Appointment To Keep

Posted on Mon Jun 10th, 2013 @ 12:20pm by Commander Gaius Ra-Xialii & Captain Benjamin Byrne & Lieutenant Ciaran McIntyre

Mission: Remnant Part 1
Location: Commanding Officer's Ready Room [Deck 1]

OOC: Kyle/Gaius - last tags are for you, then this can go out (one in the middle, one at the end)

McIntyre had managed to unpack most of his belongings by the time the Captain's assistant had even communicated his assigned time to report in. While his quarters didn't even approach the homeliness of the Buchanan, he could see himself being quite comfortable in them.

He adjusted his tunic, which had fallen out of place during an ill-advised attempt to move the couch and ran his thumb over his freshly shaved cheek. He longed for a time when it was fine to report to your new Commanding Officer looking like you'd just come home from a year-long night out but until that day came, he would keep hold of that cut-throat razor that his sadistic Grandfather had taught him to use during a shore leave on Earth.

His walk to the turbolift was short, as was expected of a Security Officer. He needed to be close in case of emergency but far enough away that it didn't alarm people. Quartermastery politics. It was more complicated than he had previously thought.

"And Starfleet still haven't heard any more news of T'Marl?" Benjamin was asking Gaius, inside his ready room. He knew that the sensor logs showed that she was able to escape Firaxa Gamma IV, but so far nobody seemed to have any idea of where she had gone since, and the Romulans were of course denying any knowledge of her actions.

"Nothing but hearsay and rumour Ben, I am dead sure that Starfleet will let you know when they find something," Gaius said, thumbing through the limited data on his PADD, "And the Romulans arent forthcoming with any help, no suprises there."

McIntyre stalked across the bridge in the hope that he could go unnoticed amongst his new colleagues. This was always the most awkward part of an assignment as they didn't know who he was, he didn't know who they were and he was unable to just sidle up and introduce himself before he'd even extended the courtesy to his new Captain.

It wasn't made any easier by the fact that he was carrying a bottle of Merlot (a very nice bottle from 2386- he had eight of them in his luggage for different occasions). His mother had told him to always bring a bottle.

As the chime to his ready room door sounded, Ben called out, remaining where he was, perched on the edge of his desk and looking down at a PADD. "Come!"

Gaius stood as the new officer entered the room, "Lieutenant McIntyre, welcome aboard," Gaius said, outstretching his hand to the man. A small smile curved at the side of his mouth on seeing the bottle of wine at the man's side. Clearly an attempt to curry favour with his new CO. This gesture, now seen by the bridge crew may earn the Lieutenant the badge of suck-up. It never occured to Gaius on meeting any of his commanders to bring alcohol.

"Thank you, Commander Ra-Xialli." McIntyre replied, taking care to roll the 'r' appropriately. He took the Commander's hand and shook it enthusiastically. "I took the liberty of bringing a small refreshment for the meeting. I tend to find that meetings such as these go so much smoother with a small libation."

Benjamin smiled at that - one of the first smiles he'd cracked since he had been rescued from T'Marl's custody. "I'm certain we could all do with a small libation," he said, standing as he considered the lieutenant before them. "Would you get some glasses, Commander?"

Gaius took three glasses from the Captain's replicator and placed one before the two gentlemen and one for himself.

"So Lieutenant. I believe you've spent most of your career so far on the Buchanan? I take it that you've still been making the effort to keep up with the latest weapons systems?" the captain continued. The Buchanan was of the ever-ageing Excelsior class of starships, which had been in service now for over a century and weren't able to support the latest improvements, such as the quantum torpedo turret mounded under the Endeavour's saucer.

"Oh, yes Sir." McIntyre replied slightly too enthusiastically as he accepted the proffered glass from the Commander. "I'm excited to get my hands on the type-twelve arrays that the Endeavour's fitted with. We didn't get much in the way of upgrades on the Buchanan."

Benjamin nodded, falling silent for a few seconds as he considered how to bring up what would be the most difficult part of the lieutenant's assignment to the ship, before deciding that the best approach would be the direct one. "In the interest of full disclosure," he began. "I feel I must make you aware of the circumstances of your assignment to us. Your predecessor, Lieutenant Biggs, was killed in the line of duty. The events surrounding his death are still quite raw for all of us; you may experience some lingering affects of that from the security staff."

"Firstly, I'm sorry for your loss. I know what it's like to lose an officer in the line of duty, Captain." McIntyre stated flatly. "I'm fully prepared to bear the brunt of any lingering feelings that the crew may have towards Lieutenant Biggs' replacement. However, I am confident that the crew will come to trust in my abilities as a capable officer."

"You will complete a series of drills, this to show both your capabilities and the capabilities of those under your orders. The Endeavour has an average 70% efficiency rating when it comes to shipboard drills, lets see if we can improve this," Gaius explained.

McIntyre raised an eyebrow in the direction of the First Officer. Seventy percent was a fairly low percentile by his standards but he did appreciate the difficulty of the situation that the Endeavour found itself in. From his research, it had been some time since the ship had a settled tactical and security routine and that could often impact upon their drill efficiency. "I'm confident we'll be able to pull them up by their shirt-tails, Sir."

"Good," Byrne answered. "The Klingons may be more aware now of the risks involved in a direct conflict with the Gorn in their other borders would have less protection from others, but that doesn't mean that we're in safe territory by any stretch of the word. Commander Ra-Xialii will also be running a number of battle drills from the bridge, which you and your tactical officers will also need to be prepared for."

McIntyre sucked in his cheeks and considered the suggestion. There was no doubt that the Klingon-Gorn situation was serious but it would do no harm to be vigilant to other threats. "I'm going to have my tactical officers conduct a series of combat readiness drills and development tests on a number of scenarios. I think it's important to be ready for anything."

Byrne nodded. "Good. If there's nothing else then, Lieutenant?" He left the question open-ended, but the indication that a 'then you're dismissed' could be added to the end was present, should the new security chief have nothing else to raise.

"I'm quite satisfied, Sir. Ready to get to work." McIntyre responded confidently as he rose to his feet. "Looking forward to it, you might say."

"Thank you for the drink Lieutenant," Gaius said finally.