In With the New, Out With the Old

Posted on Fri Jul 6th, 2012 @ 6:49pm by Commander Oralia Zeferino & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Lieutenant Zachary Chase & Lieutenant Leona Aliso

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Security Offices

* * Security Offices, Late Night/Early AM * *

"Commander?" Chase casually leaned into Oralia's office then stepped in and took a seat. "You're around at an odd hour. What do you want to see me about?"

The Commander had watched Zachary as he settled in comfortably; she wasn't all that surprised when he pulled a fruit from his pocket and bit into it. This was just one more reason why she was doing what she was doing. Without any preamble, she informed him, "Lieutenant Zachary Chase, I am hereby removing you from the post of Assistant Chief of Security. You have the option of transferring to a new posting elsewhere or accepting a reduced responsibility role here on Starbase 900 under my command. You will be subordinate to Lieutenants Gilroy and Michael Darwin, as well as to any other officer in Security's Chain of Command, as you will be a rank'n'file member of the force."

"What!?" Chase was on his feet in a flash. "What the.... Why?" There were plenty of other words he wanted to fling at her, but he knew those would get him a quick trip off the Starbase.

"Why?" Oz leaned towards him across her desk. "Because I can." There were real reasons, but they were things she couldn't put in his personnel file - after all, she couldn't exactly put in there "I don't trust him", not without some sort of proof for why. "You have the remainder of the week off duty, Mr. Chase. Use the time to decide whether you'll accept a reduced role or request a transfer. The choice is yours."

Fuming but smart enough not to blow his top at her, Chase turned and left the Commander's office. Later, he was seen at Piper Medical for fractures in his left tibia and right ulna and humerus bones.

* * Later, But Still Early. Too Early * *

Carrying a PADD and two mugs of hot coffee, one with a good dose of cream and sugar, the other black, Lieutenant Darwin entered Oralia's office. He put the light and sweet coffee in front of her, commenting, "Decaf, huh? Why bother, Oz?" He sipped his own and took a seat opposite his Commanding Officer.

"For the calcium in the cream and the ...calories in the sugar?" She smiled at him. For Darwin to be casual with her was okay; he'd already earned her respect and his standing as one of her most trusted officers. As yet, though, trusted or not, she hadn't informed her officers that she had had a change in her health. She would inform them soon enough. "What's in the Morning Report?"

"That's a Broadway reference, isn't it?"

"No, it's a reference to an old..., oh, wait, it was in the Broadway show, not the movie. Anyway, Lion King," she nodded.

"You and Gilroy with the dead playwrights and writers," he grumbled as he shifted in his seat.

"Oh? Coming from the man who showed Iggy 'South Park's Finest Episodes'? Geez, that one is ancient! And now she quotes the little fat one." She laughed then gestured at his PADD, "C'mon, report."

"Little fat...? Oh, Cartmann. He's got the best lines. Ok, right, the report, Lieutenant Aliso was taken to Sickbay earlier this morning. Medical says she's clear for duty, seems to have just had some disorientation, maybe due to the travel from the Gamma Quadrant. She should be here in a few minutes," Darwin looked up at Oz, who was frowning.

"Aliso? Our new Assistant Chief of Security? And she's already been in Sickbay?" Pondering that, Oz found yet another new worry. What if her Assistant couldn't fill in when she was nine months along and about ready to-- She stopped that thought: thinking about childbirth freaked her out even more so than... well, than anything else she could imagine ever having to do. Even having field surgery with no anesthesia seemed like a far easier thing to bear...

Darwin shrugged, "Can't tell you anything more than what's in the Morning Report."

"Right, keep going."

He did, reading off items and pausing while he and Oralia discussed the items; he took notes about her orders regarding each issue. He was just starting in on another, about a disturbance at the Wormhole, when the door chime stopped him.

"Enter!", Oz called.

Entering the room, Leona stopped 3 paces in front of her new boss. "Ma'am, Lt. Aliso reports as ordered." She rarely used the reporting statement, but with a new posting and having to take a detour to sickbay she figured being a bit more formal couldn't hurt.

Glancing at Darwin, who chose that moment to excuse himself, Oralia stood and greeted Aliso, "Welcome to SB900, Lieutenant Aliso. I'm glad to have you here. Please, have a seat." She settled into her own chair. "You've come highly recommended, which is good, as we have a bit of a new initiative here on the 'base. Before we launch into what your duties will be, though, do you have any questions for me?"

"No Ma'am. Not at the present. I skimmed several back security logs on the trip, so I have a general idea of the situation but that's it." There were still some loose ends from her previous posting that needed clearing up, which reduced how much time Leona had to prepare for her new job.

Oz smiled. She liked people who prepared for their jobs. "Good, then you won't mind when I put you in charge of increasing Security's presence South of the Equator and, more specifically, in the Cherry Pit. As you might've read, we've had some issues in those areas. Mainly petty crime, a few assaults, drunk'n'disorderly, that sort of thing. But the number of reports climbed in the last quarter. That trend needs to get reversed," she handed a PADD to Aliso. "Everything you need should be on that PADD. Lieutenant Darwin, whom you just met in passing, will be of significant help in getting you acclimatized to the Station. Questions?"

"Right off the bat, we step up patrols or at the very least make the existing patrols more visible." Leona knew that stepping up patrols would do little to solve the underlying problem, whatever that was, but it was a good place to start. "I do have one question. Am I correct in assuming we treat everyone the same? A station this size is bound to have plenty of civilians and I'm guessing due to our location some residents who aren't even Federation citizens."

"Everyone is treated the same, yes. We have Enarans, Denobulans... you name a Delta Quadrant race and there's probably at least one of them on the Station. We also have one new species, created here on the Starbase. The Admiral just issued orders allowing her almost-free rein on the station and notifying all personnel of her presence. She's a little frightening for most people when they first meet her, as she's a rather large spider," Oz paused. "I'm sure you'll meet her at some point; her name is Iggy."

"A large sentient spider. I can honestly say in all my lifetimes that is a new one, but not altogether surprising."

At least she assumed the spider was sentient.

"Other than that, I don't have any pressing questions at the moment. Running security on a large station such as this is bound to have marked differences than playing host to diplomats and ambassador, but something tells me there will be plenty of similarities as well."

"Yes, there will be," Oz smiled. "You have the rest of your day to familiarize yourself with the station and your new duties. You're dismissed." She waited till Aliso had turned and left, then took up the as-yet-unfinished task of sorting out the personnel distribution. At least now, she'd have an assistant she could trust.

_____________
Oralia Zeferino
CSEC

Leona Aliso
ACSEC

Zachary Chase
Not the ACSEC

Michael Darwin
Closer to being ACSEC than Chase