Lieutenant Hallia Yellir - Tear Them to Shreds

[Genkos Adea]

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(( Chief Engineer’s Office, Deck 15 — USS Artemis-A ))

 

It had taken some time to warm up to this new workspace. But so far, there hadn’t been very much to do in Engineering. Everything was running at peak efficiency, and there wasn’t much she could do here that couldn’t be done in her quarters for the most part, as well as done in the presence of her cat, Aster. There had been some thoughts to bring him to her office with her, but Hallia’s paranoia that he might fall into a plasma was always the one factor that seemed to hold her back. 

 

But, despite this being a new office and all, she did her best to make it feel… homely? There was a notable attempt to make the space feel right, but she wasn’t one to over-decorate, after all, these weren’t her quarters. But there was always a sweet spot to look for when decorating an office.

 

Being sparse by nature, Hallia left the layout of the room relatively untouched. But there were a few little bits and pieces that she had added in. For one, sitting at the far side of the room was a little slice of a lounge. A small set of couches surrounded a coffee table that house a metallic-looking tea set. It had gathered a little bit of dust as of late.

 

On Hallia’s desk, however, sat a few little pieces. Three little figurines rested directly opposite the Yelikan’s seat, a gilded nova class and a matching vesta class right next to it. Along with those, Hallia replicated some spherical lamps to take up a little bit of space inside the office. To take away from the bareness that was an office space. Also, stashed away behind a bulkhead, as a precaution, the Yelikan kept a few spare uniforms on hand, as she was well aware of how messy this job could get.

 

Today, however, there was a palpable tension in the room. While it wasn’t overt, it hovered over the room like a dense fog. Despite being able to taste the strained air, Hallia… was fine. Two Ensigns sat opposite her, looking like they were doing their best to hold their breath. Having seen and heard how Commander MacKenzie had gone about chewing out many officers, she drew some inspiration. There was almost a theatre to this, and Hallia was doing her best impression of the good captain, trying everything she could to be effortlessly intimidating. 

 

But the Yelikan didn’t have the same touch to it as Addison did. 

 

The Ensigns before her were some fresh faces, they had been stationed on the Artemis before she was appointed Chief. The one on the left was Ensign Kisos, a somewhat tall dark-haired trill, he had a five o'clock shadow that seemed to be peeking through a fresh shave. The other was a Bolian, Ensign Aradin — she was a great deal shorter than Kisos, with the telltale smooth head. Both of these were Ensigns Hallia hadn’t directly worked with herself.

 

Hallia tapped away at a PADD, and perhaps to the fear of the Ensigns before her, she kept that ever so slight positive expression on her face. But there was a droning silence, as she occasionally glanced up at the pair.

 

Yellir: Do you two understand just how much trouble you’re in? Borrowing EV equipment, without authorization, depressurizing an airlock without permission and walking on the hull of the ship without so much as notifying a superior officer. Not to mention setting off an intruder alert upon your arrival back onto the Artemis. Do you realize what kind of trouble you’re in?

 

It wasn’t so much in Hallia’s voice— but a cadence of disappointment.

 

Kisos: Uh… no..?

 

There was a lack of certainty in Kisos’ words, almost as if treading himself on a frozen lake, carefully feeling out where the ice had thinned.

 

Yellir: If I were you two, I’d start talking. Or the next time you do— it’ll be at your court martial. Something like this? Goodness… you could get your commission revoked if you’re not careful.

 

Hallia wasn’t certain this was a court martial-able offence, if anything, she was gassing this up like telling a child a monster would eat you for not brushing your teeth. The Ensigns share a look briefly, and it seemed like there was some almost desperate glance that was briefly shared.

 

Aradin: We— 

 

Aradin stopped, as Kisos grew more and more concerned. With a raise of her eyebrows, Hallia motioned for Aradin to continue.

 

Aradin: We-we weren’t trying to do anything bad we were just—...

Yellir: Go on. 

 

Kisos: ::quietly:: What’re you doing?! We can’t just— 

 

Aradin: Just what? It’s stupid anyway! Why not just tell her??

 

With a clearing of Hallia’s throat, everything from the wrinkles on the foreheads to the whiteness in the knuckles moulded into a shiver.

 

Aradin: We were signing the scorch! It was just some silly bingo game we heard about.

 

It all fell into place, and Hallia for the first time in a very long time felt herself cringe. Her eyes rolled so far back that she nearly went blind. They set off an intruder alert and violated goodness knows how many regulations, all to write their names on the oldest unreplaced hull panel on the Artemis. 

There wasn’t a response elicited from Hallia at first, it was several seconds before she felt the urge necessary to respond.

 

Yellir: Ensign Aradin, do you have difficulty understanding simple speech?

 

Aradin: No sir.

 

Yellir: Do you, Ensign Kisos?

 

Kisos: N-No sir. 

 

Yellir: Yet— for some completely mystifying reasons, simply outlined regulations were ignored and blatantly disobeyed.

 

Kisos: I take— 

 

Yellir: You will speak when spoken to Ensign. Do you understand me?

 

At that moment, Hallia’s demeanour changed entirely. A sudden shift wiped the vague ghost of a smile off of her face, and she glared across the table, straightening her back.

 

Kisos: Yes sir, Lieutenant.

 

Yellir: It is staggeringly arrogant to think that you know better than the very people who put those regulations in place. You ignored safety protocols, overrode and worked around functions that were made to keep air-headed Ensigns like you safe. If you two need a reminder of the basic security protocols onboard this ship I will happily drag you kicking and screaming back to the academy myself. Understood?

 

A slow and silent nod had been shared between the pair.

 

Yellir: You’re lucky to still be sitting here before me, count your stars that I didn’t beam you to the Captain’s Ready Room the first chance I got. If either of you ever again steps out of line, and I mean even a wrinkle in your uniform or the slightest scuff on your shoe you are finished. Do I make myself clear?

 

‘Anger’ was a weird way of describing what Hallia was feeling. Putting it into words almost made her frustrated in the moment. The irritation she was feeling was aggravating to say the least, as her expression began to slightly pinch, and her foot tapped against the floor to punctuate every word that was said. Her arms were kept still but Hallia felt her jaw clench at any point she stopped speaking.

 

In unison, they replied with a very simple “Yes sir”.

 

Yellir: For the next week you’re being assigned to Chief Wilkens to micro-clean the transporter pads, and Lieutenant Delri’ise has offered a catch-up course on security regulations since you seem so hell-bent on ignoring protocol. If I catch either of you pulling any more irresponsible stunts like these I will not hesitate to have you thrown in the brig. Dismissed.

 

It was a slow burn to watch them leave. The realisation as well as the presence of being dressed down by a superior officer— they were aware of what they had just done, but nothing about this felt good to Hallia. She felt awful watching what were two first-year ensigns basically crack under pressure as she stared them down and utterly ripped the pair to shreds. As the aggressions wore away, the rush of anger slowly faded, and the past few seconds of saying what came to mind blanked away from the Yelikan. Until they had left the room, everything beyond that felt like it was little more than the heat of the moment, and it was just as fleeting as it had came to.  

 

As the pair left the office, Hallia breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in her chair. But she couldn’t quite tell if it was remorse or regret that had been on her mind. But there was an icky feeling at the bottom of her stomach, dressing down two Ensigns that were just trying to have a bit of fun seemed harsh. Yet it was the right thing to do and it came with the job description of being a department head. If Hallia didn’t put her foot down now, especially when she wasn’t just working with her whole team on the Excalibur, there was a feeling others wouldn’t take her very seriously. 

 

As the irritation vanished from her face, she walked to her replicator, and with her normal cheery tone ordered something.

 

Yellir: Computer. One bowl of honey-poached figs.

 

 

 

TAG/TBC

_____________________

Lieutenant Hallia Yellir 

Chief Engineer

USS Artemis-A

G239409EK0

I absolutely loved reading this - our normally delightfully cheerful CEO getting to tear things up. And a Blondie reference, what's not to love? @Hallia Yellir, great work as always!

[Doz Finch]

A very fun read! thank you for sharing 😁