Posted by Captain Shock (CO) in One-to-one with Cdr Adam Magnusson

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Adam Magnusson (Chief Intelligence Officer) in One-to-one with Cdr Adam Magnusson

Posted by Captain Shock (CO) in One-to-one with Cdr Adam Magnusson
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Shock had said good-bye for now to his exeutive officer. He prepared himself for his next meeting.

The ready room was compact and precise. A desk faced the door with two chairs opposite, suitable for formal conversation. To one side, a low coffee table and three chairs stood, more suitable for freer conversations. A narrow sofa folded neatly into the wall, its presence more practical than inviting. The sofa could also be turned into a bed, should Shock like to rest while in the ready room. He thought he might not avail himself of that opportunity. Unlike humans, Vulcans could go without sleep for much time.

The walls remained bare, except for the display area and a replicator standing unused.

The display was spare but personal. At its leftmost edge hung a framed crayon drawing, its strokes thick, uneven, and earnest. A Klingon boy and a Vulcan officer stood side by side, fighting off a crude black monster with wide red eyes. The Vulcan bore an uncanny resemblance to Shock, even if the figure was misshapen and drawn far too green to be politically correct. The boy who had drawn it, majQu’, had refused to leave Shock’s side during a rescue operation years ago. His family’s vessel had been found adrift, systems down, the parents barely conscious. The boy had been frightened, disoriented, speaking of monsters on board. He had clung to Shock throughout the evacuation, as his parents were being treated in Sickbay. Upon his family’s release from Sickbay, he had presented Shock with two drawings. One now hung here. The other remained in his quarters.

To the right of the frame, a group of unlabelled stoneware jars rested on a basalt tray, each containing loose-leaf tea: some Vulcan, Andorian, and Kelpien, but most were east Asian ones from Earth – Shock’s favourites. Among the jaws sat a Vulcan teapot and two matching cups, unglazed and simple in form. The set had been shaped by an old friend who had become a potter. Before Shock departed for Earth, he had given it to him: made from Vulcan clay, meant to carry a piece of homeplanet’s soil wherever he went.

At the centre of the display area lay a bound logbook, hand-stitched in the style of ancient Vulcan sailor’s logs. The leather-like binding was dark and unadorned. He had yet to write in it. This was his first day aboard the Leviathan. The writing would come later.

Now, he would speak to Magnusson. One-to-ones would begin. One by one. The department heads’ sessions already been scheduled in each one’s calendar with the appropriate summons.

The appointed hour was almost there. Shock stood up and straightened his uniform.

Shock, Captain
Commanding Officer

On the minute of the appointed time, the chime to Shock’s office rang.

On being given leave to enter, Adam Magnusson entered the ready room. He took a moment to glance across the room, scanning and noting the differences he’d managed to get set since arriving. He stopped a few steps from the Captains desk and clasped hands behind his back and stood at attention “Captain” He said as his greeting.

CIO

Shock, standing, welcomed Adam in. “Thank you for coming, commander.” Shock invited Adam to sit in the coffee area. “I’ve asked you to come here for us to get to know one another. I am particularly curious about your role and how you find it, and what you may need from me to continue to perform admirably in that role.”

“Before we start, would you like something to drink? There is tea here that I’ve prepared, but also a replicator to make what you need. Not everyone enjoys tea the way I do.”

Shock, Captain
Commanding Officer

Adam sat down and crossed his legs “Tea, thank you. I mostly only drink water during my shifts, but I prefer tea over coffee” Adam wasn’t usually much of a conversationalist except when in private situations. He sniffed the air “Leaves, not bags” He noted with a curious tone. He’d never been one for the luxury of properly made products unless they were red wine and cheese.

CIO

Adam behaved similarly to Shock when it came to tea and coffee.

“Indeed, commander. I prefer my tea grown and steeped. I hope you will enjoy it too.”

Shock poured a cup each for both of them.

“Do you have any questions for me before we begin?”

Shock, Captain
Commanding Officer

Adam accepted the cup with a half nod, taking a moment to sniff the contents, then nodding in approval, “No, sir. No questions to start with”

CIO

Shock took a sip of dahongpao. It had a unique orchid fragrance and a long-lasting sweet aftertaste. The warmth of the porcelain against his fingers, the weight of the brew on the tongue –– he let the experience settle before continuing. Mindfulness was not indulgence. It was attention. And, for Shock, attention was a form of respect to the one he spoke with.

“I’d like to use this time to become better acquainted,” he said. “In particular, I’d like to hear how you experience your role. What helps you succeed? And how I can support that? What difficulties are there in your role?”

Shock, Captain
Commanding Officer

Adam took a sip. He hadn’t tried many different types of Chinese teas, but he knew enough to know it from his usual Old Earth western teas “My role is rather simple. I parce through the intelligence that we get from Hades for potential Anomalies, anything I consider to have potential, I send back to base for further analyses and pass the information on to the CO and the Science department. Once a decision is made, my official duties as an intelligence officer are over, and I take on a more advisory role within the senior staff. Due to my occupation, I have one of the highest ARU clearance levels on the ship, which means I have access to all levels of research being done by the Anomalous research departments on the ship, which incidentally makes me one of the overseers for that work.”

Adam paused to take another slight sip of his tea “My sucess is measured by how many actual Anomalies worthy of pursuit I can discover, that deosn’t mean something other Starfleet vessels find that Starfleet command Assignes the ARU, my job is finding things that don’t get reported, which means reading through any potential reports made by analysts on Hades and researching the potential. It’s not simple work, but that’s my job. My difficulties are not something I can get assistance with, It’s mostly reading and using experience, both in intelligence and within the ARU for the past four years.”

“I don’t have a position within the RTF on purpose, I believe my duties during actual Anomalous investigations are either as a team overseer or on the CIC, not at the tip of the spear. I don’t have the neccecary training to deal with the anomalies themselves but I can find them.”

CIO

Shock listened carefully. To him, Adam’s tone seemed measured and factual. His description made clear the value he placed on restraint. It seemed to him that Adam knew when not to act, and how to filter information without distorting it. Adam spoke as one used to seeing things before others did, and then letting them go. This meant that Adam displayed a high degree of disicipline. Shock respected that. He also recognized the potential costs.

He reflected on the structure Adam described, sandwiched, if you will, between data and command, between oversight and silence. A person like that might perceive not only what others missed, but also where communication faltered. That perspective could be invaluable.

“You define your role with precision,” Shock said . “That clarity is useful. It protects your work and ensures continuity.”

He set his own cup down.

“I do not intend to interfere with that structure. I may, however, request your insight beyond the official reports. You seem to be able to detect patterns that others may not.”

He let the point rest, then followed it with a simple question.

“Do you believe your findings are being interpreted accurately by the Science department and others involved?”

Shock, Captain
Commanding Officer

Adam paused to consider the question, “I do believe so, yes, my part is more esoteric, requiring understanding of how certain reports are filed and with whom. What needs further investigation, the rest requires a more specialised look beyond my capabilities, doing examinations that I do not understand in ways I can hardly comprehend. I trust in their abilities, experience, and skill.”

CIO

Adam’s answer was unpretentious. He did not inflate his role, nor claim to understand what was not his domain. Shock also knew that accuracy alone was not enough. As captain, he would have to act before certainty was available. For that, he needed officers who could name ambiguity when they saw it and who could flag uncertainty without fear that it would be mistaken for weakness.

Adam had the mind of an analyst. What Shock needed was to understand the architecture of that analysis. How did he sort signal from noise? How did he decide what was actionable? If they were to work well together, that framework had to be transparent, even if the data wasn’t. It was clear Adam trusted his team. Now Adam needed to trust Shock, and Shock had to learn to trust Adam’s assessments and recommendations.

Trust, in this case, would not come from proximity or sentiment. It would come from repeated calibration. Over time, patterns would emerge. Until then, they would need a working method.

“I don’t need full conclusions from you. I need only to know when the information you’ve found is strong, and when it’s uncertain or incomplete. I would also need your recommendations, and, if possible, the reasons for them.” Shock said. “How would you prefer we structure our communication, so that I can act when needed, and you can speak freely, in an atmosphere of trust?”

Shock, Captain
Commanding Officer

Adam took a moment to consider, filling the time with the action of sipping his tea. “I don’t know if you’ve read many intelligence reports written by analysts from Command. When I was assigned to New France, that was the majority of my work. Analysis requires putting together different forms of intelligence: Signal, Humanoid, Technical, Geospatial, Technical to count some of the major sources. Putting these together into a report that tells you what is going on somewhere, filling in gaps and building theories. What I do is similar, I gather different pieces of intelligence, especially on the fringes where the information is skant and I read through the reports. I’m most successful when reading Humanoid intelligence because I can build profiles of individuals depending on the frequency of their information sharing and older data.”

He paused, a habit when speaking with people unfamiliar with his craft to give them time to process “The anomalies we chase are often something that can’t be physically detected from a distance, so at times I read through anything odd, unusual, or abnormal. I use the information I’m given and gather other forms of intelligence to supplement anything I’m missing.” Adam nodded slowly, thinking through his answer “Unless we’re looking for something deeper in Federation space where I have more intelligence sources, I would not quantify any reports I have written over 45% probability of finding anomalies” He hesitated “I quantify the potential of my results based on several factors, frequency and accuracy of older information coming from a location, change in those factors, psycolohical profiles of Humint subjects, and if there is any correlation between current suspisions and older confirmed anomalies.” He wasn’t used to explaining how he did what he did

Adam put the cup of tea down and crossed his legs, leaning back “I mentioned that my work was esoteric in nature. There is a final factor that goes into my reports, something I don’t quantify, can’t quantify. An instinct, humans often call it a hunch. I am certain that it is part of my subconscious working on the same problem. Since it is not something I can explain or source, I can’t quantify it, but I do add it into my reports. Usually, I end my summaries with I feel statements to show what my instincts tell me.”

CIO