Night Moves

Posted on Tue Jun 22nd, 2021 @ 10:36pm by Lieutenant JG Irynya & Commander Satoru Takomi

Mission: The Place of Skulls
Location: Bridge
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 2330

The Bridge was quiet. The late hour had seen it transition to a skeleton crew, particularly as most of the ship's crew were on about the duties ordered by their Captain and Executive officer. Everywhere else, the entire vessel was likely abuzz with activity, but at its nexus, at that particular moment, there was a strange eddy of calm. Data on screens or hovering in holographic projections gave off a dull and constant glow. Their only accompaniment was the thrum of energy working its way through the conduits or the barely audible buzz of idle consoles.

It was into this serene atmosphere that the Executive Officer strode. The door to the bridge hissed as it opened and admitted him, but as he stepped forward he did his best not to disturb the latent tranquility. Indeed, he paused, closed his eyes for a moment, and his chest and shoulders swelled with a deeply drawn breath. Only when it was exhaled did he open them again, and nodded his head to the few crew members manning the stations... a permission to continue about their business. Permission for all of them except one.

A few moments later found him perched beside the fight control station, his back straight, his hands clasped behind him, and his gaze set forward toward the view screen. "Few enjoy the night shift," he observed, still staring ahead. "They trade shifts to avoid it, or they suffer through it. But... moments of quiet like this. Moments of peace. They are precious. And can bring you closer to your ship." One of his hands disentangled itself from the other then, and rested itself atop the flight control console. "She can talk to you, if you can listen." He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes then. "Commander Takomi Satoru." He inclined his head in greeting as he said it. "Your new Executive Officer. I understand that this is... new... for you as well?"

The helm felt both exceedingly familiar and foreign to Irynya, who had taken a slightly longer shift after the news of Lieutenant Timmoz's departure. While at warp there was minimal amount of work to do, so she had spent the time familiarizing herself with the newer interface and running drills on her console to get her into the swing of piloting a ship of this size. She had, pointedly, not spent time thinking about the implications that Timmoz's departure had for her own status on the crew.

Ahead of her, filling the screen, was the blur of stars that warp speed travel created--a sort of kaleidascope of star light running together. She already missed the view of Risa--its surface resembling that of a variegated marble full of brilliant blues, deep greens, and warm browns. The brilliant colors stood out starkly against the deep black of space. If truth be told she had been daydreaming about it for the last few minutes.

Irynya turned from the view to look up to where the Commander sat. "It is, yes," she replied to his question. "More than a little bit of a surprise as well, if I'm being honest."

"Life's greatest challenges often are." Though the warp-strewn stars were indeed a beautiful sight to behold in the endless twilight of space, it had become clear that Sato's sole attention was now fixated on the junior Lieutenant. He didn't turn fully to regard her, but the fullness of his regard was conveyed well enough by the single eye, barely visible, and the subtle tilt of his head in her direction. "Which then leads me to ask... are you feeling up for it?"

The Risian woman stared down at her console for a moment, considering her response. "Truthfully, sir, I don't know. I'm not Lieutenant Timmoz. I haven't led a department and I've been in Starfleet for less time. I can fly. That part will be fine. But the people part..." She shrugged lightly to indicate her uncertainty. "It's not so much that I don't think I can do it as, I didn't expect to do it any time soon."

His head nodded. Not a brief bob, but a slow and measured motion, one meant to communicate not just hearing, but understanding as well. Indeed, Takomi seemed to be carefully weighing his choice of words, mulling them behind a firm jaw and dark eyes. "Knowing your limitations is the first step in overcoming them," he decided upon at last. "Whether you were prepared for it or not, the expectation has been thrust upon you. It is up to you whether you look upon its sudden arrival as a burden to be borne, or an opportunity to embrace the faith that has been bestowed." For the first time since they began speaking, he smiled. It was a small expression, perhaps only really visible given that he still stood mostly in profile. With little to hide it, the tiny uptick at the corner she could see was more readily apparent. "After all, you would not have been chosen if the Captain did not believe in you."

Irynya nodded as much to herself as in respone to the Commander's compliment. She was glad for the faith the captain placed in her. She was glad for the opportunity to prove herself. But equally she felt a pang of loss at the sudden and unexpected leaving of Lieutenant Timmoz. They may not have been extremely close, but she had appreciated his leadership of their team. It was a working relationship that she had come to cherish. She just hadn't realized how much until she learned that he wasn't leaving with them.

She had been silent a few moments longer than she intended as she mulled over the change in her position and in the team. "I'll do my best to live up to the Captain's faith in me," she finally said, a small smile of her own mirroring Takomi's. "I promise you won't be disappointed."

The low rumble of a chuckle sounded warmly from his throat as he maintained his regard on the young officer, and though he did not immediately offer a reply, it spoke volumes for him when paired with the bow of his head. It was acknowledgement in full. "I expect not." Whatever confidence she may have felt she lacked, that single statement was suffused with. "And to that end, I have your first task." He at last withdrew his hand from the console, and it met once more with the other still tucked at his back. There it retrieved a PADD, which he extended in her direction. "A full review of our flight capabilities. What are her tolerances? What are her preferences? As well as yours." That small smile maintained, and found itself complimented by a slight twinkle in his eye. "I trust it will be comprehensive."

Irynya accepted the PADD, eyes dancing over the details even as the XO described the task. She made a mental note to pull all of the pilots together and make sure they were all clear and comfortable at a Rhode Island class helm. "Of course," she said in response to Takomi's finishing note about the reports comprehensiveness. "Is there a deadline I should be working to for this? Other than ASAP, of course."

"ASAP will do just fine," Takomi agreed with a nod. He even began to turn further away, but paused, reconsidered and added an addendum. "Actually. Slightly less than ASAP would be fine. As you might imagine... I have more than a few of these reports to read through myself." Again that quiet laughter rolled from him, his shoulders moving almost imperceptibly along with it. He studied her for one more moment, placed his hand once more upon the console before her, closed his eyes, nodded his head in satisfaction, and withdrew it. "As you were. Keep up the good work." With that, he turned on his heel and departed.

The young Risian woman watched as the XO quit the bridge, a small swell of pride forming in her chest. She wasn't Timmoz. But she had served under him. And she learned from the best. Settling the PADD on a space next to her console she began bringing up readiness reports from the ship's initial shakedown, settling back into her chair to read. "No time like the present," she muttered, and started to read.

=/\= A mission post by =/\=

Commander Satoru Takomi
Executive Officer

Lieutenant JG Irynya
Acting Chief Flight Controller