Second Rotation

Posted on Sun Feb 18th, 2024 @ 8:18am by Cadet First Class Pallas & Commander Raiden Kosugi

Mission: Just Another Day on Gladiator
Location: Arboretum, USS Gladiator
Timeline: Post-Shore Leave
2050 words - 4.1 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Cadet First Class Pallas felt refreshed in a way she had not since starting at Starfleet Academy. If she was being honest, she had never felt relaxed and recuperated like this, not since her earliest memories. Childhood had at first been one of scarcity and fear, followed by an explosion of activity and discovery. And that had been followed directly by the greatest of adventures, leaving her planet and traveling to the heart of the Federation, learning to be one of the Starfleet Officers she practically worshiped growing up. Classes, dealing with feeling completely outside the norm of Academy culture, finding her other 'Outties' and along with them community, tripping and falling into being a top boxer, filling ever moment of free time with science and engineering and study... it was in some ways all a blur. In other ways, multiple lifetimes crammed into three short years. And then, being thrown onto what she thought would be a routine albeit challenging cadet cruise, instead joining the Gladiator after mass abduction and murder by xenophobic space cultists. Life had not given much room for the young Andaran to take a break, and Memphis Island had been a dream she didn't know she should have had. Especially given the company she had kept while there.

But now, feeling alive and new, she was eager to rejoin the crew in their next mission. As was always her practice, she read everything she could ahead of time, but unlike before the start of her cadet cruise, this time there wasn't much for her to reference. In fact, since Lieutenant Cortez left the Chief Ops position vacant, Pallas was at a loss for who she was even supposed to go to for her next rotation assignment. Having met most of the department heads, she wasn't worried; they were all top notch and had something to teach her, just as Doctor Svidi had during Pallas's rotation through Medical. A long self-reflection (as well as reference to Starfleet Regulations, of course) had the cadet decide the best course of action was to go straight to the XO. The Commander had been kind enough to give Pallas the friendliest of welcomes to the Gladiator, and she felt comfortable going to him now. Her uniform was newly replicated, the creases sharp and the fabric immaculate as she pinned her freshly polished comm badge on and went in search of Commander Raiden Kosugi.

The computer indicated that Raiden was inside the arboretum that was on the Gladiator. And that would be where Pallas would find him. The dark haired executive officer was currently seated upon a bench seeming to be lost in thought, his arms folded across his chest. Not too far from Raiden was a flowering bush covered in pure white flowers with a pink center in them.

The cadet saw that the XO appeared to be deeply focused, and she stopped in her tracks, pausing for several long seconds before deciding to proceed as she had originally intended. She approached him from the front, but slowly, to provide the chance for him to see her before she neared. "Commander Kosugi," Pallas stood at attention when she reached him. "I apologize for disturbing you."

Raiden's eyes slowly opened, focusing upon Pallas, "You are fine Cadet." unfolding his arms, and sitting up a bit more straighter. "What can I do for you?" A smile appearing. "It is good to see you, and glad that you are still with us. Please have a seat." patting the space next to him. Raiden moved over to make certain she had plenty of room.

"How was your Shore Leave?" Raiden deciding to open their dialogue with that question.

The cadet took a moment with the question, although the involuntary grin on her face happened instantaneously. "I can say without exaggeration that my time on Memphis Island was one of the most incredible experiences of my life," she openly admitted. "I have heard of places like these, seen them on the holodeck, even seen beaches on Earth, but I was not prepared for this. Thank you, Commander, for asking, and also for arranging the opportunity for me to see it." She paused again, as the vista from the cliffs played in her mind's eye. "And you, Commander?" she asked after she realized her pause had been a moment too long. "How was your own shore leave?"

"It was a good shore leave. I was able to go do a little bit of exploring. That place is amazing" Raiden giving a smile. "Just very beautiful." Raiden's smile broadening as he thought of a certain woman he spent time with.

His mind went to concentrate on Pallas as she had come to see him. "What can I do for you, Cadet Pallas?"

Pallas stiffened her face with ever bit of professionalism she had in her and resisted raising an eyebrow at the expression on the XO's face. She swallowed as subtly as possible, to tamp down the impulse to clear her throat. Clearly there was some back story to what the commander was grinning about; it was only too familiar, as the Ardanan was sure she'd had the same grin plastered on her face repeatedly when spending time with Callisi over the past several days. In any case, the cadet wasn't here to share or collect gossip. She'd never let that sort of thing sidetrack her career before or at the Academy, and wasn't about to start now. "I apologize in advance, Commander, for bringing this to you, but I was unsure of whether you have appointed an acting Chief of Operations yet, since Lieutenant Cortez has transferred off the Gladiator. I ask only because I wanted to inquire about my next departmental rotation, and I would usually go to Operations for that assignment, but I was not sure who I should talk to about that."

"There are three areas that you could go to, Cadet Pallas, you can go to check in with Lieutenant Obav th’Villos for some flight training, could go to science and report in to Commander Torma. Or you can even go speak to Lieutenant Edruj. Have you gone to Lieutenant Wales as of yet?" Raiden felt that he was playing catch up at the moment.

The cadet was a little taken aback, having expected a bit of a bureaucratic run around. Then again, given how friendly and helpful the XO had been upon her arrival on the Gladiator, she should likely have expected this level of personal assistance, even though the commander was surely very busy with all of his other duties. There was a long moment of pause, as she took the question seriously. Of course, she had thought about the order of her rotations even before leaving San Francisco, but a part of her had avoided becoming too wedded to any particular preferences, knowing that different needs of the ship and responsibilities or capacities of the senior staff for taking on training a cadet would weigh heavily into what rotations were available at any given time. So to have three options presented to her was a veritable buffet of opportunity. "I have had the honor of speaking with all three of those chiefs, sir," she answered. "And look forward to working with each of them when the rotation comes up. If I am honest, I have been most excited and looking forward to working in Engineering, given that it was one of my main courses of study at the Academy. If Lieutenant Edruj is able to take on a cadet for training at this time, I would very much look forward to that work experience."

Raiden gave a nod. "Then I will get that set up for you. I do also ask you something, how do you feel about working with Petty Officer Tia Smithy? Have you worked with her before?"

There was a reason why he was asking, just making certain that Tia was able to work with others.

"Smithy?" Pallas nodded with a small smile. "Yes, I have worked with her. Unexpectedly, but she showed me how the large scale reclaimator in Engineering works, and some of the finer points of navigating the hover carts. I found her company enjoyable," the cadet said carefully. She liked Tia, and definitely didn't want to say anything to get her in trouble, so even though Pallas was very curious as to why the commander was asking about the petty officer, the cadet kept her question to herself for the moment. "I look forward to working with her on my rotation," she added, not sure if it was too much.

"Good, glad to hear that." Raiden replied. He leaned back in his seat. "She's been cleared to stay on the ship of which I am glad about." There was more he could say but, it wasn't his place. It would be for Tia to do so instead. "She could do with some good friends." was all that he added.

"I was with Sergeant Busby when we found Smithy after she was... sleepwalking?" Pallas disclosed. It was information that the commander assuredly had access to, and the cadet figured it was helpful for him to have a full picture of how much she was privy to. "She said something at the time about seeing ghosts. I understand that she had undergone some trauma related to the cultists, though I have not asked further beyond that." The cadet left it at that, not knowing if what the XO was referring to in terms of Tia needing friends extended beyond that particular incident, or Tia's run-in with the cultists.

"I am glad you were able to find her, both you and Sergeant Busby." Raiden having folded his arms across his chest then raised one hand to scratch his jawline. "And it sounds like you and Tia may have the makings of a friendship, that is good. I can say this much, she's been through the wringer. More than what she should have experienced. Then again a few of those here have had their own troubles with the cultists." he glanced back at Pallas, "Do you have any other questions you'd like to ask?" giving a kind glance towards Pallas.

Pallas gave the question full consideration. Despite Raiden's kindness and openness, he was still her executive officer, and her respect for Starfleet took over in these situations. "I realize that the command crew has been extremely busy, both dealing with the aftermath of the last mission and preparing for the next one. If it is not too forward of me to ask, sir, I wonder whether there has been any feedback on my performance thus far? Are there any areas of improvement you believe I should focus on?" The cadet ended her question there, not voicing her underlying fear that there may be those on the ship who viewed her off-duty choices as signalling a tendency toward distraction, or worse, unprofessionalism.

"Cadet Pallas, I have not received any ill reports where you are concerned. Instead I have read nothing but good reports. One of them being y own. You've been very dedicated in learning all that you can. Plus you have risen to the occasion in dealing with the situation we had found ourselves in. Keep up with the good work."

Raiden had no clue as to what Pallas did on her off time except that the cadet had gone to enjoy her shore leave. As did he, what people did on their shore leave that was their business, unless they got themselves tossed in the brig or did something to warrant the Command Staff's attention.

"Thank you, Commander. I appreciate that." She looked very pleased. "I suppose I should report to Lieutenant Edruj, then. I will leave you to it, sir," she said, nodding at the flowering bush with a smile.

Raiden gave out a chuckle, "I suppose I can get back to staring aimlessly at the flower bush, or I can get back to work before I am fired." giving a wink and an impish grin. He rose from the bench. "Definitely good work, Cadet Pallas, and I'll see you around."

The cadet saluted the commander sharply, then gave him a grateful smile before enjoying a final view of the flowers.

END