Let's see how long you will survive?

Posted on Wed Feb 2nd, 2022 @ 10:48pm by Lieutenant JG Revana Nazar & Lieutenant JG Melissa Jones

Mission: S1 Episode 1: Caretaker, Part I
Location: Main Engineering
Timeline: MD 3, 1630 Hours
580 words - 1.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Melissa stared at the engineers with her usual stoic stare. Examining them. She had to inform them of how she dealt with underperformance and treachery.

"Greetings... I am your Superior Officer." Melissa noted. "I don't care about who you are.. It is irrelevant to me. But I will keep this ship in pristine order. Now...." She stared at them with her usual cold and emotionless stare. "Could any of you tell me the difference between an error and a mistake?"

At the front of the group, Revana looked at her strange new boss with folded arms. The Orion was not the only one put off by the mysterious Lieutenant, but she was one of the only ones to let her displeasure be seen on her face. She winced at the question.

"What?" she asked, turning the bizarre question over in her head, the 35 other engineering personnel standing in the center of the room also doing the same.

Melissa looked at all thirty five of them. "That is not an acceptable answer to my question." She accessed the computer and activated all thirty five of their agonizers for ten seconds."

Surprised gasps and wails emanated from the gathered throng as painful electric current surged through their bodies from the agonizer devices attached to their belts. Some fell to their knees, some staggered against bulkheads, and several curse words were shouted.

"I take no pleasure in this, but then again... I rarely feel anything. If I did take pleasure in anything... It would be a fascinating experience I would crave. Nonetheless....." She noted as all thirty five of them writhed on the floor. "Now... back to the topic at hand... Allow me to explain the difference between an error and a mistake. Anyone can make an error... But a error only becomes a mistake when you refuse to do anything about it. As such this will be my policy here. You may make your errors, but never allow them to become mistakes. You now know how I deal with mistakes. Fail yourself but do not fail the Empire. Now get up. You will find your individual assignments uploaded to your PADDs."

Getting back to their feet, the officers and enlisted personnel in Engineering proceeded to to just that. They logged in to their PADDs as those who had only come down for the meeting began to leave for off-duty status. Ensign Nazar was one of them.

The lists of things to do were well within each one of the engineering crew's abilities to do them. To the last task. It was precise. They were busy, but in the end.. They were given time off to for lunch and to rest.. All of their capabilities were taken into account. The Chief Engineer put herself to work as well. She was not very sociable, she didn't suffer fools. But one could say for all her sheer efficiency, she was fair when the crew had time between tasks to get a drink. But it was all so very controlling and calculated. Even the engineering slaves were given the same efficient treatment.

Why were the slaves treated well? Because slaves were useless when they were half-dead. She even allowed time for these organics to socialize even though she didn't understand it.

But she did watch the engineering crew. She knew which ones to keep. And which ones had just made themselves expendable. She was a monster.. This was her lair.. But she was a graceful monster.