Lieutenant JG Amelia Semara - Let's Get This Clear
Max
(( OOC: I have consulted extensively on this sim, including with Michaels’ writer, to figure out how to resolve this scene.
So we’re all on the same page: I simmed at the very beginning of this mission that Semara checked over the gel-packs. I have not simmed Semara making a mistake in that process - certainly not an egregious one such as failing to inform/coordinate with both command and the chief engineer or neglecting to file the appropriate paperwork. I, her author, do not believe she would, so I must conclude she did not err in this way. In light of that and the number of tags left, I’m taking some liberties with the tags and the scene to avoid making Semara, the entire science department, and all of Command incompetent in a way that stretches belief.
Finally, a reminder: IC actions have IC consequences, but communicate and be kind to your fellow writers OOC if you find yourself in a similar situation. As ever, thought and feelings are in-character only! ))
((Main Engineering, Deck 12, USS Khitomer, en route))
After a rather surprising mis-understanding about the gel-packs and their statuses, Amelia was ready to move on to her task at hand. The room was still obviously tense, so she decided to try a peace offering. Something to get them all focused as one team, one crew. That was, after all, what they were supposed to be.
Semara: Whatever we do, let's keep it simple. I think we can all agree there's been enough mis-communicatin' for one day, so how 'bout we try for one simple set a' instructions even the greenest cadet can understand? If we learned one thing from the last mission, it's this: we don't know who's gonna be tasked with damage control in any particular sector of the ship in an emergency.
Scratch that - Michaels wasn’t just steel-cable tense. Amelia could practically see the woman’s skin crawling and twisting. She consciously relaxed her jaw and neck and shoulders in response, loosening her own body to stay clear-headed in the intensity of the empathic feeling. She failed to see what was making the Vulcan struggle so after she had just tried lowering the temperature. In her view, it was now Michaels’ choice to take the offered peace, or leave it.
Michaels: Simplicity is, without doubt, optimal.
A promising few words.
van der Waals: =/\= Crewman van der Waals to Lieutenant Michaels. =/\=
Naturally, the engineer responded.
Michaels: =/\= Michaels here. Go ahead van der Waals. =/\=
van der Waals: =/\= Ma'am. There are several disagreements between what our database shows and the actual gel packs. And we have found one that was incorrectly installed. :: There was an unintelligible sound in the background. :: Sorry, Ma'am. We found a second one. =/\=
Amelia’s eyes narrowed. She had checked everything again and filed it just before departure. The station crews had been all over the ship. What database was the crewman talking about? She’d logged everything away precisely where it should have been. One mistake she’d believe, but two? Gel packs were not such a complicated piece of machinery to install or service, she should know by now…
Michaels: oO Of course. Oo =/\= Unfortunate. New orders. Stop switching the gel packs and replace the ones that have been switched. Have your team verify the proper installation of every gel pack that has a discrepancy with the database. The most important thing is to get every gel pack correctly installed. Update the database with the actual serial numbers. We can handle the manufacturer's data later. Have your people enter their own names for every gel pack they have to reinstall. =/\=
van der Waals: =/\= Understood. van der Waals out. =/\=
The Vulcan in front of her empathically wound up tighter than a constrictor snake and fumed smellier than a factory fire. Amelia was still trying to trace down in her notes the report she’d filed to Commander Dewitt (and copied to both the CO and XO), just to be absolutely certain it had been filed and received before undocking.
Michaels: oO speak in the flatest tone you can manage, Lera. Oo Engineering is responsible for the maintenance of essentially all ship's systems and components. Part of how we do that is with trained and certified technicians. Engineering also uses a database containing essentially everything we know about every significant component. We know when it was manufactured by what supplier. We know when and where it was installed, who installed it, when it was last tested, and the test results. We know when it was removed from service, who removed it, and where it is currently located. We do this for several reasons, not the least of which is that it is required by Starfleet regulations. It also prevents the situation we find ourselves in now.
Amelia simply stared. She was absolutely letting Lera finish before she said anything.
Michaels: Keeping our database accurate is essential. No one should make significant changes to any system without updating the database. Emergencies are the only exception. In non-emergency cases, no one should make significant changes to any critical system without Engineering being aware. And no, Mr. Matthews, I do not consider overhearing your report to the Captain as proper notification.
It was hard to believe what she was hearing. Feeling a pause in the monologue, Amelia flashed Richard a cool look that brooked no argument.
Semara: :: Softly :: Ensign Matthews. Report back to Lieutenant El’Heem in the lab. We need a chat, Lieutenant-to-Lieutenant. The only words I want to hear are “Yes ma'am.” Clear?
This was too far. It wasn’t Richard in particular that was the issue. Absent a superior officer, she was not going to allow even the possibility of anyone under her command to risk making an escalating situation worse. Just in case she had to file a report on this later.
Lacy / R. Matthews: Response
She nodded as Matthews departed the little group of officers, doubtlessly confused - but it was for his own good. Better Amelia take the heat for anything that happened here, if it came to it.
Michaels: One moment, everyone. We need to ensure that we are using the same words to mean the same thing.
Semara: :: Quietly :: Let us be sure of your meanin’, Lieutenant?
Lacy: Response
Michaels: Mr. Matthews said, and please correct me if necessary, that “Engineering is going through and replacing the bio neural gel packs we’ve already switched out.“
Had Michaels taken courses in intergalactic law? Was that why the engineer was making an impression of an attorney? One thing was certain, Amelia had been wrong about one thing. The monologue wasn’t over. Amelia had no interest in playing the part Michaels had cast her in. She was not going to play courtroom defense, and she was not going to debate semantics with someone whose emotional radio was blasting too loud to hear anyone else’s voice.
Semara: Continue.
Lacy: Response
Michaels: By that, do you mean that Science department members switched out the gel packs, or do you mean that the Science department had the DS33 staff switch them out? If the DS33 staff did the work incorrectly in some cases and failed to document their work, then we have one type of problem. If Science department staff did the work incorrectly in some cases and failed to document their work, then we have a different type of problem.
Remarkably, Amelia found herself completely still inside, waiting. But even if she were seething, her society lady instincts told her to simply stand there, wondering just how long this would take before Lera was somewhere she’d really, actually listen.
Semara: Continue.
Lacy: Response
Michaels: I see. I hope that you understand how this creates difficulties for Engineering. Those difficulties are maintenance problems that can quickly become safety issues for the ship. The safety and functionality of the ship are our primary concerns.
An alert popped up on her PADD, transmitted to it from the ship’s science grid. There was a computing outage in the lab… Of course.
Semara: The safety and functionality of the ship is all of our concern.
Lacy: Response
Michaels: Very well. Engineering is going to continue to verify and, where necessary, correct the installation of all the switched-out gel packs. ::beat:: Now tell me exactly what you intend to do and convince me that you have thought through this revised design. It must, at a minimum, be both safe and functional.
Michaels had all but screamed that she was not interested in engaging in real conversation to the telepath, so Amelia was done with the conversation as well. Intellectually, emotionally, professionally done. She hadn’t the slightest clue why Michaels was so furiously intent on her belief that Amelia (and apparently a wide swath of the crew) were more ignorant and incompetent than recruits fresh out of boot camp, but it stopped now.
Michaels could be as furious as she wanted to be, but the actions she took and words she spoke were ultimately the matter of Amelia’s concern. If there had been an indication the woman wanted help with whatever she was dealing with, that would have been one thing, but Amelia did not tolerate being the target of misplaced wrath from someone who lacked the authority to place it on her.
Semara: I’ll do no such thing.
Michaels / Lacy: Response
Amelia folded her hands carefully behind her back to bring her posture into poised refinement. Her eyes stayed fixed on Michaels’, unwavering and uninterested in any further lecturing the woman might have to give.
Semara: Let’s get this clear right now. You are presently speakin’ to a peer. You ain’t my superior officer, and you don’t discipline me or an officer under me. I shouldn’t have to explain this to you - like any active duty officer aboard, I am fully versed in Starfleet regulations, chain of command, basic engineerin’ procedure on this ship, and the limits of my qualifications. As is your boss, Commander Dewitt, with whom I coordinated. As is the Captain, who ordered the work. As is every station engineer who worked with us. Your claim that “Engineering” was unaware is faulty. It seems to me only you were unaware and only your system that ain’t got the right information. Why that might be, I’ll not speculate. I’ll leave that in your capable hands.
Amelia proffered her PADD forward with evidence of all her work, all her reports, as well as the report she was about to inform Michaels of.
Semara: It appears your crewman’s “correction” just took local computer control offline in our lab. I don’t know why, I’m not there, but that circuit was workin’ fine when I last went over it - as you can see from the logs. Mercifully, the backup took over, or we’d have lost work. :: Beat :: Whatever your problem, Lieutenant, I suggest you fix it.
She pulled the PADD back to herself.
Michaels / Lacy: Response
Semara: :: Interrupting :: I wasn’t done, Lieutenant. Lieutenant El’Heem’s orders were to assist. At present, it’s my estimation I can best assist by leavin’ you to it, and I believe he’ll agree. I won’t argue with someone who ain’t interested in listenin’, and it ain’t particularly fittin’ for two Lieutenants to be havin’ this conversation anyway. If you wish to continue in this manner at a later date after you've considered more carefully, I intend to request the company of Commanders Dewitt and Hobart, as well as Lieutenant El’Heem - just so all departments are perfectly clear. I’ll request that conversation myself if I have to explain why the lab computers are still runnin’ on backups in twenty minutes. All the repair notes are also available on the computer.
Amelia gave a curtsy colder than a seawater glacier, yet one perhaps politer than ever.
Semara: Good day, Lieutenant.
With that, Amelia turned and left.
Tag / END