Parent-Captain Meeting

Posted on 06/12/2020 @ 6:58pm by Captain Cian D'Anvers & Lieutenant JG Remigius ("Remy") Fawkes Ph.D. & Ensign Romal Seshel

Mission: S1E3: Visit to Starbase 375
Location: Forward Conference Room, Deck 1
Timeline: Day 2 at 1000

The First Officer arrived a few minutes ahead of the scheduled time at the Forward Conference Room on deck one of the starship. He was still getting used to the deck plans of the Luna class starship but had spent the night trying to memorize each deck. Practice would make perfect. The Trill entered the conference room and headed to the replicator. He knew he was in for something interesting having recently read over the request. 'A Parent-Captain meeting' What demonic child did something to merit such a meeting he had thought to himself when he read the request.

"One glass butterscotch soda, cold," he said while standing at the replicator. The glass of carbonated amber liquid soon materialized, and J.J. reached for the glass and took a sip. It was pretty damn good for a replicator. It had done a better job than the Faraday's. The First Officer took a seat at the table, a spot that he suspected would be to the Captain's immediate right.

Cian, who had never seen the need to make an entrance, entered with a cup of Tien Chi Flower tea in hand, and found his seat. He nodded, smiling slightly, at his new First Officer as he settled back in the seat and waited for the everyone else to arrive. The night had not been a pleasant one and he'd awoken with a dull headache compounded by the need to deal with parents.

Romal walked into the conference room a little early, carrying a tall cup of steaming coffee, then found a chair and seated himself. Though he felt a little tense about the meeting, Romal had discussed the situation earlier that morning with his little girl, Mizi. Now, he simply sat and watched as other parents entered the room.

Recognizing two parents that seated themselves behind him, Romal turned to chat with them, keeping his voice low, while still waiting for the rest of the parents to show. "Braden, Frieda, nice seeing you two! How's your boy holding up?"

"Hi there, Romal! Zain is holding up fine. . .and how are you and Mizi doing?" Braden asked, as both parents smiled, seeming very friendly.

"Mizi is doing fine, too. You know, I was shocked when I heard what our kids were doing last night. I mean, who would've guessed they could accomplish this Red Raven thingy all on their own." Romal remarked, continuing the conversation.

"Our Zain did break the rules, though. I'm not too happy about that." Frieda added, seeming a little troubled.

"Mizi explained it to me," Romal revealed, "she said there was nothing to do after school and all the kids were super crazy bored, - especially when we all went to Quevrik’s last night and leaving them in the children's complex. So, I guess they did something about it. They didn't really hurt anyone, but they sure gave us a wake-up call."

Braden turned his chair and moved closer, "You're right about that, Romal. You know, you're only a kid once in life and it seems a real shame that they have nothing fun to do after school."

"I hope they have something in mind for our children at this meeting. Well, we won't find out until everyone gets here." Romal said, looking back to see if a few remaining parents would show up.

Dressed in uniform, and decidedly not his favorite look, Fawkes entered the meeting, smiling warmly as he did so. "Hello, everyone," he said as he headed toward the replicator and ordered himself a cup of Vulcan Spice tea. He found a seat near the Captain and first officer, nodding respectfully to both, before he settled in to take the temperature of the room. Now that Toran had left, managing the educational effort would fall under his authority and as part of that, he had added the parents' new teacher to the guest list.

Jennifer was pleased to have been invited to this particular meeting. Any chance to meet busy Starfleet parents was a number one priority task. Unfortunately, the circumstances, were very much the same; trouble was one of the main reasons meetings like this were organized in such a timely manner. With the right supports, Jennifer hopes to change this dynamic. She had not yet met Lieutenant Fawkes, but hopes he would be an ally for the children, their education, and developing strong bonds with active duty parents. For such an occasion, she had dressed professionally with a simple grey blazer, matching slacks, and a white blouse. It was times like these she was jealous of her husband's even simpler dress.

"Hi everyone," she entered with a warm and inviting smile. She knew faces and names, only from the academic files and ship roster, and had observed the power differential in the room. Mindful of this dynamic, she chose a chair on the families' side. She pulled the chair back a short distance, enough to create a buffer from which she could maintain her authority as a teacher while remaining an advocate for the children and their educational needs.

"Now that everyone is here," Cian said, "We shall begin. First, I want to introduce to you Jennifer de Vega, who will be teaching your children and Remigius Fawke who is transferring in as Chief Counselor."

"Acting," Fawkes said in the throaty purr that was his typical speaking voice.

"Acting," Cian said with a gracious nod in the counselor's direction. "As you are aware, this ship has a complex dedicated to the needs of the children on board including educational facilities, an elaborate playroom, and a twenty-four/seven care facility with meals and sleeping areas. As I understand it, the care facility can help with homework assignments, provide outings on the holodeck, and the like." He paused a moment to let all of that sink in. "You were all given a tour of these facilities when you came aboard.

"And now we come to the events of last night," Cian continued, "where, as I understand it, none of the children ... none ... were there. Instead, they were left unsupervised in their quarters while their parents went off to ... uh ... Quevrik's, I think it was?"

J.J. wiggles his way into the conversation. "Do we provide 24/7 childcare?" offered the First Officer. It was not a rhetorical question. "No, I would assume not. Likewise, the parents cannot always be in their quarters, but we cannot expect children to just stay in their quarters. This whole situation appears systemically flawed."

"We most certainly do," Cian said, pausing with his tea cup half way to his mouth. "On a ship that could go into combat, where the parents work shift, its necessary to have a place where they can be cared for and kept safe. The facility has a separate shielding system and security teams make regular checks to ensure that all is well."

"Good," replied J.J. "See, there's the thing then...why were these kids unsupervised? When a starship provides parents with round the clock childcare, we expect parents to make use of it" added the First Officer.

"A good question, Number One," Cian said. His changeable eyes were stormy gray toward as his gaze swept the room and settled on the parents.

The door opened, allowing the Bajoran chief of security to enter at a fast clip. "I'm sorry I'm late, everyone... I've done a full check of our security systems, given the incident, and I've had a word with my people abut keeping a better eye on things. Trust me, I'm not happy about any of this... I do understand why the kids did what they did, though."

Feeling he had something important to offer, Romal begin, "I'm glad you brought up this ship's complex for our children. From what I understand, the children reported in, then disappeared from it. I dropped off my little Mizi there, right before leaving for Quevrik's the other night. Of course, you know what happened after that. When we returned to our quarters, late last night, I had a long talk with Mizi. What I found out was quite revealing, to say the least. She said all the children had a hand in putting this Red Raven thing together. It made them feel like one big family."

He paused for a moment to get his thoughts in order, "The problem is, they're tastes are more sophisticated than we realize and that's why they created their own place, this Red Raven. I'm not proposing any major changes to the complex, but would it hurt us to let the children have a place of their own making? We should encourage creativity, shouldn't we? As unsettling as it was, I couldn't help but feel a little awed by what they accomplished."

After Romal finished, Braden spoke up. "At first I was mad at my boy, Zain, but we sat down and talked it out. Zain says it was the most fun he's ever had and he was really down when it all came to an end, last night. I don't approve about how sneaky the children were, doing it right under our noses, but in a way, I do feel a certain amount of pride. The way they worked together, considering their ages."

Frieda, his wife added, "I've never seen Zain so at ease with the other children on this ship, they're just like family to him now, especially Mizi. I think this Red Raven thing has brought the children closer together."

"My boy, Belkor." A mother begin to say, then continued, "He would always feel so lost, whenever we had to move to a new ship, but now he loves it! Last night, I was very worried when I couldn't find him, but after they found him, I couldn't believe my eyes. - I saw him playing with the other children. Belkor never did that before, he always felt so shy. I don't think we should discourage this. . .this, ah. . .this Red Raven thing. It really helped my Belkor."

"My daughter, Hallanna, when we got her home last night, all she could talk about was Red Raven this - Red Raven that! I've never seen her so excited and happy, actually ecstatic. Whatever those children created, should we be tearing it down? It would be like tearing down their spirit!" one of the fathers expressed in no uncertain terms.

"All I know is my little Hallanna is thrilled to be on this ship!" the mother added.

"Dremon, that's the my little girl," a mother slipped in, "she's not what you would call a happy kid - she's more of a loner, keeps to herself, but not last night. For the first time our little girl actually felt inspired enough to join these wonderful kids. These children actually work together like a team, you know. If this is bad, then I don't know what's good, anymore! We should help them keep the Red Raven thing going! As long as its safe, of course."

Jennifer listened carefully to the parents' observations and perceptions of their children's actions. She casually jotted down notes on the Padd before her. The parents had revealed a lot about their children's need for contentedness and belonging, something she would later share with the counselor. The children had also proved themselves creative, intelligent, and independent; the makings of great students under proper tutelage. Jennifer hoped she could fulfill the role.

Cian, not being new to command, listened with patience and the neutral expression perfected over his years of service. More than that, he actually thought about what they were saying and while he couldn't agree with the children's actions, the ship was not after all their particular playground, he could understand a rebellious nature having had one of his own at one time.

"There are several layers to this. First and foremost, is their safety. If we went to red alert during one of their ... escapades ... they could be harmed even killed. That's not acceptable to me nor is it acceptable to me that neither the staff in the facility nor security were even aware of their absence until you showed up collectively at my doorstep. That must be rectified and before they are granted anything else, I must have some assurance that this will not happen again."

"Now, Lieutenant Lae'Or. You want to explain to me how they managed to circumvent staff and security? How they gained access to the Cargo Bay, stole what they needed, and ran their version of a nightclub without anyone anywhere figuring it out?"

"As far as I can tell, it was your daughter, Ensign Seshel, and Zain who were leading it. They managed to void the security lock on the cargo bay, although I should point out that, at least before this incident, that particular bay was a low-security area. I've got Ensign Mendyar figuring out how--preliminarily, he thinks they managed to get the computer to do most of the bypass. Starfleet has been considering putting biometric locks on cargo bays, especially near Engineering and Tactical systems. I have those protocols, and I can implement them at your discretion, Sir," Tahlin told D'Anvers. "For now, I've got people outside all cargo bays, checking rosters to make sure people are supposed to be there... I hope I didn't overreact, but I share concerns about an incident happening during a red alert, or even not."

"Lieutenant Lae'Or, you and I are both aware that civilians are not granted sufficient access to the computer to do such a thing. If a civilian tried to bypass security, the computer should have sent an alert to Security and to the Bridge. Did these children have computer access above their level," Cian asked.

"Keep in mind, Captain and Lieutenant Lae'Or - these are our children. Mizi is only seven and Zain is only ah. . .I think he's only ten." Romal started to say.

Then Braden cut in, "Yes, Romal, my boy, Zain, is only ten. Our kids watch our every move and they learn fast. Real fast! Some day, they want to be Star Fleet officers, just like their parents."

Romal began to explain in detail, "He's right, our kids learn real fast and Mizi sometimes watches me when I do simple maintenance repairs. My guess is that she was with me when I was in Cargo Bay 3, replacing some lighting in there. My little girl must have memorized every number I punched into the lock code, she learns fast. She probably taught the other children how to do it, too."

Lieutenant Joral held his tongue and simply sucked in his bottom lip, biting it lightly. It was about the only thing he could do right now other than facepalming; However, there was a level of professionalism that the Joral symbiont came with. Oh hell thought the First Officer who immediately shot a look at the Commanding Officer, but said nothing.

"My Zain is a good tactician as well, how do you think they got all that stuff into the cargo bay?" Braden asked, knowing they had little idea, "They got it out of refuge bins, stuff that was about to be thrown away in the first place. Hehe!!! It was amazing how they worked together and slipped the stuff right past everyone. Please understand though, I'm not condoning what they did and I'll make sure they don't ever do it again."

One of the mothers spoke up, "That's what Hallanna told me. I just don't know how they did it without being caught! They were so clever! Anyway, she was so excited and happy. I hope you're not too hard on them, Captain."

Romal looked around, wanting to say something "Captain, they're preteens and at their age, they want to be exactly like us. They knew about Quevrik’s, so they made their own little night club and called it; the Red Raven. I know we can't have children underfoot, especially during an emergency or a red alert. That wouldn't be safe. Would it be so terrible to make a few minor changes to the children's complex, just so they know we care and we're actually listening to them? You know, children do have dreams. Why not let them have this one?"

"So, you allowed Mizi to follow you while you worked and during the process, she learned the access code. That solves the problem of how that got in," Cian said. "Lieutenant Lae'Or, I agree to the immediate conversion to biometric locks on the cargo bays. We'll have a private discussion after this meeting about security procedures."

"Of course, Sir." Tahlin set to work, telling M'Raul to get on it via her PADD. Fortunately, she'd been anticipating such a need, so it wouldn't be all that difficult to implement. The discussion with the captain, and likely the XO, wasn't going to be fun, and would be significantly more difficult.

"Lieutenant Fawkes and Ms. de Vega, the two of you are now assuming responsibility for the care and safety of the children when they are in the complex. The individuals responsible for their care that night were lax in their duties. I will give you time to investigate but I would like to see a plan from both of you that will prevent such problems from reoccurring."

Fawkes, who could read a room better than most, nodded his agreement but otherwise remained silent.

"Captain," Jennifer began, "I feel it is important to note the concerns expressed by the parents in this room. They are concerned about their children's sense of belonging and connection." Jennifer paused allowing empathy to surround the parents. "And these are certainly important principles for children to feel, as one or even both of their parents can be called away at anytime. It will be important to help the children see the larger ship as a family support system." She glanced at Fawkes, pondering the reason for his silence.

"However capable Lieutenant Toran and their teacher may have been, ultimately, they were unsuccessful in bringing about that connection," Cian said. "That's clear from the events that occurred last night. This ... Red Raven. How you and Lieutenant Fawkes plan to achieve different results is something that I will be greatly interested in hearing about once you've had time to formulate a plan of action. For now," Cian said as his gaze took in the parents, Starfleet one and all. "Your fellow crew mates will have to answer for their part in the events of last night. Note that no one is going to the brig. They are merely answering for their actions because that's how things are done on this ship. As to making changes based what happened, in essence, giving them more than what they already have, the answer is no. I do not reward bad behavior nor do I grant requests based on deception and subterfuge." He sighed quietly. "I trust that I will not see a repeat of these events. "

He rose from his seat, contained and controlled save for a slight tic along the jawline, and turned his gaze on his Chief of Security. "Lieutenant Lae'Or, I expect to see you in my Ready Room shortly."

"I'll be there, if you'll allow me to make sure bio-lock implementation is going smoothly, Captain?"

"Of course," Cian said. "I'll be waiting." He exited the conference room and headed to his Ready Room with a lot of consider.

As the meeting ended, Romal and the other parents rose from their seats and started to walk for the exit. The discouragement they felt was written on their faces. "I don't think this was really a meeting." Braden said softly to the other parents.

Romal nodded, "I agree, Braden. It wasn't a meeting, it was more like an interrogation. Nothing I said made the slightest difference, how the children felt, nothing, except learning how the children got into the cargo bay and where the scraps of broken furniture came from."

"He'd already made up his mind, before we even walked in." Frieda remarked, walking towards the doorway.

"We'll know better next time, Frieda. . .if we're still here, of course." Romal replied, then looked at the other parents, "Mizi says, her and the children will be waiting for us in the mess hall."

"I hope Zain understands, the Captain's putting an end to their Red Raven. I was so proud. . .I still am." Braden remarked, as he walked with the other parents.

"So much for our children's creativity. I just hope this doesn't effect Hallanna's self esteem." a parent commented as she reached the door.

"Let's go! Our children are waiting for the bad news. We'll try to break it to them gently." Romal sighed, then exited the forward conference room.

A Post By:

Commander Cian D'Anvers
Commanding Officer
USS Crazy Horse

and

Lieutenant Jodon Joral
Executive Officer
USS Crazy Horse

and

Lieutenant (J.G) Lae'Or Tahlin
Chief of Security/Tactical
USS Crazy Horse

and

Ensign Romal Seshel
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Crazy Horse

and

Lieutenant JG Remigius Fawkes, Ph.D.
Acting Chief Counselor
USS Crazy Horse

and

Jennifer de Vega
Teacher
USS Crazy Horse