Personnel Thoughts

Posted on Mon Aug 28th, 2023 @ 12:12am by Cadet First Class Pallas

Mission: Just Another Day on Gladiator
Location: Cadet Quarters, Deck 18
Timeline: Sometime after end of “The Goddess” mission
806 words - 1.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Pallas leaned back in her bunk and sighed. It had been quite an eventful time already on the USS Gladiator, and not in the way that she had expected when she first began her training cruise. She had expected a lot of hard work, challenging assignments where she would find it hard to figure out how to do the job, maybe a lot of extra hours trying to keep up with her duties.

What she had not expected was how many fascinating people she would meet, the elevating conversations, the new friendships. She had the privilege of meeting and spending time with both Captain Hawkins (very awkward and unusual meeting which may or may not have gone well) and Commander Kosugi (open and friendly, makes sense as someone responsible for the crew). The interaction with the Captain had unnerved her at first, although maybe he was in his own bizarre way being welcoming, by perhaps treating her to the same kind of testing or joking or whatever that was that he would to the other crew. The department heads, the ones that she met so far, had each been nothing but welcoming. Commander Torma was a brilliant and a wonderful philosophical conversationalist. Lieutenant th’Villos was self-described “raucous” but surprisingly supportive. Lieutenant Wales, with his commitment to team and mission made her question biases she may have developed at the Academy against those who came from Starfleet families. Lieutenant Cortez was supportive and elegant, though there was something mysterious about her, or maybe that was just how Pallas felt about Intelligence given how little she'd dealt with them up until now. The counselor, Commander Ziyal, the ageless El Aurian made Pallas question her own intentions and what she actually meant to do with this career path, which given how certainty of purpose had driven her through her Academy years was a very uncomfortable insight. The Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Edruj... Pallas could not wait to get into that rotation and learn from the Klingon woman who seemed to flawlessly integrate her own cultural code of honor with the science of keeping the ship running. Lieutenant Walken: straightforward, seeing in between the lines, tough, everything one could hope for in the leader of a marine contingent.

And of course, her boss thus far, Doctor Svidi. She, too, was ‘welcoming’ in her own way. She was intimidating, brusque, and demanding. But it was all toward the goal of keeping the crew safe and healthy, of extracting from her staff their absolute best in order to do for the entire crew the absolute best. Pallas could not think of a better way to start her time on the Gladiator. The cadet was almost sad that her rotation with Medical was coming to an end, but at the same time, was thrilled at the chance to learn more about the rest of her ship.

It wasn’t just the senior officers, though. Other friendships had unexpectedly developed. Ensign Willow Callingbull, another one of her bosses in Medical, had included her in a deeply personal and meaningful ceremony to honor the dead among the Gladiator’s previous crew. Such attention to not just the living but the ones left behind spoke highly of both the ensign and the crew as a whole. Petty Officer Tia Smithy, or ‘Smithy’ as she preferred to be called, was an absolute firecracker who could take down Marines, but she was also going through some unimaginably challenging times and her resilience in the face of that all was something that Pallas could connect with and admire. Not to forgive the short-lived reunion with Ensign Aarva, one of Pallas's fellow Academy "Outsiders"; they had barely had the chance to connect, though, before Aarva was transferred after the formal transfer of the Gladiator to Captain Hawkins' command. Pallas’s new roommate, Cadet Aarfa. She was her new running mate, pack mate, and friend in dealing with nightmares. Chief Cale who had as deep an appreciation for tools as Pallas did, albeit that the tools they kept in the Armory had very different uses than they ones in Sickbay. Doctor Whitlock, who seemed as committed to learning as the cadet, but was equally driven by the selfless desire to help others in the way that she knew how best to.

And, of course, Callisi… um, Captain Verra. What could Pallas say about the fighter pilot? The fact that Captain Hawkins signed off on their romantic relationship in the midst of a mission as dire as the one they all just survived said a lot about the CO's trust in Verra. Would the rest of the crew think about Pallas differently now that she was entangled with a senior officer? How would the difference in cultures help or hinder the development of their budding connection?

She fell asleep wondering about that.