StarDate 241507.12 Joint Log : Commanding Officer and Chief Helm
Posted on Tue Jul 21st, 2015 @ 7:29am by Lieutenant JG Daniel Holland & Captain Alistar McKeon
1,108 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission: Midnight on the Firing Line
Lieutenant JG Daniel Holland entered the bridge for his duty shift and took his place at the helm relieving the ensign who nodded and then headed off as the Chief Helm officer sat down and took in the instrument readings. Course, speed and warp drive output all looked normal. Satisfied that everything was as it should be he leaned back little in his seat and settled in for his shift. The encounter with the Klingon warbirds seemed to have everyone slightly on edge and one could cut the tension on the bridge with a knife.
He thought back to when he had first reported aboard...
= = = =
StarDate 241505.30
Holland took a deep breath as he stood before the entrance to the Captain's ready room and checked his uniform one last time before touching the call button.
Alistar was still trying to hide his displeasure and anger after his meeting with Admiral Green, but it still seemed to radiate no matter what he did. That was why he had withdrawn into his ready room and was laying down on the couch in the alcove under the viewport, reading a noval that he had downloaded to a padd. So far it was a good read, but it was a little too boring for him, but it had calmed him down just a little. There wasn't much time left before the Endeavour left DS5, and while there were a few things he could be doing, they weren't important enough for him to warrant getting up and getting them done right at that instant. Besides, if it became something critical, his XO would most likely take care of it before he even heard of it.
The sound of the door chime annoyingly interrupted him. Alistar almost growled, but once he looked at the time he realized that he had been in his ready room for almost an hour, longer than he had intended. Tossing the padd onto the side table, Alistar stood and made his way to his desk, pausing to press the button on his desk that opened the doors.
Holland almost jumped when the door slid open with a quiet hiss.
"Lieutenant JG Daniel Holland, reporting for duty, sir," he said as stood at attention before his new commanding officer. This was always the most nervous part of reporting on board. The CO would have undoubtedly read Holland's personnel file and formed his own opinions of the officer joining his crew. The question was, were they positive impressions or less so? He knew that, regardless of his new CO's impressions, he would have to perform well to either confirm or change those impressions. In that sense, his task and course were clear.
"Holland, Holland," Alistar muttered for a moment before he nodded as he sat down and waved for Holland to sit down as well. "Ah, yes, you're my new chief helm officer, correct?"
"That is correct, sir," Holland nodded and took a seat at the CO's direction, "I was actually a little surprised by the assignment. I was passing through on my way to Earth when Admiral Green's aide passed along new orders to report to the USS Endeavour as her new Chief Helm." Truth be told, he had expected to serve at least one more deployment before earning a senior slot. Still, he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He felt ready and he was eager for the challenge.
"Green's aide?" Alistar felt his eyes narrow at that, but he quickly recovered. If the admiral's aide had passed Holland's transfer orders directly to him, then it meant that the admiral had personally snagged the lieutenant and signed his assignment orders to the Endeavour. He glared at the desk top for a moment before he shook his head. "Well, either way, you're here now. And personally, I'm glad to have you on board. We've been very short handed in the helm department ever since we launched, so having an experienced helm officer in charge will be a welcome change. I noticed that you were a reserve shuttle pilot as well. What shuttle types are you trained for?"
"I can fly just about anything that can be piloted, sir," Holland said after a moment of pause to gather his thoughts. His tone was not boastful or arrogant, but matter-of-fact and straightforward. "I've racked up a bunch of hours on the Type-6 and Type-8's but I'm qualified to pilot all standard shuttlecraft, including the captain's yacht. I even have a civilian freighter pilot's qualification, although its been a while since I've had any time of a civilian ship."
Alistar chuckled and nodded. "You sound like I did years ago when I was still a helm officer. But that's good. We have type 8 and type 9 shuttles on board, plus a type 9A cargo shuttle. We also snagged a type 10 from the shipyards when the Endeavour first launched since someone screwed up and sent the wrong shuttle to us. Other than myself, we haven't had anyone else on board who was qualified until now, so I want you to log some extra time with it when you get the chance." Thinking, Alistar frowned. "Your civilian pilot qualification, what all are you cleared for with that?"
"Most of my flight time has been logged on the old Antares-type freighter my family owned," Holland said with a grin as the memories of those times came back to him, "but my license covers all standard and super class civilian starships operated by the Federation."
Alistar nodded. "I just wanted to ask. There's no telling when something like that will come in handy, and it's good to know an officer's capabilities as far in advance as possible. Besides, most of the traffic from the Federation in this entire region is civilian, so I'm pretty sure something like that will come in handy sooner or later." Leaning back in his chair, he nodded again. "It sounds like you'll fit in perfectly on the Endeavour, Mr Holland. Welcome on board."
"Thank you, sir," Holland said with a smile, "I've very happy to be here. You can be assured of only my best efforts. With your permission, I'd like to get my department squared away before we leave DS5."
"Dismissed, Lieutenant. And again, welcome on board," Alistar said as he stood and offered his new chief helmsman his hand.
Holland shook his new CO's hand and wondered what adventures lay ahead....
= = = =
Well, Holland thought as he sat at his station, You wanted 'adventure' and the Klingons have obliged.
Commander Alistar McKeon
CO, USS Endeavour
&
Lieutenant JG Daniel Holland
Chief Helm, USS Endeavour
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