Helm Officer Reporting

Posted on 18 Nov 2017 @ 3:50am by Captain Akio Tachibana & Lieutenant Ren Kannu (Dec-Jan 2389 - TRNSFR to Bre'el Dip. Msn.)

Mission: He ho'omaka hou 'ana - A New Beginning
Location: Bridge/Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: 23 Dec 2388

After placing his belongings in his surprising large quarters, Ren had decided to report to the Captain. He made his way to bridge via the nearest turbo lift. When the doors slid open he couldn’t believe how big the bridge was. It made his former ship, the Ambassador Class USS Jericho, look rather pokey in comparison.

Before going to the Ready Room, Kannu wanted to check out the CONN console, which would be his station. He moved past the several techs and engineers who were still adding finishing touches to the ship before she launched and sat in his ‘new’ chair. It felt comfortable and new, he was still in awe that he would have the pleasure of piloting this fine ship out of space dock.

Once he pulled himself away from his new position, he head to the Ready Room door and tapped the door chime, before waiting for permission to enter.

Akio was studying the reports he requested about the final construction timeline and current inventory levels.

He wasn't pleased. The Hawaii was not getting a full weapons loadout like a standard Sovereign-class, lacking a rapid fire photon launcher, and they were going to war. They would just have to make due with standard torpedo tubes. At least someone had enough sense to assign a handful of Valkyries to the ship.

He looked at the wall. Hanging was a smaller replica of the Battle of Trafalgar by British artist J. M. W. Turner from 1805. Well, even against all odds, Admiral Nelson was able to pull out a victory. Akio just hoped he did not end up like Admiral Nelson in that battle. Despite his loyalties, Akio still had future plans regardless of the current war.

Akio's contemplation was broken by the chime.

"Enter!" Akio projected.

Upon hearing permission to enter, Kannu entered and stood to attention in front of the Captains desk. He was about to introduce himself when the officer behind the desk spoke first.

"LT Ren, is it?" Akio asked, noticing the Bajoran ridge. There were also few personnel clad in red aboard a ship: Command and Flight Control. Some assignments had a Strategic Operations Department, but Hawaii wasn't one of them. Since he was a LT, Akio didn't think he was the new XO.

“Yes, sir. Lieutenant Ren Kannu reporting on board, sir.” The Bajoran said.

"At ease," Akio commanded, "Please, have a seat and welcome aboard."

“Thank you, sir.” Ren said as his shoulders dropped after he relaxed before pulling out one of the seats and sitting. “It’s a pleasure to be here, sir.”

"Our Chief Operations Officer also served in the Bajoran Militia," Akio noted as he pulled up the Lieutenant's file.

“Most of the Militia transferred over to Starfleet when Bajor completed its entry into the Federation.” Ren commented. “Starfleet gained a lot of good and very capable men and women.”

"Do you have any questions about your department or duties?" Akio inquired.

“I’m sure if it’s mentioned on my file but I also took some security responsibilities on Jericho. I was hoping I could do the same here too, sir.” The Helmsman said. “I appreciate Hawaii is a much bigger ship but I do like the extra work variety.”

"What sort of duties?" Akio asked innocently.

On the inside though, Akio had perked up. There was no doubt something odd was starting to reveal itself about his command that could not be chalked up to bureaucracy and/or incompetence. Many officers had classified backgrounds aboard which wasn't rare for a ship going into war, but a sovereign going into war led by an O-5 seemed fishy and Akio was not about to be set up.

Akio had been studying the personnel movements of the sector and there were dozens of Commanders and even Captains of smaller classes that were in line for this command. In fact, Akio expected his first command would be a much smaller frigate or even destroyer-class vessel, not a cruiser.

“Additional security on away missions, guard and escort duty.” Ren said with a shrug. “Anything really, I’m fully trained and versatile.” He said, hoping he hadn’t over stepped the mark.

Akio sat back in his chair, internally relieved. At that moment he realized maybe he was being a bit paranoid about this new command because finally it was his name on every document.

"I wouldn't expect anything less. For starters, you are our most senior pilot and I expect you'll be flying us into any situation," Akio said before he smirked, "Just be careful, you are wearing a red shirt."

Akio realized that it sounded more sinister than he intended; however, he let the warning stand. Akio pushed some buttons on his terminal.

"Unfortunately, you are our only pilot currently listed, so you may need to get with OPS to pull some helmsmen for your off-shifts," Akio added.

“Wearing Red is fine now, sir. It’s the Gold shirts that need to be careful these days.” Ren replied with a chuckle. “As for additional pilots, I’ll arrange to have the position covered until we get more officers.”

"Sounds good," Akio smiled, "The fleet yards brought the ship out of dock on impulse and low warp, so the internals work supposedly. There have not been any notations for Helm Control. We launch in a few days, so be sure your department is ready by then as much as you can. I know we are a bit thin with the truncated launch timeline. If you need more personnel, request it from OPS," Akio explained.

“Understood, sir.” Ren replied. “I’ll give the engines a once over myself to make sure they’re at optimal effectiveness. I’ll also head down to Engineering and introduce myself to the Chief Engineer and see if they need any help.”

"Very well. Is there anything else I am missing?" Akio asked.

The Lieutenant shook his head, “I don’t think so, sir.”

"Dismissed," Akio said. He was glad to have an experienced Lieutenant aboard who was willing to do what was necessary to help the mission.

In many ways, Ren reminded Akio of himself when he was younger. He looked at the bonsai tree behind him. A lot had happened in six years. The tree was tiny when he first acquired it and now it was full and luscious.

OFF:

Akio Tachibana, LCDR, SF
Commanding Officer, USS Hawaii

Ren Kannu, LT, SF
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Hawaii