round 21 LtCmdr Alex Blair: What Have I Done?

[Tya]

((Communications Room, Deck 10, USS Tiger-A))

::Standing outside the small communication control room, Alex paused and tapped his combadge. He did not have a chance to speak with Ensign Dirsye after the briefing so Alex decided to do so before starting his task.::

Blair: =/\= LtCmdr Blair to Ensign Dirsye. =/\=

Dirsye: =/\=Tya here, how can I be of assistance Sir?=/\=

Blair: =/\= I was hoping to catch you before you left the conference room. I know you volunteered to work on the Mauls, and I wanted to thank you. =/\=

Dirsye: =/\=You’re welcome, you know it’s a bit of a self perseverance thing. I’m going out in that and I’d like to check and prepare it to be sure everything’s in perfect order.=/\=

Blair: =/\= Your work there frees me up to fully focus on the COMM system and for that I am grateful. While I am completely confident in your skills and knowledge I expect be notified before any of the Mauls leave the ship. =/\=

Dirsye: =/\=Of course=/\=

::Alex picked up on the tone of Dirsye’s voice and decided to press on. Alex trusted his staff to keep him appraised of all developments, but after the day he was having, Alex was not about to leave anything to chance and that included making sure he personally inspected the auxiliary craft before they left the ship.::

Blair: =/\= It’s not that I have a lack of faith in your work, I would just feel better about sending our people out there if a second set of eyes reviews the work. There are too many lives counting on those Mauls to survive their mission. =/\=

Dirsye: =/\=Sir, do we have a problem?=/\=

Blair: =/\=There is no problem Ensign. I would have the same expectations if it were Ensign Furvan or Turner doing the task.=/\=

Dirsye: =/\=Maybe you should send Furvan or Turner to oversee my work!=/\=

Blair: =/\=You are all capable and competent engineers in whom I trust. How would sending one of them help things?=/\=

Dirsye: =/\=I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you. I always reported my work. Is it because I didn’t tell you that when the thing with shields didn’t work I used standard forcefields? I’m sorry, but that was standard procedure and since you were busy and I thought I don’t have to report every change in plan, especially if instead of something new and different I chose standard procedure.=/\=

::Hearing Dirsye’s tone and the fact that she began to repeat herself, it hit Alex. He had offended her and inadvertently questioned her ability as an engineer. Once the realization was made, Alex began to feel remorse.::

oOYou idiot! In your desire to protect everyone, you called one of your own people into question. You practically told her that you had no faith in her! How would have felt if Commander Atimen did that to you? Get your act together MARINE!Oo

::As he composed himself to respond, Alex paused and before he could speak, the ensign started again.::

Dirsye: =/\=I’m in a sickbay, waiting for ensign McColsen to end her medical and join me and Lieutenant T’Mihn in working on Maul. Since they have nothing much to do before the team leaves and send them some information and T’Mihn proved very capable I asked her to help me.=/\=

Blair: =/\=That’s a sound idea Ensign. =/\=

::Again, Alex took a moment to compose what he was about to say when the Ensign started before he could speak.::

Dirsye: =/\=Yes Sir, just one more thing. Should I report when we arrive there, when we start scanning, when start removing plates from shuttles and where am I planning to put any of those before we start work or you want to come and check just when we finish? That may be wrong decision. I may choose to enhance wrong places on the Maul and endanger whole mission. What if I forget to report to you?=/\=

::If he wasn’t sure before, Alex was completely sure now that he had upset Dirsye. Without planning his words this time, Alex began to speak in the most sincere tone he could come up with.::

Blair: =/\=Ensign, I owe you an apology and an explanation. I am sorry that I called your engineering prowess into question. It was never my intention to do so, but I did it and I am truly sorry. There is something deep within me that says it’s my job to protect everyone around me. I know it’s irrational but I can’t help it. That deep seeded compulsion combined with the stress of us being on the ocean floor in a severely crippled starship is what caused me to contact you. =/\=

::Alex paused for a moment before he continued.::

Blair: =/\=With that being said, I have complete faith in you and your ability to do your job. The very short time you have been here, you have been a tremendous asset and I am grateful for your efforts. ::Alex paused before continuing:: I would like to give you a few words of caution though. Despite the fact that I offended you, the way that you have been speaking to me the past few minutes is borderline insolent and you should be careful. Many superior officers are not as tolerant or forgiving as I am. Maybe your reaction was the result of the action over the past twenty four hours and you’re just tired. =/\=

Dirsye: =/\=No, I don't need to rest. I need some trust from people around me. Trust I never had at home what was the reason I run away from them and joined Starfleet. If you think I’m not capable of finishing my job then just remove me from the project and assign it to somebody you can trust. =/\=

Blair: =/\=Once again, I am truly sorry for questing you Tya. In a short time you have proven yourself and more than earned the respect of everyone aboard this ship. From this point forward, I will make every effort show that I have complete trust in you. ::break:: I think it might be best if we forget this conversation ever happened and we start over again.=/\=

::There was a long silence which made Alex a little uncomfortable.::

oO Ok, let’s try again. Oo

Blair: =/\=I know I can trust you to complete the Maul overhaul in short order Ensign Dirsye.=/\=

Dirsye: =/\=Yes Sir. I’ll be on my way soon.=/\=

Blair: =/\=Thank you Ensign, let me know if I can be of any help.=/\=

Dirsye: =/\=I need just a moment and will go and check on McColsen and T’Mihn.=/\=

Blair: =/\= Ok Ensign, Blair out. =/\=

::Once the channel closed, Alex took in a deep breath.::

oOA LtCmdr for less than an hour and you already crushed a member of your team. Way to lead your department! Maybe next time you can offend the first officer or the Captain? Oo

::When he was done mentally chastising himself, Alex decided to move on. Hopefully his apology was a good enough start and he could prove his trust in Dirsye soon, but first he had a communications system to repair.::

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Lieutenant Commander Alex Blair

Chief Engineer

USS Tiger-A