Post 24 - New Assignments

Posted on Sun Sep 13th, 2020 @ 3:44pm by Ensign Ariennye t’Aenikh & Cadet Senior Grade Ezra Gonzalez
Edited on on Sun Sep 13th, 2020 @ 3:44pm

Mission: Epilogue 1: The Long March
Location: Primary Science Lab, Deck 7
Timeline: A few days into the Adelphi's mission to the Delta Quadrant

[Primary Science Lab, Deck 7]
[Back-post]

Ezra double and triple-checked the work on his PaDD as he walked into the science lab. This was his first "real" day on the job, and he wanted to make sure everything was in place for his new superior officer. Confident that his work was sufficient, he nodded to himself, then looked up to see Ensign Ariennye t'Aenikh working at a console.

"Ensign?" he asked, "I'm Cadet Senior Grade Gonzalez, Ma'am. I've been assigned to you while I'm completing my senior field practicum. For part of my course work I've compiled a cultural data file on the Ocampa for you to take a look at."

The Romulan looked up at the man who had approached her, "I see..." Ari reached out and took the offered PaDD from the Human and turned away from him just slightly so as to keep him in her peripheral view as she read. Her encounter with the ship's counselor had left her rather leery of people she wasn't familiar yet. At least the man hadn't bothered to sneak up on her, if only to avoid nearly stabbing him with the material separator she'd been working with when he'd walked up.

The information displayed on the PaDD was well ordered, some parts took longer to get to the point than others, but she didn't see any glaring flaws in it that really needed immediate correction or criticism from her. It felt rather odd to her, as she considered it for just a moment. Not long ago, she'd been the one standing on the other side of scrutiny, waiting patiently as someone reviewed her work. The only real difference between the current scenario and the one Ari was recalling was that the work she'd been handed hadn't been something she'd asked for. The Romulan didn't have the kind of initiative in her to simply do workups on species simply because they might have met them.

"This is... fine," Ens. t'Aenikh said finally, once she managed to get over the fact that she wasn't really happy about having to make idle banter with someone. Her anxiety was threatening to surface on her face, which prompted her to hand the PaDD back over to the Cadet before returning her attention to the material samples that had been collected during their transition into the Delta Quadrant.

"What... um... what field of study is your... primary focus in?" the Romulan asked, trying to at least show tacit interest in the Cadet after having turned away from him. As long as her hands were moving, she would at least be able to keep the banter going.

Ezra took the PADD back with a small nod, undisturbed by the nature of the other's response. He smiled slightly, in fact, making a mental note that she seemed not too dissimilar from himself in certain situations.

"Xeno-anthropology. My practicum assignment is to assemble a series of data files on each of the friendly species encountered by Admiral Janeway and her crew while they were out here," he explained, reverting to the same wording he used in his conversation with Commander Kodak. He quickly added, "The Ocampa were the first, so I assumed that their culture would be the most logical to start with."

He paused, hesitating. "Um...with all due respect, Ensign...were you informed that I would be reporting to you during my time here? I couldn't help but notice that you seemed...unprepared to receive my work. Unless there was something I forgot to do when I first came onboard..."

"Usually..." Ens. t'Aenikh began before pausing for a moment to break up a mineral sample at an odd angle before she continued, "You would report to your... department head... before anyone else. I didn't even... have you on the duty roster. Who did you report to when you... arrived?"

Ezra blinked, then frowned, confused. "Oh...well, I reported to Commander Kodak and Dr. t'Nai when I first got here, but... uh... I thought I had understood that you were my department head. Was I wrong about that? I apologize for any misunderstanding... would you be able to direct me to the person I missed?"

"Being in Science..." Ari said, her hands stopping momentarily, "You would report to me, yes. But generally... a Cadet shouldn't have a reason to report directly to the... Executive Officer before their department head. Medical examinations are... fine... they could be done before or after reporting to... your duty section. But when you neglect to let your department know... before you start bringing in work for review... it causes... issues."

Finally, the Romulan put down her tool along with the mineral sample and turned to face the Cadet, "I will need to assign you a duty rotation... and I'm going to need to see the curriculum that was assigned to you during your... midshipman course. Even if we're a small department... we need to do things... properly."

Ezra swallowed and glanced down at his feet, embarrassed at his mistake. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked up again.

"I understand. I apologize for my negligent behavior, ma'am. I assure you it won't happen again." He hesitated slightly before continuing. "It's just... I was given so much new information before I arrived, and it was a little bit... overwhelming, and hard to process. There were bound to be things I was likely to misunderstand or even miss completely..." He drew himself up, straightening his shoulders. "But I know that there is no room for excuses in Starfleet. I will send the necessary information to you immediately. I'm sorry, again."

Ens. t'Aenikh couldn't help but let out a small sigh, "I'm not really upset, Cadet. Maybe just... flustered that I wasn't aware you'd be reporting... but that's all. Maybe a seasoned officer would get more upset about this... but I was a Cadet not that long ago... so I know how strange it feels. Just... don't forget your department head on your next ship... until you are one... then you can report to the First Officer."

The Romulan picked up the PaDD and handed it back to Gonzalez, "Sections two and eight are needlessly wordy, while sections four and eleven are far too brief. Cultural studies should be informational with an awareness for brevity and a watchful eye against redundancy. A cultural science professor would give this a marginally passing grade... but out here in the Fleet... you just get to redo the work... until it's right."

Despite her earlier short sentences and avoidant phraseology, the moment the topic turned to something that she was actually comfortable discussing, her attitude changed dramatically. While she would never profess to being people oriented, she was unrivaled when it came to things that feel within her small skill set, as evidenced by how quickly and precisely she'd been able to critique the Cadet's work without having to see it but once.

Ezra took a moment to scan the highlighted sections, absorbing the Romulan's critique and already beginning to plan out the second draft. He had expected to get at least a little bit of red pen, as that was common for the first couple of drafts. With a couple of taps, he accessed the document's marginal note-taking function, writing "needlessly wordy" and "far too brief" next to the sections the Ensign had indicated. Satisfied, he saved the notes with another tap and nodded to the Ensign.

"Needlessly wordy and far too brief," he said, echoing her earlier words, "Understood. Thank you. I will keep that in mind. I will deliver the revised file first thing in the morning, as well as my curriculum." He turned to leave, then caught himself halfway through and turned back. "Permission to... jump right on it?"

"Granted," Ens. t'Aenikh said with just the slightest hint of a smile before returning her full attention to her experiments.

A backpost of sorts by

Ensign Ariennye t'Aenikh
Chief Science Officer

Cadet Ezra Gonzalez
Science Midshipman