Another new XO

Posted on Mon Feb 7th, 2022 @ 11:52pm by Captain Akeno Misaki & Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Miller

Mission: Arista
Location: Captain's ready room

ON:

The Wayfarer sat at Starbase Eighty Three, docked at one of the stretched out docking ports. The first mission which had been to chart a nebula had been; a disaster. Not only had the ship gotten stranded in the nebula for a short while, but several of the ships crew sent out on survey missions were now declared as missing in action. To top that off, an alien entity, which was responsible for all this had invaded Akeno's body, created a physical form for itself using her womb and tried to seek revenge on its own kind from millenia ago.

However, after a week limping back at slow warp, the ship was finally back and luckily Akeno had been cleared by sickbay and debriefed by Starfleet command on the situation. She had also put in a request for an experienced Executive Officer; her previous one had decided to try and commit mutiny against her. He did try and redeem himself to lead an rescue mission into the nebula, however his shuttle never returned. As much as Akeno hated to say it, she wasn't exactly upset at his demise; however she often found herself wondering what sort of man he could have been.

The young Captain sat in her ready room swinging back and forward on her chair as she read through what seemed the hundreth report that day. The last seven days she had spent more time reading over status and damage reports and getting checked up on by sickbay. Apparently the whole ordeal would stick with her for a long time, not just physically but emotionally. She had been doing her best to put it to the back of her mind and forget about the whole experience of having an alien impregnate her and use her for its own goals.

She was looking forward to meeting this new Executive Officer. She had only been given a name, and a brief profile of the man. Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Miller. He sounded like an experienced officer, however he was older than her. She was slightly nervous about having a lower ranked, older Exec serving under a rather young Captain like herself.

Jonathan cruised through the bridge of Wayfarer, the first Intrepid-class ship he had ever served aboard. He noted how high-tech everything appeared compared to his previous postings. Especially of note was the single seat at the conn. That was something he had not come across before.

Stepping down onto the secondary deck of the bridge, he approached the command chair. A young Bolian female was currently occupying the seat, two solid gold pips adorning her collar. “Lieutenant, I’m looking for Captain Misaki. Any ideas as to where I might find her?”

The Bolian woman sat up a little straighter in the chair. “Yes sir, she’s in her ready room.” She motioned her hand in the general direction of the Captain’s office, “Would you like me to show you?”

Jonathan raised a appreciative hand, “You’re fine, Lieutenant. I think I can manage it from here. Thank you.” He turned on his heels and approached the Captain’s ready room. He suddenly felt something unexpected in his gut. Something he hadn’t experienced in a while. Anxiety. He was actually nervous about meeting his new commanding officer. He grinned slightly at the unfamiliar sensation, and tried pushing those nervous thoughts back down into the pit of his stomach.

He reached the door and pressed the door chime.

"Come in" Akeno's voice called through the door.

Jonathan took a deep breath, clenched his fists and entered the room. He moved quickly and with determination, and approached the woman’s desk. He stood to attention and prayed that she couldn’t see through his feigned confidence. “Sir, Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Miller reporting for duty, as requested. And may I say what a pleasure it is to be assigned to this vessel under your command.”

A strange silence fell upon the room as Akeno looked the man up and down before a smile slowly emerged across her face. "Relax Commander, before you pull something" she told him.

Jonathan relaxed immediately. He felt each muscle in his body loosen with an almost audible sigh of relief. His new CO clearly had a sense of humour, and he was certainly glad of that fact. He’d served under a couple of Captains in the past who didn’t have a single funny bone in their bodies, but things were going well with Captain Misaki so far. Even if they’d only been in each other’s presence for less than 60 seconds. “Sorry sir, I’ve not served onboard a starship for over twelve months. I’m a little rusty on the proper etiquette.”

Akeno smirked. "Not to worry, Before I took command of the Wayfarer my previous assignment was the yeoman/assistant to Admiral McGarden on Starbase 45" she explained as she rose to her feet and bowed slightly, one of the Japanese traditions that had become second nature to her.

“I’m glad to see that we’ll both be showing each other the way during this assignment.” Jonathan replied smiling, bowing slightly in return. “One thing I must mention before going forward. I believe I am a few years senior when it comes to our respective ages…” the man minimalised the eleven year age gap between them, “… but let me reassure you that I will always respect you, respect the chain of command, and respect the rank.”

The Captain let out a sigh of relief. "Well that's good to know. How much do you know about our previous exec?" She asked curiously. She wasn't sure if Starfleet Command had briefed him on what had happened prior to his transfer.

“Not much at all.” The man admitted, the realisation of the absence of that information dawning on him. “All I really know is that he disappeared on a shuttle. Suffice to say, I won’t be disappearing onboard any shuttles anytime soon.” He half-smiled, bearing in mind the subject matter.

"The way you said it seems like I did something dodgy" Akeno laughed. "Well, before that he tried to mutiny against me. He thought he should be in command as be had more experience. He only went out in that shuttle on a rescue mission, but he was killed when Junior destroyed the shuttle" she explained.

“I see.” The man nodded in understanding. “Quite a melancholic death. Its a shame. Perhaps there was a realisation at the end that he would end up facing serious charges and possibly a lengthy custodial sentence were he to survive?” Jonathan could read on his Captain’s face that the current conversation had run its comfortable course. “I’m sure you can read it for yourself sir, but I have a clean service record with commendations in my file from each and every commanding officer I have served under. And I look forward to making you just as proud during my time here.”

Akeno nodded. "It would have most likely be full court martial and dismissal" she explained as she made her way to the replicator. "I'll be honest with you. You have more experience than me, so I'll be relying on you a lot" she told him. She pointed to the replicator a non verbal question to see if he wanted anything.

Jonathan raised a hand and shook his head in response to her mute offer. “My years of experience are at your disposal, Captain. However, don’t ever be afraid to disagree with me on anything. At the end of the day I am here to serve you and the crew, and I plan on doing that each and every day that I’m onboard the Wayfarer. If you want a quiet confidante, I’m here. If you want somebody who isn’t afraid to speak their mind and disagree with you at times, I’m here.” He suddenly realised that he had started to waffle. Something he tended to do under pressure.

Grabbing her tea out of the Replicator, Akeno returned to her desk. "Well, I hope that we can run this ship as a team. The command team has been, unstable since the ships launch." She explained sadly. "Our new orders are due tomorrow, so can you arrange a staff meeting for 09:00. Have all current department heads attend. In the meantime, spend the rest of today getting to know the ship and the crew" she said.

“Thank you.” The man bowed his head again slightly. “I plan on touring the ship this afternoon, Ensign McGill has kindly offered to be my guide. He’s meeting me in main engineering in approximately 20 minutes.” He paused for a moment, taking in each second in the presence of his new CO, “I look forward to our time together, sir.”

"Well, don't let me delay you any longer. If there's nothing else, by all means dismissed" Akeno replied.

Jonathan smiled and turned on his heels. He suddenly realised that his anxiety and worries had disappeared. He was grateful to the woman for making him feel so at ease, and he looked forward to what adventures they would have together. He stepped back out onto the bridge and started making his way down engineering.

Posting by

Captain Akeno Misaki
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Miller
Executive Officer