Two Jobs, Two Reports (Part 2)

Posted on 07/30/2020 @ 11:17am by Master Chief Petty Officer Henri Boudreaux
Edited on on 07/31/2020 @ 2:10pm

Mission: S2E1: The Skunil Incident
Location: Office of the Executive Officer
Timeline: Day 38 at 1800

Once again, pleasantly surprised to discover that the ship's First Officer would have time to meet with him today rather than tomorrow of the day after. Timing because what it was, he ended up at Lieutenant Joral's door after having already reported in to Lieutenant Lae'Or. Better still, even though the meetings were back to back, he still managed to be five minutes ahead of schedule which was all to the good as far as he was concerned. He pressed the chime and waited for permission to enter.

An office; it was one of the plethoras of 'perks' that came with transitioning from the Science Department and getting placed on the command track. This track had lead J.J. to the USS Crazy Horse where he served as First Officer, and part of his duties and responsibilities would take him off the Bridge and place him in an office setting. His office was similar albeit smaller than the Captain's Ready Room. It was not really designed for comfort but had a desk and some seating for a couple of individuals. Occupancy was low and the amount of time spent in the room should probably be minimal. When the chime rang, the First Officer was at his desk looking over a PaDD that he immediately set aside.

"Enter," he replied and the doorway parted. He was not expecting any guests and nobody had anything scheduled appointment wise. Though that did not mean he would be left entirely to himself. People often stopped by to drop off reports or in some cases speak with him about some other urgent matter. He watched as the unfamiliar man walked in and J.J. gestured to a seat.

"Master Chief Henri Boudreaux reporting in," Henri said as he offered his the PADD containing his orders, along with a wealth of reading material for the trip, to the Lieutenant before taking the indicated seat. "I've already reported in to Lieutenant Lae'Or but I thought it best to check in with you as well."

J.J. accepted the PaDD and gave it a look through. "Security Investigations Officer," replied the First Officer looking through the man's orders and assignment. He will be the senior-most enlisted personnel thought Lieutenant Joral. "I am sure Lieutenant Lae'Or is happy to have someone with investigative experience and a long service record in her department."

"Yes, Sir," Henri said. Not much of an answer but then, what kind of response would be appropriate. He came with a lot of experience, true. He knew his job, true also. But how the younger department head would feel about that was anyone's guess. It was, strictly speaking, something only time would tell. Still, the first meeting had been a good one and that prompted him to add, "I'm hopeful."

"Chief, we do not presently have a Chief of the Boat aboard the USS Crazy Horse, and I will take more time to go through your service record more thoroughly before presenting it to the Captain if you are interested. The Captain will review all applicants and make his recommendation to Starfleet Personnel. Once that hurdle is done, if selected, there would be an interview process. If all goes well, the position would be yours."

"I'll make myself available, Sir," Henri said. "I've served in that capacity before and if the Captain and Starfleet so desire, I'm happy to do so again."

"Past experience in the position will definitely give you a leg up" replied J.J. "I think we could use someone with some grounded experience aboard, especially in that capacity. You will see if you have not already that we have some young crew, even our Department Heads are a bit on the greener side. I suppose being a bit dated of a starship and the nature of science and exploration, that we lost out to some of the more experienced officers and enlisted personnel."

"I've heard it said, Sir, that personnel assignments are a mystery to most of Starfleet though its also true that the senior enlisted talk, ship to ship, and share resources and contacts when they can." Henri smiled and the warmth of it reached up into his dark eyes. "Finding one in Personnel is the holy grail. Another way of saying unachievable."

J.J. nodded "Well, hopefully you settle in nicely aboard. If you do get the COB position, the enlisted personnel aboard will look to you for leadership and guidance as you're aware. I would meet with you routinely to discuss their performance. If you need anything from me, my door is always open or as the expression goes."

Henri nodded. "Not typical of a door on a Starfleet vessel to remain open," he said. "First COB I ever met had quite the argument with Engineering over that. He was determined to have one that stayed open but as it turned out, there are reasons why doors close. Still their ... disagreements ... were the talk of the ship for a couple of weeks." He shook his head, whether in remembrance or in banishing the memories, was unclear. "As for the rest, I maintained an open door policy as well ... even if was being there for a homesick kid at two in the morning or rescuing first-timers from a shore leave gone bad."

"Sounds great to me, be considerate yet firm" Lieutenant Joral replied. "Our Chief Engineer is a bit of a handful. He may be potentially problematic for the enlisted engineers under him...a bad influence. Please keep them in line if at all possible, avoid coddling the crew."

"Aye, Sir," Henri said, Understood." He paused for the barest of seconds and then added, "... and by handful, you mean exactly?"

The First Officer chuckled and sighed. "You know the myth that headaches don't exist in the 24th century?" J.J. postulated. He shook his head "Ridiculous notion. I can assure anyone coming aboard that Lieutenant Cash will indeed give you a headache. The Chief Medical Officer and a loaded hypospray before bed will be your best friend aboard" added Lieutenant Joral.

"I'm intrigued," Henri said, "and concerned. Not everyone who comes aboard a starship understands the need for discipline and restraint but if they're enlisted, they work out the limits soon enough ... with the right kind of help." He sighed quietly. "Provided they aren't the sort to take it all as a personal challenge to test the limits. That could be ... difficult."

J.J. made a non-committal gesture, a shrug of sorts. "These are strange and troubling times," replied the First Officer. "Part of me wonders how Cash got to where he is, but he's intelligent and qualified for his position. It is just his general behavior that is questionable at times. Nevertheless, I know you'll do well aboard the Crazy Horse."

"Thank you, Sir," Henri answered and waited for the dismissal he assumed was forthcoming.

"You're welcome, Chief. If that is everything, I will be slipping out of this office and getting into one of the science labs for a bit" J.J. responded. "I have a few things I need to work on."



A Post by:

Lieutenant Jodon Joral
Executive Officer
USS Crazy Horse

and

MCPO Henri Boudreaux
Security Investigations Officer
USS Crazy Horse