Scientific Readiness

Posted on Wed Oct 19th, 2022 @ 1:35am by Commander Isabella dei`Silvisi & Lieutenant James 'Jim' Faraday

826 words; about a 4 minute read

The new Endeavour was much larger than Isabella had expected. She had served aboard the Nebula class star-ship USS Ravenna after graduating from the Academy, but even her experience there couldn't have prepared her for the Sovereign class. She had checked in on her quarters before heading to the science labs, which to her surprise were abundant in number. The new Endeavour contained forty-three labs, some of which were multi-story labs which crossed at least two decks. The concept took some getting used to, since Isabella had just recently served on an Intrepid class. Finding the main science lab took some doing, but she was impressed as she entered. Capable of conducting research projects on its own, the lab could also bring up data from every other lab on the ship as well as nearby Starfleet or Federation facilities if a sub-space channel could be established.

Seeing Lieutenant Faraday, Isabella smiled and headed over to where he was standing. "I'm glad to see at least one familiar face," she said.

"I did say I'd be sticking around, Commander," Jim said. "Besides, when I heard the new Endeavour was a Sovereign class I just couldn't resist. I'm surprised to see you down here, though. I thought the first officer would be busy getting the ship ready to depart."

"I'm just the chief science officer now," Isabella said. "Besides, with this ship I'm not sure if one person could manage the work of both department head and executive officer. The workload would be extremely overwhelming."

"I'm sure you would be able to handle it, Ma'am," Jim said shaking his head. "It sounds to me like they just wanted to put someone in place to try to control the captain, if I may be so bold."

Isabella let the comment go without a reply. She had met their new first officer, and while the woman seemed capable Isabella was going to reserve judgement. It wasn't her place to question Inara's capabilities, at least not for the moment. Instead, she waved her hand to indicate the lab. "At any rate, we have our own work to consider. The capabilities of our new ship seem to outshine the last one, and we need to be as familiar with this ship and her capabilities as possible," she said.

"Well, her capabilities surpass anything our previous ship had," Jim said. "We have a lot of labs, and almost every one can be set up for general or specialized science projects. I haven't gone through everything, but I can say that this ship should be able to handle anything we can think of to throw at her."

"Please don't say that out loud, or even silently," Isabella said, adding a mocking groan to her voice as she spoke. "It's been my experience that that statement is often seen as a challenge, and it's one we could do without for a while."

"I was referring to the ship's scientific capabilities, Ma'am," Jim said with a laugh. He had been with the Endeavour crew long enough to know what the commander had meant, and while funny there was a serious undertone that made him stop short and think before he spoke again. "Do you think the captain is thinking of how he's going to test out the new ship?" he asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure if I even want to know," Isabella replied. "But I'm sure it will be a memorable experience that will leave us in full knowledge as to the capabilities of this ship. That reminds me, in case I didn't mention it before. I'm naming you as my assistant chief science officer. That way you can take the bridge science station as well as help me manage the department. The majority of the science department will be junior officers and civilian scientists, so unfortunately I can't get you a promotion just yet."

"Commander, if I had wanted a promotion I would have accepted a transfer to another ship," Jim said with a shrug. "But I do thank you for having faith in my abilities to help managed the science department. I'll start going over the duty roster and getting everyone settled in if that's ok with you."

"Very well," Isabella said as she glanced at the time. "Speaking of which, I need to meet with someone from operations and create a schedule for maintenance on the sensor systems. I would appreciate it if you could inspect the labs and make sure our department is ready as well as getting the crew settled in."

"Of course, commander," Jim said. "I'll get started right away and have a report for you in 0900 tomorrow morning."

"Excellent," Isabella said with a smile. "Carry on, then, Lieutenant." With that, she gave Lieutenant Faraday a parting nod of her head and started towards the doors and the corridor beyond. She would try to start with finding the chief of operations, so she turned and started off towards the bridge.

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