man before he closed the channel.
The young woman glanced at her daughter and sighed… duty it seemed would never allow her, or anyone for that matter, to have the time they needed to enjoy the simpler things in life. With a motion of her head to Floater, the small disk-shaped droid that had been requested by Enaii to help with the safeguard of Talia, the robot jumped into action allowing the CO of the USS ANUBIS to leave and take care of the responsibilities that were still hers by definition.
"I'll be right back Talia, mommy has to take care of some business." The young woman announced, not at all hurt by the realisation that the child had been too preoccupied by her new toy to have even heard the words of her adoptive mother.
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The young woman stepped onto the deserted bridge, finding the sight of every single station being vacant slightly unnerving. Normally the ship bustled with activity, but since the ANUBIS had been docked for repairs the level of activity had drastically declined… something that Rikar actually did not mind all that much as it had given her more freedom to spend time with Talia.
[/\] This is Lieutenant Onasie and Ensign Carft Kea to USS ANUBIS, [/\] the voice of the shuttlecraft pilot was heard saying as the communication channel opened and displayed the inside of the small spacecraft.
"Ah, Lieutenant Onasie and you must be Carft Kea?" The CO of the ANUBIS inquired, easily deducing that the Ensign not piloting the shuttle had been the new officer assigned to the ANUBIS.
Carft nodded his head and sad, [/\] Yes Captain.[/\]
[/\] Captain we request permission to land,[/\] Lt. Onasie asked immediately after prompting the young woman to check on her controls to make sure that the ANUBIS had been ready to have the shuttle come onboard.
"Permission granted." Rikar replied after having confirmed that the Specialized craft storage area located on Deck 29 had been ready to receive the small craft.
Since the young woman had been the only one on the bridge, she relied on her former experience as Ops Officer to insure that the shuttle had safely arrived onboard and that all systems had been secured before the 2 men disembarked. The last thing the CO needed had been to have 2 Officers including a new recruit to be blown into the vacuum of the docking area because the doors had not been properly closed and secured.
Happy to see that everything had gone exactly as it should have, the young woman leaned back into her chair and waited for Ensign Kea to report to her as he had been instructed.
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The young woman sitting alone on the bridge began to wonder as to where this new Ensign had vanished to… the file provided by Admiral Koniki concerning the new officer had been extensive but not all that lengthy. When she had reported to her first posting as Ensign, Rikar could clearly remember having rushed to the bridge to meet her new CO. Apparently Ensign Kea had not the same priorities… not that this had been such a bad thing. As annoyed by the delay as she might have been, the redheaded woman decided not to hold it against the ANUBIS' new officer thinking that he certainly deserved a chance to prove himself first.
When the doors of the turbolift whooshed open the young woman jumped to
her feet and was more than happy to see the Ensign in question stepping out
of the turbolift and onto the bridge of her ship.
"Ensign Kea, welcome onboard the USS ANUBIS. Admiral Koniki has
already informed me of your transfer." The redheaded woman stated recognizing the nervousness in the young man's eyes for what it had been. It had not been that long ago when she had been in his shoes as an Ensign feeling somewhat disarmed by standing face-to-face with not only a Captain… but also her new Commanding Officer.
"Yes captain," Carft answered has he openly displayed his nervousness
"Would you like to follow me?" The Captain inquired as she invited the
man to follow her into her Ready Room. Although the bridge had been
completely deserted, the young woman still felt more comfortable continuing this conversation within the familiarity of her office.
As she stepped into her officer followed by the new Ensign, the young woman glanced over her shoulder and tried to come up with a way to make Kea feel a little less nervous. Luckily for the redheaded woman her experience as a Starfleet Officer also included having been a Counsellor at one point in her career.
(Taken directly from Martin's post)
"As you have likely noticed the ship is being repaired following our last mission. This does not mean that we have nothing to do, the senior staff has been asked to give the USS HATHOR its shakedown cruise, and you have been given the responsibility of manning the Operations Station Operation. I hope that this will not be a problem for you?"
The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds before Captain
Rikar continued. "Would you like to get to work right away?" she asked.
"Yes captain," Kea replied and smiled.
(Back to mine)
Pleased to see the enthusiasm normally associated with new officers, the young woman gave Ensign Kea the directions to follow to disembark from the ANUBIS and make his way onboard the HATHOR where he would not only serve as Ops Officer but also learn to interact with the rest of the ANUBIS' Senior Staff.
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"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the
Darkness and the Light" 2005 post #512
Stardate: 60329.1045
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 60329.1110
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 60329.1130
Sabrina Jones {sabrina_sweet@hotmail.com}
Captain Sabrina Rikar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
