Defections

[Dumbass 0]

The unthinkable has happened. After much persuasion to the contrary, HoD BcH and LtSG Messner have chosen to resign their commissions and leave the crew. Apparently they chose an environment pleasing to the eye but containing UV radiation in amounts unsafe to support their life long term. Some estimates give then 72 hours at most. Why they would choose to leave the ship is still a mystery to us, especially to RawI' KWalus who is now in command.

 

I raised the security concerns inherent in allowing former crewmembers, especially a HoD and a security officer, to leave the crew without a proper debriefing. Kwalus said something about Klingon honor, but I do not view desertion to be an honorable act. From the comments I heard during discussion many others do not either. After exploring our options it was decided that Lt. Perfect would beam down and make one last attempt at persuasion. I kept a transporter lock on her but the latent UV radiation on the planet made it difficult.

 

Random successfully located BcH and Messner but was unable to persuade them to rejoin the crew. I was ordered to beam her up immediately. From my monitoring she apparently sensed she was being beamed up and made a grab at Messner to beam up with her - a dangerous move but her options were limited. Whether we were already too far into the transport cycle or whether the radiation was affecting the transport beam I do not know but the end result was that only Random beamed back.

 

While this was going on Koralev was attempting to live down his Human feelings about being defeated by a herd of holographic cows. Strange that in less than a year he went from ripping Lagh Prekip's arm away from his body and beating him in the face with it to being embarrassed about defeat in a malfunctioning holodeck program. I'm not sure what psychological treatment Dr. Garnoopy gave him for his incident with Prekip but it appears he may have overcompensated.

 

This raises another issue. With KWalus in command LtCmdr Rhoz is now the XO, making Garnoopy the CMO. However, with Rhoz and LtCmdr Narn unavailable and Messner no longer part of the crew we are dangerously short on experienced MeH officers. I have been filling in for Ops, Helm, and other positions as I can but if I am to do this long term I will need Koralev at my post in Engineering. He has the technical skills but I am concerned about his confidence issues.

 

To make a long story short the defections of BcH and Messner significantly affect the entire command structure of the entire ship. This was the thought going through my mind as I piloted the ship away from the planet, possibly for good.

Edited April 6, 2004 by Dumbass