Ongoing

Posted on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 @ 6:21am by Lieutenant Oscar Vladinchi

Mission: Onboarding & Departure
Location: Security Office
Timeline: S1 Day 14 Evening Incidentals

Frank left engineering and headed to the Chief of Security's office. He'd only had a brief conversation with Oscar but had seen him in action on the bridge and was impressed. The man definitely had a good working knowledge of his duties and what was necessary to perform them. Standing in front of the office door Frank spoke, "It's the Captain, permission to enter?" Even though he technically didn't need permission to enter, Frank didn't want to violate his crew's personal spaces or offices unnecessarily as it would lower Morale and trust in the captain.

Oscar Vladinchi had briefly retired to his office to handle some shipboard affairs. There had been several shipboard minor incidents since the depature, mainly consisting of the usual violations; an Ensign inappropriately touching a superior officer, a few cases of crewmembers complaining about other crew fraternization, a writeup for a Junior Grade Lieutenant who left his post to watch the Catapault, and various other minor incidents. Oscar knew the situations themselves, while unique to the incidents that sparked them, were not something unique to Starfleet. These things happened all the time, something he was aware of even from his last posting. In particular, the Lieuitenant, Junior Grade who left his post. Oscar didn't have to be told to know that a lot of crew did the exact same thing just to glimpse the catapault if they were near a viewport, this specific junior officer was just unlucky to be caught.

In this light with this knowledge, the Chief of Security's job wasn't to condemn the crew, it was to istill in them the continued sense of Starfleet's expectation of service in whatever capacity that ship permitted. He causally made remarks on his datapad for either a general notice to the crewman to be made, or that the specific crew be given a polite slap on the hand metaphorically; Oscar wasn't some hard-trained monster, he was once a Junior Officer too. In that light, the only situation he shelved for further review is the inappropriately touching Ensign. He scheduled a personal meeting with the individual to offer some correction.

As he set his datapad down, his door chimed. He heard the greeting and stood as he said, "Come!" to welcome the Captain in.

"Sir, I wasn't aware of any shipboard inspections today," Oscar said with a hint of surprise. "To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

"I decided to go for a walk Lieutenant, and visit some of the ships' crew. I know the crew is currently a bit edgy while we pass through to Delta, but I thought I'd check in with you to see how things were going," Frank explained after stepping into the office.

"Other than the usual display of misconduct, the majority of which is explained away, I'd say the crew has displayed themselves admirably so far," Oscar said. He set down his datapad, turning to head over to his office replicator. "Would you like anything, Captain? Please, take a seat if you'd like."

"I appreciate the offer, but I won't be long. I get a bit restless from time to time so I make rounds. I'm glad to know that there has been no activity out of the norm. I did want to let you know, when we arrive in DQ I'd like us to go to Yellow Alert, the scanners won't be online until our arrival so we are essentially flying blind."

The order and statement caught Oscar off guard. He was mid-turn back to his desk, having just replicated a drink for himself, eyes downcast at the mug. His body still as he took in the information, slowly standing firm as his head gazed upward at his Captain. It was as if he had heard something wrong, probably improper, and had been trying to decipher what he thought he heard.

"Yellow Alert, sir? Are we expecting anything in particular or is this just primarily about caution?"

“It is purely for caution I assure you. While traveling in the catapult the long range sensors and communication are both offline. Starfleet controls the Iota System but I don’t want to take any chances. We will go to Yellow and have the shields up. Weapons will be on standby but I hope we will not need them. I was thinking earlier, if I wanted to get the jump on a Starship it would be best to hit them when they’re blind so to speak. I’m hoping this is just an old man’s overactive brain,” Frank said with a slight smile mostly hidden by his gray beard.

"As much as I agree with your line of perception, I must remind you that Starfleet discourages a shoot-first policy," Oscar said, a slight smirk on his expression. "I am of the same mind, and will ensure we get the jump on anyone. But unless we are in danger, I don't feel comfortable shooting first without proper prerogative."

“That is why we will be at yellow alert upon our exit, it just means the shields will be in place. We will scan the area immediately upon our exit. If all is well we will be leaving yellow alert within five minutes of our arrival. This is standard Starfleet operating procedures,” Frank tried to explain without sounding angry.

Oscar faced the Captain, hands behind back. He wanted to retort, say something smartly, but kept himself quiet. He simply nodded, looking away. "Of course, Captain. You are correct. As you have instructed, so it shall be."

The Chief of Security proceeded towards his desk, one hand on it, leaning softly as he faced his Captain. "Is there anything else, Captain? I need to get back to my duties."

Frank pauses for a moment thinking about what the Chief has said about the yellow alert, ”On second thought what do you think about a blue alert, instead of yellow? Our shields will be up and everyone will be on standby but it is a non aggressive posture?”

This question took the Chief of Security aback, he thinking hard as he toom a second look at his Captain. He pondered the significance of the alert and the situation itself. Nodding, he looked at his Captain again.

"I think it's appropriate," Oscar said. "Blue alert has traditionally been used to signify a special situation that warrants attention or caution. I think it'll fit quite well in this circumstance. I can arrange that once we drop from whatever conveyance we ride to the Delta."

"I have one more request Lieutenant, but I'd like you to keep it quiet for now. I'm concerned about the ship having two sensor issues, and losing the gravity containment. I don't want to read to much into the situation yet, but I'd like you to review the security access logs for the gravity systems on the bridge."

"I believe you and I have the same issues," Oscar stated, bluntly. "I find it very surprising that such issues which, normally, are fixed and tested thoroughly in drydock happen to show themselves once we launch. It could be a fluke, it could all be one big fluke because a simple engineer was having a bad day - maybe he or she got sick. Maybe it's sabotage. I'll verify the logs and check for any discrepancies."

“Thank you for your time Lieutenant, I will check in with you tomorrow to discuss your findings,” Frank replied as he left and returned to the Ready Room.

Commander Frank Kamar Jr.
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Oscar Vladinchi
Chief of Security