Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Side Sim - CIO’s Office - Private Meeting

Posted by Commander Mwezi (Executive Officer) in Side Sim - CIO’s Office - Private Meeting

Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Side Sim - CIO’s Office - Private Meeting
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“I do,” Shara said simply. “But that isn’t enough. This is a deeply complicated mission that is testing everyone’s morals and fortitude. We don’t know you. We’ve had a hard enough time coming together as a team under the circumstances that I am concerned because we don’t know how you think. We don’t know what kind of leader you are. Now, this crew is adaptable, clearly, but a part of my job is to fail-proof certain aspects of this mission. There is so much we can’t control that where there are variables we can? Hell, I, and Picklesimer and Agent Blue are all over that. We have to be in order for people to not die. You’re an unknown entity and that make me nervous Commander. I think you know just enough about me to know I’m not easily made nervous.”

Commander Calloway, CIO

Mwezi nodded. “If there were anything I could do to reduce that nervousness, I would do it without hesitation. I do not wish for the crew I work with to have such a lack of confidence in my ability to lead,” he spoke, furrowing his brow in concern. He leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on his knees and resting his chin on his hands, seemingly deep in thought. He then gained a hard expression on his face. “So, Commander Calloway. What can I do to make you more confident in the outcome of this mission, and my role as Sara’s Second-in-Command?”

Mwezi, XO

“Well, isn’t that the question.” Calloway tapped her fingers on the desk a couple of times and then leaned back, studying him. “You have to make serious in-roads in a very short period of time in order to be in any way effective. I can’t give you the answers, but I can prompt the questions you need to be asking yourself. You should be asking, ‘What skills do I have and how do they mesh or conflict with the rest of the senior staffs?’ If there are conflicts, what are you going to do to mitigate them? This team may not be all best friends, but with few exceptions we all at least respect each other and in most cases, we’ve earned a measure of trust. So you should also be asking, ‘How do I earn that trust in a very short period of time?’ And the thing is, Commander, no one can give you that answer but you. Do your research, figure it out. Be the first officer and leader we need you to be.”

Commander Calloway, CIO

Mwezi nodded quietly. “It is certainly something I will have to consider. For most of my career among the stars, I have operated as a silent observer, except in the case of moments of crisis. Even as Security Chief, I was not as charismatic as many Department Heads seem to be. I made sure my team was well trained and ready for any circumstance so that they could react and deal with a situation without having to look to me for guidance. The time it takes to ask for an order and then receive it can be the difference between life and death in a crisis.”

“You express a lack of surety in my ability to take on this role in this place and time. I am sometimes uncertain myself if I am the correct person for this ship and this mission. I put that doubt away only because the Captain chose me and seems to trust me, and I have faith in her judgement of character. Now, speaking of trust, I suppose the question we must consider at this moment is how can I earn your trust specifically. I expect that trust must be earned through action. I must show you that I am worthy of your trust, and it is very unlikely that such trust will be attained within this small meeting.”

Although, it may be a moot point once this mission is over, Mwezi thought to himself, a slight shadow crossing his expression. Once the higher-ups at the ARU learned of his swift and unexpected promotion, they might just as swiftly demote him or even strip his rank. Remaining inconsequential to this universe/timeline was, after all, one of the rules they had set in place when they had agreed to let him leave the Leviathan and serve on a regular Starfleet ship.

Mwezi, XO

Light glinted in Shara’s eyes. “You would be correct. I give people the benefit of the doubt, but I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you, Commander: I don’t trust easily. I haven’t had the luxury of it in my life. However… this ship, my assignment here? It’s an entirely new thing for me. It’s the first non-covert assignment I’ve had in twenty years, not since I was stranded in the Delta Quadrant with the USS Voyager. Now, I’ve been here long enough that I think I’ve got a handle on it, so I’m not going to go out of my way to make things difficult for you, but nor am I going to make it easier. I don’t have the time and we don’t have the luxury with the mission of waiting for everyone to get caught up. It’s an unfortunate reality. But I will also tell you this… I’m very good at what I do. If you let me do that, and you work with us? Well, we’ll be okay.”

Commander Calloway, CIO

“Of course,” Mwezi nodded slightly. “I would not dream of getting in the way of my fellow officers. It is the goal of any Executive Officer to…” he searched for the phrasing for a moment, “bring out the best in their ship’s crew, would you not say?”

He had no idea what the USS Voyager was or what its relevance to the conversation was. Sensing the conversation was beginning to draw to its end, he said nothing more, allowing Calloway the space to speak anything further.

Mwezi, XO