Late Night Planning

Posted on Sun May 11th, 2025 @ 5:53pm by Commander Karl Rogers & Lieutenant Jaina Zalla

1,002 words; about a 5 minute read

Jaina walked purposefully down the corridor towards her destination. It was late, but she felt that it couldn't wait. She knew that she was letting her anger drive her actions, but the situation with one of her security officers was bothering her. Stopping at one of the doors lining the corridor, she tapped the door chime and waited patiently.

Karl was slipping from that annoying state between being awake and blissful sleep when the door chime rang out. He almost didn't hear it, but when it registered in his brain it triggered an automatic response that caused him to be fully awake. Growling under his breath, he stood and walked over to the door, tapping the controls. The door slid open to reveal Lieutenant Zalla standing in the corridor. Karl grumbled again. "Lieutenant, this better be really important," he said.

"I apologize for the late hour, Commander, but I think this situation needs an unprofessional touch," Jaina replied smoothly. "May I come in?"

Karl took a step back and waved her in. Once the doors slid closed behind her, he raised an eyebrow. "An unprofessional touch can mean several different things, Lieutenant, so I need you to clarify," he said.

Jaina paused for just a moment before her brain registered the comment, then she shook her head. "I'm not here to sleep with you, Sir," she said. "I have a situation with a security officer and I need some guidance."

"You mean Ensign Connor," Karl said as he sat down and invited her to do the same. "Captain Sato discussed your visit with me shortly after you talked to her."

"I figured she did," Jaina said as she sat down. "I'm just at a loss on what to do with him. I assigned him to security detail on deck eight guarding the antimatter containment systems, and his attitude seemed to seriously take off. As I understand it, he's also been influencing one of the new ensigns in operations as well. I finally moved him to third shift just trying to make a point."

Karl thought about it for a long moment, frowning as he mentally considered several possibilities. He finally looked up and towards the security chief. "Throw him a blanket party," Karl said.

Jaina frowned. "How is setting up a party going to help his attitude and disposition, Sir?" she asked.

"It's not a party in the traditional sense, in fact it's not really legal in Starfleet anymore," Karl said as he leaned back in his chair. "It's not really illegal, either, but it is very much frowned on. It's been used in military units on Earth as far back as the early twentieth century. We used to still do it when I was at the Academy. Back then it was still done on starships and stations but Starfleet was starting to crack down on the practice. What happens was that an officer or cadet would start causing trouble or develop an attitude that would bring down the morale and unit cohesion. So, this person would be sent to perform some small work detail in an area that had minimal or no security and was out of the way. Other members of the crew or unit would sneak up on the individual and throw a heavy blanket over him and then beat the living shit out of him. This would also be followed up with a threat that if the beaten man didn't improve his performance or attitude or tried to report the incident, it would happen again and it would get worse."

"That's ... barbaric," Jaina managed to get out as she felt a chill creep down her spine. She couldn't help but wonder if the commander was speaking from personal experience or not, but just knowing about the practice he had described made her slightly uneasy about getting on his bad side.

"And effective," Karl pointed out. "I assume the ensign that Connor is influencing is Ensign Banner?"

"How did you know, Sir?" Jaina asked, frowning in surprise.

"I'm the executive officer on this ship," Karl answered with a hard grin. "It's a small ship."

Jaina nodded slowly. Clearly, she had underestimated the first officer, and she made a mental note not to do so again. "I'm not sure I can conduct such an activity on my authority, Sir," she finally said. "I'm honestly a little uncomfortable about such an activity."

"I understand," Karl said. "Fortunately, I have no problem arraigning such an activity and I have the authority to do so. Plus, I can assume all the responsibility for it if our little troublemaker tries to take it as far as a court hearing."

"Sir, do you really think it's an action we should seriously consider?" Jaina asked.

"Yep," Karl said as he stood suddenly. "And I know it's a hard thing to consider, but something needs to be done and nothing else has worked. I think he can be a decent officer, but if he doesn't improve then we'll have to relieve him of duty and out process him from Starfleet after this mission."

Jaina felt her eyes widen at the commander's remark. Clearly, he had considered the matter at hand before she had decided to speak to him about it. As she thought about it in her own head, she had to admit that it seemed to be a last resort. Standing, she nodded. "How do we proceed?" she asked.

"Keep Connor on his current assignment and let me make all the arraignments," Karl said. "I'll inform everyone who needs to know of when."

Jaina nodded silently. "Yes, Sir," she said before she moved to the door and out into the corridor. She still wasn't sure if what was being set in motion was right, but it was set in motion and now clearly out of her hands.

Karl watched the doors slide closed before he sighed and turned back towards his bed. It seemed that the Eclipse was turning out to be an interesting assignment indeed.

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