Interim Executive Officer

Posted on Thursday May 2nd, 2019 @ 2:15pm by Captain Cayne Morrigan & Lieutenant Carmina Barbossa

Mission: Welcome to Union Mining Station Number 42
Location: Union Mining Station 42 | Commander's Office

ON:

Something unexplainable had happened midway across the star-crossing journey to the aging mining station designated Union Minion Station 42, UMS-42 or good ol' 42 as it was sarcastically referred to. She must have glanced at her orders several times over just to ensure it wasn't a mistake. It has to be, she would lecture to herself.

When she cleared the shuttlecraft and set foot aboard the station itself, she checked once again. Nothing had changed. Her assignment as Second Officer was still reading as Executive Officer. A young man was passing through the corridor, causing Carmina to call out to him. "Ensign," she addressed him, spotting the single bar on either of his shoulders. "Excuse me," she added swiftly, snagging his attention and redirecting it towards herself.

"Yes?" he said looking up from the tablet he was carrying or rather ferrying about through the corridor.

She could tell he was definitely busy. "I just arrived aboard and there wasn't anybody to greet me," she explained. "I mean, there was nobody other than the bay workers. I was expecting the Station Commander or the quartermaster at least."

The Ensign just stood there with a blank stare and because Carmina was not in a Union uniform, apparently he had presumed her a civilian. He responded with disregard. "When you set standards highly, you only end up disappointed. My advice for you is lower your standards and come off your high horse," he said before continuing onward.

I hope that isn't the station's counselor, she thought to herself as she moved onward and used the more helpful displays that lined various corridors to guild guide her to the proper deck and right into the office of the Station Commander. She gave a small knock on the already opened door. "Captain," she said pleasantly enough trying to grab his attention.

Captain Cayne Morrigan looked up from his desk, his face a mask of frustration. "Please don't tell me that we need to wait longer for the shipment. It's already been over the two weeks they promised me," he barked at her, standing from behind his desk. "We can't wait any longer and I'm tired of having this discussion with your superiors. Patch me through to them now... this is unacceptable."

She wasn't entirely sure what to make of the man's rambling about shipments and waiting. He was clearly agitated. "I concur," she said, agreeing with him though not exactly sure of the context. She made her way around his desk and joined him at his side. "Let's see what we can do about it," she said looking at the man's screen.

"Mmm," she said shaking her head. "The Union is using a third party private contractor to haul the shipment out here. That's part of the problem, Sir. As I've learned rather quickly... this mining station isn't designated priority and with its recent incident... let's just say a Krill ship has a better reputation for harmony right now. We might be better off contacting a Horbalak 'trader'," she began, emphasizing trader as she carefully chose not to say the more accurate term smuggler. "They would get us those parts a lot quicker. The quality may not be well rated and undoubtedly questionable as to where the parts came from, but that's a bridge we can cross after we get the station back up and running at peak performance."

Cayne was frowning, but as she spoke his eyebrows raised. Slowly, he realized that he wasn't speaking to a supply person. He stared at her in surprised as she continued to speak. It was then that he realized that he didn't really know who she was at all and she was looking at his computer. "Hey! Wait!" He put one hand over his screen in an attempt to cover any information that she probably already saw. "Who are you again? I mean... who? I didn't ask..." he stammered and then put his other hand over the screen, then he switched which one was on top. Then he just gave up, his hands dropping to the desk.

"It's nice to see this station is taking security more seriously given the latest disaster," she replied with a smile. "Captain, I'm Lieutenant Carmina Barbossa. I was en route to this mining station with orders to be your Second Officer," she said handing a tablet with orders to report over to him. "However, whoever was to be your Executive Officer has apparently declined, transferred elsewhere, or resigned. I do not know the details, but my orders were recently updated to 'Interim Executive Officer' and I do not know what to really say other than, hi."

Cayne blinked at her in surprise. He had not expected her at all. "Executive Officer... oh... yeah that's you. They thought the former Executive Officer was going to live, but he didn't. You're... you're Lieutenant Barbossa? I was... expecting someone taller."

"And I was expecting a cozy lower-upper command posting where I would just make sure everything was running operational and we had enough lifeboats or escape pods in the event of forced evacuation, but I guess both our expectations need some dulling," she replied.

She looked at Cayne. "I assure you, Captain, my lack of height is more than compensated with the wealth of knowledge I have. Union Command would not have given me as assignment as Second Officer if they did not feel me capable of growing into the role of Executive Officer. It's just circumstances have forced us to test that theory a lot sooner," she added.

Cayne snorted and gestured to a chair. "Let's be honest Lieutenant... I'm pretty sure that rank and personal growth was not why they sent you out here to the ass end of nowhere. All that aside. I'm glad to have you. I'm glad to have anyone. The new staffing has been going slowly, among other things. Sorry about my confusion earlier."

He picked up a tablet on his desk and started to thumb through it. "Congratulations on your promotion."

"It's not exactly my ideal way of climbing the ladder," she said solemnly. Promotion because of someone's death was never ideal, but it was a stinging fact of life in the service of the Union. "Thank you though. I will try my hardest not to let you down, Sir," added the woman.

Cayne looked up at her when she did not sit and gestured to the chair again. "Are you going to sit or did you need time to get settled? You can totally have time if you like, but only if you tell me why they stuck you out here."

The woman pursed her lips as she backed away from the Commanding Officer's desk. "You would have to ask the admiralty that question. I haven't the faintest idea why this particular assignment, Sir. Perhaps it comes down to my personality? Maybe with what happened here they wanted someone with a gentler approach to dealing with personnel?"

Cayne looked a little surprised. "You really don't know why you're out here? They must really not like you..." He chuckled. "So sit," he said firmly, looking at her, his face saying he meant it.

She did as he suggested? Or was it an order? Nevertheless, she took the seat, not one to buck with chain of command and protocol. "If you are trying to ask if I had blemishes on my service record or some sort of tragic past, Sir, I do not" she said swiftly. "There's nothing in my past. I haven't caused any problems on my previous postings. I've only been tardy to a shift once maybe twice, but I had valid reasoning and I stayed after to make up for it."

Cayne chuckled again. "I was asking that, but I'm looking at your file and I concur that there's nothing to indicate that you've done anything to merit you being out here." He smiled a little, looking up from the tablet and directly at her. "Welcome aboard. We're glad to have you regardless of how you got out here. So... do you know anything about miners?"

"I would be lying, Captain if I told you I did not know anything about the miners" she replied calmly. "Though I may not know the exact details as to why I was assigned to Union Mining Station 42 under your command, Sir, I suspect Admiral Ozawa had something in mind and orchestrated this posting on behest" offered Barbossa.

She cleared her throat. "My background is diplomacy, Captain. I had previously served as the Diplomatic Officer aboard a Union vessel before my transition into the Command Division in which my most recent posting was as Admiral Ozawa's Chief of Staff. I have a strong sense of duty and attention to detail. I've seen plenty of reports about the planet, this station, and our relationship with the miners."

"Oh good..." Cayne said. He picked up another tablet, from the many that were scattered all over his desk and offered it out to her. "Now, take a look at the unofficial report. The things that the Union doesn't want anyone to see..." He waited to go on until she took the tablet from his hand.

She hesitantly accepted the tablet. To say she was afraid of what she might read was an understatement, but she would have to read it anyways if she were going to own up to her position as Executive Officer.

"So, at this moment, there are no miners on the station. All transport to and from the surface has been halted. Fortunately, there aren't any of our people left down there... mostly because they're all dead." He looked at her. "In two days we're scheduled for a meeting with the miners to discuss terms. I have a list of what the Union will concede to. The miners have already made some demands, but the Union won't accept them all and I have no idea if they will ask for more or if they will ask for completely different things." He sighed, obviously frustrated and overwhelmed. "Let's just hope not."

The diplomat in her flared up, as the hairs raised on the back of her neck. "We can only concede to a point, Captain. If we try to go in soft, we'll just fall out," she replied and looked at him. "Don't make that sound worse, please. I know," she added. "However, if we are too reluctant to meet their demands they may pull... don't even."

Cayne stared at her. What was it with the Union sending him people that made no sense when they spoke? "We don't really have a choice in what demands we meet or don't meet. The Union has already approved a list and that's what we've got... what do you mean about "they may pull"?" he asked. "Pull what?"

"Out," she said nonchalantly. "They may pull out. We have mining rights and a symbiotic relationship with these people, Captain. We scratch their backs and they scratch ours, but that relationship will only work for so long... case and point the recent strike and what happened to your predecessor. The miners wanted more from the Union and the Union said no. What happened? Bloodshed, Sir. Bloodshed happened."

Cayne was nodding while she spoke, at least now she was making some sense. "I agree with you... so what should we do? Offer them whatever they want without the Union's permission?" He was silent for a moment. "There might be some things that we could maybe work out, just between us... I don't know."

She took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. "This will not be solved overnight. It won't be solved over the course of a few meetings either. Our job won't be to find a resolution or solution, but to buy time, Captain. We need to patch things up and keep these mining operations running. This is above our paygrades. Admiralty will need to step in and possibly bring the miners' concerns and demands straight to the Council."

Cayne looked at her again, his eyes saying volumes about how much he thought that was going to happen. "I'm fairly sure that the Admiralty is perfectly alright if they revolt again and set me on fire..." he snorted and took a deep breath. "I have to believe that we'll somehow work this out... or literally die trying." He put both of his hands, palms down, on his desk and looking for a moment like he was going to get up, but he didn't and relaxed again. "So... where do we start, Diplomat? I'm not a Diplomat..."

"You may be expendable to let them set on fire, but this mining station is not. The Union cannot afford to lose the mining rights here. If we don't mine here, they will seek out someone else to formulate a working relationship with and that very well may be the Krill," she explained. "Where do we start? We need to bring them to the table. Are you familiar with Earth's Camp David Accords, Sir?"

Cayne looked at her, frowning and tipping his head to one side. "Yes, but that was between warring nations and it took fourteen months or some such crap to negotiate... right? We don't have fourteen months. This station has to be back to full operations in two months."

"Two nations... the Union and alien world to secure mining rights and use of a station... sounds like apples and Asian pears to me, Sir," she said with a small smirk. The young lieutenant placed a hand on her waist and looked at her superior. "We need to butterfly this wound sooner rather than later. That's just fact; however, you also need to be ready to be dealing with this on a larger scale for fourteen months, twenty months... who knows how long it will take."

"Apples or Asian pears... it doesn't much matter. What matters is us getting this station back up and running in two months and I'm totally aware of the extended potential of the problem. Tell me something I don't know. Two days, Barbossa. We have two days and we have to meet with these people." He handed her a tablet. "That's got everything on it that I have... their demands... what the Union is willing to concede to. I suggest studying that."

"All that and I gave you a list of the crew, who to expect and who's already on board. The Security Chief has checked in and the medical team and the counselor should be here tomorrow. We are being entirely restaffed. There's a skeleton crew working most of the station right now, but I expect that to change quickly in the next few days. There are three transports coming in today with crew."

"I see," she said as she skimmed through and examined small bits of detail. Then something flagged her interest. "Not entirely restaffed," she said raising a brow and looking at him. "Sir, there's a support staff member of the previous command administration currently on a medical leave by Union Medical. She's aboard the station and I'm not seeing any plans for transfer."

"Great. What does she do?" His tone was a little sarcastic. He rubbed at his temples with his fingers. "Do you think she might have some insight into what we should do to get along with the miners?"

"The media relations specialist, Sir," replied Barbossa. "She's a gelatin like the previous Commanding Officer of the mining station. She definitely served under him, and it's possible she knew him quite well. I don't know how much direct interaction she had with the miners, but she would have probably reported to and answered questions from the Union media and maintained a good relationship with them and the station's previous CO."

Cayne stared at her. For a moment he was unsure if this was even information that he had been aware of and briefly wondered why he hadn't thought of it before if he had known. He finally chalked it up to not knowing. "Well, then we should definitely include her. Why don't you get settled and talk to this gelatin and the three of us should have a meeting." He looked at his computer display. "Three hours?"

"I'll meet with the gelatin, Captain," said Barbossa. "With any luck, she will be cooperative and I can get her to meet with the both of us in a few hours," reported Barbossa.

Cayne nodded. "Alright, first assignment." He chuckled. "Dismissed."

"Thank you, Sir," she said with a nod and turned on her heels, proceeding towards the doorway.

:OFF