Morning Sickness

Posted on Tue Jun 14th, 2011 @ 7:12pm by Captain Jackson Hawkins & Captain Anna Johnson

1,755 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: A Fresh Start
Location: Captain's Office
Timeline: Morning - Day 2

Hawkins stood at the porthole in his office, his right hand propped on the bulkhead and left hand rubbing the bridge of his nose into the base of his eye sockets. Last night had been a long night and he didn't manage to get much sleep. He thought about the methodology in getting this crew into shape and was still unsure as to any valid alternatives.

His thoughts were interrupted by a yeoman bringing in a decanter of fresh-squeezed orange juice. Hawk smiled pleasantly (for Hawk) at the yeoman and moved over to pour himself a glass.

Anna yawned as she made her way from her office to the Commanding Officer's office with her coffee in hand. The yeoman wasn't at her desk so Anna headed toward the door and rang the chime, walking in after being allowed entry. "Good morning," She said hiding another yawn.

"Ah, Captain..." Hawk took a drink of the orange juice. "Good morning." He moved over to the small dining table where breakfast had been sat. "Would you care to join me?"

Anna blinked. This seemed a bit out of character for what she was expecting after the day before, though she hadn't had breakfast yet. "Thank you sir." She answered and took the offered seat.

Hawk sat across from Anna. "I have considered contacting Admiral Lancaster and informing him that I'm not cut out for this assignment." The CO began. "To be quite frank Captain, I am used to a crew that follows my orders without question. I'm used to a ship that runs without snafu. I am used to order and efficiency. Starbase Typhon is anything but those things." He frowned as he took another drink of his orange juice.

"But it can run that way sir. It has run that way before, I'm not sure what exactly got into the staff yesterday. Give it a few more days I'm sure it will clear up once they get use to the new command style." Anna said.

"Captain, let us be frank. This crew has not been exactly accepting of my authority. Without a respect for authority, the crew cannot be led. And if I cannot lead the crew, then what good am I?" Hawk, after finishing his orange juice, took an apple from the fruit tray. "So, with that I will stay until I can get clearance from Admiral Lancaster or Admiral Burke to return to space. You deserve someone in this office that is respected by the crew."

"Permission to speak freely sir," Anna said.

Anna asked her question right as Hawk had taken a large bite of the apple. He quickly chewed it down and tried to speak around it. "Always Captain."

"Most of the station had been affected by the virus I had told you about and it caused delusions. The majority of the crew didn't even know that Commodore Fannin had been replaced when you arrived. First thing you do is call a meeting and start barking orders before they even have time to absorb the fact that command has changed at all. Your style is completely different from Fannin's, its a little much to expect them to accept that instantly. I don't think they meant you any disrespect. Some of them might have been testing the waters a bit but I honestly think they just need a bit of time to realize that Fannin is gone." Anna stated.

Hawk looked around the office, and none of the previous commanders things remained. In his mind, and per will of Starfleet, he was the commanding officer of Typhon and any affection or affinity for Fannin was lost upon him. "Part of being an officer in Starfleet is accepting the fact that things change. I cannot hold up progress on this station because people need me to hand-hold them through the loss of some commander that doesn't strike me as anything special." Hawk paused and clinched his jaw for a moment, remembering that he was speaking to a woman who was likely promoted to her current position by that very man.

"What I am trying to say Captain, is that I do not have the luxury of time. Things have been neglected for far too long for me to have the sort of temporal leeway required to coddle the personalities of this staff. I don't have the time to do it, I don't have the desire to do it, and frankly, I don't have the obligation to do it. So if you would kindly explain to me how we plan on getting results immediately, I'd be more than happy to entertain your suggestions." Hawk took another large bite of his apple.

"Now that they know what you expect I'm sure those results will manifest themselves. Wait and see how they react today. You may see a different crew now that they know what you are looking for. Let me do department reviews and get reports to you just don't give up on us yet. I've been here for two years and I know this crew can pull it together sir. I just wish I had been more experienced to have kept it together in the first place, though I did the best I could with what experience I did have. If you want me to step down I will. I obviously must not be ready for this myself. Then you can bring in an XO that you think is worthy of the position." Anna stated.

"Under normal circumstances Captain, I would have you step down. But then again under normal circumstances you would have been a trained command officer with years of experience under your belt. You would have had a commanding officer that would have furthered your training and development into a respectable command division officer. So under normal circumstances, if the station were in this condition you're absolutely correct that I'd ask you to step down. It would be a dereliction of duty if I didn't." Hawk paused as he took a drink of water and sat the apple core onto a plate. "But you were not prepared for this by virtue of never being given the training and experience as an officer. So I don't know how I could justify getting rid of you when you've never had a real opportunity to succeed."

"He trusted me a bit too much I think sir. I made second officer a few months after I arrived and acting XO a few months after that. Soon after he made commodore and was constantly called away. He wasn't exactly here to train me. Still I studied as best I could and ran things as best I could." Anna stated, "It still wasn't good enough."

"It wasn't good enough, Captain Johnson, because Commodore Fannin neglected his duty by neglecting you, your development and training, and the development and training of the rest of the crew aboard Typhon. You have not failed. You have been failed. Or at least that is the way I view it. People speak what they want about me. But the truth of the matter is that I care about the growth and development of my crew, and part of that is seeing the potential beyond what they've attained, and encouraging them, forcing them to reach beyond." Hawk shook his head.

"I care about the crew too sir. I've worked with most of them for a while now. I know what they can accomplish when they work together and put their minds to it. I'm willing to do what I can to help." Anna stated.

Hawk nodded, almost grinning. "Well from now on Captain, I think I will put you in charge of the general crew. You seem to know them far better than I and far better than they will ever let me. So I think you should deal with them. I will give information and orders to you, you will divide that up amongst the crew as you see fit, and you can hold them accountable as I will hold you accountable. That will free up my time to deal with special projects such as the Athena project we've been dragging our feet on..."

"I can do that sir." Anna said with a sigh. "Thank you for giving me a chance to prove to you what this crew is capable of."

"And Captain, do something about striking a balance between the laws being enforced and that Chief of Security of yours running amock on the concourse. The Romulan Ambassador mentioned something to me about it, and apparently everyone down there is scared to be shut down at a moments notice." Hawk didn't blink. He was passing off his mistake, but one that was frankly, in his mind, a result of her lax supervision.

Anna looked at him, "Let me guess, you gave him a command to follow the letter of the law and not let any infraction pass didn't you?" She asked.

"And apparently he thought this meant go back to pre-civilization to find social laws that may be applied to a given situation once and enforce it. He has taken my orders without the application of common sense. I didn't realize that I had to explain every detail to him." Hawk shook his head.

Anna laughed, "For him that order was equal to putting a child in a candy store." She said. "He loves order and discipline." Anna said, "Next time before you make an order that big you may want to ask me about their background." She added with twinkle in her eye. "I'll talk to him as soon as possible and make him see reason."

"Well, he should be back to station tomorrow. So deal with him then." Hawk rummaged through the fruit bowl, looking for something else to snack on.

Anna tried not to show alarm on her face, "Back to-morrow?" She asked. "Where did he go?"

The last time someone she cared for left the station they died in combat. She could not handle that again so soon.

"I sent him with the Runnymede to fetch the marines. We're wrapping up their mission at Exeter." Hawk said matter-of-factly.

Considering that Ian had died helping at Exeter that information didn't make her feel any better. Doing her best to hide this thought she nodded, "If there is nothing else I will get to my office and get to work then." Anna said.

Hawk nodded. "Dismissed Captain."

__________

Captain Jackson Hawkins
Commanding Officer
Starbase Typhon

Captain Anna Johnson
Executive Officer
Starbase Typhon

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