Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie - A Matter of Formality

[Addison MacKenzie]

(( Captain’s Ready Room - Deck 1, Artemis-A ))

Across from them stood one of the new members to the Artemis roster: a tactical officer by the name of Alexandra Storm. Storm was a mid-level transfer from the Scimitar and, as was generally the case with many of the mid-level officer’s she’d received over the years, MacKenzie didn’t feel the need to be quite so interrogative during their onboarding sessions. It was more important to her to make sure that the new arrivals were up to speed on their mission, personnel, and other pertinent information.

 

MacKenzie: I see. Have you familiarized yourself with the Borderlands? We have some unique astronomical phenomena that can make things pretty tricky.

 

Storm: Yes, Sir.  I took time to read through the information available on the LCARS on my way to DS224.  Several nebulas, the badlands, some pirate activity, some Klingon activity, even the Son’a R’ongovian Protectorate, among others. Sounds like there will never be a dull moment.
 

She nodded affirmatively again.

 

MacKenzie: And have you had the chance to meet with our Tactical Chief Lieutenant Silveira yet?

 

Storm:  If you’ll forgive me the familiarity, Sir.  Sil and I are old friends.  Though I was unaware of his posting here when I asked for the transfer.

 

Her brow furrowed slightly. There were both benefits and costs to serving under someone with whom you were familiar or friendly. It was certainly not a dealbreaker for MacKenzie – it seemed to be working out so far between Silveira and Jovenan, after all – but every friendship dynamic was different, and she needed to make sure that any prior relationship between Storm and Silveira wouldn’t interfere with her ability to carry out her duties.

MacKenzie: I believe you. Do you anticipate any problems serving under Lieutenant Silveira, given your prior acquaintance?

Storm:  I think it will be helpful to serve under him.  That sense of really belonging to a ship and trusting its officers often takes a while.  But I believe that coming into a situation knowing my superior and already trusting him implicitly will help expedite that sense of belonging and instant action.

MacKenzie: And you don’t have any concerns about needing to carry out his orders, even if you disagree with them?

Storm: For a good officer, following orders is immediate upon taking any position, but trust still has to be earned.  It’s the difference between an unplanned split-second delay and an instantaneous action.  Both are following orders.  One does so successfully, Sir.  

 

The redheaded commanding officer of the Artemis held both the silence and her posture for a moment before finally releasing it with a very non-committal shrug.

MacKenzie: Well, that’s good enough for me. Sorry you haven’t caught us at a particularly active time, but the crew had a particularly stressful mission and deserved some R&R, so here we are. Have you had a chance to check out much of Deep Space 224 yet?

 

Storm: Response

 

MacKenzie: I’m not sure what you like to eat, but the wings at Molly Malone’s are quite good.

 

Storm: Response

 

MacKenzie nodded curtly and offered a smile.

 

MacKenzie: So, Lieutenant – is there anything else I should know about you? Beyond what I’ve already learned via your service record?

 

Storm: Response

 

 

 

Tag, and TBC!

 

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Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A

Captains Council Member at Large

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