Promotion

Posted on Wed Sep 11, 2013 @ 6:44pm by Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit
Edited on on Wed Sep 11, 2013 @ 7:06pm

1,311 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: A Whole New World: Part 1 - Precipice
Location: USS Victory - Captain's Quarters
Timeline: 62503.81 [22 Nov 2384 17:20]

Go time, thought Ensign Danielle Daystrom, as she stalked down the corridor towards Captain Rhea Kennit's personal quarters. Dani clenched her hands repeatedly as she neared the CO's apartment, desperate to keep the blood flowing into her cold jittery fingers. Butterflies danced in her stomach, and she felt her mouth going dry. Despite her nerves, the 25 year-old Operations officer knew that if she backed down now, she would never again work up enough courage to ever attempt this again. Dani's chat with Lieutenant Aliyani Kalikona'i had been just the confidence booster that the pretty mocha-skinned goldshirt had needed. Dani now knew that without it, she would never have made it this far down the corridor. Before she knew it, Ensign Daystrom was standing in front of the door to Captain Kennit's room. With a deep ragged breath to calm her nerves, Dani pressed a thumb against the doorframe's bioplate, and waited with her hands clasped behind her back, to hide the fact that they were trembling.

After a moment, the door opened to allow the junior officer admittance into the Captain's quarters. The first room was set up for use as an office with a desk and chairs. The Captain was seated at the desk, several data padds scattered across it's surface. "Come on in Lieutenant," the captain said. "Have a seat.."

"Thank you, Ma'am," said Dani with a nervous smile, and she took the seat across from Captain Kennit and crossed her legs. "And thank you for allowing me to see you 'after office hours'. I know how precious off-duty time is, especially for someone as busy as you." Dani folded her hands and cleared her throat. "The reason I asked to see you, Ma'am, is in regards to the Chief Operations Officer position." A hesitant look crossed Dani's face as she tried to gauge Rhea Kennit's immediate reaction to the subject. "The position is still vacant ... isn't it?"

Leaning back slightly, her expression neutral, the Captain nodded once. "It is."

Danielle drew in a deep breath to steel herself, deciding to just rip the bandage off. "Then, I think I'm the best person for the job, Ma'am," Dani blurted, as her heart began to pound in her chest. "I've been acting as an Assistant Chief of Operations for the overnight Gamma Shift since Victory's launch. During my time as Gamma Shift Leader, I've managed to increase the efficiency of our Department by 20%. Even the other Shift Leaders have to acknowledge that my people get more done during Gamma than the other two shift periods combined. I know I'm young, and that I'm just an ensign," conceded Dani, determined to make her case. "But I'm also experienced, talented and a hard & productive worker. I'm the best Information Systems person on this ship, which means I have the technical skills to go along with leadership abilities. I've got a clean disciplinary record and a couple of commendations, so you know that I'm both reliable and an overachiever. If you give me this opportunity, I promise you won't be sorry."

Danielle finished, flashing a quick hopeful smile at Captain Kennit. Beneath the brave face she was putting on for her CO, Dani was silently kicking herself, already picking apart her unrehearsed pitch. Perhaps she had come on too strong? What if she hadn't come across strong enough? There were two other Shift Leaders in the Operations Department, she knew — a Vulcan and an Andorian, both male. If the truth be told, her Vulcan counterpart was probably the strongest technical person in Operations. His booksmarts were definitely a match for her more intuitive talents, but the Vulcan Shift Leader had found it difficult to manage the different personality types of the people he supervised. The Andorian Shift Leader was just the opposite. He was a natural-born leader, to be sure, but his technical background was far from the strongest, and he often had to rely on the know-how of his underlings to carry him. Dani wondered if she should have pointed that out in her pitch to Rhea Kennit, or if volunteering her opinions about the weaknesses of her colleagues might not have come across as catty.

The Captain listened without speaking, then remained silent for a moment. "Increased efficiency by 20%? Those are impressive numbers.." she said quietly, giving no real outward indication of whether she was swayed one way or another by Lt. JG Daystrom's speech. "What about your working relationships with the rest of the Operations department?" the Captain asked.

Dani nodded to herself for a moment as she seemed to considered her answer. "I suppose I get along pretty well with everybody, Ma'am," was Ensign Daystrom's answer. "I can't think of anyone in the department that I've had a problem working with. We've got a good group in Operations, you know? Professionalism seems to be one of the things we do best. On my end, I try to make myself available to anyone on the team, for whatever they might need help with. I guess you could say that I've got a pretty outgoing personality, which has helped me in my working relationships with my colleagues."

"Being friends with officers under your command is one thing and that's all well and good but what I want to know is, are you able to be the Department Head. That means disciplining someone under your command if necessary.. even if you have a personal relationship with them as a friend.."

Dani swallowed. She actually hadn't had to discipline or reprimand anyone on her team yet ... not in the entire time she'd been aboard. Without an actual history of having done so to back her up, could Dani reasonably convince Kennit that she had what it took to discipline her people when it came to it? What else could the pretty brown-skinned ensign do but sit up straight and state with as firm a resolve as she could manage:

"Yes, Ma'am. If any of my people ever get out of line, you can definitely count on me to handle the situation."

The Captain shook her head slightly, rising from her seat to walk across the back of the office area towards a cabinet set below the viewport where she picked up a padd and activated the device with a swipe of her thumb. "I have a list of potential candidates which were sent to me from Starfleet a few weeks ago.." she said, glancing towards the waiting officer for a moment. "Due to our location so far from conventional Federation space.. the final selection has been left up to me."

She returned to her seat, eyes on the data padd. "I was wondering if you'd approach me.. I'm glad to see you didn't disappoint. It tells me I've made the right decision.. I am hereby promoting you to the rank of Lieutenant, and the position of Chief Operations Officer." As she spoke, the Captain withdrew a set of rank pips in a leather case out and slid the case across the desk towards Daystrom. "Effective immediately. Congratulations Lieutenant.."

Dani let out a whoop and pulled her fists down from the air to her chest, as if seizing victory and holding it close. "Thank you so much, Ma'am!" she exclaimed, standin up to take the leather case and extract its new gold & black rank pips. Using her fingers to feel for the proper position, Danielle clasped the new metallic pieces into place upon her gold-accented collar. A megawatt smile beamed from her exotic elfin features as she cheekily modeled the new rank for her captain.

"How do I look," asked Dani, elated.

"Like a newly minted Lieutenant.." the Captain replied. "Now, I'm sure you have some work to attend to so I won't keep you from it.. Dismissed.." she added with a hint of a smile on her face.

 

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