Chief To Chief
Posted on Tue Jul 22nd, 2025 @ 5:27pm by Lieutenant Liam O'Riley & Lieutenant Zane D'Sai
1,245 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Sole Survivor
Location: Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 17 PM
Now that the dust had settled from his meeting with command, O'Riley wanted to meet with Lieutenant D'Sai to work out the finer details to the moves from engineering to operations. Tapping his comm "Lieutenant Zane D'Sai, this is Lieutenant Liam O'Riley, I'd like to meet with you at your convenience to discuss the transfer of duties from engineering to operations" he explained.
"Sure thing," Zane said. "Where would be convenient for you?"
"I don't know about you but I haven't eaten lunch yet so maybe the mess hall lets say in 30; that way we can discuss the moves and have lunch at the same time" O'Riley suggested.
'Meet you in thirty then," Zane said. "D'Sai out." He spent the next twenty minutes working through resource requests. He had to reject one by Stellar Cartography since it conflicted with a planned preventative maintenance routine and offered an alternative that hopefully would meet their needs. He fully expected a personal visit because the individual in question always felt the need to push. Twenty-five minutes later he was out the door and heading down to the Mess Hall. A noisy, crowded hub of activity that always made him a bit uneasy; the solitude of his life in the ocean had made it difficult for him to adjust to the cacophony of the air-breathing world. Taking a steadying breath, he entered and waved when he saw O'Riley. "Hope I am not late," he said. "Didn't count on the ensign who insisted on holding the turbolift for her friend."
O'Riley stood and extended his hand "Nice to meet you Lieutenant and you're not late" as the two officers shook hands then Liam sat "I find when I have to be somewhere at a specific time, if there's anything that could hold me up it usually does" he commented with a grin "So how are you finding your duties on the ship."
"Everything's going well so far," Zane said as he sild into the seat opposite O'Riley, "well, except for a certain ensign in Stellar Cartography who believes that the ship's resources are there to serve her needs and hers alone."
"Yup, I think we've all dealt with someone like that from time to time and it can be exhausting to say the least" O'Riley replied with a grin "And I'm sure more so in your department since you allocate ship's resources."
"It is that," Zane said. "Resource allocation is a balancing act, not something that can bend to manipulation and blatant bullying." He sighed quietly. "No matter. I think I'm getting my point across. A crewman with a wish to see a particular star has a better chance this week especially since she's taking to lurking around my quarters with her very ... vocal ... requests. So, what did you want to talk about?"
"With the computer software duties now going to Operations, I thought we should meet so we get a smooth transition from Engineering to Operations" then he paused "Also you'll be picking up the entire Specialists team as part of your department as well," O'Riley stated before proceeding. "Before you came aboard, there was a computer incident when we were at the Star Base. Long story short, the experienced thinking of Lieutenant JG Thomas averted a problem with a counterfeit computer software update which saved many ships stationed at the Base."
"And you're telling me this because ..." Zane asked. "About Lieutenant Thomas, I mean."
Taking a breath "Captain Baas informed me Operations will be taking care of all software, including holographic, for the ship. Engineering will still maintain the hardware side; maintaining bio-neural gel packs and iso-linear chips" then he paused a moment "Now I would never presume to tell another Chief how to run their department but since the Specialists are working under your department I would strongly recommend they maintain the computer cores, both hardware and the LCARS operating system, since they are the most qualified by their training" Liam explained "So what are your thoughts."
"I can handle maintenance of the cores," Zane said. "And, for the record, I'm as well trained, maybe more so, than the specialists. You don't have to worry, Chief. I understand computers and I'll work with the specialists, get a sense of the level of their training, their particular skills, and how best we can work together." He gave the Chief a speculative look. "This is hard for you? Giving up control to another department?"
Looking at the Chief for a moment collecting his thoughts before answering "My apologies Lieutenant, I meant no disrespect concerning yourself or your abilities" then he paused "My only concern is nothing slips through the cracks with the transfer of duties. And to answer your questions I have no problem giving up control of the computer cores or the software; actually the Captain just made my job easier so maybe now I can actually have a life as compared to before" Liam concluded with a grin attempting to lighten the mood.
"Life outside of duty," Zane murmured. "Not a concept I was particularly familiar with until I finished at the Academy, believe it or not. What do you do when you're not taking care of the ship?"
"Different things I guess. I do enjoy a good book, I also have a few Bonsai trees as a hobby, and keeping up with all the new tech manuals for engineering" then Liam paused "Recently my newest endeavor is cultivating a relationship with a very intelligent and beautiful young woman" he replied with a smile "And how do you enjoy your off duty hours."
"Depends on how much time," Zane said as he leaned back in his seat. "If I can get off the ship, go planet-side, I head for open water. Always. After a shift, it's either working on a holodeck program or reading. I'm working my way through Federation worlds, reading about their cultures, their history, and of course, what they consider classic literature."
"Very impressive and I'm sure the added knowledge of other cultures will come in handy from time to time; especially being a Chief of a department" then Liam paused a moment "You know I can't remember the last time I was in a lake or an ocean. Having free time on a planet doesn't come along very often unfortunately."
"Do you dive at all," Zane asked as a spark kindled in the depths of his gaze. "Being in the water, that's where I'm most at home."
"No, can't say that I have; haven't really found the time to learn. Actually I've had an offer to learn rock climbing from someone but I haven't even found the time to do that either; maybe now I can carve out some time for that activity" Liam replied with a light chuckle.
"Well, you can add my offer to the pile then," Zane said. "Be happy to teach you." He grinned cheerfully. "I sometimes think I am single-handedly teaching Starfleet how to value the water."
"Thank you I appreciate the gesture and I will certainly keep it in mind" Liam answered with a smile, then realizing the time "I should probably be heading back to engineering and thank you for your time. If there's anything engineering can do for operations in the future please don't hesitate to ask."
"Same here," Zane said. "Operations is always willing to help."
Lieutenant Zane D'Sai
Chief of Operations
USS Valkyrie
Lieutenant Liam O'Riley
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Valkyrie
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