Shakedown Success!

Posted on Thu Jul 4th, 2019 @ 2:59pm by Captain S'vona Daughter of T'nare & Lieutenant Commander Adlyn Rowley
Edited on on Sat Aug 3rd, 2019 @ 3:54am

Mission: Down the Rabbit Hole
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD: 1, Time: 1130

They had successfully pulled into port at the Deep Space Station 317 just fifteen minutes ago. The skeleton crew that managed the Andromeda's shakedown run were getting their system diagnostics done and reports through the gambits. Confirmation was key to make sure that everything was running smoothly with the brand newly minted Akira vessel prior to departure.

Captain S'vona, Daughter of T'nare looked out the window in her office at the busy port beyond them. It was a fairly decently sized outpost on the fringe of explored Federation Territory. It was more of a trader hub for the deep space assignments as Federation territory was every expanding.

The Vulcan waited, her hands clasped behind her back, for the Chief Engineer that was in charge of the maintaining the ships systems as they pushed the ship to the limits from Utopia Planetia shipyards at Mars. She was impressed with the skills of the younger woman, even if she was only younger by a decade. Her sortied past with her own people and Intelligence made her a key asset for the mission that she knew was coming.

The chime at her door rang. "Come," S'vona said calmly without turning around.

"Captain, you requested me?" Adlyn asked as she walked into the room.

"Yes, please take a seat, Lieutenant Commander." S'vona then turned towards the woman and sat down at her side of the desk. "I was impressed with your calmness under some of the more strenuous tests."

Adlyn new that Vulcans were rarely impressed, so the compliment meant that much more to her. "Thank you, Ma'am. It was the first real Shakedown I got to lead, I learned a lot."

"Excellent, I have a few questions of curiosities for you, if you would not mind the indulgence. So you know, I have clearance for your full record, less the bits about your classified portions of your record, but I find it key to learning someone by asking."

That caught Adlyn off guard slightly. She at least had clearance to see the Ekahl information and thankfully not the full clearance to see the Intelligence side of it. "Sure, I can try to answer them."

The Vulcan nodded slightly and folded her hands on the desk in front of her. "You do not need to read me into your classified missions, just more of a general inquiry if you will: you left Starfleet Intelligence, why?"

"It turned out to not be what I expected it to be. I was always told that I could leave whenever I no longer felt like that was my place to be. When that time came, I turned in my request to return to the Fleet full time," Adlyn stated. "My people had a sortied past as well. I started seeing similar tendencies from being forced into that position with my own people and then being in that position again, but this time volunteering didn't settle well with me."

"Values and morals need to be held in the highest regards," S'vona stated calmly. "If Intelligence would come to you and ask you to rejoin their fold, would you?"

"Voluntarily?" Adlyn asked as the woman nodded. "No. I may know how to fight and be that person; I prize myself as an Engineer first, and that person second."

S'vona made a mental note of her priorities to the Federation. "Why did you leave your people and join the Federation?"

Adlyn took a moment to formulate a response, only because she had been asked it time and time before, but it never was the full truth of why and it had been a long time since she had. "Honestly, it was too painful to stay with them. Every day was a reminder of what we had done to ourselves and what we lost, but also to what we survived. I felt that I would do better serving the Federation, living the life I always dreamed to have had with my own people if the war hadn't broken out."

"Before I proceed my inquiry further, I want to offer you a job, if you are willing." She unfolded her hands and slid the PADD over to the Engineer. "I am in need of a Chief Engineering Officer. Your appetite for the unknown, tenacity to be true to yourself, while having good mettle to keep going, and being able to stand your ground are traits that I am looking for. I could use your talents, expertise and pension to look at things differently."

Shocked was an understatement for the Engineer. Adlyn looked at the orders that hadn't been signed off yet. "I can see why me, but they aren't even signed yet?"

The Captain didn't even skip a beat. "I wanted to broach the subject with you first prior to offering it to you. As well, I wanted you to be the one to make the decision if you wanted to remain on board. Your print will make the request official."

It took a couple of minutes looking at the orders in front of her. No one specifically ever sought her out unless it was Intelligence. Normally it was her looking for a job or getting transferred somewhere. This time: it was her choice. She pressed the area on the PADD and handed it back to the Captain. "I accept."

"Wonderful. As Chief Engineer, your department is your purview. All final approvals will go through me. Continue your post shakedown procedures, take time off the ship to enjoy the starbase. Our first mission will be exploratory. Make sure that we have everything that we will need for a deep space assignment. Official orders are pending and will be dispersed when our crew arrives and the Admiral feels we are ready."

That intrigued Adlyn that they were going to go on a deep space assignment; it also made sense. They did one of the longest shakedown cruises to the fringe of explored space. "I'll get to work immediately. Thank you, Captain."

"You are welcome, Commander." She took out a PADD from her desk drawer and handed it to her. "These the crew members from the shakedown cruise that I would like to keep on board. I have requests in for the rest of the officers aboard the ship. Also, contained within will be everything that we should need. Please feel free to change the cargo manifest as you see fit. Report to me tomorrow morning at oh eight hundred with the preliminary shakedown report."

"Ma'am."

The woman stood and extended her hand to the Engineer. "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Commander Adlyn Rowley. I look forward to getting to know you. You are dismissed."

Adlyn shook her hand and took the offered PADD and smiled as she left. She was still in a bit of shock, but not enough that the excitement of the unknown was now at her finger tips and she was set free to do what she saw best. It would be a good time.

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Lt. Commander Adlyn Rowley
Chief Engineering Officer

and

Captain S'vona, Daughter of T'nare
Commanding Officer, NPC