That New Officer Smell

[Arturia Paorach]

That New Officer Smell
Participants: @Arturia Paorach & @Danee ​

The hum of the shuttle seemed to be coming from every direction, which was battling for Arturia’s attention along with the butterflies in his stomach. The young officer glanced to his left looking out the cockpits window one of the large docks over Coruscant loomed over them. A radio burst came across the speakers, “Shuttle Omega, this is Space Dock Redoubtable flight control. Adjust your heading to port 1.2 degrees and cut your speed by half. Once you reach point delta you are locked on approach to bay three.” The flight controllers’ voice was smooth and even, the likes of which showed years of repeating the same instructions. The pilot replied with the standard reply which meant repeating back the received instructions.

Arturia’s gaze drifted past his duffle bag on the seat next to him and down to the data pad in his hand. He was never far from his data pad; it was heavily customized to fit the way he operated. Right now the same message that had been on the screen for the last hour was still there. No matter how many times Arturia looked at it the words never changed. His dark brown eyes ran over the words once more his excitement grew fresh once more.

To: Private Arturia Paorach
From: Fleet Command, Coruscant

Sir,
You are hereby requested and required to report at your earliest possible opportunity onboard the corvette Assailant along with her officers and crew. The Assailant is to be found docked in orbit at the Redoubtable mooring. You are further required to report to the commanding officer Commander Viktoria Thorne immediately on arrival for receipt of further orders.

Nor you, nor any of you may fail in the strictest and most immediate execution of these orders except at your peril.

Sincerely,

Commodore Katar Trilac
Inferno Squadron Personal Officer

This still felt very surreal to him it didn’t seem that long ago he was finding his dorm room on his first day at the academy. Now here he was about to start his first assignment straight out of the academy. The first thing he did was write his father about the good news, the second was research his new commanding officer. He wanted to see what kind of person she was and be prepared as he could be.

He was brought out of his reverie as the shuttle reverbed with a gentle thud. A sudden spike of adrenaline shot through Arturia as the realization he was only yards away from his new life. Standing up and grabbing his bag Arturia tucked his data pad in to an interior pocket of his tunic. Clearing the ramp and entering the docking bay Arturia made his way in to station proper.

A few minutes quickly turned in to ten minutes which blended in to twenty as the identical hallways ran together. Despite the hustle and bustle of large dock in the middle of resupplying ships and doing maintenance work, Arturia felt ignored and totally lost. Finally working up the never he flagged down a passing officer and got directions to berth twenty four.

Aruria sighed to himself now moving in the right direction; he had been on the wrong level the whole time. Taking the lift up one level changed the environment greatly; this area had far less people running about. A few moments later he arrived outside the hatch that read berth twenty four, two guards stood on either side of the hatch. The guard on the right spoke up, “Can I help you sir?” his tone was one of a man that had been standing around for hours on end.

Arturiua suppressed a smile that tried to form after he was called sir; instead he presented his data pad with his orders. He tried to sound as official and level toned as he could, “I have orders to report aboard the Assailant; and present myself to Commander Thorne.” Despite his best effort there was still a shaky edge to his voice. The trooper nodded, “Everything looks to be in order, Sir. Welcome aboard.” With that the other guard opened the hatch allowing the young man through.

It didn’t take him long to find himself standing outside the doors to the commanding officers office. Taking a deep breath to steady himself; Arturia firmly knocked on the door to signal his request for entry, and awaited a reply.

 

[Danee]

It wasn't often Viktoria visited Coruscant, but she tried to visit as often as she could. Not because of family there or friends, but just because it had been her home before the planet fell to the Empire and it still was. Or rather it was more of a vacation now and her home being the aboard the Assailant. The Leviathan-Class Corvette had been docked above Coruscant for a week now while it had been restocked and refueled. Most of the crew had taken the opportunity to visit the giant city below them and Viktoria had been one of them. However, just like any break in the Empire, duty called and she had been recalled to the Space dock above and basically been in a meeting ever since.

First she had been ordered by an Admiral to report about the current situation over above Abhean and the state of the Lusankya, the Flagship of Inferno Squadron. Afterwards she had been informed that the war with the Mandalorian Dominion had escalated and the Empire was currently assaulting Bandomeer, which could lead to a Mandalorian Counter-attack at one of the Imperial planets that bordered Dominion Space.

Viktoria had greatly enjoyed the small moments of peace between 'meetings' with her superiors, she wasn't one who enjoyed spending time in front of a Holo-projection and she was fairly certain that it showed. The last person who requested her attention was the Personal Officer, Katar Trilac, someone who thought he had more power over her than he actually did. But, due to his position as the Personel Officer and that he was given orders from those above him to give her orders, she just had to listen to the man.

"Officer Trilac, what a surprise. Is there anything I can do for you?" She tried to hide the exhaustion in her voice but a few days of debriefings had taken its toll on her. Reaching out for a cup she took a sip of tea, the hot liquid forcing her to be more awake than she wanted to be. "Commander Thorne," He replied with a slight bow, "by request of the Imperial Academy on Kuat," 'Oh boy...' She thought to herself, taking another sip of her tea, "Private Arturia Paorach is to serve on the Corvette known as the Assailant under your Command." Before she had a chance to interrupt him and say that the Assailant didn't need more crew members, the Personal Officer stated, "This has been approved by Supreme Commander Caduceus Rhade. His file has already been sent to you." She bit back a snarl and nodded her head. "Understood, was there anything else, Sir?" She gritted her teeth. "That is all, you are dismissed, Comman-" Before he could finish saying her title she had cut the connection.

Leaning back into her chair she ran her fingers over her face and through her hair with a long sigh.

Her comlink beeped, raising it and activating it she heard one of the guards from outside speak up. "Commander, you have a visitor." "I know, Captain, I know." She heard a knock on the door to her office and she closed the connection to the comlink as well, sitting up straight she rolled her head and quickly put her hair into a single tail behind her head. "Come in."

Her office wasn't as grand as she wanted it to be, but it served its purpose. In the far right corner of the room her bed was neatly made and in the middle of the room was the desk she sat behind, adorned with few things. A few datapads, a photograph, her cup of tea and the Holoprojector.

 

[Arturia Paorach]

As Arturia awaited permission to enter, he glanced around the corridor he found himself in. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but the high amount of stress currently coursing through him made everything stand out. Every second seemed to take a lifetime to pass, as he did his best to stay calm and collected on the outside.

There was a muffled shuffling sound from within the cabin, followed by a clear and concise command. “Come in.” For some reason this sent a chill down Arturia’s spine, something seemed less than welcoming about the way his ears heard those words.

He took a split second to quietly lay his duffel against the wall by the door, and check to make sure his uniform was in proper order before proceeding through the door. Eyes quickly focused on his objective, the desk and more to the point the women standing behind it. Taking a few quick strides Arturia closed the distance to stand directly in front of the desk.

Arturia snapped to attention and in one fluid movement excited a text book perfect salute. Holding his salute he repeated the lines he had ran through over and over his head the whole way here; “Private Arturia Paorach, reporting for duty as ordered, ma’am!” He had subconsciously applied more emphasis to the word ma’am then one might normally do.

 

[Danee]

Watching the door sliding open she watched as someone who looked fresh out of the academy, as if he had graduated just yesterday. She picked up on the emphasis he put on 'Ma'am'. She let him stand there in silence for a few seconds, pushing herself out of her chair she walked around the new Private that had been assigned to her ship. Once she had made two laps around him she stopped behind her desk and motioned to a chair on the side of it. "At ease, Private. Please, sit down." She spoke calmly and sat down in her own seat once again.

Behind her on the wall was a small shelf mounted at shoulder height and a single item rested on it. Encased in thick glass rested a lightsaber hilt, one that she had found during the Sith invasion of Coruscant, but she was the only one who knew that. She reached out for the datapad on her desk and with quick fingers unlocked it and brought up his file that had been sent to her moments before she had let him inside her office.

"Private Arturia Paorach, born around twenty two years ago on... Terephon, at an early age moved to Kuat, enlisted at the age of Eighteen. Hmm." she said and looked up at him. Taking him in and trying to figure him out based on what she had briefly read from the file. "You're in quite the peculiar position, Private, not everyone gets a chance to serve immediately after graduation, much less so on a ship that's part of the Empire's Elite Squadrons. You must have made quite the impression on your superiors on the Academy. Tell me, do you know who I am? Do you know what ship you're currently on?" She asked and reached out for her cup, taking a sip from the slowly cooling tea.

 

[Arturia Paorach]

Arturia kept his eyes focused at bulk head straight ahead of him, all the while maintaining his ridged stance as his new commanding officer slowly circled him. It felt not too dissimilar to a predator stalking around its pray waiting for a window to strike the killing blow. The tension finally abated, if only slightly when she moved back behind her desk taking her seat once more. "At ease, Private. Please, sit down."

Arturia in regulation order cut his salute and moved to parade rest before sitting down in the chair gingerly. Unsure Arturia stayed rather stiff despite being in a chair, telegraphing to any one he was nervous and even perhaps a little on edge.

Has he sat the commander pulled up his file on her data pad with a single deft movement. "Private Arturia Paorach, born around twenty two years ago on... Terephon, at an early age moved to Kuat, enlisted at the age of Eighteen. Hmm."

He nodded his head in agreement with everything she said, “Yes, ma’am. That is correct.” Once more he found her gaze up on him. Unsure what to make of this scrutiny he sat still and his eyes focused on a spot just to the left of her head. A trick he had picked up during his academy days as a way to look like he was maintaining eye contact with out directly looking in to someone’s eyes. A trick he found he only needed to use when dealing with women, especially those that intimidated him.

Has he braced himself for what might ever come next, she moved on with her interview. "You're in quite the peculiar position, Private, not everyone gets a chance to serve immediately after graduation, much less so on a ship that's part of the Empire's Elite Squadrons. You must have made quite the impression on your superiors at the Academy. Tell me, do you know who I am? Do you know what ship you're currently on?"

He had done some research both on her and the ship before getting here. That said the available information was very limited; as most information related to active command officers and ships on active duty was severely limited for security reasons. Most of what he had been able to find was mostly limited biographical data on her; that said even with that limited information one could surmise quite a bit if they were willing to put the puzzle pieces together.

Arturia nodded his head once more, “Yes ma’am I am aware this is far from normal; and as far as I know I didn’t do anything above normal at the academy. I just tended to my duties and assignments as best I could, like every other cadet.” He shifted in his seat slightly and kept his tone as level as he could manage before moving on. “As you are aware information on active duty command officers is limited, especially to some one of my clearance level.” He paused for a moment as he considered his options. Most people found it unnerving how he could piece together information, epically as it related to them personally.

He decided it was worth the gamble so he took a deep breath and let it out slowly before moving forward. “What I was able to see, ma’am, points to someone who is highly capable and well respected amongst her peers and superiors. It is quite rare for someone as… young as you are to achieve the rank of commander. Furthermore to be assigned a ship in an elite unit speaks even more to your abilities.”

Taking only a moment to gage her reaction he moved on while the window was still open. “As for the ship, I know the ISS Assailant is a Leviathan-class Corvette. I am familiar with the specifications and general loadout of the class. I all so specialized in capital ship operations at the academy alongside electronics. So I like to think I am pretty familiar at least with the systems.” Realizing he had been going on for some time, Arturia mental kicked in the shut up filter to bring this tirade to a close. It was at least an honest answer even if it lacked brevity.

Arturia shifted in his chair again and braced for the worst. A lot of people didn’t care for his frankness or his intuitiveness. Now he would find out what his new commanding office thought of it.

 

[Danee]

His nervousness was something she had expected, and would have been quite surprised if he hadn't been. She allowed him to speak uninterrupted while she listened. She took in his tone, the way he spoke and how he sat while he mentioned how his clearance level was far below that which could give him any reasonable information on her, besides information one could get by asking any random person working on the Dockyard the Assailant now rested at. As he went on about how she too had a rare position of being a Commander at a rather young age.

So far she quietly observed him, not showing more than she wanted to show, a calm and relaxed face of someone who actually listened. Before she could speak up he continued and stated the name and Class of the ship, but not only that, he also answered a question she hadn't asked yet. A brief look of impression appeared on her face before she returned to her previously blank slate.

As Arturia silenced himself and shifted, making her assume he was done she took a sip from her tea, placing the now empty cup beside the datapad then looked over at him again. "It's rather easy to climb the ranks of the Empire if you're willing to stand out. I first started out as a Fighter pilot, it took me a few years to reach this position however, but I'm sure if you're willing to prove what you can do you can climb even faster than I have." She spoke and tapped the desktop lightly with her fingers.

"You said that you specialized in Capital Ship operations and that you are familiar with the specifications of the Leviathan-class Corvettes, which is impressive to be at your age. Now, I pride myself in making sure that I know every single person who serves on this vessel, both professionally and personally." she leaned forward, placing her forearms on top of the desk. "There isn't a single ship in the Empire where the crew is as tightly knit as the Assailants. That means I know every secret and thought that can affect anyone on this crew. I know that Lieutenant Boyle, one of the Guards you met outside, has just gone through a breakup with his Girlfriend, I know that Officer Vox, one of the men who works the Comms is anxious to get back home to Corellia so that he can meet his Grandfather one last time." She leaned back. "Now, I don't expect you to spill out everything right here and now, as that would be extremely foolish of you and very suspicious as well. But over time I'll know you as well as I know the rest of the crew and you'll know me like the rest of them does."

Pushing herself out of her chair Viktoria held out her hand for him. "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Boyle will guide you around the ship once we leave for our next assignment." A sincere smile on her face, despite her tiredness of formality.

 

[Arturia Paorach]

That cold chill came back with a vengeance and griped Arturia in its icy claws as Commander Thorne seemed to stare right through him. Her words washed over him like a threat each one more dangerous than the last. That said she revealed a great deal about herself with each sentence. One could glean a great deal, not only from what she said but how she said it. Arturia was no expert in body language, micro expressions, and the like. That said he was very good at linking words to meanings and applying them to a bigger picture.

He mulled over everything quickly as she said it, listening and taking everything in at the same time trying to figure her out. What he heard was unnerving to say the least. A stray thought crossed his mind; this is why I was assigned here. Someone in personal had a sick sense of humor and had put Arturia in quite possibly his very own form of hell.

"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Boyle will guide you around the ship once we leave for our next assignment." The commander stood up to her full height, which was quite a bit shorter than Arturia. Still he felt dwarfed none the less. His brain which had been in full multi task mode processing very thing she said and putting it all together to see the bigger picture lagged. Meaning there was an awkward second or two where he remained seated instead of immediately standing when she did.

He shook her hand as firmly as he dared to, “Yes ma’am I will do my best not to bring the standard down.” He said firmly if somewhat softly. He didn’t want to seem too eager to get away from the commander, but at the same time social skills where one of his weakest points. Opting to avoid the pit fall of likely shooting himself in the foot by staying he decided a tactical withdrawal was in order.

He quickly saluted the commander then about faced and strode out of her office like he had a purpose. Once safely in the corridor and the door closed behind him; he grabbed his duffel and made his way to where the junior officers bunked. He was by no means in a hurry; instead he was replying everything she had said and putting together the bigger picture.

Her very first line had set the tone, standard management complement to put you in positive mode before leading to more heavy topics. The next was somewhat disconcerting; she was one of those that would weasel her way in to your life and past. Often in the name of friendship or comradery but it was just a cover for the real truth. A truth lay barer by what came next.

She next used a normal commanding officer’s platitude which doubled as a threat. The standard I have the best ship and crew, and you better not do anything to muck it up, before moving on to something more hard hitting. In this case it had set off all kinds of warnings and alarm bells with in Arturia when he had first heard it, not that he felt warm or fuzzy about it now. She had made it plain privacy and decorum we subject to her need to know, and she all ways needed to know.

She of course tossed in some examples be they real or made up, to drive home the point, I am going to pick you apart like everyone else. Arturia made a mental note to make sure his personal data pads encryption was still running correctly. This also showed she had a thing for micro managing, not uncommon for leaders, but she took it to a level more than most. No doubt she would work to make sure I was properly “integrated” in to the ways of the ship. He didn’t think he had any secrets to keep per say but the idea of having everything in your life picked apart was still unnerving.

A few minutes later Arturia found himself standing in front of the deck officer getting his rack assignment for the duration of his time on the ship. Junior officers had to share living space, typical meaning doubling up in a cabin on larger ships; or in the case of a smaller one like this, one large shared space. Often referred to as officers’ country by the enlisted, the area had; racks, showers, and a small living space for use by the junior officers aboard ship.

Arturia took some time to settle in and get to know the others as they come on and off watch. He was still awaiting his official assignment from the deck officer at this point, but he assumed he would be starting fresh on the next watch cycle.