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[[Personal log, Lt. Eric Aramond, TSN Raven, 2nd Fleet 4th LD
Stardate 6216-2237]]Were I the kind of person that titled his log entries with more that just the stardate, this one would would be something like “In Which Aramond Keeps Gaining Power.” Yeah, probably not the best title, but this is why I don’t do it. That doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t stutter when starting this log.
“One of these days I’ll be promoted” is a line that I’m sure the entire division has heard me mutter by now. I’ve got a feeling that I won’t be saying that for a while. Why? I got promoted to lieutenant, that’s why! I did my best not to grin like a madman as I was handed my lieutenant’s bars. I didn’t want to take away from Assassino’s glory as he was promoted right along side me. (Lt. Jr, congrats again!)
There must be balance in all things, however. As the two of us rose in rank, del Pino was stripped of his seniority. It’s harsh, but that’s what you get for dealing with traitors. That served a hammer to the joy of promotion and a reminder to be careful. The TSN’s position is more tenuous than we’d like to admit, and slip-ups can’t be tolerated.
Back on the Raven, Xavier offered more congratulations followed by a reminder that I “have a lot more duties now.” Gulp. That sobering thought, along with the fact that none of the Raven’s regular crew joined us this time, just made the bars on my jacket feel heavier. In their place, Greybeard sent us Ensign Parra as our Helmsman, and Cadet Max Power to work the Weapons, while he joined us down in Engineering. Gebbens being gone made me the XO again, a role that is certainly much better served from my usual SciComms.
The lack of most of the regulars made for interesting times during the sims. Mostly because the crew needed a good amount of time to mesh together. I, of course, was feeling no pressure at all, and never felt like saying anything out of line. On the good side, Max was doing fantastic on Weapons. The sims were sending a lot of enemy drones our way. I think only one managed to slip past him. If he doesn’t take his ensign exam for the next couple of shifts, I’m going to recommend it to him.
Missions this time around had the division splitting up. While the Phoenix and Hawk were on security detail, The Raven and Hydra were to jump to the Aretis System. There were rumors of USF in the area, and we were sent to investigate. Before heading out, Cadet Blaze joined us on the bridge. As his primary was weapons, I needed either him or Max to take Comms. Max volunteered almost instantly. It seems as if I can count on him.
What I couldn’t count on, however, is our fresh paint job staying in one piece. After giving a heading for Aretis Gate, our helmsman decided to turn us immediately, rather then get us away from the dock first. I could hear the repair teams gritting their teeth in my head as our side scraped the station. “Take us straight out at full impulse” may need to be a necessary command from now on. Also, what was left of the paint was taken off when we hit an asteroid the next sector over. Without Gebbens to take the brunt of these things, I’m just waiting for the repair chief to come knocking. “More duties” indeed.
Upon reaching the Aretis System, we quickly discovered that the USF rumors were more than true. In fact, they might have even been waiting for us. It wasn’t long after we had made it to a group of stations that my screen started lighting up with contacts. There were Unakalhi ships coming in from all four corners of the sector. With wide eyes, I gave Xavier the news. He paused and then asked if he had heard me correctly. Again, no stuttering.
So, it was our battlecruiser and missile cruiser, against a heavy USF incursion. “Heavy” probably isn’t a good enough word. Needless to say, we were outnumbered. Badly. The only silver lining was that the stations had defenses of their own. And destroyers. Lots of destroyers. Though they were never able to do much more than delay the Unakalhi.
The battle remains a blur for me. It seems like we were never out of an engagement for more than a few moments. I’m not able to express just how grateful I am that Max was there to work our Comms. There was simply too much to do on Science that I know that the destroyers would have been poorly coordinated had I needed to work both roles. There’s been talk that there was poor coordination anyway. I call BS on that. The cadet did a fantastic job, even with Xavier and myself shouting at him.
Speaking of shouting, there was plenty of that all over the bridge. Probably more from me than the fleet captain. He was giving orders, I was shouting when they needed clarification. Blaze was shouting at me for shield frequencies. Greybeard was shouting that our shields were constantly falling. Ensign Parra was shouting for maneuvering power whenever he needed to do a J-hook. I can’t speak for him, but I don’t think Greybeard ever wants to hear the phrase “crank turning” ever again. The deck of the Raven was pure noise. Until it wasn’t.
After the space dust settled, there were three stations remaining. The wrecked hulls of TSN and USF ships alike made flying in to re-fuel a little tricky. We had won the battle. All that was left were a few Unakalhi stragglers pumping non-stop human-supremacist propaganda over the comms. I like to think we were all grateful when TSN Command blocked the transmission. It was quiet as we made our way back to Atlantis command.
Once there, our version of taking a breather meant one more simulation. Well, everyone else got a breather. I was put in command of the ship while Xavier went to make his report to Command. Looking to take full advantage of the situation, I stepped away from my terminal and took the Captain’s chair. It was cushy. Getting used to it is probably a bad idea. Max took full control of SciComms, and Greybeard, fresh off his command of the Phoenix assisted me as XO from down in Engineering.
It should come as no surprise that the first thing I did before the sim started was to do a comms check to the other ships. Words cannot express my glee as it was confirmed by each captain. Finally, the nightmare ends!
Being in command, and actually having time to mentally prepare for it is a strange experience. There was very little second guessing going on in my head, and only once did I immediately change an order. Of course, it was after Greybeard suggested a different course of action. I could do this again. In fact, I’d like to see how I do if the need to take command suddenly comes up again.
To top the night off, del Pino came over to inform me that this was Greybeard’s last shift as Duty Officer, and passed me the DO badge. Its weight only adds to what I still feel from the new Lieutenant bars. “More duties” indeed.
[[End log]]
Congratulations on the well deserved promotion and likewise for Assassino.
A fun read. Thanks for the helpful conversation about comms configuration.Thanks again, Matsiyan! I’m probably going to talk to Xavier about comms some more once we’re both on ship. I haven’t been able to get his results.
At the Academy I heard a grizzled old veteran say that you should never volunteer, unless it’s for vacation. Now I wonder if that’s the correct advice to follow and how could it shape my career.
//The part about shouting really burned a chaotic image in my mind. The final sentence (“Until it wasn’t.”) left me with the image of a bridge crew standing still, expecting something else to move, but seeing that only the dust particles moved through the filtered air on the bridge. The writing really is very nice.
Let me guess, you had Professor Hougan for Warp Theory as well? As crusty as the man is, I always took that warning slightly differently. Never volunteer just to gain personal glory. Do it because you want the challenge, or because you believe you’re qualified for it, or because you being there will make the task a success.
That’s always stuck in my mind, especially here. What we do in the TSN is about more than just ourselves. In fact, last time we had a civilian aboard the Raven it was mentioned that ultimately everyone on board worked for her and others. We fight for those that can’t.
//Thanks man, that means a lot.
Who else? His assitant gets so confused with her own sentences, she cannot hold a lecture even if her life depended on it. And the Academy isn’t really keen on employing new people, so they don’t influence the inner politics.
At least Professor Hougan has seen some real combat, and not like Professor Storniuss, from Stellar Cartography. That guy has never left Earth, and he dares teach about mapping the universe.
But anyway, that is a clever way of interpreting the lesson. Thank you.
Let’s not be too hard on Storniuss. Sure, he’s never served, but 30 years ago he revolutionized the way our mapping data was recorded. I’d actually like to apply some of his recent theories on gravitational waves to our own Stellar Cartography and see if they become anymore accurate.
I did hear the rumor that Storniuss stole that research from his colleague, among several others. Listening to him talk about himself made me inclined to believe those rumors. Have you heard them, as well?
I don’t know about his recent theories, we didn’t spend much time on them at the Academy. I did a little bit of side research on them, but nothing major.
I heard about it. Not sure how much stock to put in it, though. What he came up with trampled over Dr. Yuon Addler’s research, and his daughter apparently has a short temper…
That is correct. If mapping was done the way Dr. Addler wanted it to, we would still fly mostly blindly through space.
But have you read the research of his youngest daughter, Champei? Even though she still didn’t get her doctorate, her research about the higher speeds of Warp Drive could really be on to something.
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