Log Matsiyan 10916-2237

[Matsiyan]

Personal Log, Lieutenant-Senior Conrad Matsiyan, TSN Lancer, 4th L.D.
Stardate: 10916-2237

It is exhilarating to be back on Main Shift. I have spent pretty much the whole of the Erebus deployment and previous support of the Engineering forward base in Sierra, working alterday on fleetwide Engineering support. Although we try to disguise it from the enemy and we do rotate shift timings and get drift from relativistic effects, for planned actions and where possible for scramble responses, the most experienced teams of bridge crew are placed on Main Shift and manage primary operations. Those times make it very difficult to accomplish major Engineering work and so I was assigned alterday to maximize divisional support for the Engineering fleet in Sierra and the base occupations in Erebus. And all that pretty much straight after the Arvonian shenanigans in Prometheus. I am glad to see a bridge console from the outside and with clean hands at last.

I inquired whether Lancer had an opening for a Science officer and was accepted. My first love was Engineering but it is hard to get a wider appreciation of shipboard and Fleet operations with your face full of sliders. Besides the whole sensor programming side of the Science specialty is fascinating. I made the most of my Science Operations qualification to work more on central engineering system programming and sensors wherever I could on alterday. Not hard as there was more than enough work to go around.

So it was a great pleasure to run up for a briefing in person and in uniform rather than fatigues. I practiced my programming and with Mundy’s comms help managed to let us listen in to the last couple of briefings remotely even if we were not on shift. It helped to stay in touch with our colleagues.

It started quite routinely with Commander van Leigh, in his confirmed post of Chief Records Officer (or whatever they are calling the head of administration) recruiting for the forthcoming Duty Officer rotation and the announcement of cadet Cr00ve’s promotion to Acting Ensign following his successful exam performance and evaluation. The pleasure increased though as I received promotion to Lieutenant-Senior. I’ll do my best to be an exemplar to those around me and work at becoming a good candidate for senior officer when the opportunity arises.

With a foothold well established in Erebus after the heavy fighting of the last couple of shifts, support for the two battle divisions is being taken over by the 5th LD and we have been rotated back to Promethean command, escorting a supply vessel as we went.

The escort mission went reasonably smoothly, perhaps it was the fresh espresso in the air circulation systems, with good opportunities to practice some of the formation manoeuvres the division has been introducing while I have been off the Main bridge. It was great to be again under the calm, clear (if sometimes colourful) command of Captain Jemel and the precise, exuberant helm of our cometary golden-boy, the recently promoted and decorated, Lieutenant-Commander Aposine. Crews were shaken up by the recent evolutions and encouraged to explore different postings. So the other Lancer regulars were elsewhere and Ensign Xiph was doing well learning Weapons while Cadet Donovan notched up some useful and competent hours on Engineering. He even commented on the pleasant aroma of coffee. That lad will go far, I tell you.

We encountered the pirate and Skaraan interference predicted by ONI and played our usual role in intercepting, delaying and defeating them in detail. No major disasters, but sometimes not much margin for error either. The fleet kept hostiles well away from the supply vessel, but did not yet seem to be able to hold a good Baker formation close around it.

Back at command we engaged in a simulation, deliberately rotating to our least comfortable areas of expertise. Captain Jemel watched in amusement from Helm as Aposine took Engineering, I moved over to Tactical and cadet Donovan stretched himself across Science and Comms. It was more effort than usual but not as ungainly as I and Aposine had been fearing.

For extra credit or maybe just because the senior officers had a lot of admin on returning to Promethean, a sim was held blending some of Lancer’s crew aboard TSN Raven without any precise orders. So Aposine wound up in command with myself at Science, Lt. Kennon Far at his usual Engineering competency, Lt. Jr. Quinn at Helm and Cadet Manglex on Weapons. A very interesting stretch as we defended Promethean Command from some heavy simulated Hegemony fleets. Good use was made of the defensive minefields.

The best laugh though when Aposine had Raven facing a fleet, wondering for a moment how to hold it off until heavier ordnance arrived, when one of the regular crew wondered if an Echo mine deployment run would be appropriate.

Lieutenant-Commander Aposine: We have mines?

[End log]

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