Post-Promotion Festivity

Posted on Monday April 19th, 2021 @ 6:37pm by Lieutenant Commander Michael Stevens & Captain Franklin Johnson

977 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: S1-A1-Ep. 1: Spectrophobia
Location: USS Poseidon; Michael Stevens Quarters
Timeline: Arrived at Betreka Nebula

[ON]

After Michael departed the Ready Room following his Promotion, Franklin promised to be on the way shortly. The Captain spent a brief time catching up on reports as he skimmed his datapad and filled out the appropriate responses to requests and requisitions that fell into his responsibility. Around 30 minutes later, Franklin tidied himself in the lavatory just behind the bridge before proceeding a few decks down to meet with the newly promoted Lieutenant Stevens.

Arriving at his quarters, Franklin pressed the chime button, waiting for permission to enter. He hadn't expected to be invited to drink, especially with real alcohol, but it was a really nice distraction from the busy nature of his position.

"After he had arrived back at his quarters, Micheal could not believe it the small second gold pip on his Collar which signified the Rank of Lieutenant and that he would have to let Maria know as he knew that she now was on the USS Tomcat, but first he had to entertain Captain Johnson and celebrate his promotion with a glass of scotch. upon hearing the chime go off, Micheal said, "Come,"

The Captain adjusted his uniform as he entered; a gentle tug on the two-piece uniform made walking more comfortable. He entered, giving Michael a kind nod.

"Mr Stevens!" Franklin greeted, genuinely happy to be there. "Thank you for inviting me to this event. It's rather unique for me, but I'm not one to shy away from experiencing new cultural traditions! New for myself, I mean."

"It is alright sir, Nice of you to join me," replied Michael as he walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a glass decanter full of scotch and two glasses and poured a glass full in each glass. He picked up both of the glasses and walked over to his Captain and handed one to him. he said," to family," as he raised his glass in salute.

Franklin took a moment to appreciate the toast, allowing his mind to think about his family. He was surprised to find that present memories of the crew on board the ship came to mind first. "To the family," he said through a genuine smile. He quickly downed the glass of scotch along with Michael, lowering it to allow the heat and warmth down his gullet.

"Whew!" he managed, almost coughing. "Been a while since I had that!"

" I have a glass every year and salute my folks if that is alright with you Sir?" replied Micheal as he looked back at the Captain, he continued, " I have been getting ready for my meetings to discuss what power the other departments need from engineering," He finished," But I will let you know the outcome,"

"No, no, that's fine!" Franklin managed as he continued to slightly struggle with the after-effects of the well-aged Scotch. It was apparent he hadn't had any form of actual alcohol in a very long time. "Oh yes, that is fine," Franklin added, responding to Michael's report, "Perfectly fine. Anything I should be aware of beforehand?"

"Not at the Moment Sir, But I will have a full report for you by tomorrow," responded Michael looking back at Captain Johnson as he knew that now a full Lieutenant he had to show Johnson that he could handle the responsibility of the rank and lead his department, he asked, "do you know when the next set of Operation Cadets will arrive?" as he yet had to choose an assistant chief.

"I do not, unfortunately," Franklin said, looking a bit sombre as he admitted that. "We just had a very experienced Chief Strategic Operations Officer pick - from Starfleet mind you - come on board and promptly leave. So we're still without a primary candidate there. We've been having issues filling the remainder of our Department Head slots and as a result, that's trickled down to our lower rank slots, which includes cadets. The best we got was a bunch of science cadets, which was why we're here at this damn Nebula."

The expression on Franklin's face was unreadable for a moment, but as he looked away momentarily it was quite apparent the scotch had permitted some walls to crumble temporarily. His expression was grim, hateful almost, entirely unlike the Captain. After a short sigh, he glimpsed back at Michael and all was well again.

"I'll try my best to find some," Franklin said, his typical content expression returned.

"Thank you, sir, as my teams at the moment are pulling double shifts," Micheal responded taking a sip of the scotch, he continued "and some of the Cadet's that I do have are knackered beyond sleep," as he had heard that the chefs and bar staff were not going to bed till four in the morning and then getting up at 6 am.

"I've heard and seen the reports, Mr Stevens," Franklin said as he heaved a sigh, rubbing at his temple. "These new round of cadets have been both a blessing and a curse. Some of the experienced crew have transferred off because of them. So we have to pick up the slack, unfortunately. I know, I truly do. Is there any way I can help personally in the meantime?"

"It would help Sir if you gave a pep talk to the crew so that those Cadets know that you appreciate their hard work" replied Micheal looking back at Johnson, he continued "And alter the roster for them to have some R & R time Sir," as he knew fatigue could lead to mistakes and mistakes could lead to injuries.

"That can be managed I think," the Captain replied. He then heaved a sigh, nodding. It was time to continue their festivities. "Alright then, so with business out of the way, what's for dinner?"



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Captain Franklin Johnson
Commanding Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant Michael Stevens
Chief Operations Officer
USS Poseidon

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