From kraltz@hotmail.com Sat Jun 27 21:18:10 1998 Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 22:23:39 -0600 From: Margaret Kipp To: INDIGO FLEET List Serve Subject: [INDIGO] USS CONSTELLATION: The View from Ops ---OFFICIAL INDIGO FLEET TRANSMISSION--- Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 21:24:21 PDT From: "Margaret Kipp" Subject: [INDIGO] USS CONSTELLATION: The View from Ops SD 100611.2330 EDT FMD 7.0940 | Ready Room > "Commander Kraltz. Please stay." > > Bertoli froze and looked at Bochu and Kraltz, and then >stormed out of the room. > > "Commander, have a seat." > > Kraltz approached the desk. "I prefer to stand, sir." > > "Sit DOWN, Commander." Bochu ordered. She reluctantly replied. > > "It's obvious you have something to discuss. You are part >of our family. Bertoli definitely isn't, and while I have anything >to do with it, won't become one. Tell me what's on your mind." "Sir, you are mistaken. There is nothing I wish to discuss." "Allow me to rephrase," Bochu said, shooting her a look which plainly said he didn't intend to make a habit of reprhasing. "Something's bothering you. I want to hear about it before it becomes a problem." Kraltz eyed him for a moment. "Captain, did the Admiral provide a reason for his refusal?" "No." Bochu paused. "Do you know why he might have refused?" The silence dragged. "I cannot be sure." Kraltz frowned. "Black marks in your record?" Bochu hasarded a guess. Kraltz' frown deepened, and Bochu sensed annoyance. "There are no serious black marks in my service record." "Some people might consider fighting a serious black mark..." Silence fell again, but not a calm silence. After a moment, Kraltz reined in her temper. "Sir." "I don't. Though I do consider it cause for concern." Kraltz grunted. "An officer who starts a fight because of a racial slur isn't likely to be the first to be recommended for command of a starship." That got him more annoyance, and another, "Sir." Kraltz let the silence hand for a few minutes, since Bochu showed no inclination to continue on that topic. She understood what Bochu was telling her; she also understood that he was letting her know how far she could go. That was good. Kraltz preferred directness. She was actually starting to appreciate Bochu's command style, despite the fact that she found him too informal with the juniors. He was not afraid to make difficult decisions, and he did not, as some did, jump to conclusions. Rashness might be valued by some warrriors, but not Kraltz. The kind of rashness perpetrated by Bertoli, according to his record, was not something of which she approved. Informed rashness had its place; time could be a precious commodity in battle, but to act without partaking of all readily available information when there was time availabe was simply foolish. And, likely to end in an inglorious death. "Sir, I will not *start* a fight with any of your officers," Kraltz assured him. Bochu accepted her assurances with a nod. "You said you weren't sure why the Admiral suggested Bertoli instead of you, which implies that you do have a suspicion." Kraltz grunted. Her tone was slightly derisive, as if she didn't see the reasoning behind the viewpoint she was about to describe. "It is nothing, sir. The Admiral may feel that an ex-marine NCO with four years seniority as an officer would not be the best choice as second in command of a ship about to go into battle." She did not add that people die in battles. The news of the destruction of the Agamemnon underscored that. Bochu nodded. Her lack of seniority might have been the problem. Or, her attitude. He hadn't considered that when he had decided on her rather than Bertoli. Quite frankly, he had figured he had a choice between her and Bertoli, and prefered the idea of working with her. At least she was a known quantity. And, when he gave her orders, she followed them. "Will that be all, sir?" Kraltz asked. She did not want to discuss the matter any further. At this point, the acting Captain might want to discuss her feelings or delve into her reasons for leaving the marines. All matters which did not impinge on the mission and were thus irrelevant. More to the point, she still had a department to oversee, even if she was not to get the chance to prove herself as acting XO. Despite Bochu's admission that he had chosen her over Bertoli, and been overruled, Kraltz was still annoyed that she had been denied this opportunity, this honour. She could not place the blame on Bochu, he had been given no choice. She could blame Bertoli. Without him on the ship, she would have been the only logical choice. But, she had given Bochu her word. They would have to work as a team. Which did not imply that she had to like it... Kraltz knew Bochu was an empath, and suspected that he was reading her emotions. She took a dim view of telepathy in general, but perhaps it was for the best that Bochu know where she stood. "Yes, Commander. Dismissed." She left, thinking about the situation, and about Bertoli. She did not relish the thought of working for him, under him, when he held the position she felt she should have had. She did not think he was qualified for the job. In Commander Bochu, she saw a man who might be worthy of her loyalty; Bertoli gave her no such feelings. This war might be good for her career, in the end, she thought as she took her place at the Ops console, taking over from Shall. She watched the blond human disappear into the turbolift. Shall might not have ambitions, but Kraltz did. As OPS and as second officer, command was almost within her grasp. In combat, people died; and others took their places. A glorious death, and an honour for the one chosen as replacement. * * * FMD 7.1100 | OPS - Deck 3 While the cat's away, the mice will play. Updated for the Constellation's Operations department, that would have been: while the Klingon's away, the gossip flows like water. "Mister Bochu's been here since the beginning. For an officer, he's good people. I think he'll make an excellent captain, even if it's only temporary." The speaker, OS2 John Wheeler, leaned back in his chair with his feet stretched out beneath his console. "What about the Captain?" a young yoeman ventured, nervously. OS2 John Burke shrugged. "He'll be back soon, the doc pulled another miracle out of his hat." Chief Vel Tar Sur Pol, the Andorian Intelligence Officer, leaned in the doorway between Ops Central and her office. She merited an office since she was filling an officer's billet. "The Captain will live or die as the Great Mother wills," she said, dismissing the whole thing. "The problem is this Bertoli. Who is he and why do we need a tactical advisor?" "He was gunning for the XOs position from the beginning," Burke commented, thinking of Bertoli's visit to Ops and every other department on the ship. "Better him than the Klingon from hell," Wheeler muttered, emphasising his words with a fist on his console. He was still sore that the impending war had caused the refusal of his transfer request. Starfleet saw no reason to break up a crew in the face of large scale battles. People were needed where they were, doing a job they were familiar with. "We know nothing of this man's record!" Sur Pol objected. The Andorian woman's warrior heritage showed through the veneer of civilisation. "And, Commander Kraltz should have automatically filled the billet until the captain was better." "The chief's right, Wheeler," Burke said. "At least with Commander Kraltz we know where we stand." Wheeler snorted. Senior Chief Veret had been listening with half his attention. Now he looked thoughtful. "It wouldn't make much sense for Starfleet to give us a new set of command officers so soon before a battle when there are qualified officers on board who could fill the billets." The Bolian shrugged expansively. "Vel Tar's right. We know nothing about Commander Bertoli. What are his expectations?" "What would Commander Kraltz do to you if she caught you all gossiping instead of attending to your duties?" Everyone jerked around to catch Lieutenant Shall's smiling face. "At ease," he said, "but don't say I didn't warn you." "Yes, sir," they chorused. Veret asked the question that was on all their minds. "Why did Commander Bertoli get chosen as acting XO, sir?" Shall shook his head. "Officially, I don't know." "And, unofficially, sir?" "Unofficially, I assume it was Commander Bochu who made the decision." "For Bertoli." The Andorian made it sound more like a curse. "Commander Bertoli to you Chief," Shall corrected the Andorian. "We may not like him, but he is our acting XO and we will follow his orders." A chorus of 'aye, sir's followed. Shall had to admit that he wasn't too fond of Bertoli either. The man had made extensive changes to operational procedures and just before the Constellation would be going to war... Needless to say that hadn't made him popular with the enlisted men, who would be most affected by his changes. "That should have gone to Commander Kraltz," Burke exclaimed. Wheeler shook his head, looking disgusted, but Sur Pol and Veret nodded in agreement. "It is an insult to our department that she was not given the position," the Andorian added aloud. Shall shrugged. "It was up to Commander, er, Captain Bochu." The aOPS changed the subject. He wasn't about to encourage dissension in the ranks. "What's the news from the station, Chief?" he asked, looking at the intelligence officer. Sur Pol folded her arms across her chest. "The news is not good." She recited the gist of the report which had come in. Ships had been destroyed; lives lost. The crewmen looked around at each other, as if to imprint this moment, these people, in their minds. Would they be in the next reports? Shall noticed their fear, and tried to hide his own. "Time to get back to work," he said. "Speculation is pointless and wastes energy. We'll be ready for them when we meet them." Veret caught his eye and was the first to turn back to his console. The others returned to work as well as their training took hold. Shall stood there for a moment and hoped he wasn't lying through his teeth. [NRPG: Well, what else do you expect from a Klingon? :) FMD Summary: 7.0940 Bochu and Kraltz talk Margaret 7.1100 Gossip in Ops Margaret ] Respectfully Submitted, LCDR Kraltz, OPS/2O USS CONSTELLATION (NCC-1017-F) -- Margaret E. I. Kipp mkipp@freenet.carleton.ca http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~as709/ ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ***This message sent by an official member of Indigo Fleet*** Are you also posting your message to the newsgroup?!!! ---END TRANSMISSION---