A Temporary Change

Posted on 18 Oct 2018 @ 7:50pm by Lieutenant JG Shay Mitchell & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale

1,299 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Fractured
Location: Security
Timeline: MD 2 || 1100 Hours

Camila sat in her office after taking care of the armory and passing out assignments. The loss of eleven of her personnel had really hurt her department and she had no way to replace any of them. To make matters worse, she had also lost her assistant chief to Operations and had reports scattered all over her desk that were getting backlogged. She brought up the roster of available personnel on her terminal and went over each person until she came to one name. Shay Mitchell. She was only an Ensign, but if a Lieutenant Junior Grade could be promoted to a department head spot, then an Ensign could surely take a temporary position as an acting assistant chief.

She tapped her combadge. =^=Di Pasquale to Mitchell. Please report to my office.=^=

What was glad to have a little bit of normalcy back in her life, but the lose of the crewmen that didn't make it make was weighing heavy on her. It was one of the more unfortunate sides of Statfleet, and only served as a reminder that tomorrow was never promised. She wouldn't take things for granted, and would work that much harder to protect the hundreds of lives on board the ship.

The young Security officer out the final details on the report she planned to submit to the Chief when she heard the woman's voice. Now that's just creepy, she mused, signing off and saving it. The report detailed what happened from her perspective, and if Shay had to guess, other department heads would likely be receiving the same from their own personnel. For now, though, she needed to see the boss lady. =^=On my way, Lieutenant.=^=

With that said, Shay rose to her feet with the PADD in hand and made her way to Camila's office. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then reached out to touch the sensor that would activate the chime on the other side.

"Enter," Camila called and activated the door to open.

What made her way into the office and looked to the only other occupant. "You wanted to see me, Lieutenant?"

"Ensign Mitchell, thank you for coming so promptly," the Security Chief said with a wan smile. The woman looked older and tireder than she had in weeks and it was clear the stress of the job was heavy on her shoulders. "Would you care for a refreshment before we talk?"

"No, thank you," the young woman replied, closing the distance between her and the desk. What extended her hand that help the PADD for Camila to take. "I was just about to submit this to you as you called me in, but since I had to come see you, I figured I would turn it in in person. It's my report from yesterday. That being said, you know I'll be here when I'm needed."

Camila winced as she accepted the PADD and put it on a stack of them that was dangerously close to falling over and it looked like she just didn't care if it did or not. The plants in the office looked as if they hadn't been watered, the couch looked like it had been slept on and there were four cups of half filled cold coffee scattered on various surfaces. "Thank you," she said. "As for you being here when needed, that's exactly why I called you here. Please, have a seat."

Shay couldn't help but notice the stack sitting haphazardly on Camila's desk as she settled down. Maybe she was about to overstep here, but it appeared her Chief needed help. "Forgive me for being forward, Lieutenant Di Pasquale, but would you like me to take those and compile them into something more manageable? I don't want to step on anyone's toes mind you."

The ombre haired woman paused and gave the younger woman a suspicious look. "Are you a telepath, Mitchell?" she asked her.

A quizzical look appeared on the Ensign's face. "No, ma'am. Why do you ask?"

"Because I was going to ask if you'd be willing to take on some extra temporary duties right before you offered to do just that," Camila said.

Shay blinked, then shook her head. "I'm not a telepath, but you know I'll help out any way I can," she said. In fact, she'd told Camila that on more than one occasion In the past. "What do you need me to do?"

"Lieutenant Parks is being moved to Operations," the Chief said. "Which means that until we get back across the Zone, I'm without an Assistant Chief. I'd like you to take up that role until then."

To say the young woman was shocked was an understatement. It was something completely unexpected, but clearly her Chief had faith in her to offer her such a position. "I... I won't let you down, Lieutenant," Shay said. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity."

Camila entered some information into her console and looked back at the young woman. "I've upgraded your Security Clearance for now so you can access all the needed reports," she said. "Thank you for being part of my team, Ensign. Do you have any questions before I dump a load of work on you?"

"No, Lieutenant Di Pasquale," she said, rising to her feet and extending a hand in her direction. "I'll get right to it."

"I haven't told you want I needed yet," the omber haired woman said as she accepted Shay's hand and gave a firm shake.

Shay pulled her hand back and smiled, nodding to the stack of PADDs on the desk. "Based on those, I'm sure the list will be long and keep me busy, but I'm up for any challenge you throw my way," she said.

"That's what I want to hear," Camila said. "I need you to check over and revise the schedules for our remaining Security personnel and make adjustments as needed, summarize the data on these reports and get them back to me, and then organize battle drills across all shifts."

The young woman listened as Camila have her her instructions. It all seemed easy enough. "They'll be on your desk before your shift starts tomorrow morning," Shay assured her. It would probably mean a late night for her, but that was okay. All of the things listed were important, and needed to be done as quickly as possible, so that was what she planned to do. "When do you want the first set of drills to run?"

"I'll leave that up to you, but make sure I'm aware of them before they happen," the Chief said. "I can't thank you enough, Shay. It means a lot to me."

"You're more than welcome, Chief. If I can make life a little easier for you, then it's an honor to do so," the young Ensign said, offering her superior a smile. " If there's nothing else, I should probably get started. "

"One more thing," Camila said. "If anyone gives you grief because you're an Ensign, remind them that even enlisted can become department heads, then send them to me. Good luck."

"I'll let them know, but I don't think there will be anything to worry about," Shay stated. "Is there anything else you need from me before I go get started?"

"No, that'll be all, Shay," the Chief said. "Thank you again."

"And thank you for your faith and the opportunity," Shay said. Since she didn't return to a sitting position, the young woman gathered the PADDs at the corner of Camila's desk and made her way out of the office. Did she just get in over her head? Possibly. But that wasn't going to stop her from doing the best job she could to make the Security Chief's life easier.

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