241603.24 Joint log: CO and CSci

Posted on Fri Mar 25th, 2016 @ 4:24am by Captain Alistar McKeon & Lieutenant JG Fe'cia Niatra

665 words; about a 3 minute read

The science labs on the Endeavour seemed empty. Alistar had to constantly remind himself that the Endeavour had run the past five months with less than a full crew and the science department had the second smallest compliment. Which wasn't good for an exploration cruiser assigned to the frontier. Alistar had already addressed the issue with Starfleet Command and there were crew on the way, it was just taking so damned long. Fortunately, it also gave Alistar a lot of wiggle room and a generous free hand in making appointments and promotions when he needed to make them. Finding the officer he was seeking in one of the science labs, he walked up to her. "Ensign Niatra?"

Fe'cia was as happy as a Caitian could be. Her theory of using a ship's navigational deflector to emit a sonar pulse had not only worked, it had worked perfectly. She had been working on the follow up paper following the Endeavour's last mission, but she also had other experiments to complete and she felt just a little overwhelmed. The lab she was in was empty, no surprise since there were few people assigned to science on the Endeavour. So when the door opened and someone walked in, she frowned. When the person spoke to her, she turned and blinked at the captain. "Sir! I didn't know it was you!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I have that effect on people sometimes," Alistar said with a chuckle. "I wanted to track you down and say that I was impressed by your idea and how well it worked in helping us on our last mission."

"Thank you sir," Fe'cia said with a soft purr. "It's always good to hear a compliment in regards to your theories and work."

"Well, I've been given a free hand in how to deal with appointments on the Endeavour, and I've decided that since we're supposed to get a full compliment after our next mission, I want someone who I know I can count on as chief science," Alistar said.

"Who? Me?" Fe'cia asked.

"Yes, you," Alistar answered with a grin.

"Sir, I'm just an ensign!" Fe'cia protested.

"You're an officer and you're the only officer in your department. That makes you qualified for the position if you want it," Alistar said. "But, if you don't want it, I'll understand."

"I just never thought I'd get such a promotion so soon," Fe'cia said. "I've always been told that department heads must be experienced enough to have earned their first promotion."

"Well if that's all that's wrong, I can fix that. I have something else that I'm a little late in giving you," Alistar said as he pulled a small black box from his pocket. Opening it, he pulled the black rank pip out and held it up. "I know you don't think you've earned this, but I feel that you have. And, you can always grow into it as time goes on. But, I want you as chief science officer on this ship. Do you accept?"

"Yes sir, Commander McKeon," Fe'cia said. "I accept. I hope I won't let you down."

"Continue to do as good of a job as you have since you came on board in the future, and I'll be more than pleased with your performance Lieutenant," Alistar said as he pinned Niatra's new pip in place. Taking a step back, he nodded. "Carry on lieutenant," he said before he turned and left.

Fe'cia brushed a paw against the new rank pip on her collar and smiled. Looking after her commanding officer, she hesitated before she spoke. "Commander? Thank you," she said.

Alistar turned towards Niatra and offered the attractive Caitian a smile and a nod before he turned and headed out of the science lab. He had a feeling that the Endeavour and her crew were finally starting to come together, and that made him smile. Finally, things were starting to go well. Now if they would only continue to do so.

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