From: rneces@mastnet.net (Lynnaea AelCaymarth) Date: Sun, 9 Mar 1997 20:25:04 -0600 (CST) Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Debriefings
SD 90308.2120
MD 02.2000
Scene: CSO's Office
____________________
The door to her office chimed, and Ensign Keyrin replied, "Come."
It was a hesitant-as-always Dana Bancroft who walked through her door. She
halted right inside the entrace, uncertain as to what to do next.
"Ah, Petty Officer Bancroft... thank you for your prompt appearance.
Please, have a seat." Her demeanor was unshakably professional.
*What now?* thought Dana. *I've never seen her like this... she's
so... formal and calm. Why can't she be one way, all the time???!*
Dana seated herself before Keyrin's desk, sitting rigidly in her
chair, hands in her lap. Keyrin steepled her fingers and fixed her
unwavering gaze upon Bancroft. "Now, Officer Bancroft, how would you rate
your performance during the drill?"
"Well... I... " the young woman sagged. "Not very good."
"How so?"
"Well... I was late to the scene, and... when I got there I didn't
know what to do. So I didn't do anything."
"Are you proud of your conduct so far aboard the CHESAPEAKE,
Officer?" Aelyria allowed the slightest amount of steel to grate into her
voice.
"No."
Keyrin couldn't believe it. The young woman was on the verge of
tears. Crying, in front of a commanding officer. She shook her head --
such a thing would be unthinkable to her. She thought for a moment... this
was not the response she had predicted.
"Computer. Iced tea, please."
She took the drink from the replicator bay and gently put Dana's
hands around it. Her voice softened somewhat. "Dana, look. My job as your
commanding officer is to make sure everything is running smoothly... both
with you, and with the department as a whole. If there ever *is* an
emergency, I want to be sure you know what to do. I didn't call you in here
just to rag on you, or cut you down, or give you a hard time. That's not
what I do... I'm just trying to get you to see that you can't continue like
this. Am I making any sense?"
Dana nodded, her eyes downcast.
"Now. Ensign Martiljohni tells me your phaser accuracy levels are
substandard." *To say the least...* "And that you consistently are the
first one down in holodeck training scenarios."
At that, Dana winced.
"You're miserable, aren't you?" The question was soft and
understanding.
"Y--yess!" The young woman completely broke down.
"Ye gods, girl, why are you in Starfleet, then?"
"Be.. because my father was an officer..."
"Oh, puleeze," Keyrin snorted. "That's a horrible reason to be
here."
"I know."
"Here... " Aelyria handed the girl some tissues. "Dana, look. It
was a mistake for you to get into Starfleet. But you're here and you might
as well make the best of it. And quite frankly, you're not going to survive
very long if you continue like this. So, I'm going to cut you a deal.
"You're not leaving this ship or this department until you're able
to take care of yourself. I'm going to have Ensign Martiljohni run you
through holodeck until you ace every single program. CPO Mayberry will take
you under his wing and have you sharpshooting with that phaser in no time.
Do you promise me that if I do this for you, you'll actually work at it?"
"Yes, sir!" The PO3 actually perked at this. "I swear."
"Good deal, then. Dismissed!"
Dana Bancroft got up to leave, and as she reached the door, turned,
and said, "Sir... no one's ever offered this to me before. I promise I'll
get better. I *won't* be a liability to this department."
Aelyria gave her a warm smile. "That's what I'm aiming for,
Officer. I'll have Ensign Martiljohni contact you tomorrow morning first
thing, and you two can get underway."
Five minutes later, the door chimed again. "Come."
This time, it was Ensign Damien Martiljohni. "Have a seat, Ensign."
The Ensign gave her a healthy glare. "You know, some of us did not
find that drill very amusing."
"Good. You weren't supposed to." Aelyria calmly tapped out a few
notes on her PADD.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed traumatizing us all into thinking you
were seriously hurt. I'm *glad* you thought it funny to throw us all into
chaos for the sake of your little *drill*... "
"That's quite enough!" Keyrin snapped.
"I-"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH." Aelyria slammed her PADD off to the side. "Did
you think I did it for kicks, Damien? Did you think I *liked* going to all
the trouble it took to set that up? Did you think I *enjoyed* worrying you
all? WHAT IN HELL DO YOU THINK I AM, some sort of sadistic whip-cracking
dominatrix??! Jesus Christ, Ensign, I was trying to make a point! One you
obviously missed."
The Ensign paled, realizing too late that his anger had carried him
over the line. Unconsciously, he sunk down in his seat, trying to make a
smaller target for the CSO's wrath.
Aelyria stalked around her desk to lower her face until it was
inches from his. "Furthermore, I expect more respect from my officers, or
you may find yourself working the graveyard shift and loaded down with
enough PADDwork to kill a Klingon for the next six years. Have I made
myself *clear*, Ensign?"
"Perfectly."
"Perfectly what?"
"Perfectly, *sir.*"
"That's better. NOW... As I was saying... your performance during
the drill was adequate but I thought I'd better inform you that it would be
wise to keep more wits about you next time around. Furthermore, you'll be
working closely with Petty Officer Bancroft over the next few weeks. You
are to ensure that she is on a par with everyone else in this department as
far as survival, combat, and phaser skills are concerned. If she isn't,
you're not done with her. Understood, Ensign?"
"Yes, sir."
"Contact her and set up an appointment first thing tomorrow morning.
Dismissed."
Aelyria was barely able to calm down in time for the arrival of
Lieutenants Stewart and D'varen, both of whom Keyrin commended for their
efficiency and decisiveness. CPO Mayberry was also given a commendation for
his unique approach in utilizing his computer skills for the benefit of the
department.
Finally came Dannon Torr. As he walked through the door, Aelyria
took a deep breath. She could see the emotions in his eyes -- some anger,
frustration, curiosity, uncertainty.
"Please sit down, Mr. Torr."
There was a slight pause as both of them considered how to begin.
Dannon spoke first. "How did you rig it?"
"The explosion? I used a small ball containing plastic explosives
and gunpowder in very small amounts. Damien and Cassandra were too busy
talking to me to notice when I took it out and threw it against the floor.
The blood was replicated and stored in an easily breakable leather pouch and
concealed in my pants leg. And the wound itself was generated by a portable
holoprojector."
The assistant CSO shook his head. "Where on earth do you learn
stuff like this, Keyrin?"
She threw him a lopsided grin and leaned back in her seat, growing
more relaxed. "It's amazing what you learn in the martial arts. The rest
is sheer creativity."
"Scary."
"I was sorry to pull it on you, Dannon. I trust you, but I wanted
to make sure you were prepared. You were. Thank you."
He sighed forcefully and nodded, running his large, calloused hands
through his graying hair. "Just doing my duty, sir."
"And you do it too well. It's nice to have a competent assistant.
With that out of the way," she continued, "The next drill we're running is
the one we devised involving the computer systems. I'll run it in the wee
hours of the morning to see how people function with sleep still fogging
their minds. Mayberry should be particularly affected."
"Aye, sir. Will you take care of the final preparations, or shall I?"
"I'll see to them, thanks. You go on and get some rest."
Dannon stood and headed for the door, but before he left, he turned
to her and asked, "Sir?...
...Don't work too hard, please?"
She smiled, the first genuine one she'd given in a long time.
"Promise."
_____________________
NRPG:
Next up -- Drill #2 in the exciting annals of CHESAPEAKE SECURITY... (oooooh!!!)
Re: Dana Bancroft. In her original conception she's far too similar to
Heidi Abramowitz, and James and Melvin are doing an excellent job with her.
Therefore, I'm now carrying her more in a direction of
lost-needs-to-be-taken-under-wing-insecure type NPC. I'll probably revise
her biofile accordingly.
James: After the sickbay post shall come one to the Counselor Tats-Marush.
Prepare thyself for battle, oh worthy opponent.. *wink*
(Yes, I'm in a melodramatic mood...)
Respectfully submitted,
Lynnaea AelCaymarth, aka
Ensign Aelyria Keyrin - CSO, USS CHESAPEAKE
http://www.oocities.org/SoHo/2878/
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