So you want what??

Posted on Tue Apr 25th, 2017 @ 10:55am by Lieutenant Commander Craig Travis & Commander Walter Prescott

Mission: Indomitable Will
Location: Security Office - Deck 13

Travis had taken a couple days off to unwind and process what all he had seen during his undercover missions down in the lower levels. He now had a fresh shave and a clean uniform and was in his office going over some action reports that had come in during the last few days. He had no clue just how big this job was going to be. It was a lot. As he was finishing up he headed out of his office to the coffee pot in the middle of the Center. Travis hated replicated coffee so he always had the real thing shipped in and brewed it in house. As he was filling up his cup he saw a yellow shirt coming walking into the center.

One of the first things Walter noticed upon emerging from the turbolift was how relaxed everything seemed. This was all relative, of course. There were certainly many other parts of the station that one might easily have described as "relaxed". The station promenade, the arboretum, or one of the recreation centers were just a few examples. Yet compared to his experience passing through security when he boarded the station, Walter was somewhat surprised to find the Security Center itself far less...intimidating.

Part of that probably had to do with the way the room was arranged. Unlike many starships or even smaller installations, the central hub of the Security department was more of an open concept. It reminded Walter of holo-recordings his sister used to watch of old crime stories that took place on Earth.

"Good morning," Walter said, greeting the crewman seated at the check-in area, "I'm looking for Lieutenant Travis."

As he finished pouring the cup the Yellow shirt that had peaked his interest had just inquired about him. Now he was very interested. He made his way over to the Reception desk and before the crewman could answer Travis did. "I am Lieutenant Travis. How can I help you, Sir." Travis did not recognize him, but gave respect to a senior officer all the same.

"They tell me you're the man to see about a security briefing."

Walter flashed a smile. It was routine for any personnel transferring into a new assignment to meet with someone in the Security department. The purpose of these meetings was to give new arrivals a chance to learn more about their new posting while at the same time making sure individuals were being properly screened for security clearance. Given that Walter was a member of the station's senior staff, one could only assume the person he was expected to meet with was the Security Chief.

"Well step right in here and we can discuss things." Travis motioned to enter his office. Once they were in Travis offered him the chair across the table from him. "So lets start with who you are and what is your role here.?"

"Lieutenant Commander Walter Prescott," the engineer replied as he lowered himself into the chair, "Chief of Operations." He offered Travis a small PADD. The device contained a copy of his official transfer orders along with a summary of his service record. Although such information should have been easily accessible from the station's main computer, accessing it in a timely fashion wasn't necessarily the most reliable method during a personnel transfer. That's why it was always a good idea to have a copy available on hand.

Travis skimmed over the highlights. "Well do have any idea what your getting into? You may have the only job more complex and large scale than me." Travis said with a huge grin

The comment elicited a half-smile from Walter. He could tell the lieutenant was just trying to break the ice, but of all the things this new assignment represented, that was the one thing people seemed to have focused on the most. That wasn't to say Walter had managed to completely wrap his mind around the idea. Overseeing an entire Stardock-class station was a big responsibility. In many ways, this was something he'd spent over half his Starfleet career preparing for.

"You're probably right."

Travis was glad to see the half smile. Good to see he was not taking things to serious. "So what sort of concerns do you have?"

"Honestly, it's difficult to say," Walter admitted. The truth was he hadn't been aboard the station long enough. A few days of unpacking and wandering around hardly seemed like enough to consider oneself "familiar" with how things were going, at least not in any sort of meaningful sense. Most of what he knew about the station came from pouring over status reports and a handful of conversations with his predecessor, Lieutenant Commander Le Austin. "There's only so much you can learn about a place from reading about it," he continued, "I'll feel comfortable once I've had more time to actually get to know the place."

Travis could not agree more he was still learning more and more about the place. "That is very true. There are so many different areas and cultures on board. I have given you all the appropriate access you will need."

"That's it?"

"Well I could bore you with the general crime statistics, but you have a big enough job ahead of you trying to run the biggest department the station has." Travis replied. Not real sure what he was looking for.

The engineer had heard one or two stories about Starbase 332 over the years. After having received his new assignment, however, Walter had made a point of looking into the station's history more closely. Everything he'd learned thus far led him to believe that station security was of critical concern. This was certainly true of any Starfleet vessel or installation, but he would have thought it doubly so here, especially after the bombing three years prior. Surely there were procedures he needed to be briefed on, situations he needed to be made aware of, areas he would be expected to collaborate in.

"I dunno," Walter said, "I guess I was expecting...more."

"Other than an uptick in gang activity in the lower levels and the occasional issues I have with Akiashiro folks, things have been pretty quiet lately." Travis paused. "Don't worry we will have lots of times when we need to work together when things go south. We do have a Klingon war going on not to far from here. Is there an area that gives you immediate concern?"

"Nothing that can't wait, I suppose."

Travis was pleased. "Well if you have nothing else I suppose let me welcome you to our flying city." He said as he stood and offered his hand.