A Captain's Morning
Posted on Fri Jun 13th, 2025 @ 9:28pm by Captain M'Raz & Crewman Michał Lipinski
1,617 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Resistance is Necessary
Location: Outside the Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD04 - 0700
It was almost peaceful aboard the starship Jane Addams, the corridor outside Captain M’Raz’s quarters was silent. The night watch was preparing to end and the dimly lit corridors slowly increased the level of illumination in preparation for the relief by the morning shift. The USS Jane Addams was an aging yet resilient Ambassador-class starship still bearing scars from their recent encounters. The faint tang of repaired circuitry still clung to the recycled air, an odor reminding Michał Lipinski of what had happened in the Sol system.
Michał Lipiński adjusted his grip on the ceramic mug that he was holding in his hand, steam rising in gentle spirals from the dark roast coffee. Its rich strong odor combating that of the repaired circuitry. His uniform was fresh pressed, his boots shined to a sheen like obsidian, but the nervous flutter in his chest betrayed his composed exterior. He glanced at the nearby chronometer displayed on a panel along the corridor.
Steadying his breath, he held the mug. He knew the Captain was due to relieve the bridge crew of night watch and waited for the Caitian to exit his quarters.
[Captain's Quarters]
Clean and dressed, Raz sat on the edge of his over-sized bed; he was tired, but then three days into the end of everything he loved, it was to be expected. Worries about close friends, worries about comrades and the leadership, about the people on board the ship and the refugees they were about to deliver into the Andorians' hands, made it hard to turn off his brain at night. He had some ideas about what the Jane Addams had to do, what they needed to know, and the long hours of the night, while everyone else slept and weren't bothering him, proved to be a good time to work on that.
"Captain to Galley," he said and waited. It didn't take long, never did. The Chef answered, his voice, deeper than even Raz's, boomed.
"Chef here," he said. his voice, deeper than even Raz's, boomed over the clattering of pots and pans. The crew's breakfast probably. "No, no, no. That is BURNT. Congratulations. You get to start over. NOW."
"Chef, I won't be needing breakfast this morning. I'm going straight to the Bridge," Raz said.
"Okay, Captain," Chef said and then added, because Chef didn't like people not eating, "got to say though. You're missing a good one."
"Always is, Chef," Raz said. "Captain out." With that taken care of, Raz headed toward the exit. There were things to do, crises to manage, and frantic civilians to unload. He stepped through the door and turned, pulling up short, surprised to see someone he didn't immediately recognize in the corridor. I'm being ambushed, he thought. Stars, I hope this doesn't become a thing. Crew lining up in the corridor because they can't get to me on the Bridge.
"And you are," Raz asked.
"Michał Lipinski," responded the younger male. He held the mug up and offered it to the Caitian. "You just had your First Officer put me through some sort of boot camp so that I could make you coffee and look over lower level files to reorganize them. I'm your Yeoman."
It was going to be long day if he had gone through all that training for nothing. "I'm here and in uniform. Hot coffee, dark roast, no cream or sugar. Simply black."
"That's why you think you received training," Raz asked as he accepted the mug of coffee. "To file?"
"I was not given much information about what I would be doing. It was primarily to assist you, and God speed" replied Michał. "Then they made sure I could pass a physical and hold a phaser straight enough to hit something" he added.
"Walk with me," Raz said as he headed toward the nearest turbolift. "In the old days, they would call you a body man. Sort of a personal aide with wide-ranging responsibilities. You take care of arranging meals, briefings, appointments and the like. You facilitate communication with staff and, this last part will be tough, no doubt, you ensure my well-being. If the doctor insists I take medication regularly, for example, you're the lucky guy that gets to ensure I do and good luck with that. If I'm needed in the middle of the night, you make sure I'm up and functional. Mostly I will be so it's more you being backup. Making more sense now?"
"I've worked in hospitality since I was a teenager" replied Lipinski as he did walk with M'Raz. "I was most recently a steward on a luxury starcruiser. I think I can handle most of those tasks with ease, Captain."
Lipinski thought about the other expectations. "I will ensure that you are functioning to the best of my ability. If I may be so brazen to offer recommendations?"
"You can try," Raz said and turned as they entered the turbolift so that he could meet his new yeoman's eyes. "Bridge." The turbolift started moving as Raz continued. "Be straightforward. I can spot a lie a mile off and I don't like pretense and that's more warning than I gave the last idiot who tried out for the job."
Lipinski cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "Very well" he said simply. "The Starfleet personnel aboard may have training for what happened in the Sol system, but the civilians you have rescued? Not so much. People are hurting and you don't have a Ship's Counselor aboard. We'll need to think about social activities, support circles. Maybe that isn't a today thing, but down the road a bit, I recommend it."
Raz exited the turbolift, mulling it over as he crossed the Bridge and entered the small antechamber that would be the yeoman's office. "We're dropping the civilians off today but the idea is a good one. Prepare something for me to look at ... and if any of the other departments can help with that, get their input as well. There will be more of these refugees. I have no doubt about that and we'll take in who we can, get them somewhere safe."
"Great that we are dropping off the civilians...which I am not longer part of" stated Michał as the uniform he was in was a reminder of that fact. "I agree that its inevitable that we will find more refugees. Other departments, right. I'll work on that. Do you have anything you want me to work on that's a priority?"
"We're arranging a memorial service once we've dropped off the civilians," Raz said. "Get with Commander Reeves and Lieutenant H'iri. Between the three of you, you should be able to come with something respectful. To be honest, I'm not sure they're dead; at the same time, I'm not sure they'll ever come back either ... so, I don't know what's appropriate. I'm hoping the three of you will."
"It would seem that we should proceed in a similar direction of something missing and presumably deceased, but I will discuss that with Commander Reeves and the lieutenant you mentioned" replied Lipinski.
Michał looked at the area they were in. "I work out of here I presume?"
"Officially, this is yours but unofficially, with the range of your duties, you'll be all over the ship. Hope you don't mind working on the go." Raz paused a second because trust came hard for him but the questions so far had been intelligent ones. "Don't be afraid to approach me. If I'm in the middle of something, just stand in my line of sight till I acknowledge you. And don't be afraid of the department heads. You work for me not them so don't let them intimidate you. Yeoman #3 ... no #4 ... couldn't stand up to any of them and the former Chief of Security liked to show up in my quarters when the mood struck him."
"Wonderful. It is great to know that you have such an open door policy that your staff can just show up to your quarters when they are in a mood," commented Lipinski. "That ends now. You are the Captain. You need your rest and boundaries."
Michał shook his head in disbelief. "Do you want me to get a watered down version of your briefings to look over, or should I be present?"
"You can attend," Raz said. "The computer records everything said in the conference room, makes it a part of the ship's official record, but having a second set of ears in the room means I don't have to wade through all of that if I want to recall something specific."
Michał Lipinski smiled. "And anything confidential will stay as such. Attending your meetings will be beneficial though. I can be up to speed on what the department heads will be working on."
"Be sure when you say that," Raz said. "Because once you lose my trust, you don't get it back. People will press you, try to find out things. You can't give in. Not even once."
"I work for you" Lipinski simply. "If they want information, they can ask the computer. If its not there, then it is not something they need to know."
"Good," Raz said. "Live by that and this might work. Now, I have to get to the Bridge. We're dropping off the civilians today." He used the coffee mug to salute his new yeoman. "Thanks for the coffee."
"You're welcome," Michał replied. It should be satisfactory, thought the yeoman. He had been doing his best to study and learn quickly.
Captain M'Raz
Commanding Officer
USS Jane Addams
and
Crewman Michal Lipinski
Captain's Yeoman
USS Jane Addams
RSS Feed