The Needs Of The Many

Posted on Thu May 29th, 2025 @ 8:18pm by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Commander Rhiana t'Aegis & Lieutenant Zub Enel

2,386 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Shore Leave 1
Location: Security Office, USS Firebird
Timeline: En route towards Earth

[ON]

The past two weeks had been filled with wrapping things up on DS18 and getting settled aboard the Firebird. For some, it was a return to the familiar surroundings of the small ship. For others, it was a new beginning after the forced adventures in the Gamma Quadrant. For all, it was getting used to living aboard a ship that seemed, at least in parts, be held together with hope and engineer's putty, including some ensuing technical problems. A number of the crew had to replace wounded comrades or crewmembers who, for some reason or another, had been reassigned. For them, the strain of the last few weeks aboard DS18 had not subsided yet.

Rhiana was among those who had to put in double shifts. After Rees' promotion to commander of DS18, most of his tasks had fallen onto her. She did not particularly mind the longer hours and the additional duties. But she felt guilty towards Xavi whom she seemed to be seeing even less of than during their time on DS18.

After some pondering on her part, a conversation with the captain and some more pondering, Rhiana eventually hit her combadge.

"t'Aegis to Enel. Report to my office.”

Zub Enel tapped his combadge, “Enel to t’Aegis. Acknowledged.”

He had just finished dressing after using the gym on Deck 5. The gym was small compared to DS18, but then again, to the 7-foot-tall Voth, everything aboard the Firebird was small compared to a full-sized, if derelict, space station.

He stepped into the turbolift. “Deck 4.”

“Geck dah.” The turbolift stated in an unusually shrill voice.

A female Bajoran engineering officer got in. She smiled up at Zub. “It’s a little out of sorts today. You have to hit it right here and repeat your destination.” She tapped two fingers on a spot near the turbolift door.

Zub balled a three-fingered hand into a fist and lightly rapped the indicated area. “Deck 4?”

The turbolift doors closed and swiftly carried them both to Deck 4.

The Bajoran smiled at him and turned aside as she left the lift. Aligning the lay of his jacket, he strode to the Security Chief’s office and pressed the door chime.

"Enter," came the immediate answer from inside and the door slid open to reveal the small space that was the foyer to both, the armory, hidden behind fortified double sliding doors, and the security chief's office, separated from the slightly larger foyer by an open doorway.

The foyer contained a small table and chair pushed against the wall next to the entrance and a replicator on the wall on the right. Facing the entry was the armory and to the left, the cramped space of the chief of security. It contained a desk and chair pushed against the wall of the entry door and a double work station with a large wall screen on the opposite wall. An even larger screen occupied most of the wall facing the doorway that separated the two areas.

Lieutenant Commander t'Aegis was currently sitting in her desk chair which she had rolled back just a little to better see the person entering and was waiting for that to happen.

Zub Enel ducked his head so his bony crest could clear the top of the frame. He halted in the frame to crane his neck into the confined space.

Surprisingly close at hand, his security chief's attractive but impassive Romulan face was tilted up at him, unreadable as always–or, at least, he hadn't yet learned her subtle tells. Though the species-specific downward slope of her eyebrows to her nose gave her the look of a permanent scowl, she nonetheless radiated calm control. He felt his palms dampen. His and her work relationship had been somewhat rocky before. He still feared he was one act or word away from her disapproval.

He took a quick half-step forward so he wouldn't rap his head on the doorframe and, facing her, drew himself to attention. He deliberately lowered his volume so his deep voice wouldn't deafen them both in the small office. "Lt. Zub Enel reporting, sir." He prepared himself to wait for her response, if any.

He did not have to wait long. A few seconds at most while Rhiana looked him up and down, even if it meant craning her neck to accommodate his annoying height.

"At ease, Lieutenant." There was the tiniest pause before she added, almost reluctantly, "Have a seat."

Since there was only one other chair in the room, Zub's choice was limited, and Rhiana waited until he had folded his too-tall frame into the chair. It was height-adjustable to some degree, at least.

"You have been aboard the Firebird for two weeks now, Lieutenant. What are your impressions so far?" Her tone had not changed. There was no warmth in it, but also no anger. She might be genuinely interested in what he had to say. Or not.

Enel realized he was sitting like a statue of a Pharaoh on Earth he’d seen, back straight, hands flat on his thighs, palms down near his knees, a pose that looked uncomfortable even after two or three thousand years had passed. He considered crossing his arms over his chest, which might appear defensive to his expressionless boss. Instead, he chose to rub his three-fingered hands together slowly, not as if he were starting a friction burn.

He wasn’t certain whether the security chief was fishing for compliments or would dismiss any complaints. In all fairness, he decided to tell her the truth as politely as possible.

“She’s a great ship. Fast. Well-armed. A storied history that makes one proud to be aboard. She is more like wearing a suit of armor than living inside a fortress. I have adjusted to how close-in and small everything is compared to DS18."

Rhiana's expression did not change. Whatever she was thinking, she was hiding it well. "What are your impressions about your own performance until now?"

Zub scratched the scaly ridge above one eye. Ah, the dreaded performance review. His first thought was to tell her he didn’t do impressions. He checked that impulse before it reached his mouth. He had improved on understanding his behavioral limits with his oh-so-serious chief.

“Improved, I’d say. On DS18, I’ve successfully apprehended or assisted in apprehending several persons for theft or collaborating with our enemies.” He smiled briefly. “I’ve learned to arrive early or on time for each of your summons, sir.”

"That is not an achievement to be proud of, Lieutenant, but merely a matter of course," the Romulan replied coolly. "However, you have indeed shown improvement which means that you are capable of learning from your mistakes."

She was sitting with a straight back, barely touching the back of her chair. Her elbows were placed on the armrests and her hands steepled in front of her while she kept looking at the Voth. Even sitting, they were not of equal height and she had to raise her head to meet his gaze.

"What are your aspirations for the future?"

Enel steepled his clawed fingers while he thought, unconsciously mimicking the posture of his chief. ‘Live until Second Breakfast,’ came to him, but he decided not to voice that to the serious face tilted up at him. He crossed his long arms over his chest and gave her question more thoughtful consideration.

“Sir, my duty is to protect this ship and its crew to the best of my ability. That duty requires many more skills and practices than I have yet to master. So, my future aspirations, writ large, are to improve at all aspects of Security every day.”

Rhiana nodded once after that little speech to confirm that she had listened to him. She did not ask yet another question, but remained silent. While her eyes remained on the security officer, her gaze became unfocused while she contempled something.

Eventually, the chief of security took a breath and ever so slightly changed her position, before meeting Enel's gaze again.

"You may or may not have noticed that I have taken on additional duties since Captain Rees' departure, leaving me with less time for the security department. As you may also have noticed, there is no assistant department head to take over some of my duties," Rhiana spoke more slowly now, more hesitantly as if she did not want to admit needing help. "Given the size of the department, such a position is not strictly necessary." In her opinion, at least. "However, the security crew deserve to have an involved and present chief and at this point, I cannot fully fill that position."

She took a breath and continued almost reluctantly, "Despite your shortcomings, you are, at this moment, the most qualified. I am therefore offering you a field promotion to acting Lieutenant and the position of assistant chief of security and tactical. Both would be on a probationary basis, of course. As you said yourself, you still have much to learn."

Zub raised his bony brow. A Terran had once warned him to watch out for a peanut butter and knuckle sandwich. The advice and image had puzzled him until now. A tasty sandwich hiding a punch, coupled with the Chief of Security’s heavily caveated offer, suddenly made sense to him. He had a field promotion, but she had serious misgivings about his ability. She needed to offload some duties, but wasn’t sure she should leave them with him. Basically, she was saying she was forced by circumstances to temporarily promote him, not because of his blazing, white, supernova abilities.

He decided it would be fatal to quip that she was now sitting at his desk.

He smiled nonetheless. A promotion, no matter how it was couched, was an honor. It was on him to fail or shine. He rose to attention. “Thank you, sir! As your assistant chief of security and tactical officer, is there something particularly pressing you would like me to handle, look into, or immediately take charge of?”

The chief of security rose from her own chair and, taking something out of her pocket, approached the Voth, which took her all of one and a half steps. Maybe she should request a bigger office with the quartermaster if she now had to start sharing this space on a more regular basis.

Opening the small black container she presented it to Enel: it contained the second golden pip that would replace the black one to make his promotion visible to all.

"As you were, Lieutenant. There are indeed several tasks for you to do." She was speaking in a normal tone now that was devoid of the annoyance she often felt when dealing with the Voth. "You will work together with Chief Warrant Officer B'Rala to complete a full inventory of the armory, including all emergency weapons storage cabinets." Those hidden behind panels and in places one would normally not expect any weapons to be stashed away. "Do not forget to inventorise personal weapons. Write a duty shift rotation for the security department covering the time until shore leave, by taking into account an increased time for rest. Present the schedule to me for review," she continued to enumerate. "Prepare a physical fitness programme for all security crew as well as weapons re-certifications for the entire crew. These will only take place after shore leave. Review the duty reports of the security officers of the past weeks. Furthermore, your background lacks a focus on the tactical part of your new role. You will remedy this by following refresher classes at the Academy. After the shore leave, you will also begin to prepare for the bridge officer's examination." She paused briefly to take a breath. "You will not implement or publish anything without my prior approval. You are free to suggest other tasks you may be interested in."

The Voth, towering over his chief, admired his new Lieutenant pip as she outlined a challenging array of new duties. His broadening smile wavered when he realized she had filled his shore leave with tactical training and pre-exam courses. Because of past missteps, he understood why she had asked him to be productive and creative, but not to act on any of it without her permission. So, clearly, despite his long stride, he remained confined to baby steps.

Anger ignited in the pit of his stomach. He was convinced that he was genuinely more capable than she believed him to be. Yet, in the back of his mind, he knew he still had much more to learn about being a Starfleet Security officer. The last thing he needed was to rush into something to prove himself and make a complete mess of it.

He glanced down into her dark eyes. Her expression was calm, yet her gaze was anything but remote. He knew she had high expectations for her officers, especially for her assistant. He either had to step up and excel or risk being relegated to guarding beer coolers at a remote spaceport in the Delta Quadrant.

His injured pride stopped aching. Zub Enel knew in his heart that he could succeed, despite his faltering efforts in her eyes. That thought brought a more confident smile to his face.

“No, sir. No other tasks to add, currently. I appreciate the promotion. I will strive mightily to prove I’m worthy of it. I will find Chief Warrant Officer B'Rala and begin immediately on the weapons inventory.”

The chief of security took a step back which somewhat eased the strain on her neck from having to look upwards to meet her tall assistant's eyes. She nodded at him, acknowledging his words without commenting on them. For once, she did not trust herself to say the right thing, because she still was not entirely convinced that Enel would rise to the occasion and prove himself in his new position. But she hoped he would.

"Dismissed, Lieutenant."

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t'Aegis
Second Officer / Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

Lieutenant Zub Enel
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298

 

RSS Feed