Wait, what?!

Posted on Sun Dec 1st, 2024 @ 8:52pm by Lieutenant JG Sheldon Parsons
Edited on on Sun Dec 1st, 2024 @ 8:53pm

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: Mission Day 22 at 1737

[Chief Engineer’s Office]
[Main Engineering]
[MD 22: 1737 hours]

Acting Chief Engineer. It was a big responsibility but, with the previous chief shuffling back to Pathfinder, someone needed to fill in. True, she’d prepared to be the assistant chief during the two week shuttle ride to the Sojo, but she had plenty of experience leadings teams. Paisley was confident she could serve well until a more permanent replacement for Chief Oliveria was found. She would, however, need a little help in the form of someone to replace her.

Paisley had looked through the files of everyone currently serving on the engineering team, hunting and pecking for a prospective assistant chief she felt she could work well with. It was important that whoever she selected a) didn’t outrank her because that would be weird and b) was someone who was competent and had the trust of the current staff in a way she didn’t — at least, not yet anyway. And after a full day of considering potential candidates, she felt she had her man.

Nibbling on the end of a stylus in thought, Paisley thumbed his personnel file, making one last review before cementing her decision. There were some behavioral bumps and snags here and there, including some difficulties between him and the last chief around the death of five engineers on the Adelphi, but it seemed he and Oliveria had worked things out and established a good rapport on the Sojo.

Her candidate had also once filed a complaint against Lieutenant Timmoz for intentionally setting a forest ablaze as part of an away mission to save several kidnapped Adelphi crew from the Vidiians. But they, too, had worked things out it seemed. Which, as Paisley considered her mostly-made decision for the 86th time, at least spoke to a comforting pattern with this man: while he didn’t always agree with orders or the people giving them, he did his duty anyway and productively tried to work through the aftermath afterward.

Paisley considered that. Ensign Parsons might not always agree with her but he’d demonstrated that he could be counted on to do his job as ordered. And when a crisis had passed, she knew they could work anything out they needed to. Plus when phasers had failed, Parsons had apparently field-assembled a working flamethrower weapon to help kill the goo thing that had been Jake. That showed quick thinking and ingenuity— two essential qualities for an assistant chief in her book. He just needed to work on his shyness, tact, and diplomacy — but those were wrinkles Paisley felt she could help him with.

“Well, I’m sold,” she said to herself with finality, turning off the PADD’s display and nodding. Paisley rose from her chair, tucked the stylus behind her ear, and walked out onto the floor proper, her PADD tucked in an armpit. “Um…Mr. Parsons, would you mind joining me over here? By the warp core?” she called out in sing-song, pointing to the thrumming heart of the Sojo. Paisley’s feet led her over there and she waited patiently for the man to acknowledge the ask and come over.

Sheldon had been working with two other engineering crew at the Master Display Console, mapping out a maintenance plan for the plasma ducts on several of the lower decks of the ship. But when F’Rar had exited her office and bid him to join her, he arched an eyebrow in an almost-Vulcan way — while also squinting a little with confusion, which was at odds with the Vulcanness and made him look ridiculous — before rising to full height and walking to where she’d indicated.

“Sir?” he asked, all squinting and eyebrow nonsense fading as his face assumed default blankness ahead of receiving new orders.

“Mr. Parsons,” Paisley half-smiled, raising her voice to be heard by everyone on the main floor of the engine room. “As you know, the Captain and First Officer have asked me to fill in as Acting Chief Engineer until a more permanent replacement is found. Happy to serve, of course,” she grinned, her bubbly enthusiasm coming out a bit. “But that means we now need an acting assistant chief. Spoiler alert,” she beamed, “I’ve chosen you.”

Sheldon had opened his mouth to suggest Ensign Declan when F'Rar's words finished registering in his brain. “Muh-muh-me?” he asked, a storm of confusion gathering across his face as his stammer reasserted itself. It did that in unguarded moments of big feelings and being asked to be the assistant chief — acting or not — certainly sparked such. “But I’m just an ensign,” he said, forgetting he’d been about to suggest a fellow ensign himself, “and…I, well, um,” he looked around wildly, unsure what to do or say to confirm his inadequacy as F’Rar’s choice, “I mean, really? Me?” he asked, turning back to Paisley.

“Yep,” she replied brightly, “you. I can fix the ensign thing, by the way. Got permission to bump someone up in rank for this job. And though the gig may not be permanent, the rank boost is. So…is that a yes then? Because,” Paisley bubbled animatedly, “we have a lot to get on top of and I kind of need you to start right away.”

“I gue-yesss?” Sheldon’s half-processed affirmation came out as a blend of words that sounded more like a question than a statement. His brain was struggling to catch up to what was actually happening but he got the gist of it.

“Good. Well then, Lieutenant J.G. Parsons,” Paisley beamed, “let’s get to work. Here, you’ll need this,” she said with aplomb, holding up a dark-cored pip in her right hand. The light caught the glint of silver on the pip’s limned outer shell as the acting chief flicked the pip towards her new second in command.

In her head, Paisley saw Parsons catch the pip with a winning smile and affix it to his collar with pride as everyone cheered around them. In reality, though, Parsons hadn’t been ready for the pip flicked towards his face and raised his hands defensively, causing the little rank marker to bounce off skin and ricochet under the master console.

“Got it,” a crew person piped up, already bending to retrieve the fallen pip. “Um…here you go, sir. Congrats?”she said, chuckling as she held out the little round nub.

“Thank you,” Parsons said quietly, taking the pip and looking at F’Rar. He guessed she was trying to be cavalier and cool in her promotion delivery but she hadn’t counted on his anxious fear responses and delayed mental processing of events. Affixing the best smile he could muster — which looked almost as ridiculous as the eyebrow/squint thing from a few moments earlier — Sheldon nodded. “To work then,” he said, gesturing F’Rar to lead the way, trusting that the others could finish the maintenance plan.

As he walked in the acting chief’s wake, one thought lava-lamped up from his gut: Noah. Would being his boss change and complicate their friendship? He desperately hoped not. But these things could be so awkward — as Iry’s recent job changes had demonstrated — and Sheldon worried that things would shift as a result. They would just have to see, he supposed, but he’d do his best to make sure this change in rank and position — for the time being on that one, it seemed — wouldn’t badly affect things.


=/\= A post by... =/\=

Lieutenant Paisley F'Rar
Acting Chief Engineer

Lieutenant JG Sheldon Parsons
Acting Assistant Chief Engineer