A New Chapter

Posted on Tue Sep 24, 2019 @ 3:23pm by Lieutenant Martha Cusack & Commodore Michael Aravan

Mission: The Nanjing
Location: Subspace Academy
Timeline: MD 1 || 1800 Hours

Today was the day Martha started her command course. Her feelings were mixed - she was very nervous but also excited about what challenges she would face. After turning up a few minutes before she was expected to arrive Martha approached the only other person who she could see was present.

"Oh hello I was wondering if you could help me. I'm here for the command course" Martha said.

"Certainly", a Benzite Ensign in a command red uniform told her, fumes from his breather rising to his nose and mouth. "Your name, Lieutenant?"

"It's Martha Cusack" Martha responded.

"Right this way, Lieutenant," the Ensign said as he led her to a console. "Just enter your authorization and follow the prompts for the course."

Martha nodded and walked over to the console with the Ensign. Once she was there she inputted her authorisation code and started following the prompts as she'd been instructed. She did begin to feel a bit more confident now she was actually there - although Martha knew there was a lot more to come and it wasn't going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

An older human male in a Command red uniform appears on her console. "Greetings and welcome to Command School," he said as he seemed to look right at her. "Today is the first step in achieving a command of your own, or learning the ins and outs of Command. In this course, we will cover decision making, learning to accept failure and learning how to overcome it."

Martha relaxed herself in the chair and looked at the man on the console's screen as he started speaking. She listened to what he was saying intently - taking it all in as his reassuring voice echoed around the room. Once he finished speaking Martha waited patiently for the course to commence.

"Did I tell you to relax, Lieutenant Cusack?!" the man bellowed directly at her, which wasn't heard on the other consoles. "Sit up straight. Tuck in that stomach, and pay attention!"

Martha jumped out of her skin as the man shouted at her. She immediately did as the man instructed - although she was fully focused on the test the Tactical Officer was still struggling to find a way to relax which didn't give off the wrong impression of her being disinterested and not paying attention. Martha made a mental note to keep working on it in her spare time.

"One of the most important things to learn is Diplomacy," the officer said as he continued on, his voice once again echoing from the other consoles as he goes into detail exactly what diplomacy means and examples of it. "Can you give me an example of diplomacy that you've seen?"

"A number of years ago my commanding officer intervened in a dispute between two groups of traders. The two groups were in disagreement over trading routes and the situation had escalated by the time we arrived on the scene. After some negotiation my commanding officer was able to bring the two groups together on our ship and successfully reach a peaceful compromise" Martha said.

"Very good. How would you have handled it?" The instructor asked.

Martha replied. "Firstly I would have got both sides of the story and then asked each side what they feel would realistically resolve the situation in a peaceful manner. After finding out this information I would then bring them together in a neutral setting to attempt to reach a compromise which both parties are happy with"

"What would you do if there was no common ground of agreement, Lieutenant?"

"Compromise. If we can't reach an agreement on the information I have been given then I would ask each party in turn if they feel there are any reasonable concessions they would be willing to make to resolve the situation peacefully. If this isn't achievable then I would explore the avenue of 'agreeing to disagree' - where neither party is happy with the solutions on the table but finding a way for them to at least stop engaging the other in combat" Martha said.

"If not, what choice do you have left?" the Commander on the screen asked her.

Martha replied. "Sometimes you just have to accept that no matter how hard you try if you don't get anywhere then it's best to just walk away from the situation. You can only do so much".

"Very true," the officer said. "Now everyone go to the next segment and we'll give you scenarios that we want you as individuals to work on. Questions?"

Martha didn't have any questions for the officer so she shook her head and prepared to move on to the next part of her test. She felt the first part of the test had gone as well as it could have for her - but there were still plenty left and none of them were going to be easy.