Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade James Rowe (Scientist) in Pre-Sim - Meeting the Boss

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade James Rowe (Scientist) in Pre-Sim - Meeting the Boss

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Liam Madison (Chief Science Officer) in Pre-Sim - Meeting the Boss
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<SNIP>
IC: As Rowe entered the office, his eyes swept the room… like they always did… Unconsciously he was looking for not only threats, though that is where his past had taught him to start, but anything that might provide useful or at the very least interesting. What he found was a man a few years older than himself who had clearly been in the middle of reviewing some kind of data.

First appearances pegged the man as a stern figure, one proud of that sternness. Close cropped, graying, hair. Sharp gray eyes and facial features. Rowe wondered silently to himself if that was genuine or a crafted persona, only time would tell. Despite the CSO being seated, Rowe could tell that he was slighter in physical stature, though that detail was insignificant in scientific settings… his mind cataloged it anyway… old habits and whatnot. James wasn’t the type of person to describe another person’s ‘vibe’ but something about the CSO was ‘off’… like the eyes that looked back at him weren’t completely human. That impression was interesting enough that he thought he might have to do some research on his own later.

Moving to the offered seat, Rowe sat down and said. “Lt. JG James Rowe reporting for duty.”

• Rowe

Liam’s office rarely changed as he found familiarity to be comforting. Over all the space gave off a professional and tidy impression. A few scattered pictures of his family, all of his brother and his children, rested on the shelves. One office would stick out and that was his nephew. The common replicator stood silently waiting for orders on the path leading up to his work place. Upon his desk, a purple crystallized bosai tree stood as the only decoration. It was a gift from one of his past crew and he found it to be a good conversation starter when needed.

CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

He watched the man approach as gestured for him to take the seat in front of him. “Take a seat and before we start, would you like something to drink?”

Lemon balm and a tulsi blend came to mind as he felt LB stir again. His hand reached up to gently touch the back of his neck, feeling the subtle breathing of the creature. The little symbiotic parasite had fused into his nerves from the base of his skull down into his trapezoid muscles.

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

As James moved to the offered seat he clocked the various family pictures and the bosai tree. Pictures such as these were to be expected on a ship like the Athena that spent such long stretches away from home. The placement of the tree made it obvious that it was a common conversational piece. “A water would be great.” Rowe said. He found that speaking had a way of making the throat scratchy.

James settled into the seat and smoothed the front of his pants out of habit.

• Rowe

Liam nodded, not one to judge a man by his choice of drink. He shifted upward as he spoke the order into the replicator. It came to life with a hum. Within a short time, a tray appeared with the requested water and a cup of Lemon balm and a tulsi tea for him. He carried it to the center of the table before he took his seat. A small wired ball filled with loose leaf tea seeped slowly in the hot water as he took a breath. He took a sip once it darkened then focused on the task at hand.

“I’ll ask the same question I ask everyone that walks into my office and enters my departments. Why did you join Starfleet and more important, the science department?” He causally reached into the drawer for something while he listened to the answer.

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

James took a sip of his water and nodded his head in thanks as he listened to the question. “Growing up curiosity wasn’t something that my parents just encouraged… it was like a competitive sport in our house. As I got older curiosity seemed to fall into a couple of different categories… there was of course the academic route, but young me didn’t like the idea of being ‘cooped up’… I could have gone into the private sector, but that kind of rat race just didn’t appeal to me… so I floated for a couple years much to my parent’s disappointment. In my early 20s I came to the realization that Starfleet gave me an entire galaxy to sate my curiosity.”

“Initially I worked much more in Ops, especially on the ground. While there I got to see first hand the realities and consequences of decisions, anomalies, and such. After my injury, I found myself looking at those same topics from the other side of the equation. Instead of dealing with consequences, I became interested in what those things looked like before they became someone else’s problem.

• Rowe

“So early problem solving appeal. I can respect that and few people consider an approach in this department for it. What skills are you hoping to bring to the department? or do you want to learn something while you are here?”

Liam pulled out his ‘lunch’ for the day as he quietly injected himself in the arm. LB settled down near his neck and absorbed the radiation now pulsing in his system. The little critter was easily made content when all his needs were met. A simple enough task when one knew them and something Liam had gotten use to.

CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

James took a moment before answering. His eyes briefly followed the hypospray as Madison administered the injection with the practiced ease of someone who had long since made it part of his routine. Whatever the treatment was, it clearly wasn’t something that required explanation, and James wasn’t one to pry.

“I think the first thing I’d like to bring is a different perspective.”

He settled back in his chair.

“Having spent most of my career in Operations I learned to make decisions with incomplete information, prioritize competing demands, and keep things moving. Most of the time you don’t have the luxury of understanding every variable, you just try understand enough to solve the problem in front of you.”

A thoughtful smile crossed his face.

“When I transferred into Science, I thought that was what I needed to unlearn. Turns out… it wasn’t.”

He folded his hands together.

“What I needed to learn was patience.”

“Ops taught me to look for an answer. Science has been teaching me to make sure I’m asking the right question before I go looking for one.”

James glanced toward the viewport for a moment before returning his attention to Madison.

“I highly doubt that I will ever be the smartest person standing in the room. I don’t expect to become the foremost authority on subspace mechanics or stellar cartography. There are plenty of passionate young specialists for that. What I hope I can become is someone who’s comfortable standing at the intersection of disciplines. Someone who can take a problem that’s stalled because everyone is looking at it through the same lens and ask…” He smiled faintly. “…what if we’ve framed the question incorrectly?”

He shrugged.

“As for what I’d like to learn…” He considered it for a moment. “Perspective, I suppose.”

“The more time I’ve spent in Science, the more I’ve realized how little any one person can know. That’s not discouraging…it means the work is worth doing. If I leave this department better at collaborating and knowing when and who to lean on, I’ll consider that time well spent.”

• Rowe

Insightful and… slightly humble. A rarity with officers that transferred from one department to another. It meant a different approach to the interview. Over all, Liam wanted honesty over perfection in his officers. The later-a fact he learned himself- often lead to failure.

“Having spent many years in this department, I will say there will always be something new to learn. Curiosity is a key foundation of science and something you will learn to keep the longer you stay.” Liam paused as he removed the tea leaves and set them aside. He brought the brewed tea to his lips, sipping lightly. A brief smile crossed his expression before he set it back down.

He returned to the interview. “You mentioned you didn’t need to alter your mindset. However, I will point out that there are differences between Operations and Science. Has there been anything that has given you issues?”

CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

James listened attentively as Madison spoke, the hint of a grin played across his lips as the CSO pushed back slightly on his logic.

“I’ve found the differences are less in mindset and more in…” he paused a moment playing with his word selection… “urgency is the wrong word… maybe pacing is a better one.” He cocked his head to one side as he thought about it, then simply decided to explain his thought process.

“The questions or problems that come up in Ops are typically today’s problems and as such require a decisive answer or action. My experience thus far in Science is that there’s more room for…” Rowe paused again, trying to be deliberate in word choice “let’s say uncertainty… the questions may or may not have definitive answers… that’s still unnerving for me. I liked the black and white of an Ops decision being right or wrong, because either way there was a next step to be taken.”

Coming out of his train of thought, James returned to eye contact. “I’m working on in.”

Rowe

Liam took in the man’s answer. He leaned into his chair reflecting on his own experience with Science’s mysteries. The symbiote was the biggest and best example of that. They knew little about it making new developments concerning.

“I find it equal parts fascinating and frustrating. When you think you have the answers, science and life reminds you that you don’t. It’s a fact I’ve learned to accept the longer I run this department and with my current condition.”

His fingers drummed briefly as he flipped through the officer’s record. “Are there any areas in science you favor out of curiosity? Areas you would enjoy or want to learn more of?”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

James considered the question for a moment longer than he intended to before responding. “I’m finding puzzles more intriguing than I thought I would. Mr. Donivas and I have been working through some anomalous sensor readings, and I’ve enjoyed that more than I expected. Astrometrics, stellar cartography… I could see myself spending more time there.” Rowe shifted his weight slightly in the seat.

“Though if I’m being honest… people have always made me the most curious… how two people can look at the same information and draw completely different conclusions fascinates me.”

He thought for a moment. “I think I’ve got a thing for patterns, whether they appear in sensor data or people.”

• Rowe

Bump

Bump