round 1 JP: Cmdr Reinard & LtCmdr Eerie, "Performance and Departmental

[Sedrin Belasi]

((First Officers Office))

::Eerie buzzed the office and walked into the first officer’s office. He had completed his written narrative of the events that transpired on the bridge and was quite interested in hearing what the Commander had to say. Eerie had always wanted to see what he could do in command of a starship. He walked in and stood at attention, as usual, in front of the Commander..::

Eerie: Lt. Commander Eerie reporting as ordered, sir. ::In his usual formal tone.::

:: Eerie had done a lot of thinking about his actions on the bridge. For the most part he was pleased with his actions. There was always things that he could be improved upon and he noted them in his report. He wanted to do his very best, and was looking forward to any feedback the Commander had to offer. He was happy that the bridge crew had done so well considering that they didn’t normally work together and several of the officers had limited experience on duty posts. The boarding by the Zalkonians had been unfortunate, but he was under orders to get crew members over to the station. He had debated the risks and been surprised by the Zalkonians, dropping their shields with a fully active starbase phaser bank firing at them.::

::Greir had been reading the mission reports from his department heads. Since stepping up to First Officer he hadn’t had a chance to touch base with everyone to talk about their performance and career aspirations. When his door chimed he figured his first appointment had arrived and upon opening the door Eerie had walked in and reported just as formally as expected. ::

Reinard: ::Smiling:: Good day Commander, come on in.

::Greir would normally offer a seat to whoever he was seeing but he knew that the Brikar preferred to stand. He preferred to sit but was considering standing because having the tall Brikar towering over him didn’t make him feel as comfortable as he could be if they were more on each other’s level. ::

Eerie: Yes, Sir. ::Eerie noticed that Grier was smiling and took that as a possible good sign.::

Reinard: I’ve read your mission report, it was very detailed and I appreciate that as it couldn’t give us a better record of events.

Eerie: Honestly, Sir, I find writing reports somewhat boring but I wanted to document the actions during the event very well. A lot transpired and it was important to get it correct. I was proud of the actions of the crew and hope that is reflected.

::Greir had few questions about the report because it had been put together so well. He had a strong opinion on how he felt Eerie had acted as a commanding officer but first wanted to get a more in-depth and personal insight into how Eerie himself felt things had gone. ::

Reinard: I don’t think there’s many people who enjoy writing the reports but they’re important and I do believe you got your viewpoint over well. I believe this was your first time commanding a starship in combat?

::Greir knew that Eerie was quite used to ship combat, but following orders and giving recommendations about how to deal with these kinds of threats was different to being the one who had the final say. It was much harder when the responsibility for the whole ship and crew’s well being fell on your own shoulders. ::

Eerie: Yes Sir, It was quite an experience. Something that a simulation will never completely train oneself for.

::Eerie remembered each agonising decision, and he thought he had made the right ones. There was a few he would have changed, but for the most part he was pleased with his decisions. There was always something to learn from each situation as he tried to dissect the actions of that day.::

Reinard: I understand how you feel completely. What was the hardest things for you?

Eerie: Probably my greatest weakness, managing people. Making sure that the right people were in the right positions. It was a makeshift bridge crew, I didn’t want to change personnel during the middle of a combat situation. I figured it was best to keep everyone at their posts.

::Eerie had pondered the question about the crew assignments, and while he still debated the decisions he couldn’t come up with better assignments.::

Reinard: Managing people is one of my strengths so let me give you a couple of tips that i’ve always found helpful. Putting people in the right place involves knowing what skills you need for any given situation.

Taking the situation you just reported on as an example - you know you need tactical officers on the bridge offering firing solutions and managing the shields, a pilot flying evasive maneuvers, security guarding key locations like engineering and sickbay, and so on. That’s people management on it’s most basic level. If you know the individual better then you can take their strengths and weaknesses into account to truly make sure you have the right people in the right places.

I would say to you that if part way through combat someone becomes available that’s better at a job than the person in that place then get them where they need to be. If you have someone manning a station with only a little bit of experience and then your 15 year veteran and department chief becomes available then get them to support that officer.

::Eerie nodded. He agreed with his comments, it was important to have the most experienced personnel in the key areas during a combat situation. The biggest problem and concern Eerie had was the interpersonal relationships he had with the rest of the crew. While it was very important for the crew to follow the orders of someone in charge, it was also important to have a relationship with that person. It was something that was still lacking.::

Eerie: Agreed Commander. Completely. I just feel that I still need to have a better relationship with the crew. I recognize that weakness is something that I need to work on improving but I hope my actions were acceptable. I would like any feedback you would have to improve on that as well.

::It had been an issue that Eerie had struggled with during his entire time off of the Brikar homeworld. ::

::Greir was quite a social, friendly person who managed to easily relate to other people. However there were plenty of people ranked Captain and higher who preferred and thought it more appropriate to maintain something of a distance with crew. Some of them thought that the idea of making friends with the crew could make command decisions more difficult at times for both parties. So although Greir was in the camp of having good relationships with his crew he also recognised two important things. He knew it was not the only approach to command and it certainly wasn’t required, which was just as well because Eerie’s personality wasn’t suited to it and to force himself into a particular mould could make him seem less genuine - that would hurt the thing that he thought really did matter. ::

Reinard: I understand what you’re saying about having better relationships with the crew. However it can be really hard, especially on a station or large ship to get to know everyone. What I think matters the most is having respect. If you make good judgements for your crew, speak to them with respect and make sure your department heads are reporting and dealing with problems then you’ll get that respect.

::Eerie knew that he was correct, he had felt that he had the respect of the crew, but he needed to do more. It was something that he would continue to strive achieve, he would make a point to at least know everyone by name at least, and made a issue to engage in conversation on a more regular basis. He also knew that most people liked informal conversations as well. Another area to work on as well.::

Eerie: Yes, Grier.

::He dropped trying to slightly less of a formal tone. He had known Greir the longest other than deBarres and Gwinnett, who had transferred over with him from the Avandar. Eerie had watched the counselor be promoted to first officer and then the rank of Commander.::

Eerie: I know that I need to do better, in that regard.

Reinard: Perhaps i’m not making myself clear. I think it’s really great that you want to get to know the crew a bit more. I’m saying that you shouldn’t worry too much because from the point of view of a command officer the thing you need most is respect. I believe you have that. The crew do respect you and it’s because you know your job inside and out and even if you’re stiff you treat them with respect, finally - you make the right calls.

Eerie: Thank you. I tried my best, I know there is room for improvement. Always. I hope my actions during the actions met with your approval, I value your input. ::Lowering his tone a bit. ::

::Greir noticed that Eerie had mentioned his actions a few times now and seemed to be seeking approval. He was certainly on his way to delivering his verdict but he wasn’t quite done with the things he intended to talk about first. ::

Reinard: Talking about your actions, what do you think went particularly well?

Eerie: I was most pleased with the crew, they handled some responsibilities that they were not used to particularly well. There is of course room for improvement. I would like to see more cross training. Something I have thought about.

::Eerie kept talking about there being room for improvement so perhaps he wasn’t as confident about his actions as it first seemed. He also wasn’t quite answering the questions as he asked them or quite picking up on the points he was making. He wondered if he was not communicating as clearly as usual or if he needed to adjust his approach to get more solid answers. ::

Reinard: I’m glad that you’re pleased with the crews actions. They followed their orders to the letter. I’m interested to know who you would recommend for cross training and why but for now I want to talk about your actions. What actions or commands did you make that you thought worked particularly well for the situation?

Eerie: I knew that we could not stand and fight with the cruisers. The tactics while dangerous, I thought gave us the best chance for survival and to give the station time and us to get the drive operational. Frankly, I like stand up fights but I had to adapt as well.

::The hit and run tactics were something that he was not particularly used to, in fact, his upbring was totally against it, but he had to think what was best for the Vigilant and the crew.::

::Greir had read about the tactics involved and wasn’t sure he would have chosen that particular course of action. That being said he knew that Eerie knew his stuff when it came to tactical matter considerably better than he did. The Brikar had taken a calculated risk and in this case it had paid off. ::

Reinard: Right and it was great to see you weighing up the enemy’s capabilities and making a decision about what the Vigilant could do. The tactics were certainly dangerous and required particular skill from the bridge crew. One of my concerns with that was the proximity to the station. Fortunately the bridge crew did manage to handle the challenge and it worked out just fine. Let’s hope we never have to try it again.

Eerie: Agreed. I wouldn’t of tried it with an green ensign on the helm, or me for that matter. Lieutenant Falcon and the shooting of Captain Pavlova, was a major asset. But I hope we don’t have to try that again.

Reinard: Right. Is there anything that you feel didn’t go as well as you’d hoped that you’d do differently next time and if so what would you change?

Eerie: It goes totally against my nature, but perhaps one more communication try with the cruisers. I don’t know if it would of made any difference. Perhaps it might of given us more time. I don’t know.

::Eerie had been thinking about it for a while, and perhaps another try might of been worth it. He never received any communication from the Zalkonians, it might of been better not to put the ship as such a risk.::

::Greir could understand why Eerie might think that and part of the problem was how little they actually knew about the Zalkonians. His own gut had told him that they would be non-responsive. As the premier expert on Zalkonians he felt he was getting a feel for why this might be but he was still learning about them much the same as everyone else. ::

Reinard: You’ll remember as well that the station were making communications attempts. They did not respond to any of our hails either. It’s quite easy to wonder if ‘one more’ would have helped and there’s always ‘one more’ but you have to draw the line somewhere. This is where understanding the species, their motivations and personalities can help. Of course the problem here is that no one in the Federation has much dealings with them. They are a very insular, xenophobic people but that in itself is telling. They probably feel we are too far beneath them to communicate with. They have no interest in getting along with or negotiating with us.

You’ll remember when we encountered them at that station some time ago they communicated to us - but it was on their terms?

Eerie: Yes, I remember. Command is very consuming, particularly in a combat situation, so many actions to be concerned with and about. I think a dedicated person to do comm traffic would of helped. Something I need to do a better job with hopefully next time. Each was important, but need to do better at it.

Reinard: I’m glad that you learned a lot from it and importantly, I feel you made some responsible choices and got the ship and its crew through. Well done. Is command something you aspire to in the longer term?

::Eerie was relieved. It meant a lot to him to get the nod of approval and the feedback on his concerns.::

Eerie: Someday. I don’t think I am ready yet, still have things to learn, and one always needs to be learning. Something I always try to remember.

::Eerie knew that he was still not ready for any permanent command of a vessel, as much as it was one of his clear defined goals in his career.::

Eerie: oOSomeday, not today or this year. Someday.Oo

Reinard: Then I have two pieces of advice for you. You’re already managing a department so you’re in a leadership role, you train your people and you make decisions and recommendations. Command is about doing all of those things but instead of just focussing on one department as aspect of managing a ship you’ve got the bigger picture to take care of. It’s going to be beneficial that you make yourself more aware of other departments work, concerns and how they fit into the bigger picture.

The other thing is experience. We could arrange it such that you’ll have more opportunity to take control on the bridge. Maybe work a few gamma shifts and take the bridge when all the other senior officers are sleeping. It’d also give you a chance to interact more with some of the crew you don’t get to see as often. You’ll still have us there obviously in the event that anything pops up but it’s a step in the right direction.

::Eerie had always wanted to take the duty on the bridge for a shift, and while gamma shift was usually pretty quiet, he was privately thrilled at the opportunity. It would give him the opportunity to do and learn more.::

Eerie: Thank you sir. I would consider it an honor. I’m sure that it will be a good experience. ::Eerie voice didn’t change but his eyes got a lot wider.::

Reinard: Is there anything else you wanted to discuss regarding the last mission or anything else before we move on to discuss the rest of the security and tactical department?

Eerie: No, It is good to see that you have gotten your hearing back.::Eerie had heard that a procedure had been successfully do to give almost complete hearing back to Reinard.::

::With matters of the mission report for tactical and security sorted out and discussed as well as Eerie’s command aspirations it was time to move on to the next piece of official business needing their attention. ::

Reinard: I had given up hope of it to be honest but thank you. I couldn’t be happier. It certainly gives you a deeper appreciation of things. Now, why not talk me through any disciplinary or performance problems you’ve come up against – or equally if someone is performing especially well.

::Eerie thought for a moment, and figured that is was a good time to broach the topic.::

Eerie: I would like to see some cross training on some of the officers. I knew that they did their best but emergencies never lend themselves to having the best personnel at some duty posts. On the plus side, I was impressed with Lt. Falcon. Her skills were impressive and did quite well.

Reinard: Cross-training can be good but it’s not necessary for everyone to be cross trained. It’s better to have a tactical officer at the tactical station rather than someone who only works at it occasionally. Lt Falcon undoubtedly did well but I was asking about the officers in the tactical and security department.

::Eerie nodded his agreement.::

Eerie: Recruit Borr did well in engineering, and from the reports I have seen that Rascon did well on the station. I have checked with other reports from other personnel and they with that assessment. So I would recommend both of them.

Reinard: Rascon did do very well. He has a very direct, no nonsense approach and he’s good at getting things done. He handled himself very well and i’ve been considering whether or not to recommend him for promotion. I’m also glad to hear that recruit Borr is doing well.

::Greir had to admit that he had been very impressed with Rscon and there was no doubt that he had done well and proven himself to be a real asset but had he done enough to earn a promotion to Lieutenant. He had been recently promoted to Lt JG and Greir didn’t believe in rushing people through the ranks. They needed time to gain experience as there was a lot more to being an officer than having a lot of text book knowledge. It was a hard call and one he was still debating. ::

Eerie: What do you think about a promotion to full Lieutenant? His work habits and performance warrant it. He is handling the responsibilities of a Lieutenant and the reports make him a good candidate. .

::Eerie remembered his rise to Lieutenant, and decided that he could handle the responsibility. Also some officers grew well into higher rank, and his personality certainly didn’t lack for boldness.::

Reinard: He certainly does stand out from among other similar candidates but I wonder if perhaps he needs a bit more experience. I’ll give it some more thought and consider taking it to the captain for consideration.

::Eerie nodded. He always believed that officers needed strong positive feedback. He also liked to give recommendations for promotion. Giving credit for where credit was due.::

Eerie: Thanks. I don’t know if it will come a surprise to Rascon, he is certainly not very reserved.::Eerie said it extremely straight, wondering if Reinard would make any connection to the very reserved Eerie.::

Reinard: Well we’ll see, it’s not set in stone yet. The Captain may decide he needs more time to develop some of his weaker areas first. However, I think that about concludes things for this, unless there’s anything else?

Eerie: No, I think that is about it. I was gratified to see that the slipstream drive worked properly. It presents a great number of possibilities.

::Eerie had already been working on the tactical possibilities and problems that the new drive proposed. However, its benefits certainly outweighed the negatives.::

::Greir leaned back in his chair thinking about the possibilities. They could now reach places they’d never dreamt possible before.::

Reinard: If you could go anywhere with it, where would you go?

::Eerie paused for a moment, he really had never actually thought about it.::

Eerie: I don’t know. I have heard the badlands near the Cardassian border are spectacular, if not for being a a navigation nightmare.

::Greir knew people often said that about the sandbar around Duronis II as well. He wasn’t a pilot but he could field his way around it. The only unknown was whether he could get a ship or a pilot to follow what he needed to happen. ::

Reinard: I’m sure it’s a piece of cake but it begs the question of what’s so spectacular?

Eerie: The firestorms, at least that is one place to go and see. Of course a trip home would be nice. I would also like to show Lt. Calderan, my homeworld. Any place you would like to go?

::Eerie really couldn’t think of any other place. He had not been back home in almost 7 years since his acceptance into the academy. There were a few places he would like to avoid if at all possible. Eden for one, but he was pretty sure that Star Fleet had quarantined the entire region.::

Reinard: I’d like to visit the Betazoid home planet. I’d also like to find the largest area of unexplored space on the edge of the Federation and just head off to see what’s out there. I guess part of our role includes exploring the unknown, so i’m really lucky.

::The Brikar pondered that for a moment. He had always enjoyed first contact missions, but was usually content to go wherever the ship was going. Perhaps the Brikar weren’t the most adventurous of races. Perhaps that is why they had infrequently ventured past their own region of the Alpha quadrant..

Eerie: With the new drive it does offer a lot of opportunities.

Reinard: ::Nodding in agreement:: It sure does. Shore leave offers a lot of opportunities too. I’m planning on doing a bit of training and upskilling between trying to relax. What about you?

::Eerie wasn’t sure if it was appropriate. He wasn’t even sure that if Greir knew about his relationship with Nia.::.

Eerie: l have some work to do. Each one of our missions seems to produce more reports and new projects. I will be going over new procedures with the tactical staff about situations with the new drive system. ::He paused but added.::Spending some time with Nia, I mean, Lt. Calderan. :: Eerie had gone from formal mood, and slipped out of it for a instant when talking about Nia. He recovered quickly.::

Reinard: That’s great. It’s good to see you expanding your circle of friendships.

Eerie: Yes we share a lot of interests together.::Eerie hesitated for a moment, but decided to broach the topic.:: I was thinking about seeing if it would be alright for her to move in formally in my quarters. I haven’t found anything in the regs about it. Are you aware of any restrictions?

::Eerie was trying to broach a personal concern, in a formal statement, he really didn’t know how to pose to question.::

::Greir didn’t realise how close the two had become until he said that and as someone who was pursuing a serious relationship on the crew he could understand Eerie’s concerns. He was delighted for the both of them and hoped that it would work out well. Hopefully his own experience would help Eerie.::

Reinard: Yeah you wouldn’t find anything about it in the regs as relationships between crewmembers isn’t generally encouraged. Some captains take quite a firm stance on it too and i’ve known people to end up in a situation where they’ve had to choose between their career and their relationship. Fortunately Captain Herrera has a much more relaxed view on this.

Eerie: Nia knows that my career is first, and she agrees that her career is first and foremost. But we do enjoy each others company, and we don’t get to see a lot of each other between our different shifts.

::Eerie was happy to hear that the Captain was relaxed on this topic, however, he would never go against the Captain on this topic or any topic for that matter. Eerie enjoyed following regulations and the traditions set by the fleet.::

Reinard: There isn’t going to be a problem with Calderan moving into your quarters if you’re both sure that’s what you want. Lt Chen has recently moved in with me. We’ve notified Ops that his room is now vacant and available for assignment should we receive any new crew.

::Eerie didn’t show any surprise, he was actually happy for Greir, he knew that Lt. Chen was a good officer. He wished only the best for both of them.::

Eerie::Nodding::Very good, I hope you will both be happy.

Reinard: The thing to remember is that it might be easier moving in together than moving out. If things don’t work out and you want to reverse your decision there’s a chance there won’t be any free quarters any more. Ships don’t tend to fly around with an abundance of unused space so you have to be sure. How long have you been seeing each other?

Eerie: Understood. Actually I think it will be good for me. It will get me out of the cabin a bit more socially. It is something we both really want, and we have been seeing each other for about 5 months now. But I want to make sure that the Major is fine with it. Professionally of course.

::Eerie wanted to make sure that there wasn’t any problems for Scania. Being a Marine officer had different responsibilities that being a line officer in the fleet.::

Reinard: If it makes you feel better then by all means talk to him about it. Is there anything else I can help you with today Commander?

Eerie: No. that seems to be everything on for me, Commander.

::Eerie was very pleased the conversation. He would be working some shifts, and he how had formal approval for Nia to move in, making sure that he talked with the Major.::

Reinard: In that case I’ll let you carry on about your day. Goodbye for now Eerie.

Eerie: Thank you Greir, It has been nice. ::Eerie stiffened a bit. He couldn’t do something formal, when leaving a superior officer. He bowed slightly.::

::Greir nodded smartly to Eerie and let him get back to it. There were various other things he had planned for today and he was in the mood to crack on and make a big dent in the to-do list.::

A JP by:

Cmdr Reinard
First Officer
USS Vigilant

NCC - 75515

and

Lt. Cmdr. Eerie

Chief Tactical/Security officer

USS Vigilant

NCC - 75515