How to Organize a Supply Closet

Posted on Mon Sep 12th, 2022 @ 8:50am by Cadet First Class Pallas

Mission: The Goddess
Location: Deck 18, Crew Quarters
Timeline: Backpost -- sometime after "Intimidation"
807 words - 1.6 OF Standard Post Measure

"Personal Log, Cadet First Class Pallas, USS Gladiator. Stardate 74294.4.

"It is early in my Training Cruise, here aboard the USS Gladiator. I've formally begun my first rotation, working in Medical under the command of Commander... er, Doctor Svidi. The Doctor seems very direct. Blunt, even. But I'll reserve any other judgment for now. Not that it's my place as a cadet to judge anyone. I just mean.... Computer, pause."

Well, that's not very good, Pallas thought as she stopped mid-rant, before she sighed. Then again, wasn't I told that Personal Logs really are supposed to be 'personal'? That they're here for my own future recollection, and that I shouldn't be afraid to be myself or honest about my perception of the going-ons of the ship I'm assigned to? That my desire to make everything make sense is going to get in the way of getting things done, so I might as well practice being messy when I'm recording these things?

"Computer, resume recording. What the whole crew here has gone through, having found the Gladiator almost wrecked and then transferring over here from the USS Arcadia, to try to figure out exactly where these Trinity Zealots are and then hunt them down... it's no wonder that the Doctor, and everyone else on this ship, is on edge. So I don't blame any of them for being short or abrupt or even mean. Anger is something I'm very familiar with. It comes out in different ways. And I don't mean to go on a rant right now about xenoanthropology and the underlying meanings of anger within different societies and how that creates synergistic cultural norms on Starfleet vessels... so, yeah, I won't do that. But what I will say is that, despite all this, the new crew of the Gladiator all seem incredibly good at what they do, and also all are completely different from what I expected Starfleet officers on a Sovereign-class cruiser to be like."

"The XO, Commander Kosugi. He's the first one I met, almost ran into on the USS Himalaya right before I transported over. He's talkative and friendly, took a lot of time showing a new cadet around the ship... got mad at me when I questioned whether he should be sharing information with me about the current mission, given that I don't have my commission yet. He was right, of course; I'm part of the crew now, and regardless of my rank or title, if and when crap hits the fan here, I will need to be ready. I guess that's the real thing. I thought I was ready before I came aboard, but everything is just so dramatically different from what I expected it to be that, well, now I'm just not sure anymore."

"Doctor Svidi. I already mentioned her. I am going to learn so much from her. Not just about medicine, although I am already learning so much, even if my first job was to organize the supply closet. But about how to run a department, how to be a strong, no-nonsense authority in times of crisis. And this is definitely a time of crisis. And that first assignment, well, I get it. It wasn't busy work. She wanted me to understand both where everything in Sickbay is located, and also why particular devices, supplies, tools are all located where they are. The supply cabinet is sorted by purpose, by frequency of use, by frequency of need for restocking. In the Engineering Department at the Academy, if you needed something, you could usually fix it with a spanner, and if not, you replicated it, 9 times out of 10. But in Sickbay, there are certain biologics that are used with such frequency and that you need immediately when a patient comes in or when you're rushing off to another part of the ship that it doesn't makes sense to wait even the 5-10 seconds it would take to replicate it. There are tools that need to be calibrated with precision that is greater than anything else you'll see on a starship, and again, you can't wait around for that."

"There's a metaphor in here. I need to be like that with my time here, and when I'm done, I need to be like that with Starfleet. With my career. Figure out what I need to always have on hand, and figure out what I can get when I need it, keep as reserved matter-energy content for now."

"Speaking of which, I think I need to refresh my energy levels now. A shift's work is somehow even more intense that sitting through lectures all day followed by working on problem sets. That's what everyone at the Academy tried to warn me about, but I had to see it for myself. Computer, I'm spent, end personal log."