It Starts At The Top

Posted on Tue Aug 30, 2016 @ 4:29am by Lieutenant Xylia Lischka & Lieutenant Commander Arrda

Mission: An Orion to Die For
Location: Security Chief's Office
Timeline: MD 0, 1130 Hours

Douglas was pleased with the outcome of his meeting with the captain. He suspected that the armor would not be an issue; the captain had seemed very pleased with not only the idea but the armor itself. Yes, Douglas understood the need for the man to confer with his Second; any good Mission First would. And speaking of Seconds...

When he reached his new office, he took a moment to set up the small table of coffees and teas from his homeworld and set one of the coffees brewing. Another moment was given to setting up the artifacts on his desk to more clearly demonstrate that he had a personality; so many Security chiefs did not do this simple thing and then wondered why their officers thought they were unapproachable. The combination of security mindset and utilitarian office screamed "Don't bother me!" to subordinates. Douglas preferred it if his subordinates came to him when they needed to... or at least felt as if they could

Once these small things were done, he poured himself a cup of the steaming, slightly-sweet Marai coffee and sat in the chair. Not bad... he thought, both about the office and the coffee as he sipped the latter. Reaching forward to the desk terminal, he entered his code to unlock it and then tapped its comm. key. "Lieutenant Mallory to Lieutenant Lischka. Would you please report to my office?" He phrased it that way because it was not an urgent security matter. Getting to know hi Second was important if they were to present a unified front to those under them, but it hardly qualified as urgent if she was in the midst of some security matter.

Xylia was in her office going over the duty roster when the call came through. Unlike the new Chief, she wasn't new to the ship, but had chosen not to take on the role of department head. She appreciated where she was currently, and it was comfortable for her. Aside from that, she knew the vast majority of their personnel save for the ones that just came aboard. Getting to meet them would be a priority, but meeting the Chief was first on that list.

Rising to her feet, Xylia straightened out her uniform and put the holographic screen that was her desktop on standby. With that done, she made her way from her office and to the Chief of Security's office. She had no idea what to expect from the man that was on the other side of the door, but that would all change in a matter of seconds. The young German woman extended a hand to press the chime, then waited to be granted entry.

Douglas glanced up at the sound of the chime. If that was his Second, she was swift; that said something for her. Efficiency was good. "Enter." he called, rising as the door slid open. As she entered, he motioned to the chairs on her side of his desk. "Please, have a seat. Can I offer you anything?" His hand then swept, as he made the offer, to indicate the table of teas and coffees and the replicator if she preferred it.

At the moment, the room smelled of the slightly sweet Marai coffee he preferred, a rich aroma that carried subtle hints of a woodsy quality and the light sweetness, not readily identifiable. The man himself was tall and muscular, and his uniform was spotless and neat, its crisp lines speaking of care given to ensure its appearance. His long hair was restrained behind him in a long braid that had been wrapped in leather of the same black, and his eyes studied her carefully even though he seemed otherwise relaxed.

"No, thank you," Xylia replied, offering the new Chief a smile. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Please have a seat." He offered as he sat back in his chair and picked up a PADD, glancing over it quickly before putting it back on the desk. "This may seem a bit eccentric to you, but I wanted to get to know you a bit before things got... interesting as they often do on starships." he said with a smile. "A Dossier is good, but I have found that it only tells me part of the story. A Dossier is facts, not people. And if we are to work closely together, I need to know a bit about the person behind the Dossier. So... tell me something about yourself that I couldn't find in the Dossier."

Xylia looked thoughtful. This wasn't the first time she'd been asked a question such as that, but she always found it hard to answer. "Well... I'm not entirely sure how I should answer that, Lieutenant. Are you looking to get to know more about my personal life, because honestly, I'd prefer to keep that separate from duty. Off the clock would be different, but I'm not sure it has a place in a professional setting."

Douglas frowned thoughtfully. That had not been what he had been asking, though he did like to get to know his people off duty as well; he had learned that from Teleth Norr as well. "While I do like to interact with my people off duty, I was not referring to that just now, Lieutenant." he assured. "The way I was trained was to keep them separate but interact with your people in both settings. For now, I'm more curious to know about you as an officer, but not what I have read already." he clarified.

"As far as me as an officer, I'm dedicated and determined," Xylia replied. "And I'm not like some Security officers who don't know how to take an order. If I'm told to do something, I'll do it, but I'm a bit headstrong, too, so I can't promise that you and I won't butt heads once in a while."

Douglas watched the woman before him thoughtfully as she spoke, focus shifting from her posture to her eyes throughout, assessing her truth. His truth was that he preferred it the way she described. Yes, he wanted people who could follow his orders, but he did not want 'yes-men' to just witlessly follow him without having minds of their own. "Good." he responded when she had finished speaking.

"Following orders is good, but witless following is not." He took a sip of his coffee and lowered the mug to his knee, eyes never leaving hers now. "As for butting heads, if you couldn't express your opinions to me, I wouldn't have you as my Second. However," here his eyes narrowed slightly to indicate the seriousness of his next statement, "such questioning or contradiction is never to be done in front of our subordinates."

Yes, that was a given where he was concerned, but he had heard of so many cases in the Fleet where that had not been observed, where that Unified Front had been broken. Yes, Starfleet taught that as much as the Enforcer Guild did, but he never took for granted that his direct Second would follow it. Ne never assumed anything.

"I try not to argue with anyone in front of others, Lieutenant, so you have no worries there. Do you have anymore questions for me, or would you like to start getting settled in?" Xylia asked. She'd been with the ship since the very beginning, so she knew the ins and outs of everything the Triumphant had to offer.

He considered a moment. Studying her, he came to the conclusion that he would learn nothing more this way; he would need to watch her at work to learn more, or observe her off duty. "No, I believe I have learned what I need for now, Lieutenant." he answered. "Thank you for your time. I will contact you if I think of anything else." What else could be said at this juncture. "Dismissed."

Xylia rose to her feet. "Likewise, Lieutenant. If you need me, you know how to get in touch with me. Welcome aboard." She offered him a smile before she excused herself from his office so she could get back to work.

Lieutenant Douglas (Arrda) Mallory
Chief Security Officer
USS Triumphant