Cards On The Table

Posted on Sat Jan 29th, 2022 @ 12:24am by Lieutenant Commander Troy Marshall & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov

Mission: S1 Episode 1: Caretaker, Part I
Location: Security Offices
Timeline: MD 4, 0945
1340 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Troy was in his office finishing up a review of the personnel records for the department. He would be meeting everyone over the next few days to obtain a personal perspective on each individual. He decided to begin with his Deputy Chief, if for no other reason than to determine if he would need to consider the man a threat. =/\=Lieutenant Petrov to the Chief Security Officer's office immediately.=/\= Troy looked at the clock on the wall as he closed the communications circuit.

Andrei had been holding a minor briefing for enlisted crewmen in the Security Briefing Room. When the communique had come through in the middle of his instruction, he rolled his eyes and tapped his commbadge.

"On my way." he said, and then looked out at the familiar faces. "The boss wants some attention, ladies and gents. Best pop over."

After a dull roar of casual chuckles from his implication, the NCO's starting packing their materials.

"Dismissed." Andrei said, and then turned toward the door that lead to the starboard offices. Walking directly to the room and up to the door that blocked the CoS's office, he walked straight in and offered a Terran salute. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

Troy rose and returned the customary salute and response. He extended an ungloved right hand. "I would have introduced myself on the bridge yesterday but I had just boarded. I needed to secure quarters and get my in-process physical completed before assuming duties this morning."

"I figured as much. And the Captain was before you as well. Why would you have thought of little old me?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips and offering a shallow grin. "Either way, here we are. Talking. Better late then never, as they say."

"Indeed." Troy walked over to the replicator and ordered a cup of coffee. "Care for anything Lieutenant Petrov?"

"No, Lieutenant. I try to only drink alcohol in front of others..." he said, mysteriously, though he clearly didn't seem interested in explaining what he had to say. Looking rather impatient, he, tapped his foot a few times. "Is there something you need from me, Lieutenant, or am I only here to chat?"

Troy took his cup of coffee and looked at Andrei with mild curiosity. "You're here to bring me up to speed on the department. However, if you have a more pressing engagement, I could contact the division officers directly and get their reports."

"No need, sir. I'm perfectly ready to...give you everything you need to know." the long-haired man said, eyeing the chief. "With your arrival, we now have a full complement of Security personnel. That is 40 souls including 7 officers and 33 enlisted. We have successfully confirmed the identities of everyone aboard and have executed a basic diagnostic on every weapons system aboard. Those reports show that we are functioning fully. Before you arrived, the Master-at-Arms secured my approval to order some very impressive explosive disruptor rounds which should be arriving in the next few days. His hopes are that it will round out our arsenal and give us a...political foot in the game over the marines."

Troy sipped his coffee as he listened to Andrei's summary of the department. He walked behind his desk and brought up the requisition form for the heavy ordnance. He then reviewed the armory inventory and cross checked it against the Table of Organization & Equipment. He finally keyed in a command to see how many members of the security department still retained certification with the requested ordnance. "You requested four grenade launchers and 50 rounds of high explosive and incendiary rounds for each launcher. We only have one person with qualifications on this weapons system. Who were you planning on issuing the other three launchers to?"

“I didn’t plan that. I figured you might have a view on it, though there are several enlisted crew who show some considerable promise on the range; real soldiers, ready to kill or die. If you’d like, I could give you their names.” Andrei responded, his arms folded behind his back.

Troy considered Andrei's proposal. It was certainly a suggestion worth evaluating. "I have a friend in the ordnance supply that may be able to help." Troy took another sip of his coffee. "You strike me as an ambitious man Lieutenant Petrov."

Andrei chuckled, his hands still behind his back.

"Of course I am, sir." he said in response to the statement. "I plan to climb the whole ladder in the Empire. My promising career in Starfleet, my insanely wealthy family, and now, finally, my name work in my favor. But I plan to clime by ability, no different from anyone else. Is there something unusual about that, do you think, Lieutenant"

Troy shook his head. His own progression in the Imperial Starfleet had been based on merit and not subterfuge or assassination. "I couldn't agree more Mister Petrov. Ambition is a wonderful motivational technique, but it should never supercede ones ability to perform. The assassin's blade has thrust many officers into positions they were not ready for."

Andrei nodded, wordlessly, as if the statement meant nothing to him.

"Quite right...quite right..." he responded, and then smiled again. "Ability is more important than anything else. Worry not, sir. I strive to be as capable as I am ambitious and to earn every promotion."

Troy studied Andrei's demeanor. He was almost too friendly and too cooperative. "Well, just in case you get the idea to seek advancement through my untimely death. You should know that I prevented five assassination attempts against Vice Admiral William Ross when I headed up his personal protection detail. I'm still breathing...those assassins...aren't. Clear Lieutenant Petrov?"

"Lieutenant, you have nothing to fear from me. I don't want your job at all." Andrei said, truthfully. "My ambitions are more...unconventional than that. Please forget about it, actually. I have no interest in challenging you."

Troy activated the screen on his terminal and turned it to display the shift update briefing he had just had with the leading Petty Officers of the departments divisions. "One last thing, disrespect to superior officers is punishable administratively by a Department Head. It is grounds for a Captain's Mast as well. I am not inclined to dispense pain a means to ensure discipline and putting you before your father would prove useless. You do something like this to me, or any other officer for that matter, I have powerful friends at Starfleet Command that can transfer you off this ship you won't have time to pack." He swiveled the screen back to his side of the desk as an expression from one of his former colleagues came to mind. "You picking up what I am putting down?"

Andrei couldn't hold back his smile, though he tried. A small whimper escaped his lips in the place of a stifled laugh. He cleared his throat and looked up at his new boss. "You are unnecessarily defensive, Lieutenant. And you might be surprised how much my father would be willing to allow you to punish me."

The long haired man, took two steps to the side, his smile fading as he looked at the blank bulkhead next to the Lieutenant's desk. "You certainly don't seem to believe me when I tell you that you have nothing to fear from me, which is good because, quite frankly, I'm a tremendous liar. But I was telling the truth when I said I'm not after your position. A few months of service here and I expect I'll be transferred to another warship as a security chief. I don't need to steal it from you. I too have friends in high places, and I'm very good at my job. But if you must watch me and threaten, so be it. I understand and I'd probably do the same in your position."

Troy looked at Andrei. "Perform your duties and we won't have a problem. Dismissed."

Andrei gave the Terran salute.

"Sir." he said sternly, and then turned for the door.

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