Patience is a virtue

Posted on Mon Mar 30th, 2020 @ 2:58pm by Lieutenant Commander Akaria Okan

Mission: Episode 03: "Interlude"
Location: Stellar Sciences Department
Timeline: Day 1 at 1455

It was dark, quiet, and very cool. As the doors closed behind her, sealing off the light coming in from the corridor and leaving her standing in the entrance to the main astrometrics lab, looking at the wall to wall consoles and displays being manned by various members of the astrometrics team. She was, however, looking for a very specific individual, Ensign Smyth, the teams only Trill.

Spotting him at one of the main consoles, Akaria began to make her way towards him. Her hands were folded behind her back, a PADD securely clasped in her left hand. As she approached her target, she glanced around the labs, taking in the various things she was seeing, and marking those which were of an intriguing nature for her to look into more closely when the progress reports for the projects were submitted.

Finally approaching the Ensign’s station, she stopped an appropriate distance away and then spoke, "Ensign Smyth, may I have a moment of your time?"

Lukiz couldn't help but roll his eyes as the Chief of his department interrupted his analysis of the cloud of stellar debris that had, for reasons unbeknown to anyone, appeared around the third planet in the Kaus Borealis system. He was just starting to get somewhere! Pressing pause on his analysis so that he didn't miss anything crucial, the spotted Trill turned on his heels. "Yes, Commander?"

Noting the tone of the man's voice, and the body language he was employing, likely subconsciously, Akaria had to suppress her urge to smile. She'd heard he had a bit of a temper and could be somewhat feisty at times, and apparently that information had been quite correct. Turning her attention back to the reason she was here, she brought the PADD out from behind her back, holding it out to him.

Once he had taken it she began to explain, "I understand that you are very busy, Ensign and that you already have a project you are working on, however, you are also my most talented team member when it comes to gaseous anomalies, and I have just received word that we will be passing incredibly close to one in the coming days. I would like you to put together a small team, get some probes ready, and get a station set up so you can study it," she said.

"From what I've read so far, it seems to be fairly unusual, and Starfleet is wanting as thorough an investigation as we can supply. There's even talk of sending a science vessel out to study it depending on what we find here on the Vesta. I've seen initial scientists pulled to head up such assignments before, so that isn't outside of the realms of possibility if you find something truly impressive," she finished, hopefully appealing to a sense of possible achievement and ambition.

"That'll be..." he paused as he noted the expression on his superior's face, and also channelled the reminders of his parents when he had told them of his intentions to join Starfleet. Patience and tolerance would be virtues required in extreme amounts on a Federation starship. Instead of his intended response, the Trill nodded slowly, "that'll be exciting ma’am. I'll put a team together immediately."

"Thank you, Ensign. Now, before you do that, please, tell me how you are finding your time here on the Vesta? Are you happy with your assignment? Is there anything I can do, short of interrupting your work, to make things easier for you?" she asked, unable to resist at least a slight playful dig at her underling.

'Ah, crap!’ he cursed inwardly; she'd rumbled his irritation and was now mocking him for it. It was time for him to make amends in the eyes of his superior or his assignment to the Vesta would probably be quite brief. "Don't get me wrong ma’am, I am loving my time on the Vesta, and as a member of your department specifically, it's just..." he trailed off as he sat back on the edge of his console and folded his arms across his chest in a protective stance, "every time it seems like I'm going to get my research done, or I'm going to complete a project, something else comes along. Like last week, for example. What was supposed to be a quiet time where I could get my research done, was interrupted by Petty Officer Jackson hogging all of our sensor time," he moaned, no doubt sounding like a petulant child in the process.

Waving her hand to the console, Akaria asked, "May I join you?", and then leaned against the console as well, hands clasped at her waist. Looking out over the room with a smile, she pondered how best to address this with the man beside him. Finally, looking over at him, she nodded, "I get it. Trust me. You have every right to be frustrated. When I first started out as a science officer I was the exact same way. I'd get something started, something I really, truly cared about, and suddenly something else would be thrown my way, and the old project would have to be put aside. Sometimes I never got to revisit them. Sometimes they got reassigned. But do you know what I discovered?" she asked, and waited for him to reply.

"That once you became Chief you had your pick of the assignments?" he smirked as he loosened up a little. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all?

Akaria gave the man a sideways glance and then chuckled, "You are going to be one very disappointed man if you ever make it to my position and expect that to be the case..." she quipped, and then turned serious. "Actually, what I discovered was that so long as I was able to contribute in any way, even if it wasn't as the person who got to start and finish a project, it still let me be of service to my people. Once I realized that it got a little easier to accept that sometimes I wouldn't get to do exactly what I might want, or get to be the main contributor on a project, it let me understand that I still mattered, and I was still doing important work to further the knowledge of the Federation."

"But I want to do a doctorate," he admitted to her, the first time he had told anyone of his desire to fully commit to the sciences for the rest of his career. "To do that, I need to start and complete research and studies. If I never get chance to do them now, it'll be too hard when I come to do my doctorate," he frowned sadly. He had been in love with science since the first time he had scanned the stars with his fathers telescope and it made him sad to think that he'd struggle to get where he so longed to be.

Akaria gave him a sympathetic look. She knew exactly how he felt, and she was very glad to know she had someone on her team that had such a drive to succeed and reach his goals. "How about this? Keep your spirits up, keep focused on your work, and I will ensure that you get as many assignments as I can that you will be able to complete. That sound good?" she asked.

"Thank you, Commander," he nodded in acceptance, "I'd appreciate it." Perhaps the Cardassian wasn't so bad after all?

Moving to stand back up, Akaria nodded, "Good, glad that's settled. Now, I'll get out of your hair. Remember my door is always open, so if you are having any problems, or you need anything at all, just reach out. I don't sleep a lot, and I'm not very social, so odds are you'll find me in my office, or in my quarters working just for a change of scenery," she said with a smile.

"Why is it that most scientists are... what was it my father said?" he mused, before a light bulb moment triggered by a memory, "ah, yes! Antisocial gits..." he added. "Something he learnt from the Federation Ambassador if I remember rightly," he smirked.

"I really don't know, actually. I think it's because that particular personality quirk makes it easier for us to be dispassionate about things, and look at them more logically. We aren't as sentimental, so the social niceties often elude us, or seem silly. That's just my hypothesis, however," Akaria said, answering the question she'd often wondered about when she wasn't busy doing other things.

"And a sound one I am sure, sir," the Trill grinned before sheepishly pointing to his research. "I should get back to this before it gets delegated elsewhere..." he trailed off, waiting for permission from her superior.

"By all means, Ensign. Enjoy the rest of your day," Akaria replied with a smile, and then turned to leave.

Lukiz watched the Lieutenant leave and, when he was content that he was alone again, he let out a sigh and shook his head as he turned back to his research. If he ever got promoted, he would make sure he got all the best assignments. But, for now, he was the junior and he’d just have to hope that whoever picked up where he left off would be competent enough to finish his task.

Headed for the nearest turbo lift, the Cardassian was secretly satisfied with the outcome of her meeting with the Trill when her commbadge chirped. “=/\=T’less to Commander Okan,” the stoic voice called out over the comm.

“=/\=Okan here,” the Cardassian responded as she pressed the door chime to call the turbo lift.

“=/\=Commander,” the Vulcan spoke in her usual tone of indifference, her eyes never leaving the PADD she was reading, “there appears to be an issue with the astrometric sensors,” the Vulcan declared.

“=/\=Have you reported the issue to engineering?” the Cardassian inquired as she entered the lift and directed it to Astrometrics.

“=/\=Naturally,” the Vulcan countered, “however they indicate it could take a number of hours before a member of the engineering team is available to respond.”

A loud sigh from the Cardassian, to accompany the growing irritation she was feeling, signalled her frustration. “=/\=I’m on my way…”

Off:

Lt. Commander Akaria Okan, Chief Science Officer
Ensign Lukiz Smyth, Stellar Sciences Division (NPC)
USS Vesta (NX-94200)