The XO meets another Security Chief. Maybe he'll like this one.

Posted on Mon Oct 31st, 2011 @ 11:32am by Lieutenant Cassandra Levue & Colonel Damon Raine

1,982 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Shades of Gray
Location: Executive Officer's Office of Officiating Officer Duties.

ON

After the most obnoxious, and annoying morning she had ever spent, doing administrative tasks, she decided that it was time to meet the Executive Officer.

She had read many things, about this Commander Raine. Some from rumor, and others, from previous reports of previous Chief Security Officers, that she had read, on the shuttle trip to the Calypso.

Despite the fact that Jaxara, nor Kyt had good relationships with the man, there was not a single negative annotation to the man's name on their record books, officially.

This meant, quite simply, that there was something about him, that meant he was a capable officer, who did his job. She looked forward to meeting him.

-------------------------------------

Approaching the Executive Officer's Office, she pressed the door chime, noting the relative silence of the Starship, as of late. It seemed... quiet. Off balance. Discomforted. Some officers either didn't recognize her, and were uncomfortable around her, or recognized her, and were uncomfortable, because it reminded them Kyt had to be replaced. She waited, patiently, for Commander Raine to respond.

"Enter." Damon simply answered. His office of late had been a revolving door of officers with issues or requests. He had long since given up the notion of peace and quiet and that was something to be said for a formal Colonel of the SFMC.

He watched the officer enter the room. He recognised this particular woman, this was to be Kyt's replacement. He had made himself familiar with her service recors from the minute he found out her name. After the recent, in his opinion, failures at the position of security chief, he wanted to be apprised of any potential issues. So far, from what he had read, she looked like the ideal candidate. There was much to be said for actions, however, and Damon wanted to get to that root quickly.

"Commander Raine, I'm Lieutenant Junior Grade Cassandra Levue. I've been assigned as the Calypso's Chief Security and Tactical Officer. I understand that you have had issues with the officers in this position, in the past, and would like to take some time, to get to know you, and attempt to negate any possible issues, prior to them becoming logistical issues, while on duty." Cassandra said, with a slight smile to the man. She stood at attention, next to the door, while waiting for him to respond.

Damon's brow lifted as he surpressed a laugh. That was quite the inroduction. He motioned to the chair opposite his desk. "Please have a seat Lieutenant."

He quickly opened his desk drawer and retrieved a PADD. He flicked through it for a moment before addressing her again. "You come highly reccomended from your last CO. Seems he was sad to see you go."

Cassandra took the chair. "Captain Kevas was a good Captain." Cassandra said, nodding. "I can't, necessarily, say, I was sad to go, though. There was a lot of bad memory, on the Arizona."

"Oh?" Damon asked. He wasn't happy about prying, but he really felt like he needed to know considering the past officers of the position.

"The Donovans." Cassandra said, with a frown. "They lost their son on the Arizona. The Arizona was just a light scout. Miranda class. We were pretty much sent from one suspicious investigation to another, with the odd scientific excursion spiced in, for good measure. It was dark. You can only lead so many serial killer investigations, or hostage situations, before you look for a transfer to a position to a ship, with a larger crew, and a smaller case load."

"Fair enough." Damon said, satisfied with the answered. Sometimes less information was better than the full story. He scolled down a few more lines on her dosier. "Have you made yourself familiar with the situation on this ship?"

"Statistically, yes." Cassandra said, nodding. "And, in a few cases, personally. It would seem that much of the security department is nothing at all, as it appears in it's reports. I have decided that, for the immediate future, I'll be avoiding judging certain situations, on their statistics, and reports. It would seem a few have been filed in error."

Damon would have loved to be surprised by the comment. He knew, though, how comradery could play a big part in these things. "What changes do you have planned, Lieutenant? Aside from being more hands on?"

"Largely, being rather more trusting of my assigned assistant chief, than either myself to date, or either of my predecessors have been." Cassandra started. "There is also some kind of joint task force, which has been theorized, planned, and yet, while being an extremely good theory, improperly executed, largely due to my predecessor's distaste for the Marine department, from what little I know of it. I would like your input, actually, on changes which need to be made to the task force, and Security's involvement in it."

"I have a few reccomendations about that program, however, to be unbiased I should direct you to our Marine commanding officer. It's his troop now and I don't want to get between him and his company. If you feel like there isn't enough progress being made, come to me again and I'll see what I can do." Damon was happy to see someone who had confidence in the notion of a joint task force. Too often the segregation between Marine and Fleet had caused issues between the departments.

"Do you have any questions about your assignment here?" Damon querried.

"Not about my assignment, here, I think. I intended to ask the Marine Commanding Officer, after I talked to you about it. Biased opinion or not, sir, I'd like to hear it." Cassandra said. "As I said, I'd like to know more about you. Your opinions, and your beliefs about this task force, will help me, both in discovering what needs to be changed in, and around my department, and allow us to work together, with as little displeasure as possible."

Damon nodded. "What I want to see in this task force is the Starfleet ideal of military men and women. They follow military decorum to the letter and respect their fellow officers on and off duty. They have to be disciplined, both in action and in thought. These won't be the kind of people who get into a bar fight because of a "your momma" comment, I'm sure you catch my meaning. Additionally, I don't want people who have been forced into Starfleet or the Marines out of necessity or to escape something. I want people who joined because they thought they could make a difference, people who believe in what the Federation is doing and are willing to put their lives on the line to defend it and each other."

Damon put the PADD away that was in his hand and turned his attention back to the Lieutenant. "What I need from you and your department is officers that could fit that mould. Professionals that take pride in their work and want to be a part of something special. This program will be an audacious undertaking. We will need men and women up for the challenge. Most importantly, we will all need to lead by example."

Cassandra nodded. "And, there are some individuals, within security, who do not necessarily fit that profile. That doesn't necessarily mean they are bad officers, just that they would not be an appropriate fit for this task force." She said, watching Commander Raine. "I believe I understand what you are getting at."

He was glad she got the point. "There are certainly a lot of marines who don't either. With some work, however..."

Cassandra nodded. "With some work, however, anyone could be anything they wanted. It just depends on the amount of dedication, and effort they put in." Cassandra said, with a chuckle. "Sadly, most don't care enough to put in more effort than needed."

"That can't be helped sometimes, you're right." Damon admitted. "That's where you come in. As a department head it's your job to set a realistic, yet high, benchmark for those working under you. Some in your department will struggle to meet it where others will wash out and fail. I hope that you will find those rare officers, however, that not only meet, but exceed the mark. In my opinion the mark has been consistently set low in the security department and those officers haven't had an opportunity to shine."

"I have a few, in mind, for specific, unique, positions." Cassandra said, with a nod. "The SCE is working on some fancy technology, which has plausible Security uses. Sadly, much of it is still in testing phases. If we're lucky, the events on Typhon will lets us see the SCE presents conference. I'd love to secure some testing assignments, for some of it."

Damon nodded. "I'll see what I can do to pull some strings for you. We're already a test bed for certain programs, a few more won't hurt."

Damon looked over to the clock hanging opposite him on the wall. The day was much later than he had thought and there was still a lot for him to do. "Before I let you go, i've noticed that you have pressed and then retracted charges on a number of your security officers. As I am hoping to see things run from a clean slate, I want you to give me an honest assessment of those working under you. Do you have confidence in their abilities? The option is yours if you want to clean house."

"Originally, that was my intention." Cassandra said, with a scowl. "However, Deputy Field Marshall Donovan filed several reports, which were the sole grounds for those charges. As she is not following requirements, including medical, and psychological reviews, for being on active duty, which, I, personally wrote for her, before she left her last post, I have come to the conclusion that while some of her report may be true, the reports, themselves, are either taken out of context, or grossly exaggerated. One thing that was pointed out to me, and something I both hope to encourage, and refine into a potentially less harmful state, is that a team is, exactly that, a team. These men, and women did not rat on one, another, because they trust each other enough, to believe that, in that specific situation, an out of the box approach may be necessary. Especially in the cases of Ensign Stran, and Ensign Daniels. My personal belief, regarding those reports, is that a woman, who has admitted to neither receiving a crew physical, nor a required psychological exam, feels that those two have been unfairly spoiled by the previous Chief Security, and Tactical Officers. Upon reading the reports, of their behavior, strictly on duty, and of their dedication to this ship, I believe they were not spoiled, at all. They were just treated, as officers of their caliber deserve, even if some of Ensign Daniels' tendencies are slightly bothersome. I've already restricted Miss Donovan from active duty, locked her in a brig, and told her she's not coming out until the Doctor, and the shrink, clear her, and then, just to remind her that misrepresenting facts is a potentially deadly mistake to make, not to mention, a potentially chargeable offence, that could end her career, I'm going to leave her in there for another 72 hours. Next time we have an away team, she's going down, under Daniels' command, too."

"Understood." Damon nodded "They are good officers, it would have been a shame to watch their careers be washed away. I'm expecting good things from them and from you." He stood from his chair and offered his hand. "Welcome to the Calypso."

Cassandra shook it, firmly. "Thank you sir." She said with a nod.

OFF

Damon Raine
Executive Officer
USS Calypso

Cassandra Levue
Chief Security and Tactical Officer
USS Calypso

 

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