Petty Officer party cat

Posted on Friday February 14, 2025 @ 11:10pm by Commander Kurn Derling, Son of Charg & Master Chief Petty Officer Sophal Sori & Petty Officer 2nd Class S'Nira
Edited on on Saturday February 15, 2025 @ 7:53am

2,150 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: The Redo/Coming Aboard
Location: Shuttle bay 1
Timeline: Pre launch

Master Chief Sophal Sori walked up to the only normal shuttlebay on the Artemis. On her last stint on the vessel, she had rarely made it to the shuttle bay. She had been checking in with the commander on all the enlisted personal who had been used by the Shipyards to get the Artemis ready. Currently she was to meet with him There, before they spoke to the newest member.

She didn't see the klingon, so she stepped up to the doors. They parted as she got close, so she stepped in. The commander wasnt there yet. Near the door stood one of the control panels for bringing a shuttle in. It was showing a listing of all the shuttles in the Bay. By each of the type eleven and by the type nines, was the word “complete”. Same with the flyer. Next to the Argo shuttle was the words “in progress.” She saw notes next to each, no doubt a list of what was done.

The large doors to the shuttlebay slid open and closed with their loud customary hydraulic sound as Kurn entered Shuttlebay 1, walking toward the Chief of the Boat as she was looking at the shuttle readiness readout.

“Chief,” Kurn said in his basso, easily heard over the din of the shuttle crews working. “How are the shuttles? We want everything up to par A.S.A.P. I just came up from Shuttlebay 2 and the delivery of the four new Valkyrie Deuce class fighters. I can’t wait to see them in action!”

There were few things that would make him sound ‘giddy’, if a large Klingon/Human hybrid could sound giddy, but anything dealing with any kind of combat certainly fit the bill. “Command was interested in seeing if a small deployment of fighters could provide a screen on a vessel such as ours. Fast movers will come in handy when the time comes. It will add an element of surprise that is unexpected and that will give us an extra edge.”

It was very unusual for a ship such as the Artemis to bear a small contingent of warp capable fighters; they were usually found on carrier ships like the Akira class or larger ships that could accommodate at least two squadrons, like the Galaxy, Sovereign, or the newer Odyssey class starships. After the events of the battle with Kalmtek and his Tal Shiar cohorts, Starfleet Command felt that having the extra load out might tip the balance.

Especially the new Mark Twos Kurn mused to himself. The Mark Ones served with distinction during the Dominion War and were constantly being upgraded during the various engagements during the War; the newest iterations were the most advanced to date. I must take one out as soon as I am able!

“Men and your toys.” The Chief said with a smile. She had never seen him smile like a child. And she had been in a few scrapes with him, including a time she commanded the gamma bridge, while he had Beta. “I'll never understand.” She shook her head. “As for the Bay, looks promising. The shuttles are listed as done. I mean all but the argo. But that's good. And the crews seem to be working hard. Of course, many of these people are staying with the yard when we leave.”

“Excellent Chief,” Kurn said as he nodded at her once in acknowledgement, his deep voice sounding pleased. “When you are done here, please stop by Shuttlebay 2. I want to make sure we have everything we need for maintenance on the fighters. Ideally I would like replacement parts readily available to build an additional 2 fighters for use on repairs at all times. The stresses they will undergo during combat operations is significantly higher than that of the shuttles. I don’t want to give Command any reason to suspend the Valkyrie program from our use.”

“I can do that. Well use part of the storage of bay two.”

Ahead of them sat the Argo shuttle. The back door/ramp was down and a crew was stepping to the side. The buggy that went with the shuttle backed out. At the wheel Was a Caitian. Thankfully the seat had a gap for a tail. Once it was away from the ramp, she turned it around and backed up to the console that the chief and XO were at. One that could also scan the buggy. She slid out of the buggy's driver seat, the crewmen all stepped into the shuttle.

the Caitian raised her voice so she was heard in the shuttles. “Same as before. Diagnostics on all systems, staring with engines. I'll actually look over the buggy.” Her eyes went to a nearby panel with the time. “Crewman, start the diagnostics On the other shuttles. In a few days we will go on active duty and I'll want diagnostics ran every three hours. Same with shuttlebay.”

as She stood to her full height, she looked to the newcomers. “Sir. Chief. I'm Petty officer second class S'nira. I'm your new shuttlebay manager. ” She snapped to attention.

Kurn stood for a moment silently looking at the Catian, then stepped toward her right side, around behind her; then back toward Sophal along her left, looking her up and down the entire time, an almost surly expression on his Half Klingon face.

For her part, Sophal kept Up a poker face. She didn't smirk or roll her eyes. She just waited for the commander to finish what he was doing.

S'Nira stood waiting. She had dealt with this before. Some officers were just jerks. Throwing their power around like gods of mythology. A few didn't realize that enlisted were the backbone of the fleet. But a small percentage knew they were important. And they liked to make sure the enlisted were running at the top of their game. Following regulations and making sure they made the ship the best.

S'Nira knew that being transfered had been a miracle. To her, and many of the enlisted on the space stations, that posting was a dead end. With over sixty thousand people who were alongside of you, promotion was hard. Doing well could be ignored. After all it was easier to see the worst, not the best in people. She knew what she did off duty was partly To blame for taking seven years to make petty officer second class. Others she knew that started when she had, they were first class or even a Chief Petty officer. The other issue had been all the competition on the base for promotions.

When she got the petty officer rank, she was made the manager of a shuttlebay. Not an important one, or even the busiest one. The shuttlebay she ran wasnt the popular spot for officers and brass. Hers seemed to get the shuttles that broke often. And the problem staff. But she had refused to cave. Within seven months, her bay went from the bottom of the list of efficient shuttlebays, to the middle of the list. True, ninety percent of the work was her own doing. She had to trick the command Chief many times to show up and deal with her lazy crew. This brought her bay under his attention. He noticed how she turned it around. At one year as a manager, she had the best and efficient bay on the base. This got her some attention.

She had rubbed elbows with ambassadors, fleet brass and other important people. Other shuttles were sent her way, only because she had a system and would get to work fast. But others still heard her party cat nickname. She had a love of extreme sports, and an extensive list of visits to the med bay, in just the past two years for broken bones.

So she let the officer circle. She focused on a spot on the wall and waited. Face neutral, tail as still as it could be.

“At ease, Petty Officer,” Kurn said finally after he turned to face her, standing before the cat woman at arm’s length. He had yet to serve with a Catian after all of his years of service in Starfleet; this would be the first. He would need to see her in action to know the mettle on her. And of course, he thought to himself briefly, if she displays any honor. Only time would tell.

“Tell me,” he said after a momentary pause, his basso even toned. “What do you know of the Artemis and her mission profile?”

“I know the basic stuff the ship can split into three parts. I heard that there is a second shuttlebay, which isn't normal for this class.” The Caitian said.

“This ship,” Kurn said, his basso easily heard over the din of the shuttlebay as he began to slowly pace back and forth in a line before her. “Is a part of the Special Operations fleet, specializing in a number of irregular mission profiles which include Starfleet security, Special Investigations, Intelligence, Reconnaissance, Search and Rescue, Undercover Operations, Special Warfare, Combat Operations, as well as some of the more standard mission types for a ship of this weight class.”

He stopped and turned to look at her, his hazel colored eyes looking at her intently. “The Captain and I expect the best. What you do in your off hours is your own, as long as it does not interfere with our missions.” He stepped closer to her, his large frame almost towering over her; not to intimidate her, but to make a solid point.

“If you excel…,” Kur said to her slowly, the absence of his voice punctuated by the sounds of the shuttle crew hard at work, then turned to walk several steps away from her. “Then, I may have a more… interesting job for you, Petty Officer. Let’s see how things go. Understood?” He turned to face her back where he began.

“May i speak freely, sir?” S'niar Inquired. He mentioned her off time. Which meant one of them had read her record.

“Proceed,” said Kurn with a single nod in the affirmative.

“Sir, in the past few years the shuttlebay i managed was rated the best on the starbase. There are about two hundred shuttlebays on a stardock starbase. I have, for the past few years, worked double shifts. My shuttlebay became the stop for ambassadors and Admirals.”

She paused for a quick breath. “I will work as hard as any crewmen that work with me. I will be running overall checks every three hours. And I want any shuttle under my watch to be the best it can be. I personally will work on the shuttle, along side any crew I have and will personally test all work done.” She paused again and looked up at him. “This isnt bravado. This is me, doing what i do best.”

“And that is precisely why the Captain and I agreed to your transfer orders, Sailor,” the XO said, his voice a bit harder as he grasped his hands behind his back. “Whatever came before this post is irrelevant to me. Perform at the highest level of your capabilities, gain the trust of your superior officers and that of the men and women under your command, and you will have done right by the Captain, myself, and this ship. That is all we ask.”

Kurn then took a few steps to stand before the Catian once more, his voice softening into a more welcoming tone. “Once you have done so, perhaps we shall speak about that other opportunity. Welcome Aboard.” With that, the large Klingon extended his right hand to the Petty Officer, a slight smirk curling the right side of his mouth.

“Thank you sir.” The Caitian said as she shook his.

“As you were, Petty Officer,” said Kurn as he lowered his hand and looked over at the Chief. “Ok Chief, I’m off to my next stop. Let me know if you need me for anything.” With that, he turned and headed out of the shuttlebay.

Sophal Sori looked to the petty officer. “Just do what you've been doing, work wise. And let me know if you need supplies. I am the quartermaster as well as chief of the boat.”

“Thank you chief. When i have a list, ill send it up to you.” S'nira said. “But i need to get working on this.” She gestured to the buggy.

“understood. Good day.” Sophal turned and headed for the doors. She knew Kurn could be a bit gruff. But now she was wondering what his other opportunities were.”

Commander Kurn Derling
Executive Officer
USS Artemis

Master Chief Petty officer sophal Sori
Chief of the boat/quartermaster
USS Artemis

Petty officer second class S'nira
Shuttlebay manager/shuttle pilot
USS Artemis

 

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