The Flock

Posted on Wed Jun 5th, 2013 @ 11:17am by Lieutenant Horatio Hawke & Lieutenant JG Ela sh'Leksa & Ensign Marcus Reilly & Ensign Emily Deakin

Mission: Remnant Part 1
Location: Ship's Lounge
Timeline: 2100 Hours, MD01

“What did you say?”

“I think you heard me, Ensign.”

“No. Say it again, Lieutenant.”

Whoa! The conversation had suddenly taken a very wrong turn, Horatio thought to himself as he moved to intervene. “Stand down, guys,” he said, trying to sound calm. “We’re not here to criticise or judge.”

“Tell that to Miss …” Ensign Reilly was about to say something he would have regretted and Horatio cut him off with a stern glance. “Um … Lieutenant sh’Leksa.”

“Calm down, Ensign,” he said, setting his voice somewhere between stern dressing down and firm reminder. “Lieutenant sh’Leksa is your superior officer and you will respect that.”

Reilly sat down, looking like an admonished child. “I’m sorry, sir,” he said before taking a sip of his drink.

Horatio turned to the Andorian sitting to his right, “Lieutenant, this is not the appropriate setting to raise any performance issues you see in any of the team. We’re here to relax and get to know each other. You can raise any issues you have directly with me and they will be addressed in Team Meetings or whatever is most appropriate. Understood?”

Sh’Leksa nodded, her antennae swaying in a manner that betrayed her annoyance. “Understood, sir.”

Horatio relaxed, but he knew there was trouble here and he would have to keep an eye on it. Managing personalities was just one part of his job. He didn’t enjoy it, but the duty fell to him. As the commanding officer of the Flight Control Department, it was his responsibility to ensure that everybody in that department was able to function as a team.

Of course, pilots were generally competitive individuals and clashes ensued frequently. Horatio had seen it plenty of times during his career; had even been the instigator on more than one occasion. Probably closer to six, if he was being honest. Maybe ten.

In this case, Lieutenant (JG) Ela sh’Leksa, Horatio’s deputy, and Ensign Marcus Reilly were at each other. Horatio had gathered his team – the smallest staff in the ship’s company with only twelve officers and other ranks – for a post-mission debrief in the ship's lounge. It was meant to be casual and provide a chance for the team to mingle and, importantly, for Horatio to get to know them. He hadn't had much chance to do that since joining the crew at Cestus III.

During a light conversation about a helm simulation Horatio had set, sh’Leksa made the comment that she believed Reilly’s performance was unacceptable. She then added that, given Reilly had been had been an officer for eight years now and was still an ensign, he might consider resigning his commission. The helmsman took exception to that comment and promptly exploded.

Reilly had a short fuse and reminded Horatio of himself in his early career. The only difference seemed to be that Horatio didn't have nearly as much trouble getting promoted. He recognised in Reilly the same impetuousness, the same ill-discipline and the same reluctance to take things seriously that he possessed as a junior officer. These traits are not well suited to a career in Starfleet, and it took a near-fatal shuttle crash to knock them out of Horatio.

The memory flashed across his consciousness like a lightning bolt. He blinked it away, but the trauma of the crash on Ollara IV was never too far beneath the surface. He remembered the ghastly, frozen expression on Zera’s lifeless face as clear as any memory he had. It pained him still.

He pulled himself back from those bitter memories and forced himself to focused on the flight control team, spread out in the lounge around two adjoining tables that they had pulled together. He was pleased that the simmering tension between sh’Leksa and Reilly had toned down; Reilly was chatting with Chief O’Hara, the Shuttlebay Manager, while sh’Leksa seemed content to not speak with anybody. Horatio was about to try and engage her in conversation when Ensign Deakin, who was sitting on the other side of the Andorian, leaned forward and caught his eye.

“Lieutenant, tell us how you captured that mercenary on the away mission,” she said. Deakin was the newest member of the team, a fresh Academy graduate on her first cruise. She always looked at him with an admiration that, in his younger years, he would have taken advantage of without a moment’s hesitation. Now, though ... he had grown a lot in the last few years.

The others – except sh’Leksa – all leaned in closer to hear the story. Horatio smiled; he couldn’t deny them the tale and he did enjoy spinning a yarn for a willing audience.

“Well,” he said, leaning forward and putting on his best storyteller voice. “The rest of the team had been captured." He paused for effect, raising an eyebrow and looking out the corner of his eye to Deakin, "It was all up to me …”

END

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Lieutenant Horatio Hawke
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Endeavour NCC-86105

Lieutenant (JG) Ela sh'Leksa (NPC)
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Endeavour NCC-86105

Ensign Marcus Reilly (NPC)
Flight Control Officer
USS Endeavour NCC-86105

&

Ensign Emily Deakin (NPC)
Flight Control Officer
USS Endeavour NCC-86105