241510.12 Joint log: Commanding and executive officers

Posted on Tue Oct 13th, 2015 @ 5:42am by Captain Alistar McKeon & Commander Isabella dei`Silvisi

892 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: The Rules of Acquisition

The view from the ready room desk never got old. Alistar had learned that if he turned the lights in his office down he could see out the windows easier. That meant that he didn't have to walk to the raised floor area and sit on the shaped couch if he wanted to look out the window. He could just sit at his desk and look up from the mountains of paperwork that had taken over all of a sudden. He was taking such a break now, staring out the window and thinking. Finally, he tapped his commbadge. "McKeon to DeiSilvisi. Report to my ready room."


Isabella was sitting in her office as she had done every day since the Battle at Lambda Hydrae. Like several others throughout the ship, she was having a hard time dealing with the loss of life that the fight had cost the Endeavour. Isabella wasn't a fighter; she had been raised by a family of doctors and even trained into the medical field. She had served along the front lines of the Dominion War aboard a medical ship, but even then she had been unable to easily handle the horrors of seeing the cost of battle when that cost had been the lives of people.

The soft beep of her communications badge broke the silence of her office, bringing with it the summoning to the captain's ready room. With a deep breath, Isabella stood and straightened her uniform. She had an idea of why she was being called to speak to her commanding officer, and she instantly wondered why it had taken so long for her to receive the call. Her office was on the starboard side of deck one, behind the bridge. That meant that it shouldn't have taken more than a few minutes for her to walk to the captain's ready room, however it took her nearly eight minutes. Isabella cringed inwardly as she stopped outside the ready room and tapped the door chime.


"Enter," Alistar called. He had propped his feet up on the corner of his desk and was staring out the window.


Isabella timidly took a step through the doors as they opened, and then crossed the room to stand before the desk. "You wanted to see me, Sir?" she asked quietly.


"Yep. Have a seat, XO," Alistar said as his feet slid off his desk and hit the deck with a thud. Turning to face his XO, he frowned. "I noticed that you haven't taken bridge duty since we left the neutral zone. Am I correct to assume that what happened in Lambda Hydrae is the reason?"


"Yes, Sir, it is," Isabella answered softly as she sat down. "If you wish me to step down as first officer, I will. My actions lately haven't been what are expected of an executive officer aboard a Federation starship."


"Actually, I called you here for something else," Alistar said as he reached into his pocket and tossed something at Silvisi.


Isabella reacted instantly, catching the object in midair. Frowning, she opened her fingers and stared at a gold rimmed black rank pip. It took her a brief moment to realize what McKeon had meant, and her eyes instantly snapped upwards to stare at her commanding officer.


Alistar shrugged. "Your promotion was approved a few days ago, but I wanted to wait until things settled down a bit. And the answer to you stepping down as XO is no,"


"Sir?" Isabella asked, her confusion showing.


"I know you're uncomfortable with the fact that we lost several people in Lambda Hydrae. The fact is, the day you stop being uncomfortable with it is the day I'll order you to another position. But we as officers can't let it affect us in performing our duties. We have to carry on, and make sure that everyone else on this ship does the same. I'm not saying that we can't stop to mourn those we've lost, but we can't stop doing our jobs either. Being an officer in Starfleet means we have to live with difficult decisions and experiences every day and still carry on. That's a choice we made when we put this uniform on. I'll admit, it's probably harder on you and those who have served in medical, but you're still expected to carry on. And so with that in mind, no. I'm not even going to think of replacing you as XO," Alistar said.


"I understand," Isabella said as she glanced down at the rank pip still in her hand. "Thank you for believing in me, Sir. I just don't want to let you down."


"An officer who does their best and perform their duties to the best of their abilities will never let me down, no matter the outcome. That being said, I expect my officers and crewmen to do their duty. So, put that pip on your collar and get out there on that bridge. You're the XO, and XOs are supposed to be seen by the crew, not scurrying off to hide in their office. That's what COs do. Understood?" Alistar said, giving his XO a small understanding smile.


"I understand, Sir," Isabella said as she fastened the pip to her collar. Standing, she braced to attention. "Request permission to return to duty as executive officer, sir."


"Granted. Dismissed commander," Alistar said.

 

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