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 Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Cobb’s Ready Room - Summoning Surda
Posted by… suppressed (4) 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

Surda drank absently. “I think I need more alcohol.” She laughed, a little breathlessly. Promotion was the last thing she had expected. “I’m more than willing I just… by the great goddess, I never expected this.” She took a deep breath. “What are the expectations?”
-Surda

“Ah, that’s the spirit, eh,” the captain laughed, sliding the bottle into the centre of the desk, where it remained within easy reach of them both. He swallowed a generous mouthful from his own glass then sat back and steepled powerful fingers under his chin.

“Expectations? Well now, we both know that an ARU assignment comes with a vast swathe of additional responsibility. And as chief, every molecule of that would rest upon your shoulders.” There was no sense in lying to her. She had been here long enough already to have witnessed the unique demands of this department. “Starfleet regulations demand that you perform all duties relevant to a standard security chief, that is to ensure, as much as is possible, the safety of every man and woman onboard this vessel; to verify that all crewmembers are behaving appropriately to their rank and position and to administer consequences if they are not; to protect the physical and technical assets of both the Federation and the ARU that comprise this vessel and her equipment; and also to attend, or nominate another to attend in your stead, any away team operations that would require or benefit from the presence of security personnel.”

He paused for brief replenishment from his glass, with the knowledge that the Orion already knew, and followed, every directive he had given thus far. But what would come next was where he anticipated trouble and was where most officers would run from the room, screaming.

“Additional to this,” he continued, his tone authoritative but with a faint tinge of regret that he was forced to demand such duty from anyone at all, “the ARU requires your department to be the primary managers of the containment decks. This includes scheduling round-the-clock, physical monitoring by a single shift leader for each containment level and several other officers to be stationed as the shift leaders see fit. Miss, I…” he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “…I must ask how much you know, at this point, on the things we have in containment? I mean, I can see from your record that your security clearance is sufficient to have been provided relevant details, but…how much have you actually read, or learned, since coming here?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

“I have read all information supplied, but I admit to spending some time looking for more.” It was technically against the rules, but Surda saw nothing wrong with furthering her own information. She sighed. “I may be new to the Leviathan, but I have spent nearly half my life in service to Starfleet. I may not have spent much time around anomalies, but I have been Black Ops for ten years.” She took another drink. “You expect anomalies to surprise your officers, but I have done things that would surprise you, Captain.” She had said what she needed to. “And besides, with the right incentive, some of your officers can be quite loose with their tongues.” She smiled, enjoying the sudden turn in the conversation. “You don’t need to be concerned. I had my choice. I made it. I knew what I was getting into.”
-Surda Cos