It's Time for a Change

Posted on Tue Mar 27th, 2018 @ 7:03pm by Lieutenant Caleb Garcia PhD & Commander Christopher Samuels MDiv, PhD

Mission: S01E02 D-8 With the Devil
Location: USS Musashi - Random Corridor
Timeline: [BACKPOST]

It was not hard to spot the tall man who made his way down the corridor. What was hard was trying to catch up to him. Christopher Samuels was a taller than average man himself, but even his own long stride couldn’t match that of Lieutenant Caleb Garcia’s. “Lieutenant,” he called out, “hold up a minute.” After a few seconds passed, Christopher had caught up to the engineer and exhaled. “You are not an easy man to catch up with.”

Admittedly, Caleb had been lost in thought; his feet moved him toward engineering without so much as a thought. He knew the Musashi better than anyone, except for maybe the Captain of course, but even then he was fairly confident he knew even the smallest of hidden details. “My father would often say something similar,” Caleb replied, a small smile on his lips. “What can I do for you, Commander Samuels?” He knew that he was going to be touching base with the man, but there had so much to do he just wasn’t sure when.

“Do you have a few minutes to talk?” Christopher asked, in response to Garcia’s question. He felt like if they didn’t at least stop to talk soon, he was going to get winded keeping up with the taller man. “We need to talk about your assignment and new role aboard the Musashi.”

“I already have a role on the Musashi, Commander,” Caleb responded. This time the small smile turned into a smirk. He knew what was coming, yet he wasn’t sure if he wanted it. He had allowed Captain Figueroa to convince him to come aboard, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted the next step. Sure, he was a qualified for it, especially academically, but did he really want it.

Christopher rolled his eyes at that. He didn’t know much about Garcia, but the quick wit was appealing. It reminded him of his interactions with Dylan. “True,” he said, “but the captain and I are looking for you to expand your role.”

"Do I get to be the Executive Officer?" Caleb asked, he finally stopped to face the shorter but broader man. The smile fell to a thin line as he crossed his arms over his chest. He watched the rise and fall of Commander Samuel's chest, and then looked up to meet the other man's gaze. He notated Samuels' eyes, they looked... off. He also remembered the man wore glasses, yet somehow he didn't think about that until he was staring at the man. He knew why the XO wore them, he was just shocked that glasses were even still 'a thing'. "Well, you have my attention, sir. How do you and the Captain plan to expand my role?" His voice, which was normally a rich baritone but soft, was now flat as if he was bored with the conversation already. He hated being toyed with and that was what it felt like right now.

Christopher gave the taller man a look. I had earned my spot on this vessel, I ain't giving it up to no one, he thought, the bridge of his nose crinkled at the thought causing his glasses to push up a bit. A bit of jealousy at the mere mention of someone else being the XO had coursed through his veins. He took a calming breath, which he hoped wasn't noticeable. "As you know, you are the deputy chief of engineering, and with Lieutenant McGowen leaving, the Captain and I think that you should lead the department."

I knew this was coming, Caleb thought to himself. He didn't say anything for a long moment, and then let another moment stretch on. He was the assistant chief, it was only logical that he would eventually take over. IF he wanted that. Did he want that? Since he and the Captain had the conversation, he had given a lot of thought to this moment. It didn't involve Commander Samuels or it being in some random corridor, but he would take it. His arms fell to his sides, and asked, "Do I get a rank promotion?"

Really? This giant of a man wanted more than just a position promotion? Okay, that wasn't totally unheard of, but he didn't recall Arturo Marquez asking if he got a bump in rank. "That part the captain and I will have to discuss, I hope it isn't a deal breaker though. We need a chief engineer of your caliber right now, more than ever."

Caleb did understand the urgency in this case, the Musashi was going through engineers like he changed his underwear. At that though, a bit of a smirk formed. He wondered if the Commander would ask what the smirk was, but that didn't happen. He certainly had the qualifications to do the job, and in a way he was already doing the job, the question was: Did he want the job? He found himself nodding, to which he wasn't even sure why. "Can I think on it?" He had a feeling he would know what he answer would be, but there was a part of him that longed to be back home and working at McKinely again.

"Uh yeah... I mean, I suppose so," Christopher replied, his brow furrowing in confusion. No one had ever told him 'can I think on it' concerning a promotion. Most, if not all Starfleet officers were ambitious enough to take what was offered. Was Garcia hoping to go back to his previous position. Ha! That isn't happening tall man, he mused to himself.

"What?" Caleb queried cautiously, confusion crossed his features as well.

Christopher shook his head as if nothing was wrong. "Nothing," he started simply, "it's just I've never had anyone say 'can I think on it' before. Most jump at the chance to be a senior staff member." He shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "Though, I do understand. This is a big decision, a senior staff spot means something different on a starship than it does say at McKinley shipyards."

Is he goading me? Caleb wondered. He looked down at the Commander, who was only a few inches shorter than himself. He was curious about the glasses and wanted to ask more about them, but in the middle of a corridor was not the appropriate place. "I am the acting chief, I am already part of the senior staff," Caleb replied. In a way, acting chief still gave him full control over engineering, but it also left the door open incase this wasn't for him. Yet, he had liked it, it was different from when he was younger and served on a starship during the war with the Klingons. Plus, he was starting to get to know people, and that was always a plus.

"True," Christopher said, nodding. "Still, <,i>acting chief and actual chief are two different things. The first one, you can be easily replaced, the second one, it's hard to replace you if you screw up." He hated being so... truthful, but it was what it was. They needed someone who would commit, and frankly it drove him a little nuts that Garcia was so blasé about this.

Caleb nodded his understanding. "I understand completely, Commander Samuels," he said, "I am not some newly minted officer. I understand what is at stake, and that is why I want to take some time to give it some thought. This is a rather big decision for myself and my career, a decision I won't take lightly." He didn't like that he had to be so forward with this, but he wouldn't be pushed into something like this without giving it some thought. He knew there would be others who would say yes immediately, but he wasn't one of those types. He just wasn't that ambitious at this point in his career and life. Finally though, he offered a smile. "I promise though, I will give you my answer within the next day or two."

"Okay," Christopher replied. That was certainly acceptable, he could wait that long and he was sure the captain could as well. "I'll give you the forty-eight you need, but after that the offer will need to be withdrawn. The Musashi has gone through so many abrupt changes over the past few weeks, it would be nice that this crew had some resemblance of normalcy and permanence." He knew he was preaching to the choir, he knew Garcia understood this, but he also felt it was important to drive the point home. "Remember, forty-eight hours, you know where to find me if you make a decision sooner." With that said, Christopher nodded, and continued on his way down the corridor.

Once the Executive Officer left, Caleb exhaled slowly. He certainly had a lot to think about, and though he was fairly certain of his decision, he wanted to weigh all the pros and cons. He didn't need this to be an impulsive decision, no, it had to be thought about. He began to walk in the opposite his direction, his long legs carrying him in long strides, as he walked he began forming the pros and cons in his head and he quickly realized there were more pros than cons. That seemed to lighten the heavy burden of this decision.