Gold or Navy I am so confused?

Posted on Mon Aug 15th, 2016 @ 5:52pm by Lieutenant Commander Thomas Byrne & Lieutenant Commander Craig Travis

Mission: Brave New World
Location: Station Security Office

It had been a long trip from Kolver Base to the deep South. As his shuttle approached the station Craig couldn't help but think that even though they said it was a big base this was a very big base. Once docked Craig had a dock worker take his belongings and gave them his move slip so they could get it in the right quarters. Craig was set on meeting his new boss. When the transfer had been finalized he was issued new StarFleet uniforms with the gold trim since he would be with security. Craig was making his way off the ship and he saw a Crewman in a navy blue unirom with a sign that said Lt. Travis on it. Craig went over. "I am Lt. Travis."

"I am to welcome you to 332 and take you to see Lieutenant Commander Byrne." The crewman said and turned "Follow me" The two men headed off and Craig got a short little tour on his way to the Base Security hub. Once there he was lead to the door and the crewman hit the door chime.

Byrne looked up from the reports he was filtering through at his desk - newly requisitioned to replace the standard one that had been present when he had taken up his position, and quite a bit larger, with drawers to either side of him to fill with PADDs and other bits and bobs that still managed to find a way to clutter the top of the desk. The round office in the middle of the bullpen was set to its transparency mode, so he saw the two standing at the door as he looked up. "Come in!" he called.

Craig made his way in the Office he really liked the layout of the bullpen design. He saw the section chiefs look up and take notice of him as he made his way in the the office. Craig also noticed everyone wearing blue and not sure why that was but he was gonna go with it. "Sir, First Lie.... I mean Lieutenant Travis I have been assigned to the station as your Assistant Chief." Craig walked up to the desk and resisted the urge to salute as we typically a marine thing.

"Ah, Lieutenant. Welcome to Three-Three-Two," Byrne answered, standing and reaching a hand over his desk to offer it to shake. "I have to say, you come highly recommended by Admiral Waterman and General Stephens. They practically steam-rolled me into giving you the job."

"Well I apologize for that." Craig shook the officers hand. "They knew my background and being a Company XO was not really for me. I am more of a "get your hands dirty' kind of guy. I like to be involved. I also hope that I will prove that even though you might have been steamrolled I was the best person for the job."

"Well, here's to hoping that their choice was the right one," Byrne answered, a slight grin on his face. He indicated for the man to take a seat before lowering himself back into his own. "I must admit, I haven't worked too closely with many marine officers, at least not since the war. There are likely to be quite a few differences to how we do things around her compared to what you're used to in the Corps."

"I am sure and from looking at the uniforms there is a difference in how you handle things on such a big station than I am used to being done by Fleeters on a ship or smaller base." Craig commented as he took his seat. "I Have a couple questions for you if you don't mind?"

"Go ahead," Byrne said, adding emphasis with a gesture of his hand as he leant back in his chair.

"Well I have read that you have section chiefs to help break up this massive place. I am curious as to what my role is in your eyes and expectations?" Craig wanted to hear from the horses mouth what was his responsibility.

"The section chiefs are responsible for security personnel, patrols and procedures in each of their areas, but they're coordinated from us." Byrne began. "The situation is different here from most other assignments in that the delegation goes a whole lot deeper than on a starship, or I imagine on a marine base. For the most part, you and I will be looking at the big picture. We'll coordinate between the section chiefs and give out orders to be cascaded down, but we should generally leave the details of how to carry out those orders to the chiefs. Our job is to be across everything, as much as it is possible to be. While the section chiefs need to be making us aware of what is happening in their sections, we need to be able to make the connections; make ourselves aware of an individual in the docking section because of a number of incidents linked to them in the habitation areas, and make those connections known to the chiefs. We will also take charge in any situations that affect the security of the station as a whole."

Craig shook his head as the Chief explained things. "Sounds good to me. I do tend to be kind of hands on and not a huge desk kind of guy. So if its ok with you I plan on making rounds with the section chiefs and overseeing operations. Not so much to micro-manage but to get a pulse of what is going on and help with the flow of information from them to you."

"Good, hands on is what I like. The department is large enough that we have our own administration staff, so it's a luxury we can afford. I'll be doing my own rounds as well. It keeps us in touch with the station, and means that we're nice and visible to the station population. I don't want us to become the aloof security big shots that nobody but the senior staff gets to see."

"I am glad we are on the same page" Craig was quite pleased of this approach.

"Since procedures here are different from a lot of what you're used to, I'll give you a brief run-down;" Byrne started listing off items, holding a finger up to number each as he went. "We're members of Starfleet Security, so off-base and at formal functions, we wear the standard gold uniform. However, our role on a starbase this large is quite different to a normal security force, so to make it clear to the population where the divide between security and operations sits, our standard duty uniform is dark blue. Standing orders are for all security personnel to wear Type-I or Type-II phasers while on-duty, and everyone must be proficient in their use. Duty logs are to be updated by the end of each day, and you're to keep me informed of any new or ongoing investigations as they come up."

Craig couldn't be happier with how this post was working out. He had his worries about switching over to fleet and how this would work out with a new post but it seemed like it was going to go splendidly. "That all sounds very doable. Other than letting you know when something comes up, do you want to have set sitdowns to discuss things?"

"I hold weekly briefings with each of the section chiefs, which you'll be a part of, but I'd like to meet with you an hour or so beforehand, to go through things from a command perspective," Byrne said. "Outside of that, if at any time you want any extra sit-downs with me, just ask and I'll make sure to make the time."

Craig's mind was more and more at ease as the conversation when on. His boss had a similar command style to him which is nice.

"One last thing to make you aware of," Byrne said, leaning forward and resting his arms on his desk now. "Security aboard a starbase, especially one as large as this, is a different matter to anywhere else you may have served. We know for a fact that there are criminal elements on the station, of varying degrees of severity. While we will work to rid the station of the most undesirable elements, the civilian population and the sheer size of the station mean that it would be impossible to lock it down as tightly as a starship or marine base. There are a lot of unnecessary evils we have to put up with here on the station; we may not like it, but some of it must be tolerated. The Akiashiros are likely to be the first such group you'll come across. They're far too embedded for us to be able to remove them without it turning into a firefight, and they're far too careful about evidence for us to make anything stick against them. They have a whole deck locked down pretty tight, and station security isn't often welcome there. I make it a point to go down there every so often, to remind them that they are on a Starfleet station and they don't own the place... but the situation is tricky. You'll find a lot more shades of grey on the station than you had in the marine corps, Lieutenant."

"That is very understandable. I did serve on a civilian police force before the Corp. I believe that was a big reason I was transferred here because of the similarities between this station and Police work. As for the Akiashiro issue I will let you know that I agree we can't take out all of the crime but I will not be ok to turning a blind eye to them breaking law just because of who they are. I agree they need to be given some space, but if they openly break the law I will bring them in." Craig hopped he wasn't be to forward. But while he understood the concept of Grey he was not one to be manipulated by criminals.

"Agreed. Nobody gets a free pass here while I'm around," the commander said, nodding. "Do you have any questions for me about your new assignment?"

"Not that I think of. To be honest I had many concerns about transitioning from Marine to Fleet, and being in a big spot like this. I am very much more at ease after this talk that we seem to be on the same page. I want you to know I am very open to feedback so if you see areas for me to improve on let me know." Craig enjoyed his first meeting.

"Glad to hear it," Byrne replied, standing as their meeting came to an end. "I'll let you get to familiarising yourself with your new duties. Welcome aboard Three-Three-Two."

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Lt.Cmdr. Thomas Byrne
Chief of Base Security

&

Lt. Craig Travis
Asst. Chief of Base Security