Dressing Down

Posted on Sun Aug 21st, 2022 @ 9:06pm by Captain Ivan Petrov & Lieutenant Johnathan Anderson III & Lieutenant Sovas Nyseth & Lieutenant JG Kassandra Selin & Lieutenant Christoph Ivers

Mission: S1 Episode 3: Phage
Location: Ready Room, Deck 1
Timeline: Mission Day 10 at 1100
2884 words - 5.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Ivan had read the reports filed involving three of his senior officers and their conduct during the attack of the Vidiian lifeless. They had acted in ways which needed to be addressed, and now that people were feeling very much better, he intended to hear them out. He looked up from his command seat and stood.

"Anderson, Selin, Ivers, Nyseth. Join me in my ready room." he said clearly. He nodded to one of the deck officers present. "You have the Bridge. Call if anything happens."

When Christoph heard the names, he knew exactly what this was going to be about. He gave an internal sigh and stepped from his station, his shoulder brushing slightly against the relief officer as he followed Ivan into his ready room.

Kass didn't roll her eyes or anything outwardly as she moved to the ready room. Her face was a complete blank mask

Upon hearing the summons, Sovas moved away from his station as another officer took over as he went to face the music so to speak. It was inevitable that the altercation between the foursome of officers was going to be officially addressed though he would have repeated the same actions again if necessary.

Johnathan knew this was coming, it was only a matter of when. After handing his station off to his assistance chief, he stood and made his way to the Captain's ready room. Time for him to give his pound of flesh.

Once they were in and the doors were closed, Ivan turned to them, leaning on his own desk.

"Why are the four of you standing before me right now?" he asked evenly, his eyes meeting each and every one of theirs.

"The incident on the bridge during the Vidiian attack." Christoph replied simply, standing at a relaxed attention. It was obvious, but Ivan had asked so he would provide the obvious answer.

Kass looked straight ahead, her stance rigid. She was sure agonizer booth was in her future but she was not about to beg. Nor would she apologise to Ivers. There was no one in the galaxy who would make her.

Sovas was quiet since Christoph had already answered the Captain and anything else added might seem a bit pedantic, especially if was about strategic and tactical awareness, or recognizing the legitimate chain of command. Though by the way Kass was holding herself it seemed that she was expecting this to turn into severe punishment, which could very well be possible, but then again consequences have actions.

"Captain," the young pilot spoke clearly and respectfully. "Before anything else is said, I accept full responsibility for what transpired on the bridge, following your incapacitating. As the senior officer on the bridge, I am ultimately responsible for the conduct of the officers and crew under me. I therefore respectfully request that any punishment you deem is warranted, be solely aimed at me, Sir." He wasn't trying to be a martyr, he believed in what he said wholly.

“That’s very noble, Lieutenant…and very convenient for your girl friend.” Ivan said, his eyes wandering between the two of them. “But all of you had a part to play and I’m not hanging all of this upon the neck of one man. Instead, I would like each of you to tell me your version of what happened. I want you to explain your thoughts and reasonings….and then I will pass a fair judgement."

Kass didn't even flinch at the mention of her relationship. She had never begged for favours not even when Morrison was torturing her every 30 minutes and she would not beg now.

"If I may Captain," Sovas spoke up and looked to the other officers standing with him before Petrov before clearing his throat to speak. "The incident began after Lieutenant Anderson took command on the bridge since he is the appointed Second Officer and you were incapacitated, he secured the bridge against further incursion but made what seemed to be a questionable strategic announcement to the ship while we were still engaged with the Vidiians elsewhere on board and shortly after that Lieutenant Ivers made his way to the bridge there was a heated verbal exchange between them about said announcement."

The half-Vulcan didn't look away from Petrov as he provided his version of events and because his own upbringing demanded he give the other man this respect. "Lieutenant Ivers moved to resume his duties overseeing the security of the ship but paused to yell at Anderson again before Lieutenant Selin engaged in a heated exchange with him over the proper flow of the chain of command at which I became directly involved after she had drawn her phaser and I trained mine on her due to the escalating nature of the situation supporting Lieutenant Ivers as he continued to direct defensive operations and addressed Lieutenant Anderson to explain my feelings on the matter of how the announcement your status could detrimentally impact crew morale before I also pointed out that Commander Marshall was also still on the ship and alive then I proceeded to make a flippant remark about the previously mentioned chain to Lieutenant Selin."

"Before the situation could become any more heated or escalating further, Lieutenant Anderson took control and got us to focus up as the last of the Vidiians were dealt with medical teams reported to the bridge and took you to sickbay for treatment." Sovas nodded, he didn't try to throw anyone under the bus so to speak but delivered the facts as he remembered them. "That is my recollection of the events that took place on the bridge."

Kass wanted to speak but chose not to. She figured she was done for anyway so why bother wasting breath.

Johnathan spoke up at this point. "Sir, with respect to Lieutenant Sovas, he was in error about one small detail. There was no heated exchange between myself and Lieutenant Ivers on the bridge. He shouted at me, then moved off to his station to get his teams moving. Unfortunately, before I could say anything in reply, the rest, as you heard it, took place. That was when I got everyone's attention and informed Lieutenant Sovas and Lieutenant Selin of their errors. At that point, I pulled Lieutenant Ivers into your ready room, and, once we were alone, informed him of his error. I chose to speak separately with him, as I did not feel it appropriate, for myself, to reprimand a fellow senior officer, in front of two junior officers, even though they are Department Heads themselves. Sir."

"That's correct." Christoph offered up after Jonathan spoke. "After securing engineering and upon hearing the ship wide announcement that the you were injured by the intruders and that a containment field had been put around the bridge, I returned to my post. However, my temper got the better of me by the time I got to the bridge and I overstepped in publicly - hostilely - calling out Lieutenant Anderson's poor decision. When I returned to my post, Lieutenant Selin tried to force me to stand down citing chain of command which she in turn refused to respect herself by recognizing that I outrank her. Lieutenant Sovas I believe was simply trying to assist after Lieutenant Selin pulled her weapon, I believe. However, as was noted, Lieutenant Anderson intervened before things could escalate further." He spoke plainly and honestly, looking at Ivan directly, but not in a way to challenge the man.

Ivan listened patiently to each of them, comparing their stories to what he knew to be so. He would be fair, and he refused to play favorites. Finally, his gaze rested on his daughter. She looked obstinate. It was the opposite of what he wanted from her, but it seemed Kassandra was showing herself to be quite gifted at being contrary to his will.

“Kassandra.” He said, looking her up and down. “Explain. Now.”

Kass didn’t look at Ivers she really wanted to slug the smug SOB. But she calmly let her gaze rest on the captain. Kassandra. No rank used. She was going to be kicked out of the military for sure. So she made her choice and said calmly “Captain you were knocked unconscious and Lieutenant Anderson took command as Commander Marshall was not on the bridge. He ordered myself and Lieutenant Junior Grade Sovas to make sure you were ok. I was doing that when, Lieutenant Ivers burst onto the bridge in an unseemly display and began berating Lieutenant Anderson about his orders. Yes, I drew my weapon. And yes I told the Lieutenant to stand down because all he was doing was causing chaos. And by verbally abusing a superior officer, all he was making himself look like was a superior arse. I did not aim my phaser at him, I simply drew it and held it by my side. Would I have fired on the superior arse had he continued to disobey orders by his superior? Yes, I would have. Chain of Command was clear and Ivers was in breach of it. And if you wish to put too fine a point on it, so was Lieutenant Junior Grade Sovas, when he aimed his weapon at me.”

Kass gave a half shrug with her left shoulder. “I drew to protect chain of command as Ivers presented as a threat.” She kept her gaze focused on the Captain. "Should I report to the agonizer booth now Captain?"

“That remains to be seen.” Ivan said, furrowing his brow at his daughter. If he wanted to be respected, he would have to give her and everyone what they deserved. “But I would adjust that flippant attitude of yours if I were you.”

He turned then to Ivers. “Christoph, did you intend to disobey orders from Lieutenant Anderson in any way?”

"No, Captain. I did not disobey any order given nor would I have. Again, I lost my temper and lashed out over what I felt - and still do feel - was an extremely questionable announcement given over shipwide comms during a time of crisis. It was an inappropriate reaction and additionally an inappropriate time and place; I recognize that." Christoph replied evenly.

"Sovas, Johnathan. Do you feel that Mr. Ivers disobeyed or countermanded an order in any way?"

"No sir, the Lieutenant didn't attempt anything of the sort, in fact he had only given orders directly to his security teams." The half-Vulcan replied while frowning a bit as he looked to Petrov since it seemed that the incident happened because of a misunderstanding in the heat of the moment.

Johnathan seemed conflicted by what he was going to say. However, in the end, he knew that honesty was the only course of action. He just hoped that Kassandra still loved him afterwards. "Captain," he began slowly, as if trying to get his words out correctly. "Personally, I am touched and appreciate the loyalty and protection of my command position, albeit temporary, that Lieutenant Selin demonstrated. I feel that she reacted as she did, solely because of the fact that she felt I was being challenged for command."

He took a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Professionally, as she is junior to Lieutenant Ivers, in both rank and command position, her actions could also be seen as disrespectful, Sir." It was clear that what he was saying was giving him great pains. But, he had to speak the truth. To try to gloss over in any way, would not only cause chaos in the command structure, he knew he would lose all respect and credibility from not only his fellow officers, but of his Captain as well.

"In the end, however, Captain, as I stated earlier, I was the ranking officer on the bridge at the time. Had I reacted sooner, This situation might nit have happened. As the superior officer, I am ultimately responsible. Therefore, Sir, I see no alternative but to relinquish my position as your Second Officer, possibly my rank and position as well, and report to the againzer booths, to await your deemed punishment, Captain."

He took another breath and steeled himself for what was about to happen.

Ivan shook his head, dismissing the suggestion again.

“No. We have less severe solutions than the agonizer, and more severe ones after. Your only error, Johnathan, was that you made that damn announcement. It was ill advised in my view but, knowing your history as an officer who has been in a terrible crisis, I can understand why you thought it was best. This is why you will not be my new XO…but you will remain as Second Officer if you wish, to learn the skills necessary to command over time. Do you wish that?”

Johnathan's jaw clenched ever so briefly. Though if it was relief that he could keep his current position or grief that he was not being moved to the now-vacant Executive Officer position, only he knew that.

"It would be my honor to continue to serve as your Second, Sir. Thank you."

“You have shown leadership, dispute your mistake. And I’m proud of the way you handled the conflict.” Ivan said, his eyes drifting to Kass for a second. “There are certain parts of command that prove personally difficult, and you have handled those well as well.”

Johnathan wanted to reach out to hold Kassandra's hand, but, he knew that now was not the time. Instead, he replied, "Thank you, Sir!"

Moving from Johnathan, he turned to Christoph, studying the man a bit before responding.

“You lost your temper unprofessionally and that seems to me to be the extent of it. You apologized when you realized you were wrong and you learned from your experience, something that takes a true Terran Officer. I respect that.” He said, folding his arms. “Your punishment is to pull three extra third shifts of bridge command this week. You’re going to be exhausted working 16 hour days, and you will certainly have learned.”

"Aye, sir." Christoph took the punishment in stride. There could have been much worse things after all, and a few extra shifts wouldn't kill him. He continued to stand quietly facing forward while listening carefully to what was going on around him with the others involved.

He turned then to his daughter, his face not changing. He had to remain the same.

“Kassandra, you seem to either have misread the situation and pointed your weapon at a fellow officer or you read the situation correctly and pointed it at him anyway. The answer is not clear to me, but it’s very important.” He said. “Which one was it?”

Kass was not impressed by Ivers. Something about the man set off alarms for her. She was already having her team look into the man. So she chose her words very carefully. "At this stage Captain, it seems to be the former." She replied.

“Good.” Ivan said. “That means you were confused and mistake rather than insubordinate. Therefore you will spend two shifts scrubbing plasma manifolds in Engineering.” The Captain said, watching her. “And you will apologize to Mr. Ivers for threatening him wrongfully.”

"I never aimed my phaser at him." She repeated. "I simply drew it. Thus no threat." She was not about to apologise to the 'superior arse', no way in Hades.

“If I take out my sidearm right now, Lieutenant, you would be reasonable in feeling threatened, even if I don’t point it at you. It was inappropriate and threatening. A mere statement of regret will do.” Ivan said, looking at her squarely. “Unless you still think that what you did was right. Which, in that case, I should have to question your judgement more seriously.”

"Even though I didn't aim my weapon at him, I apologize if it made him feel like I was going to." she replied coolly. She was so not sorry about it.

"Good." Ivan said with a nod. "After your two shifts in Engineering, all will be well."

Finally, he looked to his half-Vulcan COO.

“You protected an officer in the line of duty when he seemed to be threatened with a deadly weapon. There was some confusion in the situation, but I can tell you did the best you knew. I won’t punish a man for that.” Ivan said, leaning back, clearly having said all he intended to say on the subject of Sovas’s involvement.

Sovas had been quietly listening to the punishments that the Captain was handing down, it hadn't been what he was expecting but then again he was still learning things weren't as they seemed when it came to the lessons his father had taught. "Thank you Captain."

"In the end, soldiers, we must be able to work cohesively in a crisis. No shots were fired, but if some different moves were made, we could have had a fire fight on the Bridge. This must be avoided. There are not many Terrans left among us." Ivan looked at each one of them, his face stern but understanding. He believed in agonizers and severe punishment, but he didn't believe this was the time for it in any of their cases. "Dismissed!"

END