Operation Lost

Posted on Thu Mar 31st, 2022 @ 7:55pm by Captain Nimeeh Vixil & Lieutenant JG Marjan Qaisrani

To say that Nim was frustrated was an understatement. For hours she had been chasing the Chief of Operations across the ship to finalise the last of the requisitions and make sure everything was loaded before their departure the following morning, and for hours he had managed to evade her. Checking with the computer, his location had been reported as the Operations office.

Nim walked through the doors, looking around for the familiar face, but he was no where to be seen. It was only as she entered his office that she saw his commbadge sitting on his desk and cursed under her breath, turning on her heel and finding herself face to face with a young Ensign that she almost collided with. She hesitated for a moment, the face felt familiar but she couldn't place it, then she remembered. She'd just seen the young Officer's file on her desk as a new transfer, straight from the Academy. "Ensign Qaisrani, right?" she asked with a smile.

"Commander." Ensign Marjan Qaisrani had taken a step back to avoid the collision and stood at attention. He was indeed a fairly fresh transfer to the Ops Department from the Academy, and it was his first time meeting the First Officer, whom he found instantly recognizable. Despite her diminutive stature, he couldn't help but be a little bit intimidated. Still, she was here for a reason. "Can I help you with something ma'am?"

"I've been chasing the Chief of Operations over the ship for the last few hours, the computer told me he was here, but clearly it was mistaken." She sighed and shook her head. "I need a couple of urgent jobs done and he's no where to be found." She reached up and ran her fingers through her long dark hair. "I swear, this man will be the death of me."

"I'm afraid I can't help you find him, ma'am," he replied with a smile, "because he doesn't always tell us what he plans to work on day to day. But maybe I can help you with the urgent jobs?"

"If you could i would owe you a big favour," Nim replied, relief evident in her voice. "I have five urgent requisitions that need to go to the Starbase for immediate fulfillment," She handed a bunch of PaDD's across to the operations officer that contained all the information. "I have already signed off on everything so there should be no issues, but you'll need to send the requests through and then contact the starbase straight away, or better yet, pop over there and make sure they get actioned or else we are going to be short on supplies when we depart." She paused, taking a breath. "I also have a few new crew that are scheduled to arrive tonight. They need systems access, quarters to be assigned, all the usual stuff. Again, I've already cleared everything, so it should be fine to put them straight into the system." She offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I know it's a lot of work and it needs to be handled quickly."

Marjan took the PADDs and quickly skimmed them. Indeed, they were exactly as she said. Urgent requisitions that needed prompt fulfillment, approved, and a list of new crew needing access rights.

"Permission to speak freely, Commander?" he asked.

"Of course," Nim replied with a nod.

"A few of us here are used to working on tight turnarounds like this," the Ensign said without hesitation. "The Chief has a tendency to...forget to have us do things until it's almost too late." He flipped through the PADDs and saw something on the third requisition. "It looks like you signed off on this one within an hour of getting it, but that someone in our department knew it had to be submitted for your approval at least three days ago." He sighed as he saw the same for requisition five and the crew list. "Thankfully I have a classmate in the Starbase supply office. She'll help me out. I'll have these supplies on board by 2200, and the new crew will have everything they need by..." he checked their scheduled boarding time, "...1900."

Nim smiled, relief becomng very apparent on her face. "Thank you, Ensign, you hvae no idea how reassuring that is. It's nice to know there's someone in this department that can do their job! In the interim, if you do happen to come across the Chief, tell him I want him in my office before end of shift?"

"Will do, Commander," he answered. "To make these deadlines I should get to the Starbase right away. Good day to you, ma'am."

Nim gave a nod, thoroughly impressed by the Ensign's dedication and prompt attention. "of course," she replied with a smile. "If you need anything else let me know."

With a nod to his superior officer, Marjan hurried out of the Ops area with his stack of PADDs, making a beeline for the airlock.