Reporting

Posted on Wed 4th Jul, 2012 @ 6:22pm by Lieutenant Commander Clark Patterson & Senior Chief Petty Officer Fihnrilk'Hob"ledn-ardol (Fin)

1,375 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: http://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/missions/id/2
Location: IO
Timeline: Io
Tags:

As Fin ran a comb through her coppery hair, she once again sent a silent thanks into the ether for Admiral Elgin. The Cam h'lan body he'd procured for her was exquisite. It was nothing like the lst one she'd lived in and she doubted it looked anything like the next one she would requisition. Despite the attractiveness of her current 'shell', her favorite thing about it was its voice. The last body she'd had was Ferengi and the nasal qualities of that voice grated on her nerves. She thought herself very lucky to now have a vocal sound that was like honey poured on chocolate. Sweet, smooth and rich.

It was time to meet her new boss. LtCmdr Clark Patterson. She wondered what kind of man he was and if he knew that at one time she'd also held the rank of LtCmdr. Elgin had assured her that her files were sealed, but sometimes that didn't mean squat to others in Intel.

Dressed in the dark charcoal she favored, Fin made her way to Patterson's office.

Ckark Patterson was sitting in his office reading threw a letter that his dad sent him. He walked up to his replicator he ordered some coffee when he heard the door peep. "Come," he said turning to the door.

When the door opened to reveal Patterson, Fin nearly laughed. He was a baby! He couldn't be more than 24 or 25, probably even younger than that. Elgin must have been laughing up his sleeve when he assigned her to the Protector knowing she would consider her 'boss' a child.

Well, there was nothing she could do about it now. She needed to lay low and the starbase seemed like a good place to do that. She entered the room and stopped before the desk. SCPO Fihnrilk'Hob"ledn-ardol reporting for duty, Sir." There was something odd about the way she pronounced her name. It sounded as if part of it was said during an inhalation. "Everyone not on my world calls me Fin."

"is there something funny, Senior Chief?" Patterson said facing his subordinate in a serious tone.

"Not that I know of, Sir. Why do you ask?" The situation was far from humorous. It would take real patience on her part to act like she thought he was in charge.

Clark raised his eyebrow. He could feel her holding back from laughing. He put his best poker face before continuing. "Please take a seat Senior Chief. Can I get you anything from the replicator?"

Fin took the offered chair and crossed her legs. "No thank you."

"Very well then, Fin. Tell me about yourself?"

He didn't really expect information did he? She was Intel---Intel didn't reveal anything important about themselves to people they didn't know, even if that person was their new 'boss'. "I've lived a long life, had many experiences and hope to have many more. I have no family that I know of and have been doing this kind of work a lot longer than you." Her voice was not combative, she was simply stating a fact. If Patterson went to the academy at 16 like most recruits, and spent four years in training, that meant he graduated only 2 or three years ago.

"I have a question for you now. How did you go from ensign to LtCmdr in just a couple of years?"

"I'm good at my job. I trained as an engineer at the Academy, graduated as an ensign. When I got out I was asked by intel to work with them. After a 4 months of training, I had to move up in rank in order to get access to more intelligence, that's how I made Lieutenant. Two years later I was asked to choose between a position on a starbase close to the klingon front or here. I chose here, And was giving the position of Chief Intelligence Officer with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. I also don't have any family aside from my adoptive father. He always told me that if your going into hell you might as well have the best intel you can get. You and I are here to make sure that happens."

Fin looked over the young man. "Well, I know I'm one of the best, but I'll hold my opinion of your abilities until I see some of them." He was a rookie as far as she was concerned, with only two years of Intel experience...well, there was no doubt he had a lot more he could learn. She'd been working for Admiral Elgin a long time and done things in the name of Starfleet that she could never admit to. Her species made her uniquely gifted for infiltration work.

Although she looked 26 or 27, the body she possessed wasn't the one she was born in. She had lifetimes of experience over Patterson. She wasn't lording that over him, but it was a fact.

Clark could tell that something was up with Fin, it was obvious to him that she had doubt in his ability to be Chief. It was clear she had doubt in him. "Look, if Star Fleet didn't want me at this post they would not have put me here. I need to be able to trust in your abilities. Your job is infiltration specialists and if I can't trust your intel, then your useless to me." He said in a calm voice.

So, he had some spirit! One corner of her mouth lifted in a smile. "You can absolutely trust in my abilities. I've been doing this kind of work for a long time." She couldn't tell him about it because Intel just didn't work that way. If you discovered something about a coworker it was usually because you did some digging on your own. "And rest easy, Cmdr. I don't want your job. However, I also have to trust in YOUR abilities and I just don't know if you've got enough experience yet. I guess time will tell."

"Now, I feel like if I don't have to remind you that excitement, humor, enthusiasm all have their place as long as you do your job well, approach each task with the seriousness it demands, don't trust what you cannot confirm, don't let personal feelings or your opinion affect your judgement, and be safe. What good does a dead specialists do me?"

She wondered at the change in topic, but went with it. "I have no intention of dying, Cmdr. You HAVE read my file, haven't you?" Perhaps he hadn't and didn't know about her ability to move from one body to another.

"Only what Admiral Elgin provided me with." Clark said. "Your species ability is nothing less then amazing."

"My people have such a strong aversion to death that we will take on just about any organic shell in order to avoid it." Fin stood and began to move around the office. Nervous energy needing a place to go. "So where and when should I report for my first shift?"

"Section 4 of this deck, 0830. I asked the Lieutenant Colonel Drake if we can use it. It's a computer access lab, with a secure link to the Federation Database. I like the view. There three minor missions right now. There due to start in two days. Two are going to the beta quadrant and one is a transfer of civis from Earth to here. I want you to gather background checks for the 30 civis make sure Earth didn't miss anything. That's it for now. I got the other two missions taken care off. "

She looked at him and really smiled for the first time. "I'll take care of it. One other question...what's the uniform for us on the starbase?"

"Technically, we wear a standard dress uniform, with a white dress shirt. But as long as you wear something that's appropriate you'll be fine." Clark said.

She walked over to stand in front of Patterson's desk. "I'll make sure I dress appropriately then. Did you have any other questions for me, Cmdr?"

"No, I'll see you tomorrow Senior Chief." Clark said.

Fin headed for the door, tossing a "Tomorrow..." over her shoulder as she went.


.:END:.

SCPO Fin
Infiltration Specialist

Lieutenant Commander Clark Patterson
Chief intelligence Officer

 

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