Posted by 2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea (Security Officer) in Captains Ready Room - Eghimea’s DH Check-In

Posted by Captain Dante Knight (Commanding Officer) in Captains Ready Room - Eghimea’s DH Check-In

Posted by 2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea (Security Officer) in Captains Ready Room - Eghimea’s DH Check-In
Posted by… suppressed (13) by the Post Ghost! 👻
“So that’s the report on why she is currently lying in our sickbay and her weapons are lying on my desk,” Dante pointed at the Bajoran blaster and Klingon knife lying on his desk in front of Atoded, his Chief of Security.

“I am well aware that this isn’t the best start she could have asked for, but I have signed off on the Officer Exchange and despite this, I believe we should continue with it. Coffee?” He pointed at the empty coffee cup on the desk in front of him. “I could sure use another, preferably with something stronger in it but alas, I’m still on duty.”

Captain Knight, CO

“Please Captain. Double strong and black.” She looked at the weapons. “I’m not inclined to give them back to her, not any time soon. Not until Lt Ruby and Lt Cmdr Knight have completely cleared her. I am also not inclined to hold it against her. People make mistakes intentional or accidental. Exchange officer or not, it’s now up to use to make sure she gets better.”

Nodding, Dante clearly agreed. “I support that completely Commander. The issue with this medication reaction or overdose or whatever it was cannot happen again. She is an Exchange Officer and entitled to the equipment that she uses in her position in her fleet, but at the discretion of the Senior Staff here where safety is involved and I do believe it is up to her to take the opportunities we lend her to get to that point.”

“We’ll lock it up and keep it safe for her. We’ll do a dual lock. Her imprint and mine. That way she can’t get it before she’s ready, but no one else can get to them either.”

“Of course 2nd Lieutenant Laju isn’t the only concern in all this. How did she get the blaster on board? The knife is easier to smuggle in, but even coming in on a shuttle, the passengers and their cargo should have been scanned and the energy signature registered.” Atoded was disappointed in the performance of her department. Missing a smuggled weapon was not acceptable, no matter who it was coming on board. “I will find out who was on duty then and make sure they get a very clear refresher course.”

Atoded, CoS

“Not only them,” Dante added as he stood and walked to the replicator, producing two more coffee cups that reeked of strong and potent black gold. “However this happened, it happened. Lets use this, alongside whatever measures you take for the Officer that missed these weapons to put the entire department through a refresher. Knowing that one Officers’ lapse in judgement alone put the entire department through extra training would make most of them take much more care of their duties in future, in case it happens to them.” Returning to the desk, he handed one cup to Atoded and sipped the other.

Captain Knight

She took the cup eagerly, blew across it and then took a sip. “I agree, they succeed or fail together. We push that idea at the Academy but then people get moved about and it takes time to build that team cohesiveness again. I’ll start trainings immediately. I do want to talk to this individual though. This isn’t a minor over sight or misunderstanding. Such possible complacency can be signs of larger problems that could turn into major issues for the crew as a whole later.”

Atoded, CoS

Eghimea stood outside the Captain’s Ready Room gathering her thoughts. Her first meeting with Lieutenant Ruby went as well as expected. She frowned, then there was Chief Petty Officer Asencio. The man was strange even for human standards. Their first official meeting ended with him offering to teach her a human fighting style called Mixed Martial Arts. Considering how poorly she did with boxing, she had reluctantly accepted the offer, knowing it was another one of his attempts to get to know her better. Her cheeks flushed a bit as she found the strange human practice interesting.

Though not all these new human experiences were interesting. One human practice that seemed to frustrate her was the endless directions everyone felt the need to give her. It was if they assumed she didn’t know her way around the Saracen. Granted the ship was the largest ship she had ever seen let alone served on. It wasn’t all that hard to download the ship’s deck by deck lay out and study them. Still, each time someone had a suggestion on where she should go or what she should do, they would follow it up with directions on how to get there. So, to appease them and not to cause further alarm, she would smile and take the directions and go about her day.

She pressed all those thoughts out of her mind as she reached over and touched the panel next to the door. She announced her presence to the Ship’s Captain.

2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea

“Ah, timing.” Dante said and drained the last of his coffee, placing the cup back in the same spot it sat empty in previously.

“Ah, timing.” Dante said and drained the last of his coffee, placing the cup back in the same spot it sat empty in previously.

Leaning back in his chair, Dante looked at the door and pressed the control on his desk that caused the doors to slide open from their locked state, revealing Eghimea waiting beyond them. “Come in, Second Lieutenant.” Dante announced and nodded to the seat. “Take a chair if you will. This is Lieutenant Commander Atoded, my Chief of Security and your Department Head. How are you feeling after your stay in sickbay?”

Captain Knight, CO

“2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea reporting as ordered, Sir,” Eghimea said softly and calmly. The pace of her voice was carefully measured and by sheer force of will, her tone was flat. “Thank you, Sir,” she said taking the first steps into the office.

Like the sensors of a great starship, her eyes shifted from one item in the room to another. With each passing blink of her eyes, a new item came in to focus as her mind soaked up the data it offered. She noted the slight change in the minuscule dust on his desk. Comparing it to the rest of the desk, she quickly was able to identify his dominant hand, and the preference to where he preferred his coffee cup to reside. As her heart took its second beat, her eyes continued to dance over the room forming mental copies of what she was seeing.

Her eyes then shifted and began their detailed inventory of the blond-haired alien with light eyes. She knew this female alien to be Lieutenant Commander Brenne Neenna Atoded.

Eghimea’s eyes as with everything else, compared what she knew of this alien to what her eyes were telling her. She had been told of Star Fleet’s attention to detail, their professionalism, and worse of all, their pride. For her, such stories of Star Fleet were near legendary. These stories had created an image of Star Fleet in her mind that formed her perception. And those perceptions was being compared to what she saw here aboard the Saracen. Allowing her mind to moved over to Captain Knight, Eghimea continued what had become second nature to herself.

Taking him in as her mind’s eye took the image of who this man was and compared him to both what she knew, and what she remembered. It was in that moment that the first cracks in her mental armor started to show. As much as she attempted to force her mind on track, the cracks grew as black holes in her memories were pushed to the surface.

‘How are you feeling after your stay in Sickbay,’ the words echoed in Eghimea’s mind like some dark voice signaling the coming disaster. Despite what Doctor Knight had promised, holes in her memories were not returning, and that simply terrified her.

‘I remember in perfect detail leaving Deep Space Nine,’ she mentally recalled as the detail memories flashed before her mind’s eye. ‘That was, before it all began,’ she mentally added.

‘See Sofe,’ Eghimea joked as the group of Star Guard Officers walked down the promenade. The lights of Deep Space Nine’s promenade filled the image playing out in Eghimea’s memories. She could remember in perfect detail everyone and everything of that day. Even the people in the background were in perfect clarity. ‘Short, military hair suits you,’ the officers laughed and joked as the image started to fade while her mind moved on.

Eghimea didn’t question the voice or the memory of the woman she once was. To her best recollection only a few weeks had past, though it might as well had been a lifetime. Sofe, her brother’s wife, her family, friends were all gone. ‘This broken shell is all that remains,’ she felt her grief slowly rise before forcing it back down.

Like water flooding in to fill the void, broken memories of the ‘accident’, the trial, and her trip here rushed into her mind. They were as faded and distorted as they were terrifying. Closing her fist to conceal her fingernails digging into her palm, the battle over her mental and emotional control was engaged. Safely hidden behind her masks, she forced them all back. Denying her pain, her grief and forcing her mind to solely focus on the matter at hand.

‘Do I tell him how unnerving it is to have pieces of my memory faded and distorted,’ she wondered to herself. ‘Do I tell him how utterly terrifying it is to have something so pivotal to my own sense of self shattered and made unreliable,’ she further questioned. She felt her own fear gripped her throat as if a pair of physical hands were coiling around her throat and trying to squeeze the very life from her.

The absence of her pistol and her father’s blade where they belonged, opposed to where they set now, was an ever-present reminder of her first hours aboard and how she had failed the Prophets, and her new crew…..’no, not crew,’ she corrected. ‘What was the word he had used, ‘family,’ she recalled.

The images, broken and blurred filled her mental eye. She remembered recovering from, whatever it was that had been done to her. She remembered his words from sickbay, ‘Needless to say, Second Lieutenant Laju, you are part of the crew of the Saracen now, my ship. Responsibility, accountability and professionalism are our foundation but, crew are family.’ She recalled his words.

Through her panic and fear, she saw a sliver of reprieve.

She heard a voice from the darkness of her mind, ‘find the pattern,’ her brother’s disembodied voice urged. ‘What does he mean,’ she wondered. ‘What pattern?’

The image of a Star Fleet Doctor filled her mind. In his blue-black uniform, he stood stoic against the first waves of chaos that threw her in to this nightmare of a black hole. The details of his image were near perfect, right down to his pointed ears.

‘I won’t fail,’ she demanded of herself as her nails dug deeper into the flesh of her palms.

With her mind finally obeying her commands, “Commander,” she said softly towards Commander Atoded, and at the same time hiding her fear and panic behind her calm and flat toned voice. She gave a respectful nod to both officers as she made her way toward a nearby chair. “Per your orders Sir, I have had my first meeting with Lieutenant Ruby. We are both confident that this minor inconvenience will be overcome,” she explained as she took her seat.

Her back straight and rigid, after all, this alien male IS her Commanding Officer. The man she would lay down her life for. ‘For whatever reason, the Prophets have brought me here,’ she assured herself. ‘I will not fail them, or my family,’ she reaffirmed her personal promise.

• 2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea

Brenna watched the young woman with a neutral expression. Atoded had not gotten where she was without using every tool and skill at her disposal. The girl was not okay. She was trying her hardest to lie to herself and everyone around her, but she was not. Brenna inclined her head politely, “2nd Lt. I have been anticipating meeting you.” At her comment about a minor inconvenience Atoded looked at Knight and raised a very Vulcan like single brow. This was hardly minor and the term inconvenience held with it a negative connotation that Atoded didn’t like. This was FAR from being inconvenient. Supporting the mental and physical well being of an officer serving under her, was not something that Brenna found annoying or ‘duty’. She cared about these people and would give as much of her own time for that without hesitation. If the 2nd Lt thought this would be swept under the rug and ignored she was wrong.

Lt Cmdr Atoded, CoS

Brenna had no need to see Dante look at her to know his thoughts had hit the exact same path as hers. Both of them were professional, Officers of Star Fleet, to which rules and regulations were there for a reason, same as the expectation of personal conduct, responsibility and accountability. Despite Dante’s history of being somewhat of a cowboy and reading those rules and regulations in a way that often made them looking like bendy pool noodles, he had made Captain, of a Federation Battlecruiser. It wasn’t how he had intended the conversation to swing, but he wasn’t about to let this slide as a minor inconvenience and he knew that the Security Chief wouldn’t either once the words left Bajoran exchange officers lips. Once he put his foot down, all of them could move past it, hopefully.

Eghimea set there reading the two officers. She could tell that something had gone sour, though what that had been still alluded her up to this moment. Her mind raced through the short exchange before this moment and still she was drawing a blank. Taking a slight breath, she shored herself for whatever might be coming.

“I’m glad you have had a session with the Counselor, 2nd Lieutenant,” Dante opened. “Because I will be receiving updates as to your progress and her opinion of your mental ability to handle the pressure that comes with service aboard this ship, for the safety of the people under my Command, including yourself. Those updates will be part of your future evaluations between myself and Commander Atoded regarding your continued service as an Exchange Officer on the Saracen.” Dante leaned forward on the desk, clasping his hands together and staring at her unblinkingly. Despite the connotation of his first name and certain infernos, his glare was ice.

Listening carefully, she paid close attention to his words. She had expected the comments regarding updates, though it still left her feeling naked and exposed in ways she couldn’t deny made her uncomfortable. ‘It is a price,’ she thought then continued, ‘I will have to pay to earn back their trust.’ His ice-cold eyes bore twin holes into her very spirit. She held fast and maintained her decorum as he continued.

“I am also glad that you will not fail your Prophets or your family, 2nd Lieutenant, because you have already failed me.” With those words, he let a silence hang in the air for a fraction of a second. “It was I that accepted you onto this ship, as a favor between your people and mine based on a past history between our families that I am barely aware of. As an Exchange Officer you were provided full details of Starfleets’ Rules and Regulations, yet for some reason brought unapproved and undeclared weapons aboard this ship, under the influence of some drug and not in control of your actions. First rule of Starfleet, 2nd Lieutenant, take responsibility for your actions. Neither myself, my Executive Officer, your Department Head Lieutenant Commander Atoded or any other Senior Staff of this ship see your actions as a minor inconvenience, as you so eloquently put it. You better thank that second chance I am giving you that you are sitting in that seat because if you were standing, you would be about to board the next shuttle back to Bajor.”

The words, ‘you have already failed me,’ sliced through her heart like a Klingon blade, ripping and taring as it went. Her stomach twisted causing her to feel sick and her face wanted to break under the weight of disappointing him, her new Commander. He didn’t need to remind her of the failures she had committed. She was all to aware of them. Inwardly, she frowned as broken memories of her first hours aboard filled her minds eyes.

Then it hit like photon torpedoes slamming into her gut nearly forcing a tear to well up. The words ‘minor inconvenience’ stung, and she knew what it was that had changed the course of this conversation. Finally, her mask cracked as her lips bent downward into a frown. ‘It wasn’t what I meant,’ she thought. Then her mind filled in with the imagined voice of her new Captain, ‘yet it is what you said.’

Dante now came to his feet and walked to the view port, glaring at the stars before looking back at Eghimea. “Do not fail me again. I expect you to do better, your family name demands you do better. You owe it to yourself to do better. Lieutenant Commander Atoded will assign you duties based on the reports we get from Counselor Ruby, and that includes access to weapons and restricted areas.” Now, Dante looked at Brenna, clearly inviting her to join after his small speech.

Captain Knight, CO

“Yes Captain,” was all she could manage to say. Outwardly, she did her very best to maintain her military professionalism. After all, it was all she had left right about now. Inwardly, ‘stupid stupid girl,’ she cursed her poor choice of words. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything else to the man, the Captain she had just failed. It literally took all her willpower to maintain eye contact with him. She had failed him; she wouldn’t disrespect him by shying away from what he felt she deserved. She set there and accepted his disappointing glare.

• 2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea

Over the years Brenna had mastered the art of Commanding a room from her seat. She wasn’t tiny, but she was on the shorter side. Unlike Cpt Knight, who could sit or stand, and his presence filled the room, Brenna did so from her seat. Only standing once she had ensured her shorter stature would come as a shock and make people wonder how she earned her reputation. Her posture made Laju feel like she had to look up at the woman, even though seated, they were about eye level.

Eghimea watched and read the room carefully. She had always accepted that her abilities in this area were tone deaf. Even being weak in social situations, she couldn’t help but notice the posturing around her. Though, she didn’t blame either of them. ‘Clearly, I had offended them,’ she admitted to herself.

She met Laju’s gaze silently for long still moments. Her solid black eyes a bottomless mystery. “I am trying to decide, 2nd Lt, if your insult to Cpt Knight and myself was an accident or if it was deliberate because you have so harshly condemned people you do not know.”

The face of the Captain remained completely impassive. There wasn’t a single twitch as his eyes studied Laju. Internally though, his mind grunted in satisfaction at Atodeds words. There was no ‘good cop-bad cop’, no game. No inch given for conduct and performance that was not acceptable. The woman in front of them would accept her poor performance and the consequences, and rectify it, or her next meal would be eating hasperat on Bajor. Actions and words mattered. Good Intentions were worthless without those two things coming first and being connected. Good intentions didn’t save a life. Best intentions were a dream, a fairy tale, unless the actions and words matched those intentions. Anything else was just an excuse and if there were only words to go with the intentions, then they were a lie.

Despite Eghimea’s best efforts, she couldn’t hide the confusion on her face. ‘Insult, Condemned,’ she thought in shock. Despite being caught off guard by the statement, she still knew enough to keep her mouth shut. Holding on to her facial masks by the narrowest of threads, she wouldn’t allow herself to screw up anymore. She quickly recovered and maintained her military decorum.

“This matter is neither minor nor an inconvenience. There is a reason the Federation assigns mental health professionals to all their ships. Mental health has a greater impact on us being able to do our jobs than our physical health. So as Cpt Knight said we are both happy to know you have already seen Lt Ruby, and you will continue to do so. Whether you make the best use of her services is up to you.”

Eghimea set there and listened carefully to what was being said to her. She had already determined to use those services offered to her to their fullest.

Her voice help compassion but no nonsense. Much like an older sister. “You insult yourself and us by belittling this incident and yourself as minor. It is also quite judgmental of you to imply through the term ‘inconvenience’ that we feel we are above you and imply we feel you should be ignored. Every person on this ship is important and valuable from the second they step inboard to the moment they disembark.”

‘Belittling,’ Eghimea thought as her confusion grew. ‘How could we so badly misunderstand each other,’ she finally questioned herself, feeling her disappointment growing by the statement. ‘This has to be corrected,’ she assured herself.

“I suggest you get that chip off your shoulder. In security you must keep an open mind and not jump to conclusions until you have all the facts.” Atoded leaned back in her chair, but it didn’t detract from her seriousness or empathy. “We are here to support and defend you, Laju, but in turn you are here to do the same for us. Now, my understanding is that your background is not in security, so you will begin your duties with skill assessments. Let me be clear, the events of your arrival have nothing to do with this assessment. This is SOP. Secondly your personal weapons will remain locked in a secure locker that will require a code from myself, the Captain and you. Three codes, all needed to open it. We will keep them safe. Thirdly, you will develop a presentation for the department about your trip here and boarding the Saracen. How you bypassed the checks and Security. Where procedures went wrong AND where they went right.”

Eghimea nearly opened her mouth to finally argue the ‘Chip’ comment. But her thought and frustration over the comment crumbled at the subsequent comment about being open minded. ‘Commander Atoded is right,’ she thought. Her mind started to trace back from this moment till first memory she had of what led her to this very seat. ‘I failed to learn who these people are and that led to them in to failing to know who I am,’ she accepted.

‘Assessment,’ she thought with a slight nod. ‘Like being back at the academy’ her mind echoed as she noticed a glimmer of light forming in this rather ugly situation, she found herself in. ‘It should give everyone that chance to learn who we all are,’ she thought with hope.

There was a soft, slight sigh of disappointment. ‘Their house, their rules,’ she assured herself. Though she also noticed that there was no hint at rather she would get her belongings back or not. ‘Let me prove myself and earn their trust before walking that wasteland,’ she calmly concluded.

It was the last task that gave her a chill that shot down her spine. She had barely admitted it to herself let alone anyone else. ‘Could I really rely on my own memories,’ she wondered as her doubts gave birth to fears of failing yet again.

“Be aware the officers in this department are aware they messed up; this is not a chance for you to gloat that you bested them. This is an opportunity for you to praise them and provide constructive criticism. They all have already been going over the events. This is a chance for you to become part of the team. Use it as such.” Brenna paused regarding the young woman again. “Now, time for you to ask questions.”

Atoded, CoS

Eghimea’s mind ran through the possible questions she could, ‘or should ask,’ she thought. Taking valuable time to collect her thoughts, “At this time,” she said calmly and doing everything in her power to keep her voice level and flat. “Sir, Ma’am, I have one concern regarding the assignment given to me,” she added softly. She fought back the fear over what she was about to reveal,

“Go ahead and state it. We are listening.” Walking back to his seat, he sat back down and leaned on the desk placing his full attention on Laju.

“I’ve discovered,” she said but paused as that fear got the better of her.

“Hmm?” The sound coming from Dante was clearly an encouragement to speak.

‘Can I trust them with this,’ she worried. ‘I have to,’ she answered herself then continued. “My memories are not as complete as they normally are,” she finally pushed through to admit. “I will of course do my best to comply with the task given to me. But I must make this known to both of you. Much of what I remember has holes within them,” she concluded.

• 2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea

“Considering the state you were in when you arrived, that is understandable and not unexpected.” Dante told her. “It is also part of the requirement of the assessments, and for your final task you will also be assigned the ships’ holo records of your arrival so that you can see exactly what happened and how you behaved, and this will form part of your final assessment during the presentation. It will be used to assess your understanding of our systems and procedures and their implementation along with working with your team to ensure it does not happen again.”

“As to your personal weapons you brought with you,” Dante looked at the weapons sitting in front of him on the desk. “The dagger is a family heirloom, yes? Lets make sure you get this back quickly where it belongs. With you. The phaser will take more time, personal energy weapons are not permitted on person off duty and on duty they are assigned by the Armory as required, fully accounted for. Privately owned weapons are not forbidden, but are monitored for clear reasons I am sure you can appreciate as a Security Officer. Trust once broken is hard to earn back. Keep that in mind, 2nd Lieutenant. Do you have any other questions?”

Captain Knight, CO

“Considering the state you were in when you arrived, that is understandable and not unexpected.” Dante told her. “It is also part of the requirement of the assessments, and for your final task you will also be assigned the ships’ holo records of your arrival so that you can see exactly what happened and how you behaved, and this will form part of your final assessment during the presentation. It will be used to assess your understanding of our systems and procedures and their implementation along with working with your team to ensure it does not happen again.”

Eghimea set there listening to every word. It wasn’t an unfair course of action. And the Captain appeared to understand the situation. Though it didn’t make the task any easier for her. Still, she was sure she was up for the task.

“As to your personal weapons you brought with you,” Dante looked at the weapons sitting in front of him on the desk. “The dagger is a family heirloom, yes? Lets make sure you get this back quickly where it belongs. With you. The phaser will take more time, personal energy weapons are not permitted on person off duty and on duty they are assigned by the Armory as required, fully accounted for. Privately owned weapons are not forbidden, but are monitored for clear reasons I am sure you can appreciate as a Security Officer. Trust once broken is hard to earn back. Keep that in mind, 2nd Lieutenant. Do you have any other questions?”

Captain Knight, CO

As the Captain mentioned the dagger, she gave a soft nod to his question.

Though when the topic switched to the subject of energy weapons. The door was open for debate on several topics. Eghimea quickly decided that this was neither the time nor the place for such debates. When he returned the floor back to her, she swallowed before speaking once more, “I wanted to reiterate my apologies. I understand that my actions were unacceptable, and I offer no excuses for them. They are mine and mine alone. I will embrace this task that you two have given me. And I also understand that trust will have to be earned.” She paused a moment before adding, “I know what is before me. I do not underestimate the challenges.”

2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea

Atoded nodded, satisfied for the moment that their point was made. “When Lt. Ruby clears you for duty, you will report to NL Vishgan on Gamma shift. He will perform your skills assessments and assign your training goals program. 3 hours of your duty shift will be devoted to the task Cpt Knight and I have given you. I encourage you to devote off duty hours to this as well so that it is cometed in a timely manner. My office is always open if you need to speak with me about anything.”

Atoded, CoS