Bridge Training: A Brief Briefing (Part I)

Posted on Fri Dec 22nd, 2023 @ 11:35am by Cadet Senior Grade Daniel Weaver & Cadet Junior Grade Shafin Todenhöfer
Edited on on Fri Jan 12th, 2024 @ 7:05pm

1,383 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: The Cadet Cruise
Location: Bridge

ON:

Daniel stepped into the Captain's Ready Room, as requested by Shafin. A part of him was relieved. Shafin was no doubt going to give him a piece of his Vulcan mind and take over command to make sure the mission continued and was a success. He was assigned as the First Officer after all and, he did state several times, Daniel was acting emotionally. This was probably the best move overall.

As he leaned against the desk, facing Shafin, he picked up a photo that was facing the chair. It was a photo of his mother, father, and Daniel was he was younger. Happier times. "Just go ahead and say it, Shafin. You're relieving me of duty, for this assignment, and taking command. The mission is probably safer with you in charge." He placed the photo back on the desk, face down, before looking over to his assigned Vulcan first officer.

Shafin ignored Daniel's plea to 'go ahead' and do what Daniel thought needed to be done. Instead, Shafin just walked over to the replicator unit and mulled over some options before ordering and tapped a command on the nearby pad. "One juice box, fruit cocktail" he said "and one Vulcan mocha, sweet and hot" added the Acting First Officer for the simulation. He took both beverages and headed over towards the deck and handed Daniel the child's sized juice box.

The Vulcanoid sipped his hot coffee like beverage and raised a brow. "Though I would be within my right to raise concern and of course were I Ship's Counselor, I with the Chief Medical Officer could raise concern and bring that forth to the First Officer to potentially relieve you of duty for the time being, I am your Acting First Officer. It would be a conflict of interest and highly inappropriate for me to exert such an overreach as Counselor and First Officer."

Shafin looked at the Captain's chair and it did not get past Shafin that Daniel did not take the Captain's seat in the Ready Room. In fact, even on the bridge, Daniel had spent more time on his feet and moving about the bridge rather than being seated in the Captain's chair. "I have no intention of relieving you of duty, Sir, and though I concur that this mission would be safer in my hands, safer does not equate to successful. You have command training whereas I do not. My training is heavily concentrated on the mental health and wellbeing of the crew, including its Commanding Officer. In the case of this training exercise, even though you chose me as First Officer, I must continue as I have been trained.

"You can either stand there, leaning against your father's desk sipping on a juice box like a child, a cadet, or you can order a raktajino or whatever your preference is, and take a seat at the desk where a Captain would, acting or otherwise" quipped Shafin. "You are being emotional and that is fine to an extent. What I am concerned with is your self-doubting and sabotaging yourself in front of the crew. Meghan is mostly Betazoid. She can likely sense it...feel it, but that doesn't matter when you are openly projecting it across the bridge of this starship like a Shakespearean tragedy." Shafin shook his head. "You cannot express doubt in yourself in front of the bridge crew, Daniel. It plants the seeds of doubt in the minds of the others and once that takes root, morale is crippled, and the whole mission is jeopardized."

"Shafin..." Daniel said softly just before a slight sigh escaped his lips while taking the juice box in his hand and placing it on the desk. He pulled himself away from the desk and walked over to the Vulcan. As he came to a stop, Daniel crossed his arms over his chest, as he whispered. "Your Vulcan brain seems to be having its own issues because your miss remembering a few things. One: I didn't pick you as my first Officer. Much like my decision to be in the Command Course that was something my father took into his own hands. Would you like to know why? Because, if the decision were up to me, I would have picks someone I knew I could work well with and not someone like you. This has nothing to do with you being a Vulcan. It has more to do with you being... well... a dick."

He gave him a stern look, placing his hands back at his sides, as they stood there in silence before speaking again. "If it were up to me I would have been standing at that Tactical station and doing the exact thing everyone else has been trying to do and solving the problem, but I don't have that luxury because my father decided it was best for me to be in that chair for Prophets knows why. Unlike everyone else, when I stepped onboard this Cadet Cruise, I didn't see it as a career advancing opportunity for a promising Cadet. I see my father trying to force his plans for me without taking a second to ask himself what I would like. Everyone else on that bridge can see it as a test of their skills as Starfleet Cadets. I see it as my father, the Commodore if you are so inclined, using this as an attempt to either A prove to me that his decision is the best decision or B boast to the rest of his senior staff I am on the right path. The path, should I remind you, that he picked. Possibly both."

Daniel walked away for a second and stood there, his back towards Shafin, before turning back around to face him again. "I know, in your Vulcan way, you don't mean come off this way and you are just doing what you think is best. I get that, but you never had to deal with for a majority of your career. I did. There is a reason I applied to Starfleet under my mother’s name and not his because I wanted to get by on my own feet and not because my father is the great Commodore Murphy." He stopped for a second, only to let out a groan in frustration, before saying. "Dammit! Sometimes I wish he would just... Ahh!" He turned away and put his head down, trying to calm himself down again. After a few more seconds he let out another sigh. "You know... if my mom were here she would be telling me to 'focus on the problem and block everything else out. Deal with what's in front of you and not what other problems that may, or may not, be lurking in the shadows.' It's a lot harder when it wasn't my choice to be here, Shafin. When I know it’s not him that's watching and grading my every move and decision."

"You're right you did not choose me to be your First Officer. He chose me for you, probably because he knew we would not see eye to eye and our personalities are very different than one another. That, however, does not mean we can't work together or be a good pairing" surmised Shafin.

Shafin smiled slightly. "You do realize I wasn't born or raised of Vulcan, Daniel. I'm no more a Vulcan than you are a Bajoran. It is part of our heritage, but there's more to us" explained Shafin. "Yes, he is judging you and evaluating your every move and decision.

"I may not be your mother, but I agree with your assessment of what she would say. Focus on the problem, work with your crew, and ignore your father's presence lingering and lurking about" said Shafin. He did not like seeing Daniel like this. "We can solve this problem. My recommendation would be to have a seat Daniel" Shafin gestured to the chair.


(To be continued...)



Cadet Senior Grade Daniel Weaver

Acting Commander



Cadet Junior Grade Shafin Todenhöfer

Acting Executive Officer

 

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