Posted by Commander Riley O’Nell (Executive Officer/Number One) in Side Sim: An Unexpected Opportunity

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Izak Waryn (Chief Engineer) in Side Sim: An Unexpected Opportunity
The doors opened, and Izak stepped into his new quarters on Deck 4. Quite a distance from my old room on Deck 45.

The situation felt surreal. It wasn’t the room itself, though… that was just an aftershock.

Lt Waryn hadn’t been sure what to expect when he’d been called to the CO’s ready room earlier today, but it certainly wasn’t this.

The Commanding Officer and Chief Engineer were both inside waiting for him. It only took a few moments for Izak to notice that Lt Cmdr O’Nell had been promoted to full Commander… and appointed as Ark Angel’s Executive Officer.

That promotion left an opening in the Engineering Department. It was an opening they appointed Lt J.G. Izak Waryn to fill.

He was now the Chief Engineer.

The appointment was provisional, of course. Given Izak’s low rank and relative inexperience, he could be replaced if he failed to fulfill his duties. But they had faith in him. They believed in him and granted him this opportunity.

An opportunity to excel. An opportunity to rise to the occasion. An opportunity to prove himself.

He was excited… and terrified.

Izak felt like he was finally getting a good understanding of Ark Angel’s systems, but knew he didn’t have an intuitive feel for them as Cmdr O’Nell did. He also didn’t know a good portion of the personnel in the Engineering Department. Its my department now. Stars… I don’t know if I’m ready for this.

Lt Waryn dropped a pair of duffel bags on the couch and stared out the viewport for a few moments as he tried to wrap his head around everything.

It’s just like any other problem… I have to break it down into smaller components. Izak rationalized. We don’t have an Assistant Chief Engineer… they would have been appointed Chief Engineer if we did. The department is pretty junior across the board, actually. The Duty Shift Leaders are good…and they handle a lot of the day-to-day maintenance. He shook his head. Though I suppose I’ll need to replace myself as Gamma Shift Leader now.

Now that he was on a roll, he continued his mental tally. We have some good senior Crewmen. O’Nell told me to leverage their experience when he gave me Gamma Shift, and Senior Chief Vo was a huge help.

I suppose I can also reach out to Commander O’Nell. Just because he moved up doesn’t mean he’ll have forgotten anything. He’ll probably be busy with his XO duties, but the first lesson he taught me is that we don’t have to do this alone. That the crew is a team.

Lt Waryn was still nervous… but planning made his duties seem a little more manageable. And I don’t have to do everything myself. Izak tapped his combadge and contacted the Engineering Department’s senior Crewman, a grizzled Klingon Warrant Officer. =/\= “Waryn to Kotok. Please swing by my quarters. I’d like to get your thoughts on the department.”

Lt J.G. Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel

OOC: good luck little grasshopper

Commander Riley O’Nell (XO)

OOC: Thanks!

IC:
Izak sat in the chair and listened as the Klingon Warrant Officer broke down the issues in the department, as he saw them.

Kotok was an older Klingon whose hair had turned steel gray. He had a full beard, and the thick, wavy locks on his head were pulled back into a man bun. He was a few inches taller than Izak was and still seemed to be in great physical shape despite being almost three times the young Lt’s age.

The Klingon was drinking a raktajino, and Izak got one from the replicator as well. It was about as strong as the engineering-grade coffee Izak usually drank, and as bitter, but with some earthy flavors and notes of some spice he couldn’t quite place.

”… and basically… this is just part of a cycle that happens regularly,” Kotok said in a gruff voice. “Experienced officers transfer… in this case, the ACE and a half a dozen Lt J.G.’s… and the Chief Engineer needs to train up the replacements. With Commander O’Nell appointed as Executive Officer, the department is left with a significantly larger knowledge gap than usual.”

Izak stared at the older man for a moment, impressed with his knowledge. “I should make you Assistant Chief Engineer.”

Kotok let out a harsh belly laugh and downed the last of his raktajino as if it were an ale. “No.”

Lt Waryn raised his eyebrows in shock. “What? Why?”

Kotok shook his head, still amused. “ACE is a made-up job. It’s a position the Chief Engineer uses to give an up-and-coming officer more experience before they go to their first department head tour. To prevent situations like this.” The Klingon gave a toothy grin, which Izak returned with a wry smile of his own. “At the moment, having an Assistant will just place one more targ in your pack… and you already have too many to wrangle. Do not appoint one.”

Izak didn’t take umbrage at the blunt advice. Senior Chief Vo had been similar… and the man was only ever that frank during private discussions… never in public. As he considered the man’s words, Kotok continued.

“As a Warrant Officer, I am here to help make sure Engineering runs smoothly, and that involves training departmental personnel and advising the department head. I do not need or want another title.”

Lt Waryn nodded slowly. “So I should leverage the experienced personnel that remain in the department and focus on training up all the new personnel so they can fulfill their duties. Myself included.” Izak was under no illusions that he knew everything he needed to know.

“Yes. Do it well enough, and you will get the privilege of doing it over and over again as your career continues.” Kotok gave another grin. Izak couldn’t tell if it was meant to convey amusement or encouragement, so he chose to believe it was the latter.

“Well, thank you for your time, Warrant. I’ll review the changes you suggested to the duty shifts and have the rosters finalized in the morning.” Lt Waryn extended his arm to shake the other man’s hand, but Kotok grasped his forearm instead. Izak quickly adapted to the ‘warrior handshake.’

“Qapla, Lieutenant!” The man said in his gravelly voice. “These next few months will be a battle, but it is one I know you can overcome.”

The Klingon turned and left Izak’s new quarters. Being alone again reminded Izak that his duffel bags were still sitting in a corner and he’d never really moved in. “Looks like I still have some work to do tonight… just to get ready for even more work tomorrow.”

The mountain of responsibility that lay before him was still daunting, but at least now he knew where the path started.

Lt J.G. Izak Waryn - Chief Engineer - U.S.S. Ark Angel