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Personal Log, Acting Ensign(!) Lewis Remmick
Stardate: 9116-2237 //are we still in 2237, or do our years progress with OOC time?//Well. A LOT happened this shift.
First off, I took my ensign’s exam. Commander Jemel led me through it. It wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. I earned a silver pin on it, which I take it to be good. He said I had missed some questions but didn’t elaborate. I didn’t feel comfortable asking what they were, but now I worry that I have mis-information that could be dangerous to my crew-mates, and I don’t know if it would be acceptable to ask about it, and I think it would seem foolish for me to do so now that the exam has passed and– Hold on, Remmick. You’re babbling again.
On to the shift. I was thankful to be able to experience some different crews and ships this shift. Not that I haven’t enjoyed the Raven and the Hydra, but before I put in my assignment request, I did think it would be helpful to have more exposure.
For the first simulation, I was aboard the Hawk –strike that– the Valiant. I could tell right away that this was a crew quite used to each other. When another vessel needed an officer, and Lt. Jr Mundy was transferred to fill the need, the disappointment was palpable. When I was asked to sit at her station, I began feeling more inadequate. Clearly this crew had incredibly high regard for her capabilities, and I have no doubt that I was a poor substitute. (Note to self- perhaps check-in with Lt. Mundy for suggestions to continue my training).
My biggest take-away from this shift is this: No two ships appear to use their SciCom officers the same way. The Hawk/Valiant crew expects their science officer to call out bearings and distances to all targets. I’ve had individual helmsman ask, but it has not been a standing order on other vessels. Later, I learned that the Phoenix expects the Comms officer to activate Red Alert when in combat, something no other vessel has indicated a preference for. SciCom, as it stands, appears to operate at the captain’s prerogative. All the more reason for me to pursue a stable assignment.
First up was a simulation. It was clear that the crew of the Hawk/Valiant harbored a grudge about a miscommunication in the previous duty shift that may or may not have ended with their crew in life pods after running through several of the Hydra’s mines. They were definitely carrying a grudge about it. I didn’t dare mention that I was aboard the Hydra when this happened. Although I wasn’t at the weapons control at the time, I still felt badly for what happened.. It was interesting, however, because both crews clearly heard different orders, and neither admits any fault of their own. I wonder how this gets handled, and if anyone is in trouble over this. I’m not sure if I’m glad I’m just an (Acting) Ensign, or if I’m realizing how much more there still is for me to learn. Maybe a bit of both.
Initially, I think they planned to have us battle each other. However, there were some programming issues, and we were forced to switch to a sector defense mission. It’s a shame. I think it would have done the Valiant Crew good to have a chance to resolve what they’ve got going on with the Hydra. That went relatively smoothly, aside from me not living up to the Valiant Crew’s expectations, as mentioned previously.
Next was another simulation. And a good thing, too! This time, we were on a deep strike. What’s a deep strike? I barely had time to think the question before I learned: A deep strike is a crazy festival of nightmares. Early on, we began scouting through the sector. After that, we were primarily tasked with dealing with fighters. That did not go as planned.
I feel like a number of things could/did happen. It’s possible that the crew, being used to working on a light cruiser, expected more from the ship than it could handle (I’m not sure, as I said, this was my first time on a scout ship). Our rear shields were lower than the captain expected. There was a miscommunication between the helm and the captain, such that our attempted mine drop left us without weapons, propulsion, rear shields, or maneuvering. (With how difficult breathing became, I suspected life support may have suffered some damage as well). It wasn’t until we were destroyed that I remembered we were in a simulation. Those things are realistic! The breathing trouble was just me, it seems.
In any event, we completed that simulation and returned to brief about our last mission for the day. We were to guide the N’tari (N’tani?) from one part of the Promethean System to another, of course, using their incredibly finicky transportation system.
I was aboard the Phoenix this time. As previously mentioned, I had to find the Red Alert button for the first time. I also asked the crew for some background about us and the N’Tani (N’Tari?). Apparently we used to fight, but now we don’t, and they’re our allies, but when I asked why, all anyone could say was “trade.” Figures it would be about money.
Things went really smoothly. Except for all the pirates. Apparently they hate the N’Tani because they used to be allied with them, against us, but now the N’Tari have betrayed the pirates to join us, which makes the pirates hate them, and makes us have to defend the N’Tani from the pirates while they travel through our space, which makes me try to imagine just how much their trade must be worth for us to go through this. Sorry, babbling.
While guiding them through the system, as seems to happen every time we guide them through a system, a N’Tari vessel was found to have contraband on board and had to be escorted to a different station. Then it was on to more pirate fighting. There were a lot of them, and they really liked to pop into the middle of the N’Tari fleet half the time, which of course made use of heavy ordnance out of the question. I was glad that I wasn’t the only one relieved when we finally made it back to Promethean Command.
At this point, I feel a strong need to end this log, because I feel like it’s already gone on far too long, and if I say more, it’ll just be more babble. With that,
(Acting) Ensign Remmick, Xeno-tech/linguistics/biology specialist, out.
End log.Mr. Remmick, that was full of interesting insights. I especially appreciated your sampling of various crew dynamics. It is very informative to see the Hawk/Hydra incident from both sides. Everyone is the hero of their own story. And speaking from the deck of the Lancer I can corroborate that operating a different class of ship does take some adjustment.
The N’tani are currently a nomadic people following the loss of their homeworld. They are technically capable and so were of great interest to the pirates for trade and logistical support. On the back of this and presumably some propaganda and misinformation, the N’tani were persuaded to side with the Grand Alliance between the pirates and the Hegemony forces in the recent campaign in the Cerberus system. At the conclusion of conflict, the N’tani made peace with the USFP in return for assistance with finding a new homeworld and support for their fleets in the interim.
Personal Log – Addendum
I got to see space whales for the first time. A thank you to the crew of the Phoenix for letting that happen!
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