The Seat of Command

Posted on Mon May 28th, 2018 @ 9:41pm by Captain Charybdis MacGregor

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Operation: Risa!
Location: USS Bonne Chance, Deck 1, the Bridge
Timeline: 2265

Shore leave was over, her personal items had been deposited in her own quarters, and Lieutenant Commander Charybdis was quite happy to be back aboard the USS Bonne Chance once more. As she was wont to do, she checked her PDD for the duty roster to insure that nothing was amiss, only to discover that she was listed as "Commander Charybdis".

That wasn't right.

Standing outside the turbolift doors, they opened for her and she absently waved the current occupants on, tracking down how this particular error might have come to pass. Sure enough, there were orders... she had been promoted. Which meant a number of things... not the least of which was that she was out of uniform.

Being the First Officer, she was not only responsible for the relations of the crew to the captain, maintaining the duty rosters and overall keeping the mighty ship running smoothly in regards to her personnel and processes, but she was also held up as an example of how officers should comport themselves and relate to the enlisted personnel. With that prevalent in her mind, she simply could not show up for a shift on the bridge in the wrong uniform, despite having just noticed the promotion. It would set a poor example... yet she was unsure of exactly how to remedy the problem.

Sitting on the bridge in the captain's chair plucking off a broken braid and stitching on a new one seemed rather gauche... but it was better than being technically out of uniform.

The Captain's quarters were closer than her own, and as she raced in she saw that he had laid out a uniform for her with the two solid braids on the sleeve, and she smiled. He may not know what a communicator was, but this was rather thoughtful of him. She wrestled with the zipper then hauled the incorrect uniform over her head, and repeated the process to get into the new on with some degree of difficulty. Fiona was right- that was far more efficient, even if she had just about burst the seams getting it on.

Racing to the turbolift her internal clock was keeping time, and she paced back and forth waiting... if the lift did not arrive soon... and then it did. Without hesitation she dove in and grasped the handle in the empty lift and commanded "Bridge!" and the lift moved swiftly and surely.

With all of three seconds to spare she stepped out onto the bridge, smoothing out her uniform with a sigh of relief as she bounced down to the command deck. First officers also were never late for their duty shifts, after all, especially when they were in command. She crossed her long legs and reviewed the half dozen reports Yeoman Renard had ready for inspection, making minor recommendations to one but approving the rest with a smile and a flourished signature.

She noticed the empty seat at the Navigation station and reviewed mentally... it was supposed to be Lieutenant Junior Grade Rebian Reveran's shift. She brought up her PDD and double-checked in case her memory was faulty- after all, as the Captain had yet to promote a Chief Navigator it had fallen to her to maintain their duty rosters, and she knew that she had double-checked them to insure there were no mistakes.

Sure enough, he was supposed to be here. Swiveling around she turned to Ensign Rondborstig. "Ensign, please call Lieutenant Junior Grade Reveran to the bridge on the double. Lieutenant Junior Grade Sato, please scan the Bonne Chance for Mister Reveran- I believe he is one of three Risians onboard." She flipped a switch on the arm of the command chair and spoke into the speaker. "Transporter room, this is the bridge. Please report transporter logs for Lieutenant Junior Grade Reveran for the past ninety-six hours."

While she awaited the results of those actions, she rechecked all of the duty rosters and saw an inconsistency. It turned out that she had indeed been a Lieutenant Commander until 1155... apparently Patrick had decided to set her promotion to kick in five minutes before her duty shift. Had she been as prompt as usual she would have never known and spent the entire shift out of uniform.

She considered- wait, he had left the rank laid out for her. But with no explanation- so had she worn it she would have been doing so without an actual promotion, thus she would have been in serious violation of the SCMJ, more serious than being on duty out of uniform. Internally she sighed... that was Patrick. Trying to do something fun and lighthearted, without realizing just how much havoc it could cause. It was sweet and thoughtful to have laid out the new rank, but without the explanation it was... suddenly it dawned on her to check for other promotions.

Sure enough, Yuna, Fiona and Selune had also been promoted. Apparently their hijinks on Risa had been noticed- at least, those that had been publicized. Selune was not currently on duty, so that was not an immediate problem, but Fiona and Yuna were. She sent quick messages to both of them:

"Congratulations on your promotion to Lieutenant Commander- a well-earned advancement, I must say! However, as you may have been unaware of this particular event, you may wish to insure that you are in the correct uniform for your rank before someone notices. Please meet me for coffee, Deck 6, Officer's Mess after end of duty 2400 and I will explain everything. ~Chary"

That should smooth over any problems, hopefully.

"Commander? No response from any decks for the bridge call for Lieutenant Junior Grade Reveran," Ensign Rondborstig volunteered.

"Sensors show that he is not aboard the Bonne Chance, ma'am," reported Mister Sato.

The speaker on the command chair came to life. "Main transporter room here- Reveran beamed down to Aestus Province Receiving Station at 1217 on Stardate: -56795.05 and has not returned, sir." Char knitted her brows slightly at the 'sir' but it was still appropriate military protocol, so she let it go.

"Curious and curioser. Ensign Rondborstig, please call... Ensign Valaxar to the bridge and inform him that he will be on duty for the duration of this shift," the comely commander ordered as she vacated the command chair. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Carlson, you have the conn. I'm on my way to Security."

Ideally she could have communicated what she was about to explain via a text message or even a call, but she preferred to keep this quiet, and thus it required a personal touch. Besides, they were in orbit over Risa, and sitting in the seat of command would likely be a bit of a thrill for the alternate helmsman... after all, it was still just as thrilling for her as the first time.

 

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