Tustle for the Wheel

Posted on 30 Jan 2024 @ 5:39pm by Lieutenant JG Rhiannon Hokir & Lieutenant Commander Christophe Leblanc

Mission: M4 - Falling Out
1484 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

Following his meeting with his senior staff, Chris went back to his office to check up on the status of that apartment in relation to what are you’ve been told. Just an hour later, he decided he needed a bit of a break from the stack of files and papers full of unfamiliar information. He decided, instead, to take some time for a side project of his.

The handsome French man step through the doors of operations, his arms swinging freely by his side as he strode confidently. Pausing, his eyes dance left and right, looking for the person in charge. When he didn’t clearly see a person who fit that description, he turns to the nearest man and gave a gentle wave.

“Bonjour. I am looking for your shift lead. Please point them out to me, thank you?” He said, his tone polite and genial, though reserved and respectfully measured.

Ensign Martan blinked, glancing to the side where the Assistant Chief was walking him through the process of accessing data from the Operations hub. She glanced up, noting the newcomer, and smiled as she stepped away from the console and came to meet him. “That would be me; I’m LTJG Rhiannon Hokir. Assistant Ops Chief.”

“How convenient,” he responded with a smile which barely reached his eyes. He tended not to fake friendliness. He felt it was impolite to pretend to be happier to meet a stranger than made sense for any man to be. This younger woman, however, had a very friendly and inviting face, so his smile was wider than it generally would be. “I’m Commander Christophe Leblanc, the new Chief Engineer. I’m going to need your help with something, but please, don’t let me interrupt.”

He gestured insistently to the Ensign she had been talking to, making it clear he wasn’t just playing at being nice.

“Not at all. We’re just going over some schematics here.” To the Ensign, Rhian added, “Go ahead and work on those exercises and then switch back to your usual tasks. If anything stumps you, make a note and we’ll review it when I’m back, alright?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The ensign nodded and Rhian turned to the newcomer.

“So, you are the replacement for Commander Quinn. Is there anything specific you need? Control change-overs all coming through? I can route the Quartermaster to facilitate any that are lagging for you.”

“The control change-overs have been fine and I haven’t had any technical difficulties with that at all.” He said, his eyes moving to look for an empty space in the room. When he saw a corner which was unoccupied, he gestured to it. “May we? What I want to ask of you is somewhat sensitive.”

Lips pursed, Rhian nodded as she followed him to the alcove. “I’d suggest the office, but it’s occupied at the moment. How can I help you?”

"As you may be able to imagine, taking over as the head of department as vast as the Engineering Department on this station is quite an undertaking. As a result, there are many conflicting things on my mind; so many details need to be understood and then remembered. As I studied, I couldn't help but notice that my predecessor plans to offload a specific project back to the Sol system. I think he claims it is a personal project, but I suspect he couldn't have even started it without using station requisitions."

Chris leaned against the nearby bulkhead, his style becoming a bit more casual. He looked at her and paused for the space of a split second.

"Lieutenant, you have beautiful eyes. They're mesmerizing." he said, smooth and accented. It wasn't clear what the intentions associated with the statement were from his physical presentation. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

Rhian arched a brow. “I’m sure I heard it more than a few times at Academy mixers. Is there a reason we’re skipping from LCDR Quinn’s possible misappropriation of station resources to my …” She pressed her lips together in an attempt not to smile outright . “Ocular attractions?”

He crossed his arms and laughed outright, though it was subdued and not loud enough to win attention for them. Smiling at her, he shook his head slightly, maintaining eye contact the whole time. He was very good at eye contact.

"More like ocular distractions. But you're right, of course. We should get back to it. I should hit on you when you aren't on the clock, yes?"

He changed topics as promised, not bothering to wait for a response from her.

"The Commander was less than forthright with me, and I want to make sure he isn't stealing labor from my department. I want you to look up any relevant requisitions for the Arrow Class Runabout he called Calliope. Can you kindly do that for me?"

Pulling a mini-padd from her pocket, Rhian started some reference notes. “I certainly can. Do you have any particular requisitions in mind, or just looking for anything out of the ordinary?”

“I believe he was attempting to reinforce the hull for some project with an experimental drive.” He answered, “those materials would have been ordered on department credits, not to mention the parts to create the actual drive. I already determined that over three hundred on-duty man hours went into the project between various members of the department, which is against regulations.”

Rhian noted the specifics, making a note to check with the Quartermaster on who approved the materials and what was still awaiting clearance. “Considering the effort already put into this, do you have any plans as to what we are going to do with the reclaimed materials?

“That, Lieutenant, is a surprise.” He said with a grin, “but I think you will like it. And you can be assured the use will be professional. Or…official, at least.”

“I’m sure you believe so, but I was raised to make informed decisions, Commander. If you can provide me an official synopsis of intent, I’ll present it to my Chief for consideration. In the meantime, I’ll run a check on those materials.”

"All I need is information from your records. They are most easily searched by your department." he said, clearly resistant to the bureaucratic implication from the Lieutenant. "No permission is required or desired. That will come from the command staff when I present our departmental project plan."

The charm was severely waning in the face of implied privilege. Regardless of the man’s rank, Rhian knew protocol. She wanted to believe he was well-meaning, but did not trust the insistence to keep his hand held close to the chest while asking for her compliance. “If you insist, Commander; I will just inform the chief of your request and ensure I have his confirmation for proceeding.“

"Lieutenant, you don't need your chief's permission for an information request from the Chief Engineer of this station." he argued, giving no sign of being frustrated or uncomfortable. For all anyone would be able to tell, he was simply arguing the facts of the matter as he saw them rather than becoming emotional. "You must receive hundreds of requests of this kind a day. I doubt they are all run up the chain of command. And if they are, I'd be alarmed by the inefficiency of that system."

In truth, he had nothing to hide, but he didn't like to give way too easily, especially if it established a precedent.

"The craft will continue to be used by Engineering Research and Development. All removed parts will be logged with your department as regulations demand and all new parts will be requested through your department, as regulations demand."

Rhian beamed at him. “Thank you. I’m sure you can understand my being just a little gun-shy on behalf of your predecessor.” She held up the padd. “I’ll get you that list as soon as the quartermaster and I can confirm all the resources.”

"You are too kind, Madame." he said with a grin, crossing his arms under his chest. "You can forward it to Main Engineering. The yeomen will take care of it. They are much more competent than their personnel reports suggest, I think."

With a sigh, he leaned against the bulkhead again, looking at her.

"People are very glad to see me, and I don't think it's because my reputation proceeds me."

“Well, let’s just say a change was needed, so we’re happy to see what fate has tossed us this time around.”

"Perhaps I'll be much worse. Don't hold your breath for me." he said with a wink and then stood up. "Thank you for your time. I won't hold you any longer."

With a nod, Rhian moved past and returned to the Conn and her waiting Ensign.