| Due Respect |
| Summary: | Kharon's final DH meeting before the mass transfer to the Hestia. |
| Date: | PH236 (10 Dec 2009) |
| Related Logs: | All Recent Logs |
| Players: |
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CEC Kharon, Deck 1, XO's Quarters
IC Time: Post Holocaust Day #236
OOC Time: Thu Dec 10 18:02:16 2009
A decently-sized room that offers some comfort to an officer who has been able to rise this far in their career. A queen-sized bed has been set into the wall at the rear of the room with the desk set not far in front of it, towards the door. A small, deep red-furnished loveseat and a few chairs of the same color are set to the side with a coffee table for hosting other personnel. To the side of the room, built into a nook, are a trio of gray lockers that provide the XO with some storage for personal items. Attached to the wall near the desk are a pair of monitors which show customizable status reports from almost any department on the ship. There is a cramped shower closet also built into a section of the wall to afford the Kharon's Executive Officer with some small luxury.
Praxis has again set up his table so that there is room for everybody to sit. The hatchway is wide open, and this time /coffee/ has been set out for everyone! Yay! A less-than-impressed Demitros is sitting at the head of the table with his chin resting in his palm, just waiting for the three to arrive. There are no folders on the table or anything, there is no intel to be shared.
Kai is the first to arrive, punctual man that he is. He's just fastening the top button on his blues jacket as he steps through the hatch, and ducks his head to Praxis in a curt nod of greeting. He, likewise, carries no folders or reports. Though he does look like he could use a solid night's sleep. He drops into a chair at the end of the table, checks his watch, scratches his nose, and waits.
The arrival of the S2/CO (it's getting so hard to keep track) is prompt. Not as punctual as Karim, no. But timely. She's even wearing her blues. "Captain." Her greeting is brief, she nods to the XO, and moves to find a seat. Marek receives no greeting, though she does take the seat next to his. OhthankyouZeuscoffee. She reaches for the mug just as soon as she's sat down. She sits carefully, with a slight frown as she sniffs the coffee.
Praxis might not have a folder, Kai might not have folders, but boy oh boy does Sen have a folder. It's a big fat folder stuffed with hexagonal papers, sections of which are clipped off together. She didn't even bother with dress blues this time, showing up to the meeting in her yellow coveralls. "Captain. Ensign. Captain." Let them sort out which Captain is which, but then again it doesn't really matter. She slaps her folder down on the table and takes a seat, as if already anxious for this meeting to be over.
As soon as the first person enters, Praxis is sitting up a little bit more straight and pressing his palms down flat on the table as everyone gets in. Jade eyes track each of them as they sit down, in order of entry. A scrutinizing look over each of them, and then the XO is drawing in a breath of fresh(?) air and exhaling it in a sigh. "We are here for numerous reasons," Praxis begins, lifting his chin upwards before he counts them off. "First of all, I will briefly explain everything I have gleaned from my meeting with Admiral Mehra. Secondly, I'll be taking your questions and concerns, doing my best to answer them, and if I cannot, I will take them to be resolved. And of course, thirdly, I'll be taking ideas on how to make this transition and subsequent integration smooth, followed by any final recommendations each of you would like to make." Fingers drum againsst the table.
Kai didn't bring a coffee cup, so in lieu of something to keep his hands busy, he folds them loosely across his midsection and leans back in his chair. As the S2 and ChEng filter in, he looks over and gives each a brief nod, much as he gave Demitros. Shocking as it may be, Marek does not seem chatty this evening. His eyes return to Praxis as the man begins speaking.
The last person to slip in is probably one who isn't expected, but given that Pike is still busy with emergency patients and Camille is off taking care of HER patients, the psyche…oh, we'll just say it. She drew the short straw and the other two are laughing at her. Aly slips in and dips her head to the others present, sliding into a chair quietly. Luckily, she was just in time to hear what Praxis has to say. Her file folder is placed primly in her lap and a pen drawn out.
Salazar glances up to watch Praxis as he speaks. She nods, and adjusts her posture slightly in her chair. She slides her legs crossed and rests the coffee mug on her thigh. "Outstanding." And the marines are on board. Although, it's often hard to say just what they mean when they say outstanding, given the deadpan delivery.
Sen reaches for the carafe of coffee, filling herself a cup. She just nods wordlessly to Praxis, but no doubt there's an agenda bouncing around in the ChEng's head. She has a folder, afterall. A big frakkin' folder.
The big folder in question does get some curious inspection by the XO, but he's distracted by the late entry into the room. There always has to be someone late, and it always has to be a goddamn proxy. Just shaking his head and waiting for Mimieux to have a seat, he clears his throat and continues. "Very well. Not long ago, the Admiral and I were discussing the future of the fleet. As you, and especially Captain Eos-Hale should know, the escort carrier is in a sorry state. We have pushed her to do things an escort carrier was not meant to do and we've paid that particular price. Now, as the meeting progressed she felt it prudent to of course move all but a skeleton crew to the Hestia." Demitros clears his throat before he continues. "Now, the interests of this crew are one of my concerns - I'm aware of the difficulty that will arise from the merger and I'm certain many are inquiring as to what's going to happen to them, and I'm just as certain that you are wondering about that yourself - Admiral Mehra has assured me that you will all be looked at from an impartial standpoint. Hestia crewmembers may step down from their positions to allow for your continued leadership; conversely, you may be asked to step down from your position to allow for Hestia leadership." This is quite a bit for the XO to say, so he curls his fingers around his cup of coffee and sips some before placing it back down onto the table. "I am certain those under you will continue to perform in their capacity. As for working together with old comrades, that is a future that is perhaps not as clear."
Kai isn't taking notes while Praxis speaks. He's watching the man carefully in between bouts of contemplating the coffee, and digesting what's being said. Even the late arrival doesn't garner his attention, at the moment.
Salazar's eyes remain on the XO. She nods slightly once he's paused to take a sip of the coffee, perhaps to catch his breath. She nurses her own coffee, thoughtfully silent.
Aly's attention is firmly on Praxis and she IS taking notes. Likely, no, she's not brown nosing, but simply taking what's needed back to Pike. Her head tilts a little as Praxis mentions stepping down out of leadership positions, but she doesn't say a word.
Praxis looks between each of the silent personnel in turn after he's done talking, throwing his shoulders up in a shrug. "At this point, you're all given permission to speak freely and express whatever it is you wish to express." He quickly reaches back to his desk and grabs his notepad, putting it on the table and withdrawing a pencil from his ear, pressing it down against the octagonal page. "Questions. Concerns. Comments…anything I can and will bring to the Admiral."
Kai draws in a slow breath, blows it out his nose, and lets his eyes stray from the XO as the man opens up the floor to questions. "With all due respect, Captain, I think we're all perfectly aware of what the main issue is here. Half the crew's shitting themselves worrying about being shoved into a new command structure and having their family broken up. The other half's thinking about that swimming pool and observation deck and counting down the days until they pack their bags. The Admiral knows what our godsdamned concerns are, if she has half a frakking brain." His eyes return to Praxis, after skimming briefly over the coffee pot. "We're all trained to do our jobs. We've been through worse than this. I'd like to know details of where my pilots are going, and when. The more I can tell them, the easier this'll be."
Sen flips open her folder as Praxis opens the floor, and Kai takes it. Her gaze flicks up from her papers as Kai seems to have a little more venom in her voice then she expected. Interesting. She goes back to sorting out her papers, making three piles which she will undoubtedly address when she wouldn't be interrupting.
There isn't really much venom in the CAG's voice, nor much inflection at all. He just doesn't tend to mince words.
Aly, at the moment, remains rather quiet as she listens to the CAG go first. That's fine, no, really! Him going first means she doesn't have to. Her attention bounces back and forth between CAG and XO, with glances to the S2 and CEng.
Salazar takes a sip of the provided coffee while Praxis, then Karim speak. She considers the words for a moment, glances over to the pilot, and lowers the mug to rest again against her thigh. "Agreed. All that remains are the specific orders. My marines will go where and do what they're ordered to do. Who's going, who's staying, numbers. If DH input is needed to sort the numbers, that can be provided easily enough. The sooner the better."
Unfazed by Kai's string of words (Praxis has actually come to expect this on a regular basis), the XO lays eyes upon him while tones flow from his lips, and then immediately his head cranes slightly to lock onto the S2/CO whateverthehellsheis when she concurs. "As is the nature of the skeleton crew, I imagine the majority of the personnel will be moving over. As to the particular assignments of all of our personnel, that has yet to be decided and will be done so hopefully very, very soon. The Admiral is expecting my input on this matter, and I'm looking for yours." Demitros writes down something about getting specific reports on who is going where, when. "I do not know if anyone has volunteered to leave or stay behind in any of your departments, but such has been the case with CIC. Obviously everyone can't stay, and obviously everyone cannot stay behind. Instead of going over numbers at this point in time, I'd like each of you to prioritize your personnel and make recommendations for their location of duty. If you have not already."
Kai nods to Praxis, and returns eye contact where it's made. "I'll have a list of recommendations on your desk by tomorrow morning, Captain. Naturally, I'll either stay here to keep the wing running, or leave one of my ranking officers in charge, as you and the Admiral prefer." He slides a notepad and pen out of his jacket, clicks the latter on, and jots a couple of things down.
Salazar slides a single sheet of paper from her pocket. It's folded over twice. She chucks it along the table, spinning before it comes to rest in front of the XO. You bet your ass she used to play paper pyramid as a kid. At least she didn't aim for his coffee cup to get points. What, she's quick on the paperwork. "All of my recommendations are there. There's no reason to keep a full rotation of active marines aboard. I can cut it down to just enough to handle shipboard security. Unless the Hestia finds itself in need of an extra officer, I presume I'll be staying to coordinate security aboard the Kharon."
Sen starts pushing papers towards Praxis, "After your announcement, I took the liberty of going through the Engineering roster. Here is my recommendation of who should be transferred as well as a list of who should remain behind on the skeletal rotation. Some I had to split hairs on, but you'll notice it's my recommendation that I stay behind on the Kharon until such a time as she's decomissioned." The second stack is pushed forward. "Here are the current system status reports." Then the third. "These are the projections once the Kharon is dropped down to skeleton crew. I propose sealing off portions of the ship, condensing berthings, and closing off certain sections completely which will put less strain on the life support system and help conserve our energy output." Where did she find time for all this? Who needs sleep. One piece of paper hangs back in her now near empty little folder.
"And Sickbay can be pared down considerably to handle emergency situations only," Aly pipes up, voice quiet, though purposeful. "If long term care or a true emergency comes up, we can make do with what we have or shuttle the ill over to Hestia."
Praxis starts gathering up all of the sheets handed to him, unfolding them and snapping them underneath the metallic clip on his clipboard. "Excellent, thank you," he mentions, not taking any time to go over the names at this juncture but instead continuing on with the meeting. Everyone has a job to get back to. Naturally, eye contact is made with those who speak, and the iron visage shows no change in emotion, if there were any to begin with. Another section of his paper is cordoned off with a line of graphite, and then he considers all of the personnel at the table. Without saying anything, the command member himself starts making his own recommendations. He looks up at the Kharon system reports and ponders it briefly, "I'm certain that what you recommend is acceptable, Captain Eos," Demitros finally replies before moving onto the next topic. "Regardless of where the next stationing occurs, I'd like suggestions from each of you as to the precise details of the transition. How we should do it, how we can expedite integration, that sort of thing if you will. I've had my own ideas that I have proposed, but I'm curious as to how each of you would handle the move."
Kai is busy writing while the other officers are speaking, his pen making a soft scritch, scratch against the paper. When he's done, it's clicked off and tumbled idly between his fingers. "If you're talking logistics, Captain, I've got about eighteen raptors to shuttle people with. So about eight or nine trips apiece. I'll get Black Cat coordinating the move itself as soon as you give me the word. In terms of the transition itself.." He scratches at his scarred upper lip with a thumbnail, and hitches his shoulder slightly. "It'll take time. I'm sure another fight night or two wouldn't go amiss. I can talk to Lieutenant Hale about organising some pyramid matches incorporating the new crew."
Salazar's eyes rest on Sen as she discusses the ship, particularly the bit about 'strain on life support'. She nods slightly to Mimieux, then looks ot Praxis again as he speaks. In response to the request for suggestions, she says simply, "Do it as soon as possible, as fast as possible, as many people at once as possible. Rip off the bandage, no anaethesia. We should hold a memorial to mourn who we've lost here on the Kharon, then move as much of the crew as we're going to to the Hestia. After, I'd suggest a Fight Night or a celebration. Booze or violence are the two best ways to get to know each other." Trust a Nikos to suggest a mixer. "The marines are sure to work it out in the ring, whatever decision we come to." Simple creatures, corpsmen.
The last piece of paper remains in the folder, and for the time being, Sen just closes the cover over it. "My suggestion is the same. Quick like an adhesive bandage. Get it over fast and neat, and once completed, do something to integrate the two crews, like Captain Marek suggested, by having a boxing match or Pyramid tournament. Let them get their issues out with the awkwardness straight away instead of having it fester."
"I concur," the psyche says quietly. "One of the most difficult things in a transition such as this is lack of information from senior command. The more people know, the better they're going to handle it. The uncertainty is what drives the paranoia and creates the discipline problems. Even if there isn't a lot of concrete information out there, some information that's made to look concrete will help more than silence will."
"Eight or nine trips…" Praxis mutters while he scribbles that particular information down, as well as the recreational ideas that the DH's provide that Demitros would have overlooked; since when is the XO a guy to play cards, or Pyramid. "As you all seem to be in agreement, that is precisely what my next mission is: getting the information. Captain, as -soon- as you have that recommendation on my desk I'll be taking the trip over to the Hestia, and I will not leave until I have assignments for every single crewmember on the Kharon roster. We will commence this operation as quickly as possible." Fingers drum on the table again idly, but the keen eye of the XO does not fail him tonight in regards to Captain Eos. "Is there anything final you would like to share, Chief?" he inquires, wondering if the purpose for what remains is to be brought up during this meeting.
Kai reaches for a coffee cup while Aly's speaking, his eyes returning to the woman a couple of times while he fills it from the pot nearby. It's gone a bit lukewarm by now, but coffee's coffee. Except when it's sludge. He sips, and stifles a grimace.
Salazar finishes off her coffee without so much as another little frown. Apparently she's accepted the coffee for what it is, and has sentenced it to a fate of digestion in her belly. Die, coffee, die.
Sen looks down to her folder, fingering it back open. "Oh. You mean this?" She draws out the last remaining piece of paper, sliding it across the desk towards Kai, not Praxis. "Sorry, sir. No. That's just the next crossword puzzle for Marek. Completely unrelated." A stage whisper is offered to Karim. "Finished in an hour and a half. Beat that."
Praxis leans back in his chair, pulling the clipboard with him into his lap, hanging onto it and peering between the others. "Very well. Dismissed." He nods towards the door, letting each of them file out in the direction they are all going. Before the first person leaves the hatchway though, Demitros smirks slightly. "For what it's worth, it's been a pleasure." He does his best not to put any sentiment or inflection in his tone, just simply saying it so he doesn't sound too wishy washy. Or whatever. He swivels in his chair and looks back to the wall and the status monitors that line it.
"Will do," Marek answers the XO briskly, tucking away his pen and reaching for his coffee cup again. Then Sen slides over the slip of paper she'd been hoarding the entire meeting, and he sets the cup aside to reach for it. "I'm sure your record's safe, Captain." He actually tosses her a quick wink before folding it up and sliding it into a pocket of his blues uniform. "Unless I'm allowed to cheat, and enlist the help of one of my Lieutenants." As the dismissal's given, he drains what's left of the weak brew, and starts to his feet. His eyes are on Praxis as the man swivels his chair away.
Everyone else is getting up to leave, or making leaving motions, yet Aly remains where she is, hands folded atop the file on her knees. She offers the departing officers a smile, but remains exactly in her spot.
For the first time all evening, Sen dons a smile offered to everyone at the table in general. "And you think I didn't pick the brains of my league of snipes?" Lobbed lightly back at Marek. As they are dismissed, she slips out of her chair and on the way to the hatch, lays her hand on Praxis' shoulder briefly in parting in the 'feeling is mutual' sort of way. "Folks." She says in lieu of goodbyes.
Salazar rises, leaving her empty cup in front of the chair. "Captain Demitros. It has certainly been educational." There's a faint twitch of a smile there before the Ensign turns to head for the hatch. "Captains. Lieutenant." Was that humor from the marine? Could have been. Maybe was. "If anyone wants in on the pool regarding the contents of the late Major's locked desk drawer, see me. I'm opening it tonight when I uncover his desk." The CMC's CO desk has been covered with the marine flag since the Major died, you see. And then she's off.
Praxis, from his about-face position, simply listens to the squeaking of chairs as they are pushed back from their positions and the subsequent footfalls as personnel stand up and presumably head away. He doesn't reply to the offer of the pool or any words said back in his direction, but the light tapping of the end of his pencil against his bottom lip can be heard, then subsequent scribbling on the page. He won't say anything until whoever is leaving leaves and whoever is staying stays.
Kai doesn't have anything witty, warm or insightful to offer the ship's Executive Officer. He merely watches him for a long while, hand on the back of the chair he'd recently vacated. After a thoughtful glance down, he blows out a breath through his nose and turns to head for the hatch like the sullen bastard he is. Salazar and her mention of the Major get a brief look on his way by, but he doesn't address the issue of the departed marine CO's possessions.
