Unfamiliar Territory
Posted on Tue Apr 4th, 2017 @ 8:20pm by Commander Titus Livius Drusus PhD & Lieutenant Erin Whitlam PhD
Mission:
Shadows and Whispers
Location: Chief Science Officer's Office
Erin hesitated outside the door, her thumb hovering over the call button. This was unfamiliar territory for her; she’d never had to go over somebody’s head before and she didn’t like it. That wasn’t to say that she would stop herself from doing it, just that she wasn’t comfortable with it.
She had still yet to meet the chief science officer and this was probably not going to leave him with the best first impression. How would he react to some junior newbie stomping in over the chain of command? Things were different in science departments, though; far less martial than elsewhere in Starfleet. On the other hand, the CSO was Magna Roman; far more martial than others in Starfleet.
Self-doubt crept into her thinking. She hated that feeling and quietly cursed whatever genetic twist of fate was responsible for it. It wasn’t often that she was beset with such doubts, but this was one such time. She played through the conversation in her head, practiced what she would say and anticipated possible responses from the commander.
Just get in there and do it! she told herself before taking a deep breath and thumbing the call button.
Nothing.
No, no! That wasn’t one of the possibilities she anticipated. She felt adrenaline surge as the plan she formulated in her mind fell apart around her. Don’t be silly she told herself. Maybe he just didn’t hear. Try again.
She took another deep breath and thumbed the call button again.
“Come.”
Commander Titus Livius Drusus finished reading the paragraph he was on and turned his attention from the terminal to the young officer who had just entered his office. He recognised her straight away of course; he was bound to notice someone whose doctoral dissertation made as many waves as her’s transferring into his department.
“Doctor Whitlam,” he said as he stood and offered his hand.
That wasn’t part of her plan either, but Erin managed to keep her calm as she accepted the hand. “Doctor Drusus,” she replied.
“Take a seat,” Drusus said, gesturing to one of the chairs on the other side of his desk as he resumed his seat. “It’s good to meet you, finally,” he said once they were both seated. “I have to say, I enjoyed reading your dissertation. I’m sure it ruffled a few feathers and sent legions of boffins rushing to try and disprove you in peer review.”
Erin felt herself relax almost instantly as the conversation started in her home turf - her research. She managed a wry smile, “Many have tried, but none have succeeded yet.”
“Indeed,” Drusus replied. “That must be very gratifying. Now,” he tapped the desktop and swivelled his chair to the right so that he was side-on to the desk, “what can I do for you today?”
She cleared her throat and sat up straighter in the chair. “Sir,” she began, launching into her prepared remarks, “there’s a binary system seven light-years from here that I believe is an excellent candidate for in-depth study in order to further my research.”
Drusus nodded as he listened. “Galenera?”
Erin’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “How did you know?”
“Well, it is strikingly similar to Scobee,” the chief science officer replied, as though it was obvious.
“Yes!” she replied, suddenly feeling enthusiastic about this. He gets it, why can’t Zohlaosh? “That’s exactly what I thought as well. Trouble is, I don’t have the best equipment here on the Starbase to really get a good look inside the barycenter.”
“Ah,” he said, seeing where she was going.
“In order to do that,” she continued, barely noticing the subtle change in her listener’s demeanour, “I really need a Mark Four Subspace Gravimetric Spectrometer, but the station only has a Three.”
“Well, Lieutenant,” the Magna Roman began before she could continue speaking, “if you have a special equipment requisition, you should be directing that to your division head. Have you raised this with Lieutenant Zohlaosh?”
She sighed and felt her shoulders fall just a little. “Yes,” she said. “He said that my research was without merit and refused to approve the requisition. I told him I was going to appeal to you, sir.”
Drusus swivelled back to face her head on in his chair and clasped his hands together on the desktop. “Look, I understand your frustration. But I’m not going to overrule one of my division heads. You’re going to have to change his mind if you want a special requisition.”
No! That’s not how this was supposed to happen! Erin felt a wave of disappointment wash over her as she realised he was refusing her request. He wasn’t being such a stubborn, arrogant jerk about it, but he was still refusing her.
“However,” Drusus continued after another moment, stroking his chin and looking off in thought.
Her eyes shot back to his face and she felt her back straighten just a little. Was that hope?
“Starfleet is phasing in the roll out of the Mark Fours over the next twenty months or so, which means we will get one sooner or later.” He thought for a second then tapped the desktop. “I tell you what you should do,” he said, a plan coalescing before him. “Go have a chat with somebody in operations. They might know when we’re due to get one and maybe they can pull a few strings to get it sooner. You might not need a special requisition at all.”
Erin smiled; that was hope! “Thank you, sir,” she said, relieved. “Can I tell them you sent me?”
“You can tell them I’m wondering when we’ll get one, but that’s it,” his face took on a grim, stone-like property and Erin could sense a warning coming on. “I won’t be pushing for it, so if I find out you’ve tried to use my name for leverage over some supply clerk, I’ll have you on sanitation duty for six months then transfer you someplace that won’t see a Mark Four SGS for a long, long time. Understood?”
She nodded, a little taken aback by the sudden change in the commander’s tone. “Yes, sir,” she said. “Don’t worry, you can rely on me.”
“Good,” Drusus replied, more casually than his warning. He turned back to his terminal and the report he had been studying. “Good luck, Doctor Whitlam.”
Erin knew that was a dismissal, so she stood up and took her leave. “Thank you for your time, sir,” she said as she left.
Now, all I need to do is find someone in Operations.
Lieutenant (JG) Erin Whitlam PhD
Science Officer
Commander Titus Livius Drusus PhD
Chief Science Officer
