New CIO Reporting In - Part 2

Posted on 30 May 2014 @ 12:43am by Commodore Da`nal of the House of Varal

1,242 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: M12: For Duty or Honor
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD 3

[Ready Room]

While they had waited Da`nal stood at the replicator getting himself a drink. "Anything for you Ana?"

"Honey and Ginger tea for me please, Sir..." she said, slowly moving to his right side behind his desk. Ana heard the door chime ring and glanced at Da'nal, "Want me to get that?" she asked softly.

Nodding to his XO he turned to the replicator to get her request.

"Come!" she said abruptly, before sitting in the seat next to Da'nal.

The doors slid open and Matt'ew stepped inside. As he entered the ready room, he saw that the Admiral was standing at his replicator and the XO was seated. He moved to a spot two steps in front of the Admiral's desk and snapped to ridged attention. "Admiral Da'Nal, Lieutenant Matt'ew al-Altaa, reporting for duty as your new Chief Intelligence Officer, Sir."

Placing her tea on the coffee table Da`nal stood to greet the new officer. It had been sometime since he had had pleasure to work with a Betelgeusian. He had spent a great deal of time in selecting him for the post in order to screen out and possible connection to career intel types. Instead he had chosen an officer with a security background, but qualified to hold an intel billet. "Lt. al-Altaa, come...have a seat."

Matt'ew nodded once smartly and then moved to sit in the one empty chair position next to the XO. "Ma'am." He nodded a greeting to Lyons as he sat.

"Greetings Lieutenant, rough flight?" she grinned, taking the tea from the desk and sipping it.

Matt'ew grunted softly as he replied. "I've certainly had smoother shuttle rides, Ma'am. I apologize if my delay has caused any strain on you or the Admiral."

"As long as you're uninjured, we're happy..." she smiled, "But have Sickbay check you over anyway, okay?" Ana told him, she didn't want their new Intel Chief collapsing on his first day.

The large Betelgeusian nodded. "Understood, Ma'am. If permitted, I'd like to check in with my department first, then I'll go to sickbay."

"I'd prefer it if you went to sickbay first, once you're cleared then you can work as hard as you like..." she ordered, sipping her tea.

Matt'ew nodded sagely. "As ordered, Ma'am. I will report to sickbay once we are finished here."

The XO could tell he wasn't very happy with that but she wasn't taking any risks, "Intel will still be there when you get to it, isn't that right, Admiral?" she said, looking over at Da'nal.

Da`nal had listened intently and approvingly as his new XO asserted herself. Taking his seat behind his desk he motioned to the Lieutenant to sit. Drink in hand he leaned back slightly appraising the man before him. "So glad you could finally join us. It has been some time since I have served with a member of your race."

Matt'ew looked back over at Da'nal and nodded. "Then I am the fortunate one, Admiral. As you know, there are not many of my people serving in Starfleet currently. May I ask who it was that you had served with previously? Perhaps I may know of them."

"Unfortunately I do not recall the name. He was an enlisted recruit at the Starfleet Recruit Training Depot. I was serving as a weapons training office at Edson Range in San Diego shortly after graduating the Academy. However while I do not recall the name...the memory of his marksmanship will never be forgotten."

The Betelgeusian nodded slowly. "Well then, I at least know that he was a follower of Altaa, like myself. I hope my service can be half as memorable, Sir."

Da`nal looked at him questioningly. "Follower of Altaa; that is not your family name?"

Matt'ew shook his head. "No, Admiral. My people do not have family names, at least, not as any outlander could pronounce. Altaa is the mythic hero that I pattern my life after. When a child of my species reaches the age of 6 years, he or she chooses which Mythic Hero to emulate. Afterwards, they take the name as their own. The only difference between males and females is the identifier that is before the name. Males will have al, while the females will have la."

Nodding as he explained their culture he was intrigued. "And what sort of mythic hero is this Altaa?"

Matt'ew sat up straighter. "Sir, Altaa is the hero that showed my people how to clear the land and also how to hunt the animals of the world. He was a great leader during the Age of Heros. He is also one of our oldest and wisest Heros, even though he did have a fiery temperament."

Da`nal had nodded as he heard the explanation and the corner of his mouth curled as he glanced to his XO. "I think he is going to fit in here perfectly."

"Agreed..." Ana smirked. Another big ego, just what the ship needed.

Matt'ew arched a bald eyebrow at the XO's tone and expression. He was unsure whether he had said or done something wrong, so he stayed quiet and waited for one of the senior officers to address him.

Da`nal leaned back as he picked up the ancient Klingon weapon, a reddish obsidian like stone, from desk and spun it in his hands. "I'm sure you were wondering why an officer with a security background was assigned as an intel chief. Frankly, I don't trust intel types and I find some of their methods dishonorable...that and I have had my own personal interactions with the worst of their kind. Don't misunderstand me, intelligence is a vital component to victory, but so is strength, cunning, determination, spirit, and experience.

"So why did I pick you? For several reasons, but primarily for your background, as a former security officer myself and with your warrior mythos we share a common mindset and priorities. Additionally...there is a spy on this ship. Before our last mission my quarters were broken into and searched. The perpetrator was care to leave no trace but he or she wasn't as clever as they thought and left items out of place.

"Our current assignment should provide you ample opportunity to get to know your staff, to discover if the intruder is among them or if he or she is even still aboard. Given that I still have what they were looking for, my guess is that this person is still hidden amongst the crew."

The idea of a spy hidden amongst his new crewmates angered Matt'ew. He bristled noticeably. "Do you have any clues as to the possible identity of this coward, Admiral?"

Shaking his head. "None. Most of the Intel staff are new transfers, Valentine has been her for a time but the culprit my have already left, been exchanged by another, or could still be hear. You have your work cut out for you but we will talk more about this later and I will fill you in on the detail. For now, get to know you staff and gain there confidence. By leaning on the regular intel types you may get something out of them or they might slip in some way. But as a former security officer this is nothing you don't already know.

"We will discuss this more later. For now you have a staff to meet and a hut to begin. Dismissed"

 

RSS Feed