From: Gershon <jrbowman@london2.skn.net>
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 12:56:36 -0500
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: My Green Shadow
MD 7.1200
"Lieutenant Murray." He cleared his throat. "We'll see her
fitrep sometime tomorrow?"
"Yes, sir. Our appointment is for this afternoon -- 1400 hours."
"You have already seen her in your capacity as Ship's Counselor,"
he said, looking directly into her eyes. "What is your impression
of Mister Murray?" He paused. "Off the record -- and I certainly
do not want to hear the details of your sessions. But, I do need
to know how we can count on her to lead the Sciences."
***********************
This wasn't expected at all. It had thrown the Counselor for a loop to
be talking about mining strategy one moment and the Science Officer the
next. LT Murray was such a complex woman and any twenty-five word answer
could never capture the truth about the troubled SCI.
"Sir...as for her leadership abilities, I know that she can lead the
Science Department. Those in Sciences might not *respect* her leadership...
but they will follow the orders she gives. There's no control problem
there.
"Sometimes, however, the Lieutenant causes more problems than she solves.
She causes personality conflicts in her attempts to micromanage the
department. She's like so many other officers on this ship. I'm not naming
names, Sir, but they all want to be in total and complete control of their
environment and LT Murray is the worst case of that.
"Lieutenant Murray needs to learn how to delegate authority and trust other
people to make appropriate judgments."
Brennan nodded. "And what would be your opinion of the Science Officer on
an away team?"
Hesitantly, Stavay replied, "Sir, it might not be a good idea. On an
Away Team mission, the *last* thing you can control is the environment.
I would keep her on the CHESAPEAKE."
The Executive Officer had been wondering about an appropriate meeting place
for both parties to the mining dispute. If the Science Officer *couldn't*
be there.... "Have you told the Captain your conclusions?"
"Yes, Sir. As a matter of fact, Sir, I told the captain that the upcoming
mission should be canceled. There are several senior officers whom I regard
as emotionally unstable."
"And what did the captain say about that?"
Stavay turned to leave. "She threw me out of the office, Sir."
"I see." Brennan didn't know how to answer that one. "You'll have my fitness
report, then?"
"On your desk, Sir, sometime after noon."
"All right. But *not* after 1600."
Taking a chance, Stavay answered, "I can make that promise, Sir...if you
promise to attend Poker Night."
"Well...you know that the Corellian situation is a complicated one. I can't
promise that. But I'll see what I can do...."
***************************************************************
MD 7.1345
Turbolift "120"
Stavay leaned against the back of the turbolift. This was going to be
a fun day. There was only one way she felt she could really evaluate
LT Murray for command fitness, and that was by direct observation.
Of course, LT Murray will love me following her around for Beta Shift.
She'll also love the next suggestion I'll make after that, Stavay thought
to herself.
As the turbolift descended, Stavay heard a strange whine in her ears,
almost sounding like an echo. She looked around the turbolift, and
concluded that it must have been decompression, or a change in the atmospheric
pressure. Reminding herself to buy some "chewing gum", she left the
turbolift.
*****************************************************************
MD 7.1400
Deck 6
Stavay walked the hallways looking for LT Murray's room. The computer
replied, <LT Anne Murray is currently in her quarters.> Eating alone?,
wondered the Counselor.
Stavay walked in a straight line "looking without looking". The males
of the ship gave her an appreciative glance, and were more willing to
nod in passing than the females, who simply walked on by. Stavay didn't
expect everyone she passed in the hallway to say "hello". The enlisted
men gave her the nods that anyone wearing a couple on pips on the collar
could expect.
She imagined herself wearing a cloak. All these strange "kilata" walking
around, the "quilted ones" in their multiple colors. There wasn't a
single green face among them. Most of them were from Terra or the associated
worlds, and they all had that same skin tone -- a dull, washed out peach or
pink as opposed to healthy, vibrant, green. You've become a "kila", thought
Stavay. A part of the Federation quilt, the color of your skin lost in
so many other colors. "Quilts". That was what they were called on
Shrevashal. There were so many jokes she could tell that would be lost in
translation.
Stavay wanted to be among her own people. But at the same time, she never
wanted to return to Shrevashal. She was an alien. Forever.
And now, an alien was going to tell LT Anne Murray how to be a proper Starfleet
officer.
Stavay chimed the door and LT Anne Murray answered. "Ah, yes. I see you're
here for the evaluation." The SCI regained her composure, becoming more
Vulcan by the second. "Perhaps you'd like to return to your office?"
"Actually...no. We're going to treat this fitrep evaluation as if it were
a leadership evaluation. For the next 24 hours, I'm going to follow you
around the ship and see how you interact with your fellow crewmen."
An eyebrow shot up. "On a professional...or social level?"
"Both."
Murray's impression of Ambassador Spock gave way to visible anxiety. "I'm
not a very social person, Counselor." The SCI didn't budge from where she
was standing.
Finally, the Counselor said, "Well, if you think you can run the Science
Department from your room on Deck 6, go ahead." Stavay could see Anne's
mental wheels turning.
Anne sighed. "Well, if you're going to play shadow, let's go. Just try not
to say anything, okay? Oh...and incidentally, Counselor, you know I've been
temporarily relieved of my SCI position."
"Well," muttered the Counselor, "go back to work in an *advisory* function,
then."
Murray turned to the Counselor and gave a wicked grin. *Uh oh*, thought
the Counselor....
******************************************
Biology Lab
Deck 7
MD 7.1430
The arrival of the Counselor in the Science Laboratories electrified the
Department. Several questions immediately came to mind, number one of
which was "what was she doing down here?"
The only answer anyone could come up with was that Murray was in some
deep kind of trouble that required constant observation. A twenty-four
hour suicide watch?, someone suggested. Ridiculous, was the answer.
Murray was far too "logical" to consider such a thing, one of the Vulcans
replied, and besides, there were better ways of maintaining a watch.
So if Murray wasn't under observation...what was it?
"Good evening, Counselor", "Hello, Counselor", "Can we get you something
to drink?" were among the many variations of greeting Stavay heard, all
from males in the department, each dreaming of ways to establish closer
social contact with the Orion woman. Anne seemed quite irritated at all
the attention Stavay was attracting.
LTJG Derek Fielding arrived. "Counselor, welcome to the Science Department."
"Thank you," answered Stavay.
"Might I ask, Counselor, exactly *why* it is that you're here?"
"It's very simple. I'm doing a random personnel evaluation of the Chief
Science Officer." Fielding nodded as the other scientists in the room did
a great job of pretending not to be listening to every word. "There are
several officers on board this vessel...and they'll all get a visit from
me, sooner or later."
"Well, Counselor, I hope we measure up to your standards," answered Fielding.
"But...Mr. Tats-Marush...there's a...." Fielding was trying to find an
appropriate way to say that Murray had been temporarily removed. Maybe the
Counselor didn't *know*....
"Lieutenant Fielding," replied Murray with a smile. "You understand that I
am here only in an *advisory* position to the department. On the other
hand, I'd hate to think that you impeded the Counselor's evaluation.
Perhaps, you'd rather I took over the reigns during Beta shift."
Fielding looked at Murray and at Tats-Marush. *Was this some kind of
psychological exam that Murray had created with Tats-Marush? No...the
Counselor isn't that devious, from what I've heard*, thought Fielding.
*And if this *is* an evaluation, maybe the Counselor will get to see
close up what the Science Department has had to deal with over the last
few days.*
"I'm always at your disposal, Lieutenant," answered Fielding. *If she
destroys the department, she and the Counselor can take the heat.*
"Good," answered Murray. "Now, those personnel records you were talking
about...."
*****************************************************************************
MD 7.1700
Officer's Mess
Murray and Tats-Marush sat alone at a table. Normally, Murray never ate in
the Officer's Mess, but it was important that the Counselor saw that she
could "mingle", whatever that meant. In the Officer's Mess, you could give
the impression of being social without actually having to say hello to
anyone.
"Might I ask why you've brought all these PADDs with you?" Stavay indicated
that fact that Anne's meal was surrounded by five PADD's, each programmed to
slowly scroll down line by line.
"Paperwork," answered Anne with a smile.
"Sir, you know you have *department secretaries for paperwork*. Barring that,
you could do the paperwork in your office."
"Well," replied Anne, "I'd rather work hands-on with my staff that push PADDs
all day. I'm always doing something or other with the staff. Examinations,
seminars, the like."
"Do they appreciate what they do for you?"
Anne continued to sip her plomeek soup. "They pass the examinations. However,
they fail to perform up to my standards in spite of the passing grade."
Stavay was interested. "Are these *hard* examinations?"
"Well...yes and no. You have to memorize the pertinent information. On the
other hand, I go over the procedures in painstaking detail. There's no reason
for them to fail."
"Actually, there are sixteen reasons," answered the Counselor.
Anne looked up. "Sixteen reasons?"
"Yes. Most failures of a staff to execute orders can be traced down to thirteen
reasons. And despite your illustrating it to them, they still might not
know how to do it."
"How could that be? I just *showed* them how to do it!"
"Yes, but without practice, they'll forget what they have learned rather
quickly. Another reason things don't go right is because they might have
simply decided their way is better."
Grumbling, Anne answered, "And they go ahead and do it their way, anyway,
**in spite** of what I tell them to do!"
"True. The power of being in an effective leader is in doing what is right
even when *you're* not there to supervise them. Oh, they'll do it the
right way as long as you're looking over their shoulder. The second you
leave, however, they'll go back to their own ways."
"No wonder they seem to be stumbling over each other. Fifty different people
doing something fifty different ways."
Stavay chewed on a celery stalk. "Well, at least they're thinking for
themselves. They're trying to be innovative. Of course, there is good
innovation and bad innovation, but that's beside the point. The point
is that the burden of proof is on **you**, as a leader, to convince them
that *their* way of doing it is not as good as *your* way of doing it.
You have to 'sell, not tell'. Think of it as selling a product."
"And if after all my efforts and explanations and 'good salesmanship'...what
if they *still* don't do it?"
"You look for the other reasons. And if all other options have been
covered, then you use your authority as a leader and tell them that it *must*
be done your way."
"Counselor, that doesn't sound like leadership to me."
"Well...just remember rule one of leadership. 'There is a direct cause-and-
effect relationship between *your* actions, and *their* performance.'"
Anne smiled. "Well, I don't know if I'm going to get much of chance to put
these new lessons in effect between now and 2300...."
"Actually, Sir, you'll probably be leaving the Department at about 2000
hours."
Anne looked up. "Why?"
"LT Murray...have you ever heard of a game called 'Poker'?"
**********************************************************************
Respectfully submitted,
James Bowman
LTJG Stavay Tats-Marush
COUNS, USS CHESAPEAKE
jrbowman@london2.skn.net AND JBowman489@aol.com
All: Thought I was dead, didn't you? You have all been invited to
Poker Night, by the way. Poker Night is a shipwide celebration beginning
about about 2000 hours and lasting into the wee hours of the night.
Fabian and Melvin will be there, just because I want to write some
more for their characters. Any other takers?
Amy: Glad to see you back, waiting for Part II.
Takako: Stavay is working on the Fitrep.
Melvin: Setting things up (re the Turbolift scene).
Masako: Still thinking about the "Little Green Ensign" idea...be afraid...
be very afraid....
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June 1997 or latest