Clear as Mud

Posted on Sun Aug 25th, 2019 @ 10:33pm by Lieutenant Vasily Andropov II & Captain Aviram Drell

Mission: Episode 01: "Vestal Hearth"
Location: CO's Ready Room
Timeline: Day 01, 1104 Hours

ON: [[Main Bridge, USS Vesta, Day 01, 1104 Hours]]

After meeting with the XO he was about as sure about the current mission as he had been when he boarded, not at all. Regardless, he was going to next introduce himself to the master of the vessel, Captain Drell.

Vasily didn't know much about the Captain aside from his age, which was incredible though unsurprising for an El-Aurian, and that he had spent his career as a counselor and diplomat. Spending as much time as he did around such people he had grown an appreciation for them, often going into the same places he did sans weapons. Sure, they went in with diplomatic security but it was little comfort when a bomb could go off. Making his way to the door he knocked, rather old fashioned in this day and age.

[[Ready Room, USS Vesta]]

The sound of someone physically knocking against the ready room door caused Drell to look up. In an age where so many things were automated, especially aboard a starship, it wasn't everyday one heard such an analog sound. It was unique and the novelty of it brought a smile to his face.

"Enter," he called.

Vasily walked into ready room, not sure what to expect. Considering his introduction to the Executive Officer was less than ideal, this one was going to likely be less awkward. Seeing the Captain he stood at attention, "Sir, Lieutenant Andropov reports as ordered."

"Lieutenant," Drell said, greeting the man warmly. He had not expected to be meeting another new arrival so soon after returning to the ship, though the opportunity was a welcome one nonetheless. With a slight twist of his hand, he closed the book he'd been reading, set it aside on the nearby end table, and rose to his feet. "So good to finally meeting you in person...and to be able to put a face to the name."

"Likewise Captain," Vasily dropped the rigid posture upon hear Drell's tone. He couldn't quite match the optimism, certainly not the warmth, in the older man's voice. He offered his hand, figuring it the polite thing to do, "Happy to once more be on the frontier."

They shook.

Once that was done, the two made their way over toward the desk, Drell in the lead. He motioned for Andropov to sit and then did so himself.

"I'm afraid we didn't get a chance to talk earlier," Drell apologized. Ordinarily, he would have already been in contact with someone like Andropov well before they were ever assigned to his senior staff. At the very least, he usually made the effort to reach out after the orders had come through, before they actually arrived aboard ship. In this case, it just hadn't worked out that way.

"Your service record was quite impressive," he continued, “I see you spent time planet-side, both on Vulcan and on Earth.”

"I have," Vasily's tone was matter of factly, "Headquarters detail and instructor billet respectively."

“...and how did you feel about those experiences?”

It wasn't a question he had been expecting, nor did he really have any practiced or even articulate answers for, "Vulcan was...peaceful, quiet," Dull, uncomfortable, "and very routine. Not much changed day to day. Back on Earth it seemed there was a new challenge everyday, I rather enjoyed my time as an instructor."

"Indeed.” It said a lot that Andropov hadn't gone into that much more detail. Based on what Drell had just heard, as well as what he'd already read, it seemed to him the younger man was not at all fond of shore duty. “You and I both know, though, there's more to an officer than their record,” he said, “Tell me, what are you most looking forward to with this assignment, lieutenant?"

"Of course, nuance doesn't carry well through standard reports," That had been a question he was expecting, one that he had been asked in one form or another throughout his career. Still, it had always been one of his least favorite since it seemed any answer he'd give would be underwhelming, "A chance to support Starfleet's Primary Missions to the best of my ability."

It had been a long time since Vasily had been out in direct action, a gross misuse of his capabilities as he saw it. Even with his injury he still had something to give to the Federation beyond sitting at a desk, reminiscing about his days kicking down doors. It wasn't the answer he would give, "And contribute in some small way to the stability of the Universe."

To a casual observer, Andropov's answers might have sounded spot on. They were aspirational and forward-looking without naming too many specifics. Fairly typical for a first time sit-down with the captain, especially when one wanted to make a good impression.

Drell had been around long enough, however, to read what was happening below the surface. He'd seen it countless times before in both civilians and military personnel. Thus, these few spoken statements offered him valuable insight into the man seated across from him. They confirmed his suspicions about Andropov's motivation for accepting this assignment. He knew he would have to be mindful of this moving forward.

"Sounds like a pretty tall order, lieutenant," Drell told him, "though I have a feeling you'll find yourself having the opportunity to fill it sooner rather than later."

"I figure every peaceful outing is itself stabilizing," Vasily wasn't entirely sure what the boss meant, whether he was leading him to more specific answer or it was the counselor reading more into his statement than he intended, "And my primary job is to maintain that peace in any form I need to."

"Naturally."

Drell took that opportunity to reach over and lift a PADD from the corner of his desk. At his touch, the device came to life, causing several lines of text to appear on the screen. He glanced at them briefly before turning the device around and holding it out for Andropov to take.

Vasily took the PADD, a dossier of a woman displayed on it, “Who is she?”

"Your new partner, I hope," Drell replied.

There was likely a joke in there, or at least an invitation to one. She was a marine, a force that hadn’t appeared on the permanent party rosters he studied before coming aboard. Scrolling through it he looked up, expecting the Captain to add some detail.

"First Lieutenant Horis has been with us a couple years now," Drell explained, "She leads a detachment of marines out of Starbase 332 assigned to provide diplomatic protection and, of course, make sure the quantum slipstream drive remains secure."

“What do you expect of our working relationship?” Unlike some in his career field Vasily held no animosity towards the green shirts, though he held no special place of reverence for them either. They both had their missions, usually the issues rose when those lines blurred and there was no clear guidance from the top. As a younger man he would let the Platoon and Company commanders handle to coordination, that task would be his now. Joy.

"Same as any other." Drell had never really understood the stories that went around about animosity between Starfleet personnel and marines. Every time he'd worked with them, it had always been professional. That included his recent experiences over the last couple years as the Vesta's commanding officer. "The advantage here is that you’ve both had experience in the field," he told Andropov, "which means the two of you should be able to work something out."

Which meant that he was not going to get any clear guidance from his chain of command, something he was less than thrilled about. That meant he would sit down with the Marine Officer, they would come to an agreement, and that agreement would disintegrate the moment a gray area was crossed, then the Captain would wonder what went wrong, "We'll do our best to work out a plan."

"Excellent."

Vasily knew he was being given a level of trust, faith that he could work out things on the action officer level. He'd have to accept that as a good thing, happy that he still remembered the security duties as laid out in doctrine having taught it enough, "Anything else sir?"

"Not that I can think of," Drell replied. They'd pretty well covered the basic essentials. Anything else would surely be addressed at some point moving forward. For now, things seemed like they were on the right track. "Just be sure you make time for shoreleave while we're here," he said, "You never know when the next opportunity will be..."

OFF

---

Captain Aviram Drell
Commanding Officer
USS Vesta (NX-94200)

Lieutenant Vasily Andropov II
Chief Security Officer
USS Vesta (NX-94200)