19th Century Tradition

Posted on Sunday January 7th, 2024 @ 3:43pm by Captain Franklin Johnson & Lieutenant Oscar Vladinchi & Commander Kanaka Shakura & Commander Sam Perkins & Lieutenant Commander Rachel Williams & Lieutenant Commander Ahkhsu Trensu

2,454 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: The Grand Tour: Part Two
Location: USS Poseidon; Various
Timeline: Sometime after start of the Cadet Cruise
Tags: Grand Tour, 2395, Character Development

[ON]

The cadets filed one by one into Lieutenant Commander Trensu's office in their perfect uniforms and the top appearance expected of Cadets. Trensu stood to his feet leaning forward on his desk and looked them all in the eye. His deminer was serious his expression focused as if someone's life depended on what they did next.

"Whose fault is it? who let the A44B hand Phaser aliment device leave this office. It had to be one of you. No officer or NCO would not let it out of this office. Do you have any idea how much trouble this department will be in if the Captain finds out?" Yelled Trensu at the Cadets. It took a lot of discipline to keep a straight face yelling at them.

This was a tradition that dates back to the 19th century sending new cadets and enlisted out for things that do not exist. Most if not all officers and NCOs had it done to them at one time or another. Most play along with it and send their department cadets and newly enlisted out
as well. The ground rules are no one gets in trouble and it can't be unsafe or cause damage to any equipment.

Tresnu came from behind his desk all the Cadets stiffened as Trensu got almost in their face. "I will give you cadets the benefit of dought it was not you. Your class they say are smart but what I have seen so far I think I was lied to," stated Trensu looking over the cadets some now sweting a little.

"Also this blue command Padd must be delivered to the Captian. No one is to see it but him, his eyes only. You will guard it with your life. You will wait for his reply and then return it to me." Instructed Trensu. handing the Padd over. "Your mission right now finding the A44B hand Phaser aliment device and the Command pad. Dismissed!" said Trensu turning back and sitting back at his desk.

The cadets stared at one other for a moment processing what just happened. then looked back at Tresnu waiting for him to say something like it's a joke. Trensu looks back up at them "What! GO now!" The cadets bump into each other trying to get out of his office. Walking out of security and looking through the ship.

Sam was in Security speaking with his nephew about installing new encryption codes to the Science computers. When he noticed the Cadets rushing out, only one saluted him as they almost fell out of Security.

Lieutenant Vladinchi was with Sam, helping them access the panels and mostly standing to the side as he was about to begin another patrol. He then noticed the cadets rushing out, smirking as he understood. He kept quiet though. No need to ruin the fun.

=== Chief Security Office ====

“What’s up with that lot Ahkhsu?” Sam asked Trensu.

"Oh the Cadets, Commander Perkins. It seems they lost my A44B hand Phaser aliment device" responded Trensu with a sly smile. "I sent them looking for it," said Trensu standing. "Coffee sir?" asked Tresnu walking over to the replicator.

Perkins gave a small grin.

“ Oh dear….Yes please a mug of Italian coffee extra roast please. Oh, this takes me back to my academy days. A tutor sent my class out to find him a left-handed phaser pistol. Unfortunately, we got rather frantic, and well let’s just say it is possible to get a Vulcan angry.” Sam said

Walking to the replicator Trensu chuckled. "Computer, mug of Italian coffee extra roast, and Mug William special coffee," ordered Trensu. two mugs materialized on the little pad in the middle of the replicator. Tresnu walked over to Sam and gave him his mug.

"I do remember the days too. but it took them two days to come up with something for me what do you tell a man who has been around from the beginning of Starfleet?" commented Trensu. "Take a seat Commander. so they came up with a tool that just changed the nomenclator on it to make it sound new. So I learned from that to trick the smart Cadets. This class is exceptional from what I see in the reports." said Trensu with a grin

"Now I think I am the first department to start this time. have not seen any others yet. It is like, what do the people of the earth call Halloween? they stop by give them something and they run off." said Trensu taking a sip of his coffee.

“ You’re a braver man them me Ahkhsu. Science is dangerous to play pranks on Cadets. Instead, I like to pounce a pop quiz on them. Word of mouth soon spreads when the other classes hear I have a knack for them. Lots of juice questions for young minds to get in a tizzy over.” Sam said.

"I don't disagree with you, Sir," Tresnu said taking a sip of his coffee. "I will add that your pronunciation of my first name is getting better. As for the cadets military history and tradition are just as important. It will give them a sense of belonging to something bigger than them. On the academic side, I like to do some pop quizzes too. There is an academic side to the runaround looking for things. They will pay more attention to what people say. I would hope that what they learn," suggested Trensu to Sam with a smile.

“ There is one thing. How will Captain Johnson take it?” Sam said

Trensu paused at the question. he was not sure how that was going down but that is the fun part. "I would say ok so far. My comlink has not been blown up by the Captian yet," replied Trensu with a smile.

“ I suppose it matters how the Cadets behave really. Providing they don’t give him rise to.” Sam warned

"Quite right Commander," replied Trensu. "And it is only for a day. now what happens in their departments is up to their chiefs. I guess we call this a free day.

== Captain's Ready Room ==

Cadet Kerensky rushed into the Captain's Ready Room, leaving the Captain barely enough time to allow them entry before standing up and facing the Cadet who was clearly out of breath. Franklin then noticed the blue datapad, and then he understood.

"What's the meaning of this, Cadet?" Franklin asked, already ascertaining the situation Trensu had initiated. Franklin had been through a goose chase before. He had partook in several throughout his command. This time with so many Cadets on board? It might be fun. "And why are you bringing me the Chief Engineer datapad? Who told you to bring that to me?"

Cadet Kerensky whined as he shrunk back. "Lt. Cmndr. Trensu did, sir!"

"Well, he's off his rocker! Take that to the Chief Engineer! Out with you!" the Captain ordered, and Kerensky, unaware of the developing joke, rushed out.

"Oh Trensu," Franklin said as he laughed after the doors closed. "These are always so fun."

==== Engineering =====

Cadet Louis with a few other Cadets walks into engineering first looking around then going up to Lieutenant Commander Williams "Ma'am, do you know if any of your personnel borrowed the A44B hand Phaser aliment device? Lieutenant Commander Trensu is looking for it and to have it returned." said Cadet Louis with respect in his tone as he spoke.

Nigel was not so sure about this. But he followed the others anyway after all he needed to hone his communication skills. The one thing that did come to Cadet Raymond’s mind was the coffee the Engineers were drinking. Why oh why did everyone love that Klingon stuff? He could easily pop a delicious coffee pot of Italian with chicory just the thing to go with a warp core to fix.

Williams heard footsteps, she was currently in a tight area under a section of the warp core, checking some connections, then she heard a voice and shimmied out, she did not know it, but she had some type of system fluid on her face, it looked like a dirt smudge, she extricated herself and sat up and then looked at the Cadet "sorry Cadet, what was the question again?" She asked distractedly, the item she was working on was playing up.

Louis stiffened up as he saw the chief of engineering. Louis guessed even Lieutenant Commanders had to get dirty now and then. He tried not to stare at the system fluid on her face and the smudge on her nose. "Ah... ma'am, I am looking for the A44B hand Phaser aliment device Lieutenant Commander Trensu was looking for it and sent me here to see if it was here and retrieve it," explained Louis cracking a funny grin. "I can see you are really into your work Lieutenant Commander," said Louis hoping he would maybe get the hint.

*Looking up at the Cadet* "I think you are being pranked with the Hand Phaser alignment thing, I have not heard of such a thing, as for me this ship is so old that all the new upgrades are not sitting well with the older systems, so it is a constant fight to keep her going, I have smudges and such on my face don't I Cadet?" Williams asked.

"I knew it!" Louis said, exasperated, then sighed. "Thank you, Chief, sorry to bother you."

== Crew Lounge, Deck 06 ==

Having been given a heads-up from Lieutenant Commander Trensu about the Tradition, Kana stood by observingly as a sea of cadets came barreling through into the Crew Lounge, working feverishly to find the 'treasure' they were looking for. As the Chief Counsellor, it was valuable for Kana to observe the Cadets in what was to them a high-stakes situation, even if in reality it all turned out to be a bit of harmless fun on the part of the senior officers. That didn't make it by any means a waste of time, however. Having gone through it herself way back at the Academy, Kana appreciated that it was a chance to exercise teamwork and investigative skills, which were invaluable to the work of Starfleet.

"Excuse me, Commander!" A cadet darted around her as they began ripping up the cushions on the lounge chairs. Kana was thankful in these moments that she had received her training from a Vulcan, otherwise, she might have found herself bursting into tears of laughter. Instead, she merely smiled and allowed the cadet to continue his search, however fruitless it was likely to be because it was important for him to go through the motions of trial and error. It did surprise Kana that none of the Cadets seemed to have cottoned on to the fact that they were getting away with so much of what would otherwise be infractions of their conduct. She was sure some of them would begin to cotton on eventually.

Carefully cradling a green tea which she continued to calmly enjoy, Kana was making several observations that she would be sure to report back to Trensu and Captain Johnson when all was said and done.

Several of the cadets had started to speak about how they thought this wasn't an actual search, but a game. One even stopped to ask the Commander her opinion.

"Are we just on a fool's errand?" they asked. It was a Science Cadet by the looks of the human. She seemed rather flustered at not finding much. "I can't seem to find evidence of the existence of anything on my list, yet the entire ship full of cadets is searching for them!" She groaned in exasperation.

"A fools errand?" Kana asked the young Science cadet, a slight smile on the side of her face. "Many situations in Starfleet will take you to new and unexplored places, either for you as an individual, a team or for the Federation as a whole. No explorer knows what they're meant to explorer, no discoverer what they're meant to discover. Perhaps they have an idea, but they might find that their idea was wrong, and they discover something entirely different in the process." She didn't want to give the game away too easily. She wanted to see if the cadet could maybe glimmer the truer purpose of the exercise.

The cadet thought a moment, then nodded. "Thanks, Lieutenant Commander!"

Afterward the cadet met up with a gaggle of other cadets, sharing their newfound wisdom, and heading out to rush the decks of the Poseidon in search of the missing treasures.

== USS Poseidon ==

Over the course of the next few hours, Cadets from all walks of life would experience for the first time the 19th Century Tradition of sending a newly established individual out on a wild goose chase. In some circles it would be considered hazing, but throughout the experiences of the cadets on the day of the celebration of the wild goose chase, not a single one felt it. Instead, they learned valuable lessons, were granted valuable comradery, and learned the value of working as a team. Arguably this was the greatest lesson of them all, learning how to work together and as a team, and the true meaning of why the tradition started.

Sometimes though, even the superior officers needed a laugh.

By the end of the day the cadets had been rounded and their teachers and assigned instructors educating them on the value of the day. Soon, years down the road, they also would be the ones to initiate the wild goose chase. Emphasis would be heavily instructed on the fun factor of the exercise rather than the hazing element. For it was more valuable to gain friends in a fools errand than to loose them in ignorance. Despite not actually intending the cadets to find a real thing, however, many actually did. They found new friends, new experiences, and new precious values that would instill themselves in the cadets and help them in future events. They found, arguably, the most precious treasure ever to be found.

Wisdom and friendship.

[END]

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Lieutenant Commander Ahkhsu Trensu
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Captain Franklin Johnson
Commanding Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant Colonel Phoebe Graydon
Executive Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Commander Kanaka Shakura
Chief Counselor
USS Poseidon

&

Commander Sam Perkins
Chief Science Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant Commander Ky'la De'Lenn
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant Commander Michael Stevens
Chief Operations Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant Commander Rachel Williams
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant Commander Erika Itsumi
Chief Cultural Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant Karina Sakaguchi
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Poseidon

&

Lieutenant Oscar Vladinchi
Security Officer
USS Poseidon

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