Posted by Captain Freja Andreassen (Commanding Officer) in Presim - DS9 - Finn, a Fiddle and a New XO

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Finn Grady (First Officer) in Presim - DS9 - Finn, a Fiddle and a New XO

Posted by Captain Freja Andreassen (Commanding Officer) in Presim - DS9 - Finn, a Fiddle and a New XO
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Lieutenant Commander Finn Grady blinked slowly at the crewman from the transport vessel in front of him. “What do you mean it’s not there? Did it fly out the dang window on the way over here?”

The crewman shifted uncomfortably on his feet, “I’m sorry, sir, we couldn’t find it with your other belongings. We looked all around the passenger luggage area. It’s just not there.”

Finn’s dark blue-green eyes flashed slightly as he glared at the crewman. He was fairly tall and slender with a build that had stayed with him from his cross country days in high school. His pale skin flushed slightly red to match the color of the uniform he wore, highlighting the dusting of freckles that were present across his nose and cheeks. Those features, along with his dark hair, were present in both his brother and sister as well and left no doubt as to their relation to their father and his Irish heritage.

“Well y’all better start checking all the other areas in that cargo hold because I am not about to leave here without it. I got on this ship with it, then travelled across the quadrant in an airtight hunk of metal with it and now it should be right here with all of my other things. Do you realize that my mama had that thing hand made for me back home? It didn’t come out of some replicator somewhere,” Finn’s eyebrow twitched slightly as he stared the other man down.

“I’m truly sorry, sir, but I don’t....”

The man was cut off as another crew member came running up behind them, carrying a black instrument case in front of him, “I found it! We’ve got it right here!”

He handed the case over to Finn who set it down carefully on the floor and opened it to verify its contents. Inside was a beautiful dark maple fiddle and its bow. Finn visibly relaxed as he ran his finger along the instrument before closing the case and looking up at the crewmembers with narrowed eyes. Then he placed the instrument on a cart, which was currently holding a duffel bag and a guitar case, gave the men a curt nod and turned away with the cart.

Finn quickly made his way along the outer docking ring, his excitement beginning to grow. He had been in Starfleet for seven years, all of them spent on the USS Belle Meade, and he had been surprised at how quickly after finishing the command course that he had received orders to report to a new ship… as its First Officer. The airlock which would lead him to that new ship, the Chimera, stood in front of him now. One short little passage way to lead him to the next phase of his journey through life. A smile crossed his face and he took a deep breath and confidently began to push his luggage cart through that airlock and into his future.

Lieutenant Commander Finn Grady - XO

NEs Random and Task were on airlock duty when the new XO strolled aboard.

“Welcome aboard the Chimera sir,” NE Random spoke first, immediately noting the rank pips on the officer’s collar, “Are you Lt. Commander Grady?”

~NE Random~

“Guilty as charged, Ensign,” Finn responded with a friendly smile. “Glad to have finally made it, it was hit or miss a few minutes ago.”

He gathered up his belonging from the cart, managing to get the duffel slung across his back and one instrument in each hand.

“Would you gentlemen mind pointing me to the nearest turbolift? I understand they keep XOs in the penthouse on this particular space hotel,” he gave the officers a grin and a quick wink as he readied himself for the trip to his quarters.

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

“Yes sir, they do, the turbolift is down the hall to the right, you’ll run right into the lift as the hallway ends,” NE Random replied, “If you get lost on the way to your quarters, the computer can light the way for you as well.”

~NE Random~

Grady nodded as he began to push his cart down the corridor in the direction indicated, “Thank y’all, carry on gentlemen.”

He made his way to the turbolift and the brief trip up to Deck 2. From there it was not long to find his quarters since there wasn’t much on this deck. The doors swooshed open and he stepped in.

“Dang,” he muttered to himself as he surveyed the scene, impressed. He knew he would be getting an upgrade as an XO but it was still a little shocking to see all of the space he had to himself. Of course, it didn’t have the same charm and elegance of his family mansion back in Tennessee but it was big.

He took his two instruments off the cart and set them on the table then walked his duffle bag into the bedroom and threw it on the bed. He considered taking the cart back down to the transport ship he had come in on but then decided it was going to be his now, as payment for the scare they gave him with his fiddle. What he would use it for would be decided later. Finn walked back into the bedroom and emptied out his duffle bag, placing his spare uniforms and off duty clothes into a couple of drawers before taking several photos out to place around the living space. One was a picture of his whole family: Finn along with his parents, brother and sister standing in a formal pose on their front porch. What the picture did not capture was that it had been late August and the humidity had been about a million percent, which made the formal clothing near unbearable. Another photo showed him standing next to one of their prized Tennessee walking horses in their barn. The last photo was him on stage in some hole in the wall bar going to town on his fiddle next to a couple other guys in a band, a huge smile on his face.

Finn stepped back and surveyed the room again. I need to get some more stuff he thought.

With his quarters all squared away he figured it was time to report in to the CO. He popped into the bathroom to ensure he looked presentable and then headed down to the CIC. Stepping through the doors for the first time caught him a little off guard. He had familiarized himself with the ship specs, of course, but it was still an awe inspiring site when compared with the bridge of the Belle Meade that he was used to. Bringing himself back to the present he made his way over to the ready room doors and thumbed the chime to announce his presence.

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

Freja looked up from her work, hopefully this was her new XO and she could divide up the stack of tasks on her desk, “Come in,” she called.

The doors parted on her command, the office was uncluttered except for the aforementioned stack of PaDDs on the desk, a few personal touches lined the shelves behind the desk. A few plaques denoting various awards, a picture or two.

The woman behind the desk was slender, her blond hair secured in a single plait that was currently hanging over one shoulder. Her dark eyes, denoting her predominately Betazoid heritage, were gazing at the door and she smiled after her eyes landed on the Lt. Commander’s pips on the side of the man’s collar, “Lt. Commander Grady, I presume?” She asked.

~Freja Andreassen~

Finn stepped into the room and came briefly to attention, “Yes, ma’am, I’m Lieutenant Commander Finn Grady, reporting for duty.”

There was a slight hint of an accent from the southern United States area on Earth, though it tended to come out more when he was excited. He had a friendly demeanor about him and he smiled back warmly at the CO.

“I would have arrived a little bit earlier but I had a teeny tiny mishap over on the station.”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

“Oh dear, I hope everything was resolved for you,” Freja replied, “You’re here now and that’s what counts the most, other than the mishap, a safe journey out here to meet us?”

~Freja Andreassen~

“Yes ma’am, all resolved there. Apart from that the rest of the ride over was fairly uneventful. I believe this is the farthest out I’ve ever been, the Belle Meade kept a little tighter into the core worlds,” he paused glancing down at the stack of PaDDs on the captain’s desk. “Looks like you’re dang near waist high in it there ma’am.”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

“It’s what happens when command reassigns your XO without an immediate replacement, so I hope you’re ready to help with the paperwork backlog,” Freja remarked with a grin, “Our CNS has been helping a bit with our command roster, but he’s also busy with psych evals so he will probably appreciate the extra set of hands around here to help with that sort of thing. I haven’t quite received the mission orders yet but I suspect they’ll come down soon, but I suspect we’re out here because of me,” she paused, “This isn’t our usual neighborhood either, but I wouldn’t be surprised to walk into the mission briefing to find out we’re here because they needed someone with a bit more experience, lots of new COs in the fleet, I’m rapidly becoming one of the more seasoned ones. But if we could make some headway in the paperwork, we’ll be in great shape for whatever command has up their sleeve for us.”

~Freja Andreassen~

“Well, lucky for us, I grew up mucking out horse stalls so I’m pretty handy at digging out of messes. Shall I pull up a chair or do you want me to give me a stack and send me to my room until I finish my homework?” he grinned back at the captain. “Also, I suppose at some point, I should ask about protocol and how you like things to run on your ship. I want to make sure I’m supporting the message.”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

“Please, help yourself to a stack,” Freja gestured to her desk, “I’m hopefully one of the more casual commanders in the fleet. I like having crew who feel empowered to speak up when they think something’s not right. Obviously not doing it in front of a visiting dignitary if it can be avoided would be much appreciated, but I’ve always said that while I have these pips on the side of my collar, I don’t have every single answer to every single problem. We are all a team and we work through the mission together, while still respecting each others rank and experience.”

~Freja Andreassen~

A small wave of relief washed over Finn at the COs words. He was, in general, pretty laid back himself and a small part of him had been worried that he would get assigned somewhere with a rigid structure. There was certainly a time and place for “by the books” and some structure helped a crew know what their expectations were, but it could also stifle creativity. Finn was also a firm believer in the idea that people who enjoyed their jobs would excel at them.

He sank down into one of the chairs in front of the COs desk and grabbed a stack of PaDDs, thumbing through personnel reports and department requests, approving what he could. He glanced over the top of one at Freja, “I figured I should set up some meetings with the department heads to get to know them… any little nuggets of wisdom you’ve got on them? I guess I should also meet with the head of our marines.”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO