Night Owl

Posted on Wed May 23, 2018 @ 10:21pm by Lieutenant Ezekiel Stone & Captain Madelina Weisz

Mission: Falling Star
Location: U.S.S. Triumphant - Deck 18 - XO's Office
Timeline: MD 30

"So any plans tonight?" he heard the voice next to him say.

Zeke smiled and looked over at Gunther his right hand man. Gunther was the very definition of viking as you understood it in stories and parables. He was a short and stocky man with red beard, a round bald dome at the top but a mane of red hair around the sides.

"Don't you mean this morning?" Zeke half joked reminding Gunther that theirs was the graveyard shift, "Yeah, I got a request to meet the Ex Oh at Ten Hundred" he said in reply.

"Plenty of time to catch enough sleep for your next shift" Gunther jested.

Zeke shook his head dismissively and continued working on the navigation systems for the Victorious, ensuring the latest maneuvers from the Triumphant had been synced properly.

He decided it would be best to remain awake by pulling extra on his duty shift and continued working after Gunther retired. At Ten Hundred he disembarked the Victorious and began walking across the gargantuan mothership to a nearby turbolift. He exited the lift on deck 18 and walked a bit shakily down a few corridors until he came to the office of the Executive Officer.

He tried to think of what the reason for his summoning might be but it was difficult through the fog of exhaustion that was rolling over him. He needed some sleep. He came to the Executive Officer's office door pressed the chime and waited.

Maddy stood near the window, gazing out at the stars before her with her hands clasped behind her back. She was only a couple hours into her shift, and already it had proven to be a long day. This was definitely going to set the tone for how things played out for her. "Come in," she called, moving over to her desk to stand behind it so she could greet her guest properly.

The young Terran male shook as much of his sleep away as possible and tried to put his 'Game Face' on before entering. When the doors parted he walked in and stood before the Executive Officer, snapping to full attention though a bit shakily, "Lieutenant Ezekiel Stone, reporting, sir" he looked ahead with slightly red eyes, another indication he may have pushed himself too hard during his last duty shift.

"Welcome, Lieutenant Stone," the Captain said as she gestured for him to take a seat across from her. "Tell me a little about yourself before we really jump into things."

Ezekiel nodded, "Uh Yes ma'am," he then took a moment to assemble the information in his head before beginning, "I'm the current flight chief for the Gamma shift. I've been in Starfleet for Twelves years. I have served aboard the U.S.S. Argile up until my transfer here aboard the Triumphant" he was waking more now as the mystery of his being here began to pique his interest.

"I've looked over your personnel file, and I think you're going to fit in here just nicely," she said, gesturing for him to take a seat again right before she settled down. "Do you have any questions or concerns for me?"

Zeke finally woke enough to notice her gesture and took the seat with a grateful smile he leaned forward as the what she said to him sank in, "Thank you ma'am, the Gamma shift team have made it very easy to fit in." he said enthusiastically as possible, figuring this was an evaluation of some kind for Gamma.

"That's something I want to talk to you about Lieutenant Stone," Maddy said, leaning back in her chair. "Your shift. You're going to be moved to Alpha. Do you have any objections to this move?"

Zeke was wide awake now. He was taken aback by the question, "Moved to day shift, Sir, am I being relieved of Gamma Chief Flight Ops?" he said with concern, thinking he may be being demoted.

"You are," she said and since she hadn't really gotten the chance to meet the man before now, Maddy spent a little time looking over his service record. It was pretty impressive, and it was time to make some adjustments on his behalf. "Congratulations, Lieutenant Stone, you've just been upgraded to Chief of Flight Control. Your new shift will be Alpha from here on out. Questions?"

The young Lieutenant felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, the momentary concern when she said he was being moved followed by the surprise of him becoming Ship's Flight Chief was like she had punched him with a two hit combo, he wondered if that's what she meant to do as he recovered, a big smile spread across his lips and he jumped from his seat without meaning to "No ma'am," he said as he came to the realization he was leaving behind colleagues he had known for a while now, "I mean yes ma'am, will I be permitted to rotate some personnel to the Alpha shift from Gamma?" he asked.

"You will be allowed to make any changes you wish to, but they need to be submitted to me so I can keep up with the roster," Maddy said. "Also, take into account, that you're going to have to move other personnel from different shifts to cover those you choose to move. And some of your people might not be too happy. But, remember, you're their boss now. Just like I'm yours, and the Commodore is mine."

Zeke nodded, "Understood ma'am, I'll do my best to be fair about it" Zeke was about ready to go when he realized two things, one he had not been dismissed and two she said from hereon, "Permission to go to bed, sir?" he hoped his new shift had not just begun.

"Permission granted, Lieutenant," Maddy said. "If you have any questions in the future, please, don't hesitate to come to me with them. My door is always open."

Zeke nodded, "Thank you sir, I won't let you down sir" he said as he snapped to, at attention and turned boot to hell with trained military precision before exiting her office.