Faith, Trust, and a Difficult Position

Posted on Tue Jun 25th, 2013 @ 10:17am by Captain Tobias Naros & Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Bates & Lieutenant Aniela Darvetti
Edited on on Tue Jun 25th, 2013 @ 10:37am

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A Friend in Need..."
Location: Ready Room, USS Yorktown
Timeline: Day 2, 1830 hours

ON: [[Ready Room, USS Yorktown, Mission Day 02, 1830 Hours]]

The past couple days Tobias had been, unsurprisingly, busy with the Federation negotiating team on Cardassia, so Aniela had seen little of him. However, she found that him leaving her in charge still gnawed at her, to some extent, and felt it would be best to address it with him. When things had settled down a little, the Science Chief decided to go speak with him. Standing outside his ready room now, she pressed the doorchime.

"Enter," a voice called from within.

Hearing Tobias call her in, Aniela stepped forward, allowing the doors to completely open before moving into the El-Aurian's ready room. She stood just inside, not wanting to interrupt him.

"...and I want to have Mister Nor'el look over these personnel recommendations before we set anything in stone," Tobias was explaining to Christian (PNPC). Things had been relatively uneventful since their arrival at Cardassia, at least for most of the ship's compliment. Much of the El-Aurian's time, however, had been divided between playing the role of Federation diplomat with the negotiating team on the planet's surface and dealing with all of the usual paperwork expected of a Commanding Officer. Tobias looked up from where Christian had been helping him sort through PADDs to see his Chief Science Officer standing in the doorway. "I think that should be sufficient for now," he told the young man.

"Of course, sir," Christian replied. He scooped up the remaining PADDs and nodded once in the direction of Lieutenant Darvetti before slipping passed her to disappear through the door.

"Good evening, Captain," Aniela said politely with a smile as she moved closer to his desk. "I hope I'm not interrupting," she added, eyes glancing to the door that Christian had just left through.

Tobias studied the woman standing before him. A lot had changed in both their lives since the two had served together aboard the Orlando. He had gone on to serve as Androski's Executive Officer aboard the Orlando-A before eventually receiving his own command whereas she had spent much of that time aboard Deep Space Eight researching the Taevon Expanse. There was a sense of distance between them which had not been present before, one which Tobias knew was related to the fact he was now her Commanding Officer. "You want to know why I left you in charge," Tobias observed without preamble.

Aniela opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it, a bit bewildered that Tobias had somehow known precisely what was on her mind. Chuckling slightly, she shook her head in disbelief before replying, "Sir, are you part Betazoid and you've been holding out on us?"

A small smile tugged at the corners of the El-Aurian's mouth. People were often surprised by how much one could learn simply by listening and keeping an open mind, yet those were two traits for which Tobias' species had become well known throughout the Federation. It was clear now that both knew the primary reason for Darvetti's visit. Now it was time for Tobias to listen as she explained her concerns in her own words.

Glancing down at Tobias, Aniela tried to decide how to best explain her questions now that he had already realized what she had come for. "Well, Captain, permission to speak freely?"

"Of course," Tobias replied.

"Obviously you know what I've come to talk to you about. I don't mean to question your orders, but on the bridge there was at least one officer higher ranked than me and another who had been with you and the Yorktown longer... To be honest, I was more than a little surprised and based on the other officers' reactions, well, they didn't seem all that thrilled," Aniela explained.

She hesitated a moment before continuing, "So, why me? I realize we've worked together before and the decision is, of course, yours to make. At the same time, you put me, as a new crewmember to this vessel, in a not so good position - particularly with my fellow officers."

There was no doubt in Tobias' mind that the concerns Darvetti was raising were valid. He had chosen her over seemingly more qualified candidates to assume control of the bridge which had, regardless of intent, placed her in a difficult position. Were he to be completely honest with himself, it would have been impossible to rule out any appearance of favoritism for the very reason Darvetti had identified only moments earlier. "You are absolutely right," he admitted after a moment, "Either Lieutenant Commander Hogan or Lieutenant Drell would have been a suitable choice under normal circumstances."

Though Aniela was tempted to ask Tobias what he meant by 'normal circumstances', she remained silent instead. If she knew Tobias, he would explain further without any other prompting from her. He knew as well as she that normal circumstances were rarely the case.

"I understand this may have put you in a difficult position with your fellow officers and for that, I apologize," Tobias continued, "We operate based on a chain-of-command and an order-of-succession for many reasons, each of them valid in their own right. At the same time, however, there can be no denying that you were the person I felt most qualified to be sitting in that chair at that moment. Regardless of rank or time served aboard the Yorktown, I needed someone I knew would be able to weigh all her options and to approach the situation with a rational mind."

Aniela nodded at his apology; certainly she wasn't going to refuse it. Looking directly at him, hands folded in her lap, she replied, "And the reason you felt I was most qualified...was it because of the time we served together on the Orlando? I mean absolutely no disrespect, but I would think that Drell and Hogan area also capable of weighing options and remaining rational - at least that's the impression I got while working with them in this brief time. It is Captain's prerogative to use whatever tools are at his disposal, including prior experience with an officer to make the best decisions for the ship, of course. I suppose that's my answer then..."

There was no need for Tobias to say anything further as Darvetti had come to a reasonable explanation on her own. Instead, the El-Aurian simply gave an affirmative nod of his head.

"Another question, sir... Any suggestions on how I can get myself out of this difficult position with the crew? Other than time? The best I can come up with is to just try to get to know each of them better, but I've not really been in this particular position before," Aniela noted. For that matter, it would take some getting used to having Tobias as her Commanding Officer. Though on the Orlando he had been First Officer, to her it seemed Tobias was more...approachable, for lack of better term. Perhaps even a friend. Here she felt she was almost starting from scratch, treating him rather formally.

Tobias took a moment to consider the question. Time was a luxury members of his own species could easily take for granted, especially when dealing with those who did not have the benefit of long lifespans. Trill were among the only Federation species who seemed to have any sort of similar temporal understanding. Even then, however, it did not quite compare. "You are a resourceful individual, Aniela," he told her, "I am sorry my decision has placed you in such a difficult position with other members of the senior staff. While the responsibility lies solely with me, I doubt an official statement from the captain would do much to help the situation at this point."

Aniela immediately took note of Tobias using her first name; gathering that at least some of their friendship might have survived and, in fact, continue. Taking in what he said, Aniela nodded, "You're right, of course, Tobias - that certainly won't help matters. I'll do what I can to make some connections with them. I appreciate you hearing me out... Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Lieutenant Commander Hogan has been reassigned," Tobias said without preamble. He realized it probably constituted an abrupt change in conversation topic by some standards, but the moment seemed as good as any to break the news.

Surprised at the sudden change of subject, Aniela was at a loss as to what to say initially. "I'm...sorry to hear that. He seemed like quite the capable officer. I don't suppose StarFleet has found us a new Chief Engineer yet either, have they?"

"Not to my knowledge," Tobias replied, shaking his head from side to side, "It seems a rather unusual turn of events. Both you and Lieutenant Commander Hogan were among the last senior staff to arrive and now it seems we're already bidding Mister Hogan farewell. Being this far from Federation space, even if only for a short while, puts us in the difficult position of operating without relief personnel."

Aniela nodded, "The timing of it is certainly less than ideal, not to mention somewhat odd. I suppose there's not much we can do about it though. Can I help in some way?"

"As a matter of fact, there is," Tobias said thoughtfully, "You and Mister Drell made several modifications to the sensor arrays during our most recent...encounter...am I correct?"

"Indeed we did," she replied thoughtfully. Somehow she had a feeling she knew what Tobias would ask next. If correct, Aniela couldn't really disagree with his thinking either. "I suppose you want us to implement them a bit more permanently, perhaps?"

Tobias gave Aniela a knowing smile. "Everything our negotiators have witnessed these last few weeks would seem to indicate quite favorable reactions to this legislation among the Detapa Council," he explained, "Assuming the resolution passes, it will be our job to escort the relief supplies through Federation space to a rendezvous at Deep Space Four. I would very much like to take advantage of our relationship with the Phantom fighters during that time if at all possible to improve our chances of avoiding any...incidents."

Aniela nodded slowly, taking in the information. "I would be happy to coordinate with Operations and Engineering on the project. I can see about touching base with them first thing in the morning."

"Very good," Tobias said, leaning forward to rest his arms against the edge of his desk, "Unless there is anything else I can do for you..."

Pondering the question, she shook her head slowly, "No, sir, I don't believe there is. I appreciate you hearing me out. Have a good night." She offered him a smile, pausing a moment before turning and heading out the door.

OFF

A Joint Mission Post by:

Captain Tobias Naros
Commanding Officer
USS Yorktown

Lieutenant Aniela Darvetti
Chief Science Officer
USS Yorktown

and

Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Bates (PNPC)
Captain's Yeoman
USS Yorktown
Played by: Capt Naros