[ USS Charon, Deck 4 ]
Prowling around her new quarters, Natasha tossed her duffel bag onto a couch that stretched along the wide port that graced the far bulkhead of her rooms. Couch. Port. RoomS! It was almost decadent. Perhaps that was the difference between being a pseudo-department head and a fighter jockey. Well. One way or the other, it wasn't in Natasha to sit back and let things happen around her. She was aware that she needed to check in with the CO, but for right now -- she had been ordered to see to the staffing of her department, so why not begin now.
She spoke. "Computer."
"Lieutenant Natasha Segurev, Chief Communications Officer. Logging in. Quarters assignment - Deck 4, Number 417, confirmed. Welcome aboard, Lieutenant, I have allocated your log space and placed privacy locks keyed to your voiceprint," it said in response.
"How efficient of you," Natasha murmured. "Computer, locate and send message to all Communications personnel as follows. Message begin. 'Greetings. This is Lieutenant Natasha Segurev, your new Chief COMMs Officer. There will be a meeting with all off-duty COMMs personnel at 1300 hours in the COMMs office, Deck 8. Attendance is mandatory, as is uniform of the day. End message."
"Message confirmed." The computer repeated it back, then sent it.
Next Natasha contacted the Officer's Mess and arranged for some drinks and food to be brought to the COMMs office at 1230 hours. This was merely strategy. She knew that people are more inclined to think positively about you if you feed them. Juices, teas, soft drinks, fruit, desserts, snack items ... there. This gave the added bonus that people would have something to do with their hands while the meeting progressed, rather than just sit there or feel pressured to take notes or something equally inane.
Now it was time to check into these people and see what she had to work with. It was Natasha's first time as a COMMs department head and she wasn't going to screw it up if she could help it. She had the computer display all the COMMs personnel's records, then sat down at her work station to look them all over. The report backed up Commander Tyrax's '3 junior officers and 6 enlisted crewmen'. Here is what Natasha saw, briefly:
[OOC - you can skip this part if you don't want to get that far into it. :) ]
1) LtJG Lauren Batiste
Age: 25
Race: Human
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 130#
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Background: Born, Haitian Island Chain. Parents alive, both medical doctors. Siblings: 3 brothers.
COMMs background: Subspace Communications, Cryptography, Theory, Linguist
Age: 25
Race: Human
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 130#
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Background: Born, Haitian Island Chain. Parents alive, both medical doctors. Siblings: 3 brothers.
COMMs background: Subspace Communications, Cryptography, Theory, Linguist
2) LtJG Alan Basingstoke
Age: 23
Race: Human
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200#
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Green
Background: Born, Liverpool, England. Parents: Mother deceased, father living, environmental engineer. No sibs.
COMMs background: Subspace Communications, Datapod (probe) Technology, Computer Science
Age: 23
Race: Human
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200#
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Green
Background: Born, Liverpool, England. Parents: Mother deceased, father living, environmental engineer. No sibs.
COMMs background: Subspace Communications, Datapod (probe) Technology, Computer Science
3) Ens Staxi Suder
Age: 27
Race: Betazoid
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5
Weight: 135#
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Brown
Background: Born, Betazed. Parents: Parents alive, father: poet. Mother: psychologist. Sibling: one sister.
COMMs background: Subspace Communications, Cryptography, Linguist
Age: 27
Race: Betazoid
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5
Weight: 135#
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Brown
Background: Born, Betazed. Parents: Parents alive, father: poet. Mother: psychologist. Sibling: one sister.
COMMs background: Subspace Communications, Cryptography, Linguist
4) Petty Officer2 Arn Fierstad, Human male. Computer Tech, Subspace Comms, Datapod Tech, Array Tech.
5) Petty Officer2 Renji Tatsuhiro, Human male. Subspace Comms, Cryptography, Computer Tech, Linguist, Theory.
6) Petty Officer Skaen, Humanoid male. Subspace Comms, Computer and Datapod Tech, Computer Sci, Array Tech.
5) Petty Officer2 Renji Tatsuhiro, Human male. Subspace Comms, Cryptography, Computer Tech, Linguist, Theory.
6) Petty Officer Skaen, Humanoid male. Subspace Comms, Computer and Datapod Tech, Computer Sci, Array Tech.
[OOC - there are to be three more NCOs, but those will be added if needed, as needed, in the future]
Natasha stared at the screen, tapping her fingernails on the desktop. She delved into the files on each person, trying to get a bead on their strengths and weaknesses, familiarizing herself with their backgrounds and service records. Renji Tatsuhiro was, technically, a genius. Why wasn't he an officer? Oh. He didn't want to be. Natasha shrugged. As good a reason as any, she supposed.
So far, she had Lauren Batiste pegged as her "second". But that could change at the meeting. Natasha would have to see how the dynamics went.
[ COMMs Offices, Deck 8, 1300 Hours ]
The Communications section sat arranged around the circular table that had been placed in the middle of the anteroom that adjoined the office proper. Every person had a drink and plate of food in front of them. Most had arrived early, Natasha noted. She had a vid from the room but no sound, that would be intrusive and, she felt, counterproductive. Anything they had to say about her now, not having met her yet, meant nothing. Speculation, gossip, whatever, Natasha wasn't interested. When everyone was there and the chrono hit straight up 1pm, she entered the anteroom from her office door. Everyone shut up and stood. She waved them back down. "Please, be seated. I won't stand on formality in these rooms. This is /our/ space." They sat back down. ~Need to get everyone feeling like a team right off the bat -- and that I'm a /part/ of that team~ Natasha thought.
"Hello," she continued, standing at an empty space at the table. "I'm Natasha Segurev -- I'm your new department head from this day forward." Natasha set a PADD on the table but didn't key anything up on it yet. "My quarters are on Deck 4, number 417. They are not off-limits." She went over department policy, scheduling, personnel needs, shift work, equipment issues, and continuing education.
Then she got into the real meat of the meeting. "Let's get a bit more personal now," she began. "Rumor control. As you can all see, I'm part Andorian. My father was Human, that's where I get my brown eye color and the paler blue skin tone. I know you'll want to know this next bit, so I'll just get it out of the way now: I was born with antennae. Since they were small and non-functional, my parents made the decision to have them surgically removed. I spent most of my years growing up in space, then went to Earth with my father. Being a ground-pounder didn't suit me, though, so I took my piloting skills to Star Fleet. I served on the USS Melbourne, then transferred to the Warrior. I've spent time as a Marine, and most of the time piloting in one form or another." She poured a glass of spicy-hot cinnamon tea, took a sip, and went on. "I left the Fleet for a while to return to my family on Andoria. That's where I learned most of what I know about communications. Although the Andorian systems are a bit different, the theory and application are very similar. I just recently graduated from the same Academy classes you all took in COMMs." She took another drink, pulled up a chair, and sat down.
"Now ... let's go around the table. Introduce yourself and tell me a bit about yourself, and we'll go on from there." This portion of the meeting took a while. Natasha eyed each person as they spoke, her senses alert for any subliminal clues coming from the speaker. Alan Basingstoke had a rather patrician air about him. Lauren Batiste was serious and appeared studious. Staxi Studer looked as though she needed to spend more time in the gym, but otherwise was cheerful and friendly. Arn Fierstad had a curious accent and was curt in his speech but had a good sense of humor. Renji Tatsuhiro had an energy that surrounded him that was infectious. Skaen was not present -- he was taking a shift on the Bridge, the three other enlisted crewmen were also on-shift, doing routine maintenance. But so far, so good.
When Tatsuhiro stopped speaking, Natasha looked at everyone. "I will be going over the records -- /all/ the records -- today until I go up to the Bridge later on. I may be calling upon you to give more detail if needed. Otherwise, it's time for question and answer period. Nothing is off-limits. Who would like to begin?" It was no surprise that Tatsuhiro spoke up first. His question, about modifications he thought they could use on the COMMs arrays, set the tone for the rest of the meeting. This is what the PADD was here for.
As it wound down, Natasha turned to Batiste. "Lieutenant, will you stay behind? I would like to speak with you. Everyone else, dismissed. See you around." She grinned. There were a few smiles in return, but a couple looked rather startled. Natasha reminded herself to tone down the feral nature of her teeth-baring.
"Batiste," she began when the room had cleared. "Come with me." Natasha led the way into her office. "You're my second," she began as the young Human seated herself as directed. "Unless there is some reason why you wouldn't want the position."
"No, ma'am," Lauren said quietly. "I accept it gladly."
"Good," replied Natasha. "I have some ideas I'm considering implementing. Your first duty is to listen. Then I want your honest opinion. Do not hold back. I'll treat you with total honesty and I expect the same in return." Natasha was getting itchy. All this /niceness/ had been getting to her.
"But first tell me," she said, staring at Batiste. "What the hell was it that happened with the ex-CCO?"
[ Later ]
Natasha sent the required report to Commander Tyrax, and also sent a transcript of the meeting to the members of the team who had not been present. She and Batiste had discussed manpower and whether they'd need more personnel, and had decided on a wait-and-see attitude, since all shifts were filled and back-ups in place if needed. If the former Operations transfers weren't happy, that'd be another story, those people would have to be replaced if they went back to Ops. Natasha frowned. She was going to meet with them separately. Then she'd see what's what.
She spent the rest of the afternoon combing through the records -- personnel, maintenance, COMMs logs, code guides, education records, disciplinary records, everything she could get her hands on. It was mentally exhaustive work, and it made Natasha scratchy and irritated. At the end of it all, she stood up, stretched, and ran her fingers through her hair.
Now for the Bridge.
Lt Natasha Segurev
Chief Communications Officer
USS Charon
