The new start.

Posted on Tue Jan 2nd, 2024 @ 10:24pm by Lieutenant JG Scott Kayne & Commodore Finchley Kerr

1,210 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Investigate the Chintoka Shipyard Buildup
Location: Captains Ready Room, bridge, USS Blackeagle
Timeline: Current.

Finchley had been notified by his new XO, Lt Commander Jaxom that their new Chief of Security had arrived onboard and been given a tour of the ship.

To be fair, he was preoccupied by the revelation near the end of their last mission that there was a mole in their midst, one who had betrayed them to the recently departed Founder and the Cardassians. His meeting with the SFIHQ upper echelons to give his report had been tough, and he was mentally drained from it. However, ship’s business still had to be carried out, and evaluating the suitability of the candidate sent to him to be his new Chief of Security needed to be completed.

Tapping the COMM button on his desk, he said “Captain Kerr to Lieutenant Kayne, report to my Ready Room immediately, Kerr out.”

Kayne, fresh from his tour, made his way to the turbolift and took it straight to the bridge, he approached the Ready Room's door and pressed the chime, alerting the Captain to his presence.

PADD still in hand as he was reading, Finchley heard the chime and said, “Come!”

He didn’t lift his head, but continued to carry on reading the information in front of him. Aware the person had entered, he pointed to the chair opposite him and simply said “Sit.”

Kayne sat down in the chair, adjusting his uniform.

Now finished reading, he looked up and across to the Officer in front of him. “What makes you suitable for this posting Lieutenant?”

"Well, sir, I'd like to think my years of experience, my dedication to the job, as well as my ambition and my initiative." He said, "I believe it's my duty to defend Federation and Starfleet Ideals, and to make sure they're secure."

“So you don’t think defending your ship and fellow crew members comes first, you prefer the grandiose idealogical approach of defending the whole of Starfleet and the wider Federation?” Finchley asked, leaning back in his chair.

"You can't defend Starfleet and the Federation without first securing the safety and well-being of your fellow crewmembers, so it would go without saying that of course they come first, Captain." Kayne said, "No one person can do it alone, it comes with working together, as part of a team, and putting our talents to use for the benefit of everyone."

“Then that’s what you should have lead with” Finchley replied, “and it does go with saying. I don’t need ideology Mr Kayne, what I want from you are three things…follow my orders without question, defend this ship and defend your crew.”

He picked up the PADD on his desk, “This is your Academy dosier, and in it there’s psychological evaluations. On more than one occasion it’s mentioned that you’re very ambitious, in fact, to the point that recklessness. Now, on its own merit, ambition can be a good thing, however, ambition can also cloud judgment. How do you hold with these evaluations, do you agree or disagree with how you were assessed?”

"I can do what you want from me sir," Kayne replied, "And as far as my Academy dossier, I agree with how I was assessed while I was there, and as ambitious as I am, nothing is more important than the safety and security of those around me." Kayne paused for a moment and took a breath, "My Academy days are long behind me, and I've had to do quite a bit of growing up and proving myself since then."

“Experience in life and on duty shapes us Lieutenant” Finchley replied, “You’ll find a lot of the crew, myself included, have similar past circumstances such as the loss of your ship and much of it’s crew. However, it’s how you focus that experience that counts. I’m going to put a scenario to you, and I want you to give me an honest reply. Not one that’s regulation or what you may think I want to hear, but your basic gut and intuitive answer. The person who’s responsible for destroying your ship has been caught, your the one to escort them to their trial for their crime. How do you react when it comes to the time for you to escort them?”

"I'd.....be escorting myself, Captain," Kayne said, "I froze, I hesitated, then the next thing I knew I wasn't able to get the shields up, and because of the hesitation, over 400 people died. The official reports and subsequent investigation cleared me of any charges, they said the shield generators malfunctioned, that it wouldn't have mattered whether I had hesitated or not. I still believe that If I hadn't hesitated, I'd still be aboard that ship, and those 427 souls would still be alive, and since then I have sworn to never, ever let that happen ever again." Kayne looked out into the Starfield, then back to the captain, "It's something that will haunt me until the day I die."

“That’s you blaming yourself for thinking you didn’t defend your ship” Finchley said, “I’m thinking of you escorting the one who gave the order to fire on your ship, what would be your gut reaction to having to escort them?”

Scott looked at the man, he had been blaming himself for so long he hadn't considered the ones who were attacking. He thought for a moment, "I'd want them to feel the pain that they've caused me, I'd want them to experience the suffering and loss that I've been living with."

“Understandable, but how would you make them feel that?” Finchley asked drilling down to the bedrock of the situation.

"I... honestly I don't know, sir," Kayne said, "I shudder to think what I could do, given the situation. It's a path best left unexplored. Given the hypothetical, I'd end up doing something that would throw away my career and my life. So unless that happens, I can keep myself in line and perform my duties to the best of my ability."

Finchley was unconvinced at the answer, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he moved onto his next question, “This is your first posting in Intelligence, tell me, what do you see our role as…the ship and it’s crew I mean, not the individual crew members?”

"Reconnaissance, investigation, and interception of threats, enemies." Kayne said, "We provide Starfleet with the information they need for missions, tactics, and strategy."

The answer impressed Finchley, but added something else, “There’s also provocation Lieutenant. Our job isn’t just to do with protection of Starfleet and the Federation, it’s also about attacking any threat, and that sometimes means going on the front foot. Now, there’s always the assumption we’re the ones hiding in the shadows, the bogeyman if you will, but sometimes we’re the ones shining the light, making others see there’s nothing ‘in’ the shadows. A simplified way of looking at it, but one I hope explains our role.”

He stood up, “We’ll see how things pan out, you may carry on with your duties.”

"Thank you, sir, I look forward to serving here." He said, and exited the Ready room.

 

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