Herding Cats
Posted on 31 Mar 2025 @ 8:14pm by Lieutenant JG Gabriel Lyons
Edited on on 31 Mar 2025 @ 9:54pm
Mission:
M4 - Falling Out
Location: Conference Center
1072 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure
It's a good mood from his workout had lasted approximately 2 days, in which he had been assigned three of the new recruits into the security department. Recruits was being kind, they were ensigns fresh out of the academy. They were assigned to a simple detail, patrolling the conference being held in the conference deck.
He kept a mental tab on each of them, trying to keep track of their skills as well as their weaknesses.
Kelvren Valefar, was a human, from a backwater colony with a desperate desire to prove himself. He had more aggressive tendencies than he needed to fill out a security detail, without the necessary control of his temper to smooth out the man. He was reckless, but he saw things that the others did not. He had a keen eye for identifying a threat, but an overactive drive to prove himself that made him see threats that were actually non-existent. Hyper aware, made him wonder what kind of trauma the man had before he entered Starfleet.
You probably don't want to know that answer mate.
Caliel 'Cal' Seere was empathic at least to some degree, and he kept feeling his mind against his shields. He was paranoid, though of what Gabriel had yet to fully figure out. The elder security officer hadn't seen anything yet to justify the paranoia and anxiety that he felt from the man, nor had anything triggered an uptick in the sensation. He was not at this moment about to touch the man's mind and find out. That was rude and a violation of Betazoid propriety that he was not about to engage in.
Make a note for counseling and move on. Don't ever stop watching though.
Talion Jen was the Bajoran of the group, and one of the few to venture from Bajor into the academy. He'd imagined that she'd not had an easy time of it, the 1st of a species to make the jump into the academy often had a hard time and paved the way for the others with their good intentions. The first Bajoran had gone rogue, into the Maquis if he remembered his history correctly. While she wasn't the first, there was a bit of animosity towards the species that he didn't rightly understand.
If one is bad they're all bad is a stupid and outdated form of thinking. Judge her for her merits, and give constructive criticism if you have any
She seemed to persevered well, and had tempered herself in the fires of adversity.. While she had the temper typical to the species, she was methodical and precise. She was the one out of the three that he thought he could mold into a superior officer. At the moment she was the only one who would be getting a positive review from him.
"So, what do you see that is out of place?".
When Cal immediately put hand to phaser and Kelvren actually unholstered his, Gabriel snarled inwardly and interposed his body in between the young officers and the public eye.
“Not every incident requires a phaser. Put it away. “ His voice was disapproving and there was a note of authority in it that would not be denied. Grudgingly the young ensign put away his phaser and looked solemnly into the face of his training officer.
“You are looking for things that are out of place, not everything that is out of place is a threat. Also, not every threat deserves an armed response. There are situations that you can diffuse simply by being present, no need for hands on phasers or brandishing anything. If you join Starfleet Security specifically simply to flex your muscles and wave around a phaser than perhaps you miscalculated. If thuggishness and brute force were all you wanted, the Marines and enlistment might have been a better option. But you do not draw in a crowded room unless you want to start a panic. Do you want to start a panic Mr. Valefar?" by this time, his eyes were blazing though he hadn't raised his voice above an angry whisper. It would not do to have the occupants of the symposium to know that he was dealing with a minor disciplinary action.
"No sir "
"How about you Mr. Seere?"
"No sir!" He snapped a touch of resentment in his voice.
Interesting...is he upset on his colleagues behalf or because I called him on his sheeplike following of the phaser draw.
"That is a lesson for all of you." He met each one of their eyes in turn. He was intrigued by their reactions, the young officers he was dressing down all had slightly down turned gazed. The first had the grace to look embarrassed, the second looked concerned, yet appeared deep in thought. The third was chewing her lip in a nervous gesture that he was surprised to see on her face though he didn't show it he was pleased by the way her eyes were still moving over the crowd while the other two were focused more inward.
"Again I ask you what do you see that is out of place?". He paused and projected just a little reassurance. "Out of place is a broad term, it can mean anything from someone who you think has a weapon to a danger to the people, breaking up a fight to calling in that someone has spilled their drink and we need to clean up. We can also be called upon in need to find lost items to scan for assistance who went missing and to track down people that are supposed to be here but that aren't.”.
There were head nods from all three but no verbally uttered responses. That was more than enough for him. Now their eyes were open and they were almost receptive to his message.
"Good. Now, in this instance our primary job is to protect the people of the station and our visitors. Tell me what you believe is the most important thing to do to ensure this goal?"
Their looks of quiet contemplation made a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, he didn't get an immediate response. So he waited, as patiently as he was able. The beauty of this question is that there are no incorrect answers, and would provide an enormous amount of insight into each officer's manner of thinking.
