Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen - Guidelines for Bureaucrats: 1) When in charge, ponder. 2) When in trouble, delegate. 3) When in doubt, mumble
CPT Arianus
(( Operations Center - Deck 5 - USS Artemis ))
Ollie rubbed his tired eyes and let out a deep yawn as he leaned back for a moment. He glanced at the steady accumulation of PADDs on his right—pleased to see it slowly getting taller, while on his left, the work he still had to do steadily shrank. His desk gradually started to look like a functional workspace rather than a cluttered storage area. As things stood, it seemed quite possible that he might wrap up his shift in just thirty minutes, just as he was expected to, and then finally kick off his much-awaited shore leave.
But that naivety didn’t hold, not at Artemis OPS Center. As he was in the midst of going over another requisition request, his console suddenly sprang to life, beeping to signal that a new message had arrived.
oO No… Oo
Gideon placed the PADD on the table and glanced at the screen as his fingers moved to the keyboard to access the incoming message. As his eyes flicked over the text, his smile slowly faded, and the initial spark of joy that had lit up his face gradually diminished. Each line he read seemed to siphon away his happiness, casting a shadow over his spirit with each line as he read through the supervisor’s updates on the paperwork left for him to do by the previous shift for Shuttlebay Operations.
oO C'mon people, how am I supposed to do my job if you can't do yours? Oo
He let out a sigh and picked up the stack of PADDs to his right, sorting through them methodically. Before long, more than half of them had been set aside in a new pile, which he then picked up and looked at sadly. A couple from the top went quickly into the bin for discarded PADDs.
oO There goes the shuttle spare parts requisition... Oo
He checked a new PADD on top and then looked at the screen of the computer before he returned it back on the table.
oO That one needs just a couple of small changes… Oo
As he got back to the pile in his hands, he exchanged a few more glances between screens. Then, he set the pile on top of another one on the left side of the desk, only to toss the entire new stack into the trash.
oO That’s less for me to do now, that’s actually good… Oo
He shifted his gaze back to the computer screen as he scrolled down through the lengthy list of new documents waiting to be processed, shrugging his shoulders. It was what it was.
oO Yeah, maybe it's better if I start again. Would be easier... Oo
He gathered the remaining PADDs from his table, and they followed their friends into the recycling. With an empty desk, he opened the drawer, placed a new stack of blank PADDs on the table, and forwarded a whole sheet of documents and changes from the report into their memory to start fresh. He picked one, checked the request, and placed it on the left side, then picked another. Somewhere, there was definitely something that could take him half of the hour he had left before his shift ended. Surely there was something...
And really, a Holy Grail was there. But before he allowed himself to feel that freeing excitement, he double-checked that Lieutenant Storm was still on board. Satisfied, he smiled, set that one aside, and gathered the rest of the pile to move it to the empty table next to him, effectively passing the responsibility for solving all this mess to the next shift, to some other poor soul.
Happy and calm, Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen rose from his desk, cradling a single PADD like a child, and headed for the exit.
(( Quarters 1418 - Deck 3 - USS Artemis-A ))
The quarter's doorbell chimed as if there were a fire somewhere. And in a way, there was one - burning just inside OPS Lieutenant JG, whose shore leave was inching closer with each passing minute…
The doorbell suddenly fell silent, and silence was swiftly followed by a voice coming from behind the door.
Storm: Response
Bergmen: JG Bergmen, ma’am. I’m following up on the timeslot you reserved for the shuttle flight?
The doors opened, and as Bergmen didn't see Storm immediately in his face, he entered and looked around.
Bergmen: May we sit down, ma’am? Unfortunately, it will take a while, but don’t worry, we have time.
Storm: Response
He waited for her to sit down first and then followed, placing the PADD on the small table between them.
Bergmen: So, ma’am, the issue is that you filled out the request for a takeoff slot for your planned shuttle flight, but you didn’t actually fill the requisition for the shuttle itself or the paperwork for hangar services, so… that’s why I’m here. You need to fill out all five forms on the PADD first, attach them to a copy of your original request, which I saved there as well, and then resubmit the entire stack again. ::smiles:: But don’t worry, we’ve reserved the timeslot for you, so you can still catch your flight on time if you fill it out today, preferably immediately, because I have a moment to go over it with you now. Questions?
Storm: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen
Operations Officer
U.S.S. Artemis-A
A240009JC1