A Second Officer
Posted on Thu Jan 16th, 2025 @ 4:49am by Captain Remy Johansen & Commander Maxun Spello & Lieutenant Commander Eirly Andersen
1,696 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Gone, Without Ever Knowing the Way
Location: Deck 2, First Officer's Office
Timeline: MD 1
Captain Johansen had asked Commander Spello to meet in his office. She had something important to discuss and didn't want the senior staff speculating. If she didn't appoint a Second Officer soon they most certainly would be, if they weren't already. The Captain didn't know where he was coming from, so when she arrived she wasn't sure if he was already there or on his way. She activated the door chime announcing her arrival just in case.
Standing at his replicator, ordering up a pot of tea for the both of them, Maxun said aloud, "Please come in, Captain!"
Remy stepped in as the door opened. "Good morning, Commander. Thanks for having me. How is everything today?" She asked.
He grinned politely ad he replied. "Of course, Captain. My door is always open for you." He carried the tray with the teapot and two cups over to his desk and set them down. "Things are going well, thank you for asking." He paused briefly, then grinned softly. "If you'll forgive me saying do, Ma'am, but since we returned from shore leave, you seem to be glowing. I take it you had an enjoyable time on the planet?"
"It was one of those rare opportunities I got to actually be off duty without having to worry that there would be something calling me to action at any moment. It had been a long time since I've actually taken any vacation, I suppose I was convinced to make the most of it," Remy admitted as she reached for a cup of tea. "Hopefully you had a good time as well?"
The El Aurian smiled politely as he picked up his cup of tea, then sat down behind his desk. "I'll say that it was certainly one of my more enjoyable shore leaves." He left out that he has spent the time, intimate time, with Chrysanthe, as it was no one's business but theirs.
After taking a sip of his tea, he put the cup down and looked at Remy, as he asked, "So. What can I do for you today, Ma'am?"
"With the ship getting closer to full staff, including our chief's positions, I've been thinking a lot more about who I like for second officer. Obviously, many of the senior staff are technically qualified, but to balance out your strengths, there's someone who has been stepping up lately who stands out to me more than others."
The Captain handed Spello a PADD with Lieutenant Andersen's profile, edited to highlight the particular characteristics and experience that Remy was talking about.
"I know she's a bit younger than some of the others, but when it comes to dedicated loyalty to Starfleet and keen instincts, and a knack for detail - not just for the ship, but with people, I love her for it. What are your thoughts?" She asked.
Maxun took the offered PADD and looked through the personnel file, although, as he had memorized everyone's likes, there wasn't much new information found here. Nodding his head, he replied. "I concur, Captain. She would make a fine addition to the command team." He handed the hand-held device back to Remy. "Would you like me to call her up here?"
The Captain smiled and gave Spello a short nod. "Yes, let's see if she can spare a moment of her day for us."
Maxun nodded, then reachedup and tapped his commbadge. "Commander Spello to Lieutenant Andersen."
"Lieutenant Andersen here, what can I do for you, Commander?" The cheerful reply of Eirly came through. She'd just finished putting through a maintenance request for someone from Engineering to fix one of the forcefields in the brig and was in the process of getting her desk cleaned up when the call came through.
The El Aurian First Officer's voice replied. "Would you come up to my office, Eirly? The Captain and I want you talk to you about something."
That was weird: both of them wanted to see her? Whatever the reason, it must be important, right? "Give me five minutes and I'll be there, sir." The desk cleaning could wait a little bit longer, it wasn't going anywhere, so she picked up an unused PADD and took it with her just in case.
As she stated, Eirly was at Spello's office and waved her hand over the chime to announce her arrival. The door opened to reveal both the Captain and Commander, "Captain, Commander. You wanted to see me about something?"
As it was his office, Maxun stood and gave Eirly a friendly grin. "Come on in. Would you care for some tea?" He indicated the pot on his desk.
"I'll never pass up a good cup of tea, sir, thank you," Eirly gave him her best smile as she walked in further, poured herself a tea and took a seat on one of the available chairs. "So, what can I do for you both today? I hope this is nothing bad?" The tea was actually surprisingly good.
The Captain spoke up. "We actually asked you here, to talk about the Second Officer position. It's been open since I took command, and I haven't been in a rush to fill it. But now that the crew is looking a little more filled out, and our key senior staff positions are filled, I think it's time that put someone into the position," Remy explained.
"The Commander and I both think that you are an excellent fit for the position. If you're interested."
Eirly's eyebrows raised as she realised what Remy had just said, "That's an amazing opportunity, and I'd like to accept it. Thank you!" She could feel the excited energy building inside her, but chose to settle for a calm exterior, "Can I just ask what this position is going to entail? And how you came to consider me for it?"
Maxun spoke next. "Traditionally, the Second Officer, being the third in command, would assume command of the ship, should both the Captain and First Officer be rendered incapacitated. During your day-to-day duties, while you lead your own department, you will assist the other senior officers in the various aspects of ship operations." He took a breath, then continued. "This is typically seen as the main stepping stone towards earning the command of a starship one day in the foreseeable future. As such, the position is only offered to someone whom both the XO and CO trust and feel is worthy of the challenge. And it will be a challenge, Eirly," he said gently. "There will be times that your duty shift will swap back and forth over the entire rotation. While you will still be Chief Tactical and Security Officer, there will be times that your assistant department head will stand the Alpha bridge shift, while you are on a later shift." He paused, giving her a thoughtful look. "Do you feel that you are up to the challenge?"
Eirly released a breath, "So just to be clear, this is additional to what I'm currently doing now?" She pondered for a moment before looking at them both. "I accept this position offer either way, but I'll be honest and admit that I've never thought about going down the command track or captaining my own ship. I've always just been happy to serve as long as I can."
"Yes, a second officer usually maintains their department head position while taking on second officer responsibilities. Delegation of certain specific duties to make room for your executive ones is expected. How that looks is largely a judgement call, but it gives your Assistant Chief and others in the department opportunities to train and show that they are ready for leadership as well," the Captain reminded her.
Eirly nodded in response, "That would definitely give me an opportunity to get a better feel for how Lieutenant Xalanth is doing in his role... When are you looking at having this role be effective from?"
Maxun glanced first to Remy, then looked at Eirly as he replied. "It would be effective immediately, Eirly." He gave her a friendly grin.
"Effective immediately?" Eirly replied with a raised eyebrow and a slow nod, "I can do effective immediately. Is there any paperwork that needs to be signed or anything to confirm it in writing?"
"Report to the Bridge at 1500 hours. Mr. Spello can work out any additional details with you before then." The Captain stood up. "I'll put in the recommendation for your promotion to Lieutenant Commander this morning. It may not be confirmed by this afternoon, but hopefully within a day or two."
"Congratulations, Lieutenant. Welcome to the command team." Remy extended a hand to Eirly.
"And a promotion as well?! This.... Thank you both, so much." Eirly stood and shook Remy's hand, then extended the handshake to Maxun as well. When she'd woken up this morning, she hadn't expected anything like this to happen. "I look forward to working with you both."
Maxun stood when Remy did, then stepped around his desk and shook Eirly's offered hand with a friendly grin. "I'll annotate the changes in your duty status in the computer in a few minutes. You'll get a message about your updated security clearances, both from the new job and your new rank, before you start your shift on the bridge. As you're the Security Chief, you should be able file the necessary reports easily enough."
"That's easy enough to do without any issues, I'll get that done as soon as they come through," Eirly replied as she took a step back, "Is there anything else I'm required for? Because I'll take my leave now and let you two continue to chat." A shake of the head from both of them and Eirly took it as her sign to leave, exiting and making her way back to her office with an not quite suppressed smile on her face.
After Eirly left, Maxun looked at Remy and grinned. "She'll do just fine in the position."
Remy nodded. "Yup."
Captain Remy Johansen
Commanding Officer
USS Astrea
Commander Maxun Spello
First Officer
USS Astrea
Lieutenant Eirly Anderson
Second Officer / Chief Tactical Officer
USS Astrea
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