Changing of the Guard

Posted on 28 Aug 2016 @ 10:34pm by Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Lieutenant JG Catherine Cooper

2,375 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Click Three Times
Location: Security
Timeline: MD 7 || 0900 Hours

Camila put the final PADD aside and pulled one with the current Roster from her desk and accessed it. She highlighted two positions and checked the names on them. One was Lieutenant Junior Grade T'Vok, the Vulcan Assistant Chief of Tactical. A notation of Killed in Action was beside of her name and Camila sighed; she wasn't the first and she wasn't the last to have died in the battle with the Chimera, Cochrane and the Romulan Valdore class warbird.

The other name was Lieutenant Junior Grade Catherine Cooper, her current Assistant Chief of Security. A woman who was so energetic and ready for anything that Camila felt she was wasting her talent in Security. She highlighted another name next, that of Lieutenant Joey Corwin, the current K-9 Chief and Security Investigation Officer. Another woman who was ready for anything, but more methodical and suited to Security. With a nod to herself, the Chief of Security tapped her combadge.

=^=Lieutenants Corwin and Cooper, please report to my office immediately=^=

After putting Rico and Pequeno into the kennels, Joey made her way toward Camila's office. It didn't surprise her that she was being called in, and she had an idea what it was in reference to, but she wasn't going to jump to any conclusions yet. She smoothed her hands over her trousers and pulled her uniform jacket down, mentally hoping her face wasn't going to betray how she felt on the inside. Though, she was good at putting on a smile when she needed to, so that's just what she did as she reached out to press the chime next to the door to let the Chief know she had company.

"Enter," Camila called out, a pitcher of water and two glasses sitting on her desk, which was now clear except for a single PADD that sat in front of the Security Chief.

At the call to enter, Joey moved forward so the sensors would detect her and open the door. "You wanted to see me, Chief?" she asked, clearing the door so it'd close behind her.

"I did," Camila said. "Have a seat, Lieutenant. Lieutenant Cooper will be here in just a few minutes."

Joey settled down on one of the two chairs in front of the desk and leaned back, grateful to have a distraction from what currently ate away at her. It didn't help matters that the very person wasn't too far away, but the brunette was doing her level best not to think about that. Once Cooper made her appearance and things got underway, she'd feel better. "Thank you, Lieutenant Di Pasquale."

Cooper had been working hard physically so replied but asked for a few minutes. And with the speed of someone late to class, something Cooper had entirely too much experience in as an early cadet, she showered and tossed on a fresh uniform. And jogged to the Chief's office, just because she could but was unwilling to run thereby ruining the point of a shower. She arrived after Corwin entered the office and tapped the door chime.

"Enter," Camila called out again as she looked at Joey. "Would you care for a glass of water, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, please. Thank you," Corwin replied.

Camila poured a glass for Joey and handed it to her, then glanced at the door. "You may have to push!" she called out a bit louder in case the door had stuck.

Joey accepted the water from Camila and took a sip, while she glanced toward the door. She leaned back in her chair and tried to get as comfortable as she could, but the antsy feeling was preventing it from going passed a certain level. Soon, this impromptu meeting would be underway, then she could dive back into the thick of things. Well... once she'd spoken to Camila one on one about some other things.

"Sorry I'm late Chief, elbows deep...Hello Lt. Corwin" She greeted with a smile.

"It's fine, Lieutenant. Grab a seat," Camila said. "Would you like a glass of water? The replicators are still offline."

"Never turn down the chance to stay hydrated, especially with the workout of just getting from point to point lately, Thanks Chief...."

"Morning, Lieutenant Cooper," Joey said with a smile of her own. She was still exhausted, but at least there weren't any dark circles under her eyes this morning to give it away. So far her morning consisted of cleaning the Captain's quarters, getting ready for her shift, running a quick patrol with Rico and Pequeno, checking in on their prisoners, getting things in Security organized once more with the help of others, going to see Camila in sickbay and helping her get settled, bringing the two canines to their kennels and having a minor breakdown, then joining the two Lieutenants. All in all, her day had been pretty productive, and it'd only just begun.

Camila poured a glass of water for Cooper and then one for herself before she leaned back. "Ladies, I have some bad news and perhaps some unwanted news or maybe it's wanted news. The bad news is that Lieutenant Junior Grade T'Vok, the Vulcan Assistant Chief of Tactical was killed in the battle with the Cochrane." She paused to let that sink in. "That means that I'm going to need a new Assistant Chief of Tactical." She looked at Cooper. "I've been studying your record, Lieutenant and I feel that this would be the ideal role for you. I realize that you're currently my Assistant Chief of Security, but this would in no way affect your current duties other than you'd be in charge of the weapons systems for the Black Hawk. It will also give you a chance to advance in rank. Do you accept?"

Cooper, uncharacteristically paused, she had known and privately mourned Lt. T'Vok. She'd been a good officer and a decent sort, allowing a former master at arms to keep her fingers on the pulse of the weapons she loved by extra training. Cooper had come from weapons and it seemed she was destined to return. The rank itself meant little to her but the regard in her Chief's eyes, that was worth something. Her mind whirled with all the job would entail. It started to branch off into different paths and she forced it back on track. She thought about it completely and swiftly. She knew then why Corwin was here at well and could think of none better. After a few moments she spoke, "Long will be my reach, Loud will be my reply" She said then with a small smile, "That's a yes."

"Then," Camila said as she made the switch in her PADD. "You are now officially the Assistant Chief of Tactical. Please don't blow the ship up." The last was said jokingly, but the Chief was quite serious. Then she looked at Joey.

"Lieutenant Corwin, with the Assistant Chief of Security position now available, I would like to make use of your considerable experience and offer you the role. Do you accept?"

"I do," Joey replied with a nod.

Cooper smiled at Corwin in congratulations. She had been surprised but the more she considered it the more it felt like a good fit and new sets of challenges to other come.

Camila made the change in her PADD and looked back up. "Congratulations Lieutenant Corwin. You are now my official Assistant Chief of Security. Do either of you have questions for me?"

"Thank you. I don't have any questions, but I do have a few things I'd like to talk to you about when you've got some time," Joey said. She turned toward Cooper and offered her another smile. "I think you're going to great things, Cooper. Congratulations."

"Same to you Corwin" She smiled and offered her hand to Corwin.

Joey reached out to take Cooper's hand to shake it. "I think the three of us working together will show other ships in Starfleet how things are supposed to be done." With a final shake, she withdrew her hand with a smile.

"Certainly, Lieutenant Corwin. I'm always up for a discussion with the people that I count on the most," Camila said. She looked at Cooper. "If you would like to schedule a one-on-one meeting, Lieutenant Cooper, we can do that as well."

Cooper nodded, "I was thinking that would be a good idea, I have a few thoughts but I need to review a few things first" Her mind already bending itself to the new position and all it might mean. Maybe a change would be good for her, for many reasons. She pushed serious thoughts to the side where they still worked and looked at them, a smile that covered much but no less genuine for all that, "I want to be Porthos, if we're going to be the Three Musketeers then I get to be Porthos The Pirate whose sash was a gift from the Queen of America". She looked the others of the security/tactical tripod.

Camila blinked and her expression went serious when the newly assigned Assistant Chief of Tactical apparently went off the deep end. "Okay. I have no idea who Porthos or the Queen of America is and I really don't want to know. However, with ranting like that, I'm requiring you to take a drug test and get a counselor to sign off on your mental health before I entrust you to weapons of destruction, Lieutenant Cooper."

Cooper took no offense, even unintentionally she confused people too often for her to get annoyed every time it happened, "Its a literary reference...well a 20th century movie reference based on an 18th century literary reference. No one here has read the three musketeers?" She looked from one to the other.

"No, I haven't, but this situation is not unique, Lieutenant Cooper," Camila said. "You have hung upside down on chairs during a meeting with me, you have displayed an instability in other situations. You have disregarded my repeated attempts at getting you to slow down on your presentations and you have left me with no choice but to order you to take a mandatory drug test and get a clean bill of health from the counselor. Do you understand me?"

Cooper titled her head briefly as she wondered if those behaviors were not acceptable, why was she allowed to continue them without being informed of such. And why was she being informed in front of another officer instead of privately. It did hurt a little, she respected the Chief a great deal. She would just have to trust the Chief had best interests in mind, however she wanted to try to explain. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm her wayward mind, "I didn't realize you felt that way, Chief. I will attempt to adjust for future though naturally I have no objection if you would like an objective viewpoint "

"Lieut...Coop..." Camila shook her head. "Catherine. I just wanted you to realize the seriousness of this situation. I was just released from Sickbay this morning after having surgery for a collapsed lung and broken ribs. Doctor Abrams told me that I could have died. I've been getting reports against the doctor's wishes, I may add, that at least a hundred people are dead. There's damage and death reports coming in from every department. This. Is. Serious. I appreciate your attempt at levity, but there is a time and a place for it. Here and now is not the place. However, now that you understand, I'm not going to order the drug testing or counseling, but if you continue this behavior while on duty and I get a report of it, I won't have a choice. The fact that Lieutenant Corwin is present made your behavior unacceptable in the present circumstances and I apologize for doing that to you in front of another officer."

Cooper mentally sighed as she spoke, "It's not that I'm not taking it seriously or that I'm not affected by what's happened..." She pushed away the memory of crying in the darkness of her quarters, "It's just who I am, I don't mean anything by it..." She shrugged a little helplessly, if a large, gooey alien was going to eat her she'd make comments about his mother and how Cooper will give him heart burn. For the most part though she made jokes to lighten the mood or because she was happy but not normally to be mean spirited. She then seemed to gather herself, Her body language taking on an almost 'attention' attitude. "I will work on showing more respect for others in this area...Chief..Camila...I give you my word." She said her voice serious and her face somber, she may not always understand others but that didn't mean she didn't attempt to show proper respect. She glanced at Corwin, "I should apologize to you as well then in this case." She said her mind focused on trying to learn from this. Her mind whirling around the memory, picking it apart and putting it together again.

"There's no need to apologize, Lieutenant. If you ever need to talk to get things off of your chest, you can find me," Joey offered. "Our jobs are hard ones, and things eat at us." Was she talking about Cooper, or someone else entirely? Clearing her throat, she continued. "We all have different ways of coping with things."

Cooper smiled grateful Corwin seemed to understand, "I'd like that." She said meaning it. It was so rare to find people who understood. Then she felt a sliver of sympathy because anyone who would understand that wasn't having the easiest time either.

"Now then, ladies," Camila said. "Each of us have something to do and I have back to back meetings with both of you. Corwin, you're first. Cooper, take a breather."

"Yes I've got a lot to think about. I'll catch up with you both later...." Her mind full of the recent lessons to learn, tactical data, plans and other things. Her smile was slightly distracted but genuine as she nodded to the both of them and left.

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