Command Recertification - Lt. Aurora Vali
Posted on Wed Jul 14th, 2021 @ 1:25am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali & Remal Kajun
Mission:
Gamma Quadrant
Location: USS Sunfire
Timeline: TBD
Next up on his list of potential candidates, Lt. Aurora Vali. As Commander Savar was her spouse and a possible, potential, conflict of interest. The task fell upon Remal's shoulders to perform the psychological evaluation. He pulled up her records and made notes to pass on to Rhenora for her physical portion of the evaluation.
Strengths;
- Telepathic: Line of sight and touch telepath
- Empathic
- Skilled in the use of the Vulcan mild meld
Weaknesses:
- Her emotions can undermine her logic
- Her bond with Commander Savar
- Her bond with her child Sidak
While he felt the last two could also be strengths, particularly in his own mind, he knew in a Command scenario, family, could be a strong weakness to be exploited. Finally he sent these recommendations off with a planned schedule to Captain Kaylen for her approval.
In her ready room up to her earring in evaluations and reports the Captain paused as the new message came in, reading and approving it, lining Aurora's evaluation for the day after Savar's.
Remal took the approval and composed a message to Aurora, informing her of the time and location she would need to report for her recertification. He concluded with a simple, "Good luck, I look forward to working with you on your evaluation." And then he sent off the message and began setting to work on crafing her questions to suit her personality.
5 minutes before the evaluation was to begin Captain Kaylen arrived, setting herself up in the holodeck and bringing up the simulation. The black and yellow grid of the holodeck was replaced with the bridge of the USS Sunfire, it's senior staff in all their positions. Rhenora never failed to be slightly intimidated by her holographic self, poised and centred in the command chair and looking ready to take on the universe. Remal and Savar also arrived and took their positions behind the one way glass, and waited.
Aurora arrived at the holodeck. Stepping inside she was feeling nervous and under pressure. If she didn’t pass her assessments she wouldn’t be Chief Counsellor for much longer.
The evaluation was set to begin when the officer sat in the command chair by usual standards - unless something slighyly unusual had been prepared. For Aurora it would be one of the standard highly moral driven decisions that ever bridge officer in charge would have to make at some point - who lives and who dies.
Savar sat behind the one way glass that for this exam looked like a wall as he watched Aurora get ready to take her exam. He was confident she would do well.
Aurora could sense Savar’s presence, his confidence that she would do well. She just hoped she would be able to hold up her end. She took a seat and waited for the scenario to begin.
As Aurora sat, the scenario began, quietly at first, the bridge crew working away at their stations as though just another regular day. Both the Captain and XO holograms were absent from the bridge - presumedly busy in other locations working on other tasks. For all intents and purposes Aurora was the boss.
"Ma'am, we're picking up a distress call from a civilian transport ship - approximately 2 light-years from our current location" Ops announced.
Aurora nodded. “Let's hear it please.”
" This is the transport ship Icarus to anyone who can hear my... we're under attack and our engines are down... please help us!" The voice was clear but had a definite edge of desperation.
Aurora looked towards the helmsman. “Get us to the Icarus, red alert! Tactical I want to know whose attacking that ship.” She looked to the officer manning comms. “Contact the Icarus let them know we’re on the way.”
"Aye Ma'am" Was the chorus that echoed through the bridge as the crew swung into action.
"Ma'am, sensors show the Icarus is being attacked by a rogue ship, unable to determine its origin. The Icarus have sent their passenger and cargo manifest - looks like they are conveying three Federation Ambassadors and medical supplies and... a class of children on a field trip." Ops reported as they neared the distressed ship.
"Ma'am, long-range sensors have detected a large plasma fire burning in their wake. It appears their engineering section has had a breach of some sort and they are venting plasma." Holo-Lt. Avarak announced from the science station.
The rogue alien vessel continued its attack, lacing the transport ship with weapons fire and refusing to give any space for them to recover.
Remal activated a few bonus controls to spice up the action then he looked to Rhenora, "Did you trap people in that section of the ship?" He asked of his wife.
Rhenora looked at him innocently. "The base program was allocated by Starfleet Command, there were only a few variables I could manipulate according to my personal experience with the officer. But yes...."
"So she will have to order an away team into the fire if she hopes to be able to receive everyone. It's risky, but also a good way to test her ability to command someone in the face of mortal danger. Good job."
“Get a lock on that ship and open fire” Aurora stood from her seat. “Let’s see if we can get their attention, try and get a lock on the crew beam out anyone you can.”
"Ma'am, the alien vessel is continuing their attack. No wait...they've altered course and are charging weapons at us. The Icarus's core is going critical. We can't transport them with the shields up" Tactical advised
Aurora nodded. “We can’t leave those people to die, target the alien ship and throw everything we have. At the same time I want our shields dropped just long enough to transport that crew out!”
"Ma'am if we drop our shields we are vulnerable to their weapons" Tactical advised "Damage would be extensive"
Aurora nodded, “Can you drop the shields in a specific section? One that wouldn’t cripple the ship?”
Savar spoke up. "The shields along the cargo
bay can be dropped long enough to transport from the Icarus."
Aurora looked towards holo Savar “Evacuate any and all crew from the cargo bay areas, drop shields and transport the Icarus crew.”
"Aye Ma'am" The tactical officer replied. Almost instantly the alien vessel found the weakness and targeted their weapons on the aft cargo bays.
As the ship shook Aurora hung onto her seat. “What’s our status? Did we get the Icarus crew?”
" We got approximately half of them Ma'am" Ops replied as the bridge shook from another round of enemy fire " We can't risk dropping the shields again"
“Only half!?” Aurora looked towards the viewscreen as it trained on the Icarus weighing up her options. “We don’t have any other choice! Keep firing on the enemy ship, vent drive plasma! Let’s give them something nice and explosive to chew on. I want those people saved.”
"The Icarus is hailing us, they have crew and Starfleet Ambassadors trapped by the plasma fire... they can't extinguish the fire and we can't beam through it." Ops announced in a tense voice. Things were about to get tricky.
TBC
