It's A Numbers Game (Part 1)

Posted on Mon Nov 6th, 2023 @ 7:35pm by Lieutenant Ami Rori & Captain Maho Takahashi

1,228 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Operation Tokyo Return
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: Shortly After 'You've Got The Power'

Ami looked up from her console on the bridge to locate the Captain, then blinked twice in some surprise as many of the bridge crew had already left. And none of them had said anything to her! Or at least she thought none of them had. She thought back over the last hour or so and there had been noises, but she'd been so focused on putting together her report that she'd basically tuned everyone out. A particular face in peripheral vision matched that of the Chief Flight Control Officer before she headed off, but the words spoken hadn't clicked into her memory. The small woman sighed as she stood from the seat and retrieved the PADD from where it was connected and tucked it into her hand, clutched to her chest as she again sought the Captain.

"She's in her ready room." The officer at the Helm watching the ship's course through warp remarked as he noticed her look of puzzlement.

"Arigato."(Thank you) Ami said, relief wanting her body to sag, but that would be... Not so good. "Presentable?" She asked, getting a nod and a wink from the helmsman that she answered with a smile. "Thanks.. Again." Then she meandered her way up to the Ready Room door and pressed the chime, "Lieutenant Sai-" She sighed heavily, "Rori to see the Captain."

Ever since Captain Aisaka and Commander Takasu had beamed aboard, Maho's mood had been foul. Since leaving Spacedock, Maho had been in her ready room, tearing some admiral a new asshole over Starfleet's decision to lump her with transporting Captain Aisaka to Beta Antares.

"Hundreds of ships responded to the insurrection!" Maho could be heard yelling through the ready room doors. "And you're telling me literally nobody else could take that short stupid sack of shit to Beta Antares?"

The chime ringing a second time finally caught Maho's attention.

"Excuse me, I have to take this." She said. "But this isn't over!"

Closing the communications channel, Maho sat back down in her chair and sighed as the screen lowered down into the desk.

"Enter." She called out.

The noise coming through the supposedly soundproof walls made Ami worry for a few seconds as she considered the report in her hands. A reassuring voice only she could hear reminded her that she was doing her best and that the report she held was proof that she knew what she was doing. So as the door slid open in front of her, she stepped in and put a smile on her face, "I do apologize for disrupting your... Conversation, Captain, but I do have that report you asked for." She took the several steps that would bring her in front of the Captain's desk, proffering the PADD as she imagined the Captain towering over her, despite knowing that they were very nearly a match in height.

Maho took the PADD from Ami and began looking it over.

"That was quite fast, Lieutenant:" She said observantly, noting that it had been only two hours since departing Earth, and the report she had asked for was already in her hands. "Normally, senior officers tend to stretch the 24 hours I allow to pass before I start to wonder where the reports I asked for were."

“Why?” Ami genuinely asked, sitting down in one of the chairs and tucking her hands between her legs to keep them warmer, “I had the data I needed either memorized or available at hand, plus I wanted to keep busy once I got aboard so I just jumped right in. Intentional procrastination isn’t productive in any way, so I don’t. Especially in engineering, a few hours can be crucial, a few minutes critical and a few seconds absolutely irreplaceable in certain situations.”

"Now that's the kind of attitude I look for in a senior officer." Maho said, seemingly pleased, before going back to the report. "Perhaps you will indeed prove your usefulness to this ship..."

About a minute passed as Maho read over the report before she finally reached the conclusion.

"As thorough as this report is, it is missing perhaps the most important piece of information I requested:" She said once she had finished reading it. "The names and ranks of all engineers who willingly withheld the truth about our readiness from a superior officer. Unless these readiness parameters you go over prohibit you from mentioning their names to protect them from being submitted to a JAG officer for review, the proper procedure for Starfleet Captains to deal with any Starfleet Officer who willingly withholds accurate information from a superior officer."

"Then you better put my name right at the top of the list, Captain, because in the end, it's my responsibility as Department Head to make sure the ship is ready, doesn't matter if I've been aboard a year, a day or an hour." Ami held her head up higher as if in defiance, "If I had thought the ship was incapable of deployment, even being brand new on board I would have said so. Nobody withheld the truth of Myogi's capability." She wasn't aware that her hands were now balled into fists at her sides, then nodded towards the report, "But as I have indicated, we have met the parameters for prospective deployment in excess of minimums. I'm confident that if you submit any or all the personnel aboard here or the Starbase to JAG, that they'll clear us of all potential charges."

Ami paused for a heartbeat, knowing that her temper was getting the best of her right now, slow to kindle, hot to burn, "But if you're looking for the names of the people who determined the minimum status levels for deployment, keep in mind that most of them start with 'Admiral' or are dead. In fact, the only active service officer involved in the original orders is Vice Admiral Serey, a Vulcan whom I had an argument with about this whole thing over a century ago. She didn't back down then and now she's ancient and set to retire in a few months. That was back when we only had a couple hundred ships all told in the Federation, not several thousand like we do now. Back then, we needed every starship out as much as possible, holding them back for detailed repairs would open up gaps in our defensive net." She looked up from the hole she imagined burning in the desk, "But regardless, we're going to be at our maximum operating efficiency within 48 days even if I have to stay awake the entire time to get it done."

Maho sighed.

"Well, I hate to do it this way, but since you've left me no other choice, I shall be submitting every engineer on this vessel to a JAG officer for willingly withholding information from a superior officer." Maho explained. "It's nothing personal, Lieutenant; just official proceedings. The JAG officer I will be submitting everyone's names to is one Commodore Honda trusts, and I'm sure he will consider you and your department fairly. If this matter is as trivial as you say, then he will dismiss all your cases."

To be continued...

Mission Post by:

Captain Maho Takahashi
Commanding Officer
USS Myogi

and

Lieutenant Ami Rori
Chief Engineer
USS Myogi

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