Not Here To Make Friends

Posted on Tue Jan 3rd, 2012 @ 8:33am by Captain Alexander Gunning & Lieutenant Palabra Suder

Mission: The Invasion of Thane
Location: Commanding Officer's Officer - Deck 12
Timeline: MD01 - 0820hrs - Launch - 1.5hrs

[ON]

Palabra stepped into Ops with neither a sense of apprehension nor excitement. She had done this all too many times to worry about the impression she was making or was about to make on her new CO and, while not eager to get it over with, she knew not to expect anything less than the distrust and, perhaps, condescension that other commanders had shown her grey uniform in the past. She had read something about Commander Gunning, in fact, she had read something about the entire senior staff, a prerogative of intelligence that she more than willingly took advantage of, and there was nothing in the file that made this assignment seem to be anything other than standard. She would be distrusted at first, accepted eventually and perhaps even prove to be useful in the long run and she was fine with that. She was not here to make friends, nor to serve to Commander per se, but to keep an eye on things, ensure the safety of the Federation and so long as no one interfered with that, she would have no complaints.

She stepped through Ops with the usual appearance of calm disinterest, well aware of the glances she was receiving and the unusual drop in volume of the conversation across the room. Some part of her wanted to jump around and shout 'boo!' but then that was a part of her that most of her -- the humourless officer -- usually did her best tosuppress.

The chime echoed from within the Commander's office and Palabra was impressed to hear the immediate response. Efficiency was something she could respect and when the doors opened, revealing the commander himself, impeccably uniformed behind his desk, that respect only increased. This was not something his psychological profile had prepared her for but she moved with it, aware that appearances weren't quite everything, but pleased that this man had at least a superficial respect for decorum.

She came to an easy attention. "Lt. Palabra Suder, reporting, sir."

"Lieutenant Suder," Gunning said, repeating her name as though giving himself a moment to think. He had already had two new officers pass through his doors today, only to be papped onto the nearest available ship and off to fight at Thane.

He glanced at his chronometer. She'll be on the bridge of a Starship within the hour. Terrible way to introduce someone to a new assignment.

"Ahh, yes. Our new Chief of Intelligence." He could have just looked at her tunic and rank but that would have been far too easy. "Have a seat, Lieutenant."

The Intelligence officer nodded and obediently took her seat. "Thank you, sir." She took the moment's pause to glance around the office and wasn't particularly surprised or taken aback by the contents. She returned her gaze to the commander.

"Now then, I hope you'll forgive the presumption but I'd like to think that you've done some reading on the politics of the sector." Gunning took a long look at the woman across the table who was quite strikingly Betazoid. "I've had Intelligence Officers sit across that desk that didn't know the first thing about our region of space."

Straight to business, she liked that. Suder nodded, crossing her legs and settling into what she was hoping would be a thoroughly informative conversation. "I have, sir."

"Then you'll know that the Thane system has been attacked by the Ritorian Confederacy in the past." He said without missing a beat. "We have reason to believe they plan to attack Thane at some time within the next few weeks. We are being sent by Admiral Sanchez to deter and repel any attack. But then; you already knew that, didn't you Lieutenant?"

The Lieutenant allowed a small smile and nodded again. "I did, sir. But I have also learned to never underestimate the value of a first-hand opinion."

"The only opinion I can offer is my own personal one on Starfleet's priorities for Galactic South. As it stands, that doesn't come into it. We need to go down there and attempt to repel any invasion." He inhaled through his teeth. "I'm a little light on Tactical officers. Do you have any experience on weapon systems?"

The idea of all out conflict was not something that sat easy with the intelligence officer. Not that she opposed violence, but she had more often found that a few words in the right ear could be enough to turn a situation. Perhaps her reports had been incomplete but she had not been under the impression that force would be necessary here. Nonetheless she was not ready to question a commanding officer she had just met and instead she replied to the question on hand. "I have trained on most Starfleet tactical systems, sir."

The Captain could tell that Suder was troubled by it. "There's no guarantee that we're going to come into a fire fight but unfortunately, the situation looks grim." He clasped his hands on the desk, trying not to seem too defeated. "If it comes to a tactical engagement then I'd like you at the Tactical controls of the USS Antietam."

"Certainly, sir." Suder was pleasantly surprised by the request. She certainly had worked a tactical station over the years... one of the requirements of the job always seemed a certain flexibility when it came to job description, but it was... flattering that he would entrust it to her after only one meeting. It was a level of trust that she was not accustomed to from other officers. "Are there any avenues you would like explored in order to avoid conflict, sir?"

"Unfortunately there are none that we can see, Lieutenant." Gunning said, passing her a PADD. "That's what we know so far but if the Ritorian Confederacy have crossed into Federation space then they will have no intention of communicating peaceably with us."

She nodded. That was certainly a logical conclusion and Suder appreciated the Captain's grasp of the situation. "Of course, sir."

"You're dismissed, Lieutenant. I'll see you on the bridge."

[OFF]

Captain Alex Gunning
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Palabra Suder
Chief Intelligence Officer