Personal Log, Stardate: 40813.5

Posted on 16 Jun 2020 @ 4:42pm by Lieutenant JG John Church
Edited on 16 Jun 2020 @ 10:43pm

|| Personal Log, Lieutenant JG Church, Chief of Security, Federation Starship Boston ||

After opening the log and stating his rank, name, and the stardate, there is silence for a while apart from the distant hum of the ship’s engines. Occasionally, the quiet is punctuated by the sound of John sipping a beverage, and the clink of ice on glass. Finally, there’s a sigh.

I was wrong. That was not a quick twenty-minute adventure at all. For my first excursion with the Boston crew...it could have gone better. Fun though.

He takes another sip, with a wry smile, and begins a detailed report of the away team mission that takes up several minutes of playback time, including the cave collapse and escape of the rebels, and culminating with the ‘successful’ completion of the mission.

...and the situation has de-escalated significantly. We still have a few loose ends to tie up, but things are moving about as fast as we can make them. After the formal debriefing, the Captain called me to a conference with Ensigns T’Rena and th’Vovass, and Lieutenant Kilrai, the operations officer. Long story short, I found myself defending Ensign T’Rena to the Captain against a complaint made by... that Trill woman.
You’d have thought she wanted the Ensign court marshalled... and I wasn’t about to let that happen to one of my people just for doing their damn job. And can you believe she immediately offered to discuss things informally over a cooked meal like my best friend, after pulling that stunt?

Standing from the lounge chair he was sitting in, John shakes his head and crosses the room, sets the now empty glass on his desk, and picks up the datapad sitting there.

I thought I was going to be on the next shuttle back to Starbase 173 for a moment, but before I could think I found myself the new Chief of Security aboard ship. While I’m thrilled to be part of the senior staff on a starship, I can’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the workload.
The security department is somewhat undisciplined, raw, and lacking in good leadership... Lieutenant Kilrai was right... Damn it, she tried to be diplomatic but I...

He rubs at his face with his free hand, grimacing, and slumps back down into the lounge chair with the datapad.

Computer, erase the last few comments and end the log.

———————————————————————————

|| Personal Log, Supplemental, 40813.6 ||

These security files really are a mess. Now that I’ve got a higher level of access, I’ve been trying to organise the departmental manifests, logs, reports... whoever said this ship could run without a proper chief of security is a liar and a fraud...

His tone indicates that he’s joking, but he does sound a little stressed.

... I’ve submitted my recommendation that Ensign th’Vovass be promoted to assistant chief. My gut tells me that T’Rena would be better suited to the role, but the point was raised by... another officer... the he would probably benefit and learn the most from the opportunity. Maybe it’ll bring him out of his shell a bit.
Pfffffft, I’m done for today.

The datapad is locked and casually tossed onto the soft bed. John reclines with one hand behind his head.

That’s all, Computer. Dim the lights.