Filling Big Shoes

Posted on Tue Apr 14th, 2015 @ 2:39pm by Captain Liarra Von & Ensign Corrine Steiner

Mission: Ill Tidings
Location: Captain's Office, SB332

The Captain had been gazing out her window and nursing a cappuccino when her office door chimed sounded the arrival of a visitor. "Come in," she called out to the air, turning to see who had come to talk to her.

"Captain? Ensign Steiner reporting as called."

"Ah, Ensign. Please, come in and have a seat." Von stepped away from the viewport and stepped back around to her side of the desk. She took a seat across from Steiner and sat her mug on firmly on the desk top. "There's probably no need to beat around the bush. I'm betting by now you've heard about Lieutenant Deakin."

Corrie's sigh was laden with tension and grief, "We all have, ma'am. The rumors are wildfire. We don't know the details, but I figure that the official announcement will tell us."

"I've asked Commander Gunning to put something together along with his report," Von replied, nodding. "From what I do understand, he was captured by someone out for revenge, and that Lieutenant Deakin sacrificed his life so that the rest of the the rescue team could escape." She paused a moment to let the information sink in. "I know that I risk sounding calloused, but his unfortunate death has left us short handed in the operations department. I know that you are still fairly new, but I'd like you to consider taking over the department, at least for the time being. According to Lt. Deakin's logs, he was quite impressed with how far you've come in such a short period of time. He was even considering making you his assistant chief, though he never got the chance to send in the paperwork."

Corrie sat there largely speechless. The idea of taking a command position had never entered her mind. "Um..." She finally was able to reply, but only "Wow." She resettled in her seat and collected her wits, "Okay, that wasn't a terribly intelligent response."

Von shrugged slightly. She wasn't really sure what she should say in response to that. In the short time that she had known Steiner, there were plenty of situations where she spoke without really planning out her words first. Liarra was starting to get used to it.

Corrie sighed, but restfully. "Honestly? I think can handle it. The beauty of an interim position is, it allows a testing time, a proving ground."

"That's pretty much what I was thinking too," Liarra replied, nodding. "I know it's a lot to take in, and I'm sure you'll need some support early on as you get settled. We may need to calm down some of your, let's say impulsive, characteristics," Von added, referring to the recent episode with the Ferengi ships, "but that's something that we can work on."

Corrie's eyes lowered in a guilty smile, "Yes, ma'am." She then offered her backwards admission, "I don't suppose that we could classify impulsiveness as a readiness to take initiative?"

Von smiled. "It's a fine line, Ensign, but we can work on making that definition clearer."

Corrie nodded, grateful for the patience. Her mood then became more sober, "Captain, have you had the time to review my report about dream-visions of Samanthia Akiashiro?"

Von was quite for a moment as she reflected her thoughts. She had seen that the report had come in, but she hadn't bothered to look at it. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ensign. I've had a lot to deal with because of Lt. Deakin's death and some other security reports. I haven't had a chance to review it." Von still wasn't convinced that these visions actually meant anything, but she decided to humor her. "Why don't you give me the summary?"

Corrine returned a nod and then stared off. "Samanthia will be exploring an archaeological find. I'm no expert, but my searches indicate it might be an ancient Iconian stargate. It looked like it was in excellent condition. In my vision, Sojourners stealthily approached and attacked her. They nailed her hard. I don't know if she will survive or not." She made eye contact with her captain, almost reluctant to add, "There was some sort of Iconian... presence attempting to warn her, but she could not perceive them. My submitted file contains map and shuttle details."

"An Iconian gateway?" Von responded with some surprise. She hadn't heard about anything like that around this region. "That could be an interesting find. I'm sure Starfleet would be interested in it, especially if it's near Sojourner-controlled territory." She realized that she was getting ahead of herself, especially since she wasn't sure Steiner's dream even meant anything. "As far as Samanthia, I'm not sure there is much I can do. I can't order her not to go. I can't even order her to take any kind of protection. She's a civilian, and not under my chain of command. I'll review your report, but I don't know if there is anything I can do for her. Have you mentioned it to Ms. Akiashiro personally?"

Corrie closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. "I don't dare. I can't risk being exposed, ma'am. I feel much safer reporting visions to you and leaving it at that." She was hesitant, "I... it's not mine to dictate, Captain. But if the Sojourners will be able to reactivate an ancient Iconian gateway, then that would be bad. If Samanthia is the one who will discover it, then perhaps the Federation would be wise to keep tabs on the situation. Speaking from personal experience as their prisoner, Federation black ops wouldn't pass up the opportunity for covert surveillance."

The girl had a point, and one that had crossed Von's mind. "I agree that we can't let something like that get in the hands of the Sojourners. I can pass the information along, but you still put me in a tough place. If I ask Ms. Akiashiro about it, then she'll think that I've been spying on her. And if I pass the report along to Starfleet Intelligence, they'll want to know where I got it. I'll speak with Commander Gunning and see if he has any thoughts on the matter."

Corrie's tone was subdued, "Captain, I don't think that Fleet intel will need to ask you anything. They know I'm here. As for Samanthia, asking her isn't going to make much difference to the outcome." She closed her eyes and added with barely audible voice, "I leave this burden with you."

"Perhaps you're right, Ensign." It still put Liarra in a bit of a tough place, but if Corrie was right, having an Iconian gateway in their possession would be extremely valuable. "I'll see what I can do."

---

Captain Liarra Von
Commanding Officer
Starbase 332

Ensign Corrine Steiner
Acting Chief Operations Officer
Starbase 332