Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Surda (Chief of Security / RTF) in Cobb’s Ready Room - Summoning Surda

Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Cobb’s Ready Room - Summoning Surda

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Surda (Chief of Security / RTF) in Cobb’s Ready Room - Summoning Surda
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Zachariah Cobb was a man nearing the limits of his endurance. Since agreeing to take command of the USS Leviathan, he’d found himself thrown headfirst into a world populated by anomalies and dangers at almost every turn; his ship had been forced out of drydock days ahead of schedule and sent chasing after an entity that claimed the lives of several of his crew; his scientists were harbouring ARU-endorsed secrets that could bring about the destruction of his ship; and his Counselor was being threatened by a shadowy figure just for doing her bloody job! And now, as if one of their most dangerous anomalies recently being out of containment wasn’t enough to deal with, Roebuck had reassigned his Chief of Security to another bloody ship! Why, it was enough to make any man desperate for a drink…or several. And currently, Zachariah Cobb was about finished making light work of his fourth.

But the situation could not be ignored for even a second. As the department responsible for not only the safety of his entire crew, but also the containment of all currently-housed anomalies, Cobb needed someone in charge whom he could fully rely on and trust. And after several hours spent pouring over records and files and incident reports, one name kept returning to the fore - Surda.

The Orion had only been with the Leviathan for a short time, but by all accounts had shown herself to be a thoroughly capable officer. Fluent in several languages and already a member of the RTF, it was possible that she could serve as the bridge between the Recovery Task Force and the rest of the crew that Zachariah had been missing. So, it was with an uncharacteristic level of enthusiasm, both to meet this young woman in person and also for another legitimate reason to reach for a drink, that the captain delivered his message:

=^=Ensign Surda, this is the captain. Please present yourself at my ready room within the hour. =^=

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

=^= This is Surda. I am on my way. =^= Surda took a deep breath the second the transmission was closed. What on Earth could the Captain need her for? She started walking despite the slight urge to simply avoid the situation altogether. Starfleet might be recalling her. They could technically do that, even though they had said they wouldn’t. Surda’s thoughts trailed off as she noticed that she had reached the ready room. She reached for the chime, halted, then nodded and pressed it.
-Surda

“Come in!” came a voice like warm milk over gravel.

Once inside the room, Surda would find the captain sitting behind his desk, a bottle of whiskey and two already-filled glasses before him. His uniform tunic was somewhat neater than normal and his long, silver-black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, matching the one shaped by his beard.

“Ah, Ensign Surda, come in,” he waved her towards a vacant chair on the opposite side of his desk, then pushed one of the filled glasses towards her. “Forgive me for having been a relative stranger to you until now. And let us drink to finally meeting, at last, eh?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Surda blinked, somewhat surprised. It didn’t seem like he was going to tell her she was off the Leviathan. “It’s a pleasure, Captain.” She sat down. “I can hardly expect you to meet everyone, but I am always glad for a drink.” She smiled and held the glass out. “Salud.”
-Surda

“Salud,” Zachariah echoed, comforted to be in the company of one who would not judge his proclivity for drinking but instead join in with him. For a few moments he remained silent, his focus on the whiskey as he savoured the trail of warmth down his throat. Then finally he cleared his throat and continued to speak.

“We are both far too busy for idle chatter, so I shall get straight to the point. Your security chief, Lt Stone, has been commandeered by another ship. Oh, believe me, I would have stopped it happening if I could!” he snorted. Clearly the incident remained a great source of frustration for the Leviathan’s captain.

“But as you will have already learned, the security team is the most essential department on this ship, for not only does the safety of the crew rest in your hands, but so too does the management of the containment decks. I can not afford to have a single officer off their game. To that end, I need a new Chief of Security yesterday! And, well…after considering every individual in the department, it was your name that I settled on.”

He topped up both of their glasses in anticipation of her reply, then concluded with, “I know you’ve only been on the ship for a matter of days but I’ve read your record and have a good idea of what you’re capable of. So, what do you say to that, eh?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb