Gorno <
gornographer2000@yahoo.com> wrote to
chimera@ucip.org:
[SB 234: UNITY]
Sitting in the short range shuttle, luggage on his lap, newly recommissioned Lt. Commander Curtis Scardona could only shake his head. Damn them, he thought. Damn them and their dirty tricks. Command had roped him back into service, without so much as a second thought. After all he had given the fleet, they still treated him like a service number, instead of a person.
He stood up inside the cramped shuttle, straightening his uniform. At least they assigned him to a ship which was commanded by someone relatively familiar. He had served with Cropa Rojac a few years before he resigned his commission. Curtis remembered him as being an extremely competent officer, so he knew that the bearded man would run a tight ship...if he still had a beard. He smirked a bit at the thought.
When the shuttle docked at UNITY, Curtis made his through the familiar airlocks and out into the bustling station. After a liason officer showed him to his temporary quarters, Curtis relaxed. He knew he should probably report in, and then suddenly realized that Command didn't tell him where exactly his commanding officer would be before taking the new Chimera as his own. He sighed, slowly making his way over to a communication console. He would notify Command of his arrival, and then they would re-route the message to wherever his new Captain was.
"Computer, send message to Command, LtCmdr Curtis Scardona reporting for duty as Chief Enginner, USS Chimera C...encrypt and send."
The console beeped and then Curtis sank into the chair, bringing up some more specs of a ship which he already knew like the back of his hand.
Cropa's computer in his temporary quarters chimed to signal the incoming message. In his restroom, the Captain put his beard trimmer along the sinks edge and wiped a few stray strands from around his lips. He crossed the small room and hit the command to accept the transmission. He smirked as he saw the message, and reached over to his combadge resting on the tabletop.
"Rojac to Scardona."
Scardona jumped in his chair, not expecting the captain to get back to him so quickly. He tapped the console to answer.
"Scardona here, sir. Wasn't sure if you were on board the station or not, but it appears my question's been answered."
"Glad to see you made it. Can you meet me for lunch at 1300. The chinese restaurant in section 324 is pretty good, as I don't have an office aboard this station." Rojac spoke into the device palmed tightly in his hand.
Curtis rubbed his chin, suddenly realizing that he was pretty hungry. Chinese food sounded great.
"Sounds like a plan, sir. Section 324 at 1300."
"Good. Rojac out." And then he crossed back to the bathroom to finish getting ready.
[Ying's Asian Cuisine - Section 324 - Main Promenade - SB 234: UNITY]
Curtis wandered into the relatively large asian restaurant at 1300, mildly surprised at how authentic the food smelled. A small smirk played over his face, taking in the scene. Deep down in his consciousness, he missed this. He found a small table in the corner and sat, perusing the menu for something interesting.
Rojac arrived across from him and placed his satchel on the floor before taking is seat. "They have a good Peking Duck." Rojac said. "The hoison sauce is a little bland for a traditional tongue, but most sentients wouldn't notice." Rojac smirked. "Good to see you again, Commander." Rojac reached across the table and offered a hand.
Curtis stood and shook the offered hand, consciously aware of the hand he was using. His right arm was entirely cybernetic, and he hoped that it at least felt like flesh and blood to others. He smiled and sat with his superior officer.
"Likewise, Captain. It's been a while. Actually, I had found myself in the mood for some dumplings. It's been a good long while since I've had those.
The waiter came and they placed their orders. When the young lady walked away ROjac reached into his bag and pulled out a padd with the Chimera's new specifications, fresh from Ohmsford's latest report. "Here's the Chimera's latest stats. I've sent your new Deputy, an excellent young Junior Grade Lieutenant named Gustav Kroitzer, to help in the final production. So far, he's improved the efficiency of the warp drive by close to 15%."
Curtis took the PADD in hand, and skimmed over the latest information from the ships test flights. It was impressive work. And Rojac wasn't joking about the deputy. Some of the algorithms used to increase efficiency were extremely clever.
"This is impressive work. I think Mr. Kroitzer may be on to something here. With a little more time to work, I think we can increase efficiency even more."
The numbers were flying though his head, possibilities whizzing about in his conscious mind. There were certainly a lot of variables, the least of which was the fact that much of the new equipment had barely been tested. But Scardona was confident he could come through with this one.
"The Century Class is a little bigger than the Dark Horizon was, but I think you can manage." Rojac said.
Scardona smiled at that. He had broken into the fleet with the Whitestar, flagship of Captain Ian Korin. It was still the largest ship he had ever served on, even after all this time. His eyebrows rose playfully.
"I think we'll be Ok. After all, it's not the size of a ship that matters, is it, Captain?"
Rojac laughed heartily at that one. "No, I guess not. Or else I wouldn't be here waiting on a new ship, would I?"
The waitress arrived with their dishes, and sat them steaming on the table before them. Rojac picked up his chopsticks as she walked off and began picking at the rice bowl. "Your department," Rojac began between mouthfuls of white rice, "will have 30.83% of the ship's crew compliment at 222 personnel. it's the largest department on board, and I'm afraid its going to consist mostly of greenbacks." Rojac put down his bowl and reached for his green tea. "because of the war, all the experienced personnel have been reassigned to the ships already in active service. We're lucky enough to get the academy's best, being Special Forces, but good test scores don't match experience."
Scardona nodded, aware of what that meant. He would have to break these newbies in good, and break them in quick. It wouldn't be easy, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time he would have to deal with an inexperienced staff.
"I had the interim CEO, Lt Tobok, go ahead and put together a roster while I looked for a new CEO." Rojac slid another padd across the table. "It looks good to me, but I want you to look it over before I submit it. If you have any special request get to me to me by 1000 tomorrow morning. We are the flagship; I can pull some strings."
Curtis reached over and grabbed the PADD, absent-mindedly reading over some of the names. None of them sounded even vaguely familiar, which meant that he was going to have to do some hardocre studying before the Chimera arrived. It was something he wasn't exactly looking forward to. Pushing around the dumplings on his plate, he finally popped one in his mouth.
"Well, thank you for lunch, Commander." Rojac said, wiping his mouth and pushing his plate away. "next time it will have to be in the mess hall, or in my new office."
After swallowing what he had been chewing, Scardona quickly nodded, and stood up from his chair.
"Absolutely, sir. You can count on the fact that Engineering will be ready to go before we launch."
They shook hands again, and the Captain left. Curtis remained at the table, silently finishing what was on his plate while giving the information on the PADDs in front of him on closer inspection.
This'll be an interesting assignment, he thought.
[End Log]
Captain Cropa Rojac
Commanding Officer
&
LtCommander Curtis Scardona
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Chimera NCC 96899-C
