Welcome Aboard Jackson Mallory

« Prev
1
Next »

Deleted
Deleted Member

Posts: 0

Welcome Aboard Jackson Mallory May 28, 2014 13:03:47 GMT

Quote

Post by Deleted on May 28, 2014 13:03:47 GMT

Captain’s Ready Room
USS Bannockburn
2 months before the launch of the Portland

Captain Lee sat at his terminal reviewing the latest report from his master of supply, when the door chime sounded. He quickly glanced at his schedule and saw that he had an appointment with Lt. Max Rothschild from stellar cartography.

“Come in Max,” the Captain called in what he hoped was a friendly manner. He never liked taking one of his officers to task, but found if he controlled the atmosphere of the meeting, it typically went better.

Lt. Rothschild entered and stood before the Captain’s desk. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Yes, please sit down, Max. Can I offer you something to drink?”

“No thank you sir,” replied Max as he sat.

“Very well.” Captain Lee leaned forward. “So, I wanted to talk with you about your latest report. If I’m reading it correctly, it appears that you are falling behind schedule on our mission to map the nebula. Is there something that I’m missing?”

Max sat stiffly. “Um, yes sir...my latest projection has us finishing 2 days beyond my original schedule.”

Captain Lee raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

“Uh...you see,” continued Max. “We have run into a few problems with the sensors and...well the scope of the job is just bigger than I thought.”

The Captain’s doubtful expression didn’t change. “I’ll, uh, see what I can do to get us back on track,” finished Max.

“Hang on Max. I don’t want you working double shifts or killing your staff to bring this in on time. I just want to understand the problem. I’ve never known you to miss a deadline by as much as 1 hour, let alone 2 days. If you say its the sensors, then its the sensors, but I have to believe that if it was something as simple as that, you wouldn't have already taken the initiative to fix it. So what’s really going on?”

Max hesitated for a moment or two, before sighing. “Sir, its Ensign Mallory.” An resigned yet knowing look from the Captain prompted him to continue. “Earlier this week, I lost an entire shift’s worth of data, because he incorrectly aligned the sensor array. Then yesterday, I found that he rescanned a region that we had already completed because he transposed two numbers. Its just...well sir, I don't think Ensign Mallory is cut out for stellar cartography.”

“Is there an issue with training?” asked the Captain. “He’s only recently joined your department, hasn’t he?”

“Sir, it’s been 6 months. I’ve run him through my training plan three times. Until recently, I have had Ensign Simmons mentoring him. You know, Ensign Simmons who is over 15 years junior to Mallory. I just can’t afford to have another staff member babysit him all the time.”

Captain Lee nodded his head, and tried to remain as professional as possible. “Ok, Max. I understand. Like I said, do what you can to get back on track, but I don’t want you going overboard. We don’t have pressing business, so if the survey takes you a little longer, that’s fine. Dismissed.”

After Rothschild left, Lee sighed audibly and shook his head. What was he going to do with Mallory?

He brought up the service record of Ensign Jackson Mallory. Sixteen years. Sixteen years an Ensign. On board the Bannockburn, Lee had tried him at engineering, medical, transporter control, ops, and security, with his latest stint in stellar cartography. While no post could exactly be described as a failure, he didn’t thrive in anywhere. The only place where he did a decent job was at helmsman, but that was a position for someone just starting out in Starfleet, not a 20 year vet. Sending him back to the helm at this point wouldn’t do much for his morale, and would send the wrong message to the crew.

He could start the procedure to remove Mallory from duty. But he didn’t feel the man was completely beyond hope. A transfer? After reading his service record, what captain would take him?

Finally, Lee resolved to give Rothschild one more chance to turn it around before deciding on a course of action.

Lee returned to his terminal and checked the subspace wire to catch up on the other happenings within Starfleet. After reading for awhile, he came across a post about the USS Portland. Wow, a Miranda class still in service after all these years, he mused. And what’s this? They have been looking for a flight control chief for awhile. Well, good luck. Where are they going to find a officer who is checked out on a Miranda who would take such an entry level post?

Lee continued reading other posts, when a thought crossed his mind, and he brought up Mallory’s service record again. Let’s see, he’s a qualified pilot for Constellation, Oberth, and...ah here it is. Served at helm aboard the USS Helin. Interesting.

Lee switched on the comm. “Ensign Mallory, please report to Captain’s ready room.”

Last Edit: May 28, 2014 13:28:18 GMT by Deleted

Deleted
Deleted Member

Posts: 0

Welcome Aboard Jackson Mallory May 28, 2014 13:24:13 GMT Brad Silverton likes this

Quote

Post by Deleted on May 28, 2014 13:24:13 GMT

Ensign Steel’s Quarters
USS Portland, Deck 3
14 Days before launch

Kat Steel had done her best to hide her disappointment from the Captain. Until 2 hours ago, Ensign Steel was one of the youngest Chief Flight Control Officers in all of Starfleet. Sure, it was aboard a ship that could be politely described as archaic, but still...she was the boss. She had taken the other helmsmen and whipped them into an outstanding little unit in only a few short weeks. And now, she would be one of them again.

The orders were simple enough. She needed to dispatch a pilot in a type 6 shuttlecraft to pick up Ensign Jackson Mallory at Starbase 172. When he arrived, an estimated 8 days later, Ensign Mallory would take over as Chief of Flight Control. The Captain commended her for her service and thanked her for stepping in to stand up the Flight Control section. She was impressed with the way Kat had taken the initiative. In short...Kat was relieved.

Ever the consummate professional, Ensign Steel wasted no time in assigning the pickup to Ensign Bott. While a capable officer, the Bolian had scored lowest on the last round of flight simulations, and was therefore on tap for the next unsavory assignment, and a 4 day trip in a shuttlecraft was certainly unsavory.

She met Bott in the shuttlebay and helped him outfit his ship. While normally chatty, Bott could read Kat’s mood, and didn’t bombard her with the inane questions that she had feared. As a reward, Kat authorized him to send back Mallory alone and take a few days R&R at the starbase. He could catch a ride with a supply ship, and still make it back in time for the launch.

Her duty complete, Kat went back to her quarters to sulk.

It had been a while since Kat felt a setback like this...probably as far back as her regional high school. Back then, she was Katherine Beulah Stelhumper, and bore the brunt of the teasing that came with a name like that. Katherine Stelhumper was not expected to amount to much, and in the way that these types of prophecies tend to be self fulfilling, she didn’t. She made passable marks and had a few acquaintances, but no real friends.

Katherine’s galactic geography professor saw something in her, saw a bit of the woman she would become. The professor took her under his wing, and tried to bring her out of her shell, signing her up for the debate team. There she did manage a friend or two. One day while preparing for a debate, the professor asked her if she ever thought of a career in Starfleet. He said that if she was interested, he would help her with the application to Starfleet Preparatory School. More to please him than for any expectation of being accepted, Katherine applied to Starfleet Prep.

When the letter arrived saying she had been accepted, Katherine finally started to believe that maybe all those naysayers had been wrong. She completed her semester and began preparing to transfer to Starfleet Prep. Given the baggage that came with her birth name, Katherine had her name legally changed to Kat Steel, and her increased confidence matched the meteoric progression she made over the next 6 years.

Kat finished Prep School with top marks, and earned a spot at Starfleet Academy on her first entrance exam. At the Academy, she was exemplary, achieving All Academy honors in both academics, command, and sports, and graduating a semester early; feats that would have all been impossible for a Katherine Stelhumper. While the posting to the Portland certainly wouldn’t have been her first choice, any disappointment was mollified, when Captain Alenis made her Chief of Flight Control.

A post that she held for all to brief a time.

After wallowing in self pity for a time, eventually Kat resolved to make the best of it. She arranged for maintenance to move her out of her current quarters the following day, to make room for Ensign Mallory. Now that she was no longer a section chief, she would have to share a room versus bunking alone. The junior officers’ quarters were probably slightly too big for one, slightly too small for two, but all in all, not terrible...certainly better than the 4 to a room bunks at the Academy.

That completed, she brought up Jackson Mallory’s service record, and read it with increasing incredulity. She knew that Mallory outranked her by virtue of time in grade, but she wasn’t prepared for this. Over fifteen years as an Ensign? What was the story there? She was impressed with the incident aboard the Magellan and at science station 402, but the rest of his record was some of the most sleep-inducing reading she had recently experienced. There was no meat to any of his time as an officer.

Still, some of her best instructors at the Academy had been officers with prior enlisted experience, so she vowed to give Ensign Mallory her best, and give him a chance to prove that he was her superior officer in deed as well as fact.

(Introducing Ensign Kat Steel - aka Katherine Stelhumper - Temporary Chief of Flight Control)
(Introducing Ensign Bott - Bolian - Helmsman)

Last Edit: May 28, 2014 13:24:45 GMT by Deleted

Deleted
Deleted Member

Posts: 0

Welcome Aboard Jackson Mallory May 29, 2014 12:36:13 GMT

Quote

Post by Deleted on May 29, 2014 12:36:13 GMT

Shuttle Bay 1
USS Portland, Deck 5
6 Days before launch

Ensign Kat Steel stood in the shuttlebay awaiting her new section lead as she heard the loudspeakers authorizing the shuttle to make final approach. As the ship came in, she noticed its attitude was rolled a few degrees off of true for the bay. She expected the pilot to correct before setting down, but instead the ship touched down on its port runner and then slammed hard to starboard. While there was no serious damage, she could see that the starboard runner had a slight fracture and would need to be replaced. She made a mental note to have the shuttle serviced to see if it’s attitude controls were misaligned.

Kat was surprised to see the familiar blue form of Ensign Bott, travel bag tucked under one arm, emerge from the shuttlecraft. As he approached, she fixed him with a vexing stare. “What the hell kind of landing was that, Ensign?”

Bott shook his head. “Not me, Kat. Ensign Mallory was at the controls. Said something about them being more sluggish than he was used to.”

Kat looked dubiously at the Bolian, and then did a bit of a double take. “By the way, what are you doing here? I told you to take a few days at Starbase.”

“Not in the cards,” replied Bott. “Turns out that Mr. Mallory was short a few hours for his routine qualification in a type 6 shuttlecraft. Ground control wouldn’t let him fly solo, so I got to ride with him. The good news is that after 4 days at the helm he has regained his qualification...bad news is that you get to see my face earlier than you thought.”

Kat was speechless. A starfleet officer, and her new Flight Control Chief who let his qualification lapse. She had never heard of such a thing. “So how was the flight?”

Ensign Bott thought back over the last several days. The new section lead was a nice enough fellow, if somewhat reserved. He did some of the things you would normally expect on a long flight, reading, catching up on sleep, etc. One of Mallory’s hobbies did strike the Bolian as strange.

Jackson Mallory seemed to really enjoy playing vintage computer simulation games from the 21st century. From what Bott could tell, many were designed to be tactical war simulations of the great wars on Earth from the 1900’s. Mallory would control a soldier and use this avatar to fight battles against hordes of enemy soldiers. Some of the games pitted the new Ensign’s skills against aliens, strange monsters, or even reanimated dead bodies. From what little Bott could remember of Earth history, none of the simulations struck him as particularly historically accurate, and all seemed highly unrealistic. Mallory tried to explain his hobby, calling the simulations “shooters” and saying they helped him unwind, but the unrestrained slaughter depicted in the games struck the Bolian as borderline psychotic.

Mott was sure he couldn’t explain this all to Ensign Steel in the few moments they had, so simply replied. “Routine...no issues.”

Kat regarded him dubiously, “Uh, ok Bott...go ahead and drop off your stuff and get some rack time. You’ve earned it. We can catch up later.”

Kat remained bemused as another form emerged from the shuttle. As the man approached, she felt a further wave of disappointment, but did her best not to let it show. Over the last several days, she had speculated on what her new section chief would look like. While she knew he was older than a typical Ensign, in her minds eye, she always pictured a virile, commanding presence akin to Commander Riker of the Enterprise.

Instead, the man approaching was average in every sense of the word. He had a dumpy, rumpled manner about him, and didn’t project any real sense of command. He appeared lost and somehow out of place in the shuttlebay, and Kat had the sudden impression of a librarian or legal clerk vs. starfleet officer.

As Kat continued to regard him, Mallory seemed to notice her for the first time, and approached.

“Hello there, I’m Jackson Mallory. Permission to come aboard?”

Kat clicked her heels together and smiled. “Of course sir. Permission granted. Welcome aboard Ensign Mallory.”

Last Edit: May 29, 2014 12:36:43 GMT by Deleted

Alenis Meru
Commanding Officer

Posts: 756

Welcome Aboard Jackson Mallory May 29, 2014 22:11:22 GMT

Quote

Post by Alenis Meru on May 29, 2014 22:11:22 GMT

Captain’s Office
USS Portland
14 days before launch

Alenis took a sip of her tea as she stared at the personnel report on her screen. It was that of an Ensign Mallory, a candidate for transfer to the Portland. Her ship was still in drydock undergoing retrofits -- all but a couple decks were restricted to construction personnel only -- and she was already tiring of the vast quantities of paperwork that a commanding officer had to deal with. It wasn’t all sitting in the center chair, leading troops into battle and making life and death decisions. In fact, command could at times be downright boring.

As for Ensign Mallory, his record was long and completely uneventful. In fact, it was conspicuous for its blandness. Aside from some heroics over 20 years ago when he was still an enlisted crewman, reviewing his personnel file was as exciting as watching paint dry. No promotions, no commendations, but no serious discipline either.

She sighed. She had seen this sort of thing on the ShiKahr when she was an XO. Someone was clearly trying to get rid of an underwhelming officer, a man who performed poorly enough to attract the disapproval of his superiors, but not poorly enough to attract discipline.

Alenis was determined to get the best crew she could, and not allow the Portland to be a dumping ground for the dregs of Starfleet. Sure, the Portland was an old cruiser, maybe a little obsolete for front-line duties, but that didn’t mean that she had to be crewed by Starfleet’s most mediocre.

But she didn’t have much choice in the matter. The Portland was not exactly a glamorous assignment. Most flyboys wanted something nimble and powerful like a Defiant-class, something prestigious like a Galaxy-class flaghip, or something challenging like the Prometheus class. And the Portland, for all its charms, was none of these. All she had were a few brand new officers, fresh out of the academy. She would need at least one experienced helmsman to manage the department and oversee the training.

On top of that, the Miranda class was such an old vessel that it was hard to find qualified helmsmen who were checked out on one. Not many of them remained in the fleet, and most of the old hands with experience piloting a Miranda had long since moved on to more prestigious roles.

Her thoughts turned back to the personnel file in her hand. The man was clearly not a good officer.

Still, he was a fully qualified helmsman who was checked out to pilot a Miranda, and that was what Alenis needed. Maybe there was potential here. Given the right opportunity and the right encouragement, perhaps Ensign Mallory might shine. Perhaps he could be worked on…

With a tap of her finger on the screen, Alenis approved the transfer.

Commander John Koenig
Commanding Officer
Moonbase Alpha

Alenis Meru
Commanding Officer

Posts: 756

Welcome Aboard Jackson Mallory Jun 7, 2014 19:12:00 GMT

Quote

Post by Alenis Meru on Jun 7, 2014 19:12:00 GMT

Main Bridge
USS Portland, Deck 1
3 Days before launch
Authors: Cmdr. Alenis Meru, Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Rouse, Ens. Jackson Mallory

Jackson Mallory ran for the turbolift, only to have it close just before he got there. Great, he thought bitterly. I’m going to be late on my first shift. Moments earlier he had been playing an old Earth simulation game called “Call of Duty” when he had glanced up at the clock and noticed it read 0858. That left only two minutes for him to report to the bridge. “Computer. End game,” he called as he ran to the door.

As he waited impatiently for the lift to return, he thought regretfully that things had been going so well the last several days, and hoped this didn't ruin it. Sure, there had been that bit of embarrassment when he first reported to the bridge.

“Pleased to meet you Commander Meru,” he had said, to the striking gentleman sitting in the command chair.

Tim stood up and followed the direction of the voice and chuckled softly. "Almost correct." He pointed to his collar. "Lieutenant Commander Rouse is the name. Im the Executive Officer." Nodding to the door opposite of the bridge. "The captain is waiting for you in her office, although I would call her Captain Alenis. It's not really proper to address the captain by her given name."

Mallory had only nodded and apologized as he recalled that little detail about Bajoran names. He had meant to study the personnel files on the trip out but hadn’t managed to find the time on the 4 day trip, though he couldn’t really remember exactly where the time had gone.

Other than that little faux pas, the rest of his time aboard had gone well. He had met all the helmsmen in his section, and despite being a bunch of wet behind the ears pups, they all seemed very nice. Ensign Steel in particular had been very helpful. Apparently, his arrival had necessitated a decrease in responsibility for the young lady, but she never showed any animosity toward him. In fact, he had left her pretty much in charge of day to day operations while he got settled.

The turbolift finally opened, and he quickly got on board. When he arrived on the bridge, his chrono read 0904. He approached the helm and sat, adjusting the panel to his liking. As he settled in, his hopes that his tardiness would go unnoticed were dashed as he heard the Captain clear her throat behind him.

For the past five minutes, Alenis had been sitting in her command chair, her gaze alternating between her chronometer and the empty chair in front of her. She had taken a bit of a gamble on Jackson Mallory, and if this was his first impression, it looked unlikely to pay off. “Mr. Mallory. Please be on time from now on. I realize that we are only testing the maneuvering thrusters this morning, but we all have more to do than time to do it in, and every minute we waste means that much less rack time for all of us.”

“Uh yes sir...I mean ma’am,” he stuttered, remembering that the Captain was not a fan of the archaic form of address. “Its just that Ensign Steel drew up the duty schedule, and I forgot that she had asked me to run the thruster test.”

"Ensign Steel? I did make you the department head, correct?" asked Alenis in a stern voice.

"Um...yes ma'am, you did," he replied lamely.

Alenis sighed. "Mr. Mallory, proceed with the test. I'll speak to you in my office after."

Ensign Mallory began to run through the test procedures, adeptly maneuvering the ship through her paces. Despite her age, the Portland was quite a nimble ship at sub-light speeds. Mallory even demonstrated a few tricks that were not on the mission plan, teaming 4 thrusters together to cause the bow of the ship to yaw to the starboard as it went through a 180 degree roll. From her reaction, it was clear that the Captain hadn't known the ship could perform some of these additional maneuvers. When the test runs were complete, Mallory skillfully guided the Portland back into her mooring berth, and brought ship to standby.

When spacedock signaled all clear, Mallory arose and followed the Captain into her office.

Commander John Koenig
Commanding Officer
Moonbase Alpha

Deleted
Deleted Member

Posts: 0

Welcome Aboard Jackson Mallory Jun 12, 2014 12:35:54 GMT

Quote

Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2014 12:35:54 GMT

Captain's Office
USS Portland, Deck 1
3 days before launch
Authors: Cmdr. Alenis Meru; Ens. Jackson Mallory

Returning to her office, Alenis immediately pulled up the record of Jackson Mallory on a PADD. Though she was impressed by his maneuvers, his lateness and apparent lack of devotion to duty worried her. It was an inauspicious start for a man with an inauspicious record.

Behind her, she heard the door whoosh open again. She turned to face the balding ensign and quickly looked him up and down. His poorly trimmed beard, scuffed shoes, the visible lint on his uniform, and the lost look in his eyes all indicated to Alenis that she was dealing with a person who had long since given up.

"Mr. Mallory," she said, placing the PADD back down on her desk, "would you care to explain yourself? Why is Ensign Steel drawing up duty schedules; as department head, that's your job."

Mallory settled in for his scolding. He had endured many over the years, and learned the right and wrong things to say. Captains never wanted excuses...you answered their questions directly, sticking to the facts, and then explained your plan for improvement. Only slightly less important was to never disagree. Captains wanted what they wanted. Crewmen and officers under them said 'Yes sir', and that was that. It was always best to be as vague as possible, to speak as little as possible, take your dressing down, and return to anonymity.

"Yes ma'am," he said with a practiced, subordinate tone. "It is definitely my responsibility. Ensign Steel was continuing to handle some things while I settled in. Starting today, I'll be transitioning all of these additional duties back to myself, including the duty schedule." That was another thing that captains liked; it was always 'starting today' or 'effective immediately', never 'soon' or 'when I get a chance'.

Mallory wasn't exactly sure what these additional duties entailed. While he certainly had the basic understanding, you couldn't serve in Starfleet for as long as he had without picking that up, he had meant to ask Kat for the details about what a Chief Flight Control Officer was supposed to do, but had not yet gotten around to it. He planned to speak with her today to fill in the gaps. He wanted no more unpleasant surprises or meetings like this with the Captain.

"I see," replied Alenis as she stood up to meet Jackson at eye level. "You piloted the ship skillfully today," she said. One of the lessons she had learned was to try to start a difficult conversation with a compliment to take the edge off, "but your lateness, and the state of your uniform on the first day no less... it looks like you don't just don't care." Alenis paused for effect, taking in the largely emotionless expression on the face of the ensign seven years her senior. Clearly, he'd been dressed down so many times in his long and not-exactly-promising career that it no longer fazed him. "I've been reviewing your personnel report. You've been an ensign for sixteen years now, and you've bounced around from position to position. I'd like to know, what are your career goals? What do you want to get out of Starfleet?"

And there it was. The question that every supervisor, executive officer, and captain he had ever met always led with. What do you want to be when you grow up? And Mallory had his rehearsed answer. The one that the supervisor was invariably looking for. The one that usually brought the conversation to a speedy end.

"Captain," he said with rehearsed ease. "Starfleet has brought me a host of wonderful experiences. I can't express how happy I am to do my part in the further exploration of the galaxy. During this assignment, I just want to make sure that the Flight Control section has the tools and training they need to meet and exceed your expectations. That's what I'm concentrating on now. As for the future, I'm always looking for opportunities to improve myself and my peers, and will continue to do my best."

Of course, he couldn't tell her the real answer. What did he want out of Starfleet? What he really wanted was to return to the enlisted ranks. He was never happier than when he was crawling through jeffries tubes or cross-fitting a phaser coil. When he was left alone to solve problems and wasn't scrutinized and held up against the paragon of Starfleed officerhood. But in Starfleet you didn't go back. You went forward.

He still remembered the conversation he had with the councilor at Starfleet Academy, when it looked like he wouldn't graduate. He had asked what it would take to be posted back to one of his old ships in his old job. It was clear though from the councilor's response that Starfleet didn't really appreciate the smell of failure, and that he was more likely to get some meaningless staff job right here on Terra Firma if he didn't graduate. So he buckled down, and pressed on, and squeaked through to graduation.

It didn't take him long to learn that he wasn't the best of the best, and that for an officer, if you weren't constantly impressing, you were seen as a disappointment. Eventually he quit trying.

There was no way the Captain wanted to hear any of that, so Mallory fed her the standard answer and hoped that would be the end of it.

"Well, in that case, I expect you to lead by example." Mallory seemed sincere enough. "From now on, you'll be on time or early for your shifts, your uniform will be up to snuff, and you'll have to take responsibility for all your duties as a department head. If you need any assistance, feel free to talk to Lt. Cmdr. Rouse. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied in his most professional tone.

"Very well, Ensign. Dismissed."

Last Edit: Jun 12, 2014 12:36:53 GMT by Deleted

Quick Reply

Tolaran Kian: Brian, can't reply via pm on the new forum or message you! Yes please to your pm! Will start something up asap!

Apr 7, 2015 18:28:00 GMT

Jason Beauvoir: It didn't make much sense that the Voyager crew couldn't make more torpedoes, after all the created a new shuttle (the Delta Flyer) as well as as some new probes, that weren't on board in the beginning. Apr 2, 2015 2:41:40 GMT

Alenis Meru: I suppose it's like Voyager -- how they fired 123 of their 38 irreplaceable photon torpedoes during the show's run Apr 2, 2015 2:22:49 GMT