Eager to Begin
Posted on Wed Mar 6th, 2024 @ 7:10am by Lieutenant JG Callin Mastrel & Rear Admiral Yoshi Minawara
Mission:
Shakedown Shake-Up
Location: Esquimalt
2366 words - 4.7 OF Standard Post Measure
For once, Callin figured he had the most excellent excuse for being late. Not one instructor at the Academy, just a few years back for the young pilot, nor anyone in command at his previous ship, the Aries, had been keen on excuses. Not that he was late often. His new assignment had required him to report for duty days ago! Even though he was certain he finally had an excuse that no one in Starfleet could find fault with, he still rushed from the transporter room as soon as he arrived. No time for sightseeing, at least not yet.
The computer had answered his rapid questions about where his commanding officer was - off station on temporary assignment at the moment - as well as the next up in the chain of command as well. Callin was perhaps the slightest bit intimidated by the time he arrived outside of the Admiral's office, having discovered this is where protocol would lead him today. He took a moment to catch his breath from his jog through the station, to finger-comb his hair back, and to straighten his tunic, feeling like he was a cadet all over again preparing for inspection. He even bent down to rub a smudge off his polished boots he'd taken while running here. Only when at last sure his uniform was neat, and his cheeks no longer flushed, did he press the chime to announce himself to the man within.
There was a pause that hung in the space for longer than most. Finally the doors hissed opened and instead of the Admiral revealed a Lieutenant Commander, stepping from the room. The woman was tall, though only slightly more so than the younger man on the other side. "Apologies for keeping him from you Lieutenant," she said, slipping into a more professional tone as she did and nodding to him. Stepping out of the way, she gestured past towards the larger room beyond. From his desk at the back, Yoshi regarded the man who was standing there, his own face slipping from that of someone having a conversation with a friend back to that of the member of Starfleet Brass addressing another officer.
"Come in Lieutenant," he called, standing to move to the small station just off to the side. He carefully poured himself a coffee, pouring another into a spare glass and placing them on his desk, gesturing to the seats opposite himself as he settled back into his seat. "What can I do for you?"
"Commander," Callin greeted the woman immediately, dropped his eyes even a few degrees. Instant deference, and not just due to her rank. "No problem at all, ma'am. My apologies for any interruption."
He might have been more relaxed in his posture and manners if she hadn't been there, even for an admiral. As it was, he walked a bit stiffly to the indicated chair and sat on the edge. "Admiral Minawara, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm Callin Mastrel, on reassignment from the Aries to the Vesta." That had come out about as stiff as he'd moved as well, but now he cracked a bit of a grin. "I think I have the best excuse for being late? I'd almost reached the station before - poof! Imagine the look on the transport captain's faces - he had two heads, Commander, Admiral - when we had to turn around and come back the way we came by nearly 250 lightyears!" He chuckled at that. "Subspace chatter has been nothing but the relocation since then, scuttlebutt is going wild."
Yoshi and Victoria shared a look, he's one of bemused enjoyment for the excitable nature, his a look of Please don't go. "Quite the adventure you have had, Lieutenant," she said, the amusement colouring her tone. "I apologize Admiral, I have some matters to take care of while the Vesta is undergoing refit still. I head we are getting a new sensor suite and an upgraded comms array. I want to make sure we are ready for Fleet operations when we depart." Her eyes danced a little, the old dynamic of the two still somewhat familiar to both.
"Thank you Commander," Yoshi replied, his own tone coloured by mild annoyance - at her being cheeky above all else. "Please give my regards to the team working on her, and if they find time to send me an update. Should they need anything-"
"I'll have them contact Captain Darrow or Commander Mantell, I am sure an Admiral has more important things." The door hissed open, and then closed again a second later as she departed, Yoshi's eyes turning back to the young man in front of him.
"Apologies," he said, pulling a holoscreen up to include the information about the Lieutenant for his review. "Commander Moreau is an old friend, and my former Chief of the Boat. I fear she is having more fun with my promotion than I am." He settled himself a little, eyes glancing to the report. "Welcome to Task Force Seventy-Two, and to the USS Vesta, you'll get used to the scuttlebutt soon enough, it is rather pervasive and seems to be the cloud that hangs over us. I would be lying if I said that sometimes I didn't envy Admiral Lancaster, who seems to have avoided any manner of public spotlight for his tenure." The Admiral smiled wryly, taking a sip of his coffee. "I won't keep you too long Lieutenant, but I know Captain Darrow and Lieutenant Marocain well enough to have a good idea of their minds. Tell me, have you completed your Slipstream Piloting course?"
"Absolutely not a problem, Admiral," Callin replied generously, and perhaps a bit too bluntly considering the vast rank gap, now that Commander Moreau had made good her escape. A visible tension drained from his shoulders at that and his grin grew two sizes. "I'm just a Jay-Gee. You tell me to wait in an airlock, I'd wait and scrub it clean in the meantime! That's kind of funny, apologizing to me and-" The pilot blinked, perhaps realizing again whom he was talking to, that he had been intimidated slightly before the door had opened by the rank, and pulled back the enthusiasm somewhat. In his experience, Humans and Admirals both liked a bit of a filter, not that he had much experience with the latter. "-and I have completed my testing, yes sir. I'm eager to try the real thing at last. Warp is so last-century." Just a bit of a filter.
"The USS Brava has just completed her shakedown and is assigned to a full run down of her Quantum Slipstream Drive, a short hop from here to Obsidian Command and back. She's an Excelsior-II, so a little more modern features than the original Vesta frame, but a little less finesse. Would be a good temporary assignment, get you your hands on time," Yoshi said, looking over the Lieutenants file, and crossing the data with near-by ships that would make good for a test. "Or, it looks like the Vesta herself will be ready for space trials within the week, I could allow you the tackle of the controls. It won't be anything exciting, a run up to speed and then back, making sure all the major systems are working as expected." He turned to look back at the younger man, his face having settled into the impassive mask that was his default with man. Not angry, not annoyed, but merely there.
He could of course allow the kid to wait for the full proper deployment, but the Admiral had been on some of the early flights, sat in conversations with Tom Paris and Harry Kim around the drive and its inner workings. He remembered the shock of the first flight, and wanted to extend an opportunity for a more free and relaxed chance to try out the controls.
Callin had to pause and give this some thought. He hadn't expected options. Also, he had new responsibilities to consider, not just one pilot in a team rotating in and out now, he was assistant to a senior officer. There was more to consider than just his own desires and experiences now. How could he best-serve both his new department head and his crew? "I think," Callin began slowly, "I'll stick it out here with the Vesta sir, as she gets ready. With Lieutenant Marocain gone, Flight Control probably has a whole lot of work to cover still before the trials." As much as he yearned to jump behind the controls of the Brava and get his first taste at Slipstream, the more responsible choice seemed to him to step in to ensure that his department was as prepared as they could be while their chief was away.
Nodding, Yoshi dimsmissed the Brava's report and shuffled away that their own crew would be getting to do the test. Their Chief Helmsman was already checked out, so it just meant that he'd need to find a check officer to clear the Lieutenant at some point. Or maybe that was a problem for Ewan, who knew. "She does have a lot going on - new reaction systems, some upgrades to the runabout landing space. There are a lot of changes happening while the kids in drydock have her, so there is more than enough work to go around." The Admiral smiled, the polite smile of a senior officer who had little else to say on a matter. "Other than that, is there anything I can do to help get you settled? You'll be here at least until the Nelson returns, giving you a chance to explore the station at least."
Already he began making a list in his head, though Callin would be sure to check in with the officer in charge of the refit and repairs for the Vesta to get a complete picture. He'd need to meet with the other pilots, it'd probably be a good idea to ensure their medical and counselling records were up to date (he knew full well how hard it was to get pilots in for checkups sometimes since he himself hated it too), the engineering teams to see how they could make themselves available to coordinate tests, flight deck personnel for the shuttle compliment of the vessel and see what their needs were, probably double-check with the quartermaster about department supplies and status of restocking, and the Divines knew what else he'd discover needed doing along the way. The more he could get done before Lieutenant Marocain returned, the better. For the first time, the realization of just how much work his new position would entail began to dawn on Callin.
"Just one thing, really, Admiral," the junior lieutenant said, coming out of his mental perpetrations. In studying and training for the newest propulsion system, he'd seen the Admiral's name more than once. He leaned forward in his seat slightly, a bundle of excitement barely restrained, "What's it like, sir? Quantum Slipstream, I mean. No holodeck sim is ever going to compare to the real thing, right?"
There was a moment, where Yoshi kept the composed face, a mask of relative and polite indifference. A hair of it slipped, and a twinkle set itself into his eyes, and smile gripped at the edge of his mouth. He resisted the urge to give a bit of a laugh. "No amount of holodeck is going to get you really ready for the experience." He paused to think it over, playing with the idea in his mind to find an easy way to describe it. "You know when you're kid, and you make your first warp jump? The way that you can swear you feel subspace tugging on you? Slipstream is like that, but different. It's faster, and you can tell from the way the ship tugs. It also flies differently in it. At lower speeds its like navigating through the atmosphere, there is a pull that is almost unperceivable. As you get faster, the pull gets more noticeable. But there is a rush to it, and a different kind of connection to the ship that you can't really explain until you have done it. And the Vesta herself has a lot of character as well, so you'll get a real feel for it."
One didn't have to be a telepath to pick up on the Admiral's restraint. Just the words he chose, the description, seemed to prove how much this whole thing meant to the man. Callin was excited before he'd stepped into the room, now he was thrilled at the prospect of getting to fly with the QSD. The younger man smiled enough for the both of them. "Thank you, Admiral," he said, maintaining the last shreds of a decorous tone, swept up in the idea. "I appreciate your insight, and your time, sir. Which I won't waste any more of, if I'm dismissed." So it probably wasn't his place to say that last bit, but Betazoid candor being what it was, he was being restrained!
The Admiral nodded. "To your duties then," he said looking down at his own work once more. A slew a matters had been added to the display before he'd even had a chance to count the first few.
"Yes, Admiral, thank you sir," Callin popped back to his feet, made a smart snap to attention briefly, ruined only by the grin, and headed off.
Once the young, excited pilot had left, Yoshi looked up at the chair he'd been in before, and offered another faint smile. Had he been that excitable at that age? It was only a few decades between them, and yet it felt like it was several lifetimes away. Being an Admiral, confined to the desk, meant he was going to miss a lot of the action he lived for. But maybe, if there were kids like this bouncing around, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
