Checking in with the boss

Posted on Sun Feb 8th, 2026 @ 12:27pm by Lieutenant JG Damien Blackford & Commander Kyle Reece

Mission: Season 6: Episode 6: Conglomerate
Location: Security & Tactical Chief’s Office
Timeline: MD 04 / 1034 hours
2157 words - 4.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Damien glanced at the clock on the wall, then at his watch, as if looking at two separate time pieces would somehow make a difference. He leant back in his chair, closing his eyes, releasing a soft sigh. He was due to start his shift soon, but before his shift started, he had to stop by Commander Reece’s office.

Until the… well, he guessed ‘summons’ was the only word to describe it, had arrived, it had never actually occurred to him that since the Commodore had merged the Security and Tactical Departments, and placed Commander Reece at its head, he had yet to properly meet the man. Oh sure, they passed in the hall, and he received his orders from him, but they had always been quick words exchanged, or a polite nod.

But now, he’d been asked to stop by and see him before his shift started that afternoon. He was… 95% sure that this was just a friendly meeting. But still, there was something about being asked to see your superior officer that sent a chill through your body. Like being asked to see the principal when you were at school.

As the time drew closer, Damien opened his eyes, stood up and headed for the door. Might as well make his way there. Nothing worse than being late.

And so it was, a few minutes later, Damien found himself stood outside the door to his Chief’s office. Running a hand through his hair, making it as neat as he possibly could, he quickly smoothed out the imagined wrinkles in his uniform, before pressing the door chime.

Inside, Kyle was busy reading through nearly a dozen different PADDs. Everything from damage reports, the death tolls from the recent attack, to routine maintenance schedules, to even a quick summery of the prisoner transfer that was going to occur in the morning, between the Havrah and Elysium.

When he heard his chime ring, it took him a beat to remember that he had asked Blackford to come in for a quick meeting before his shift began. Emptying his second raktajino mug of the day, Kyle stood and moved to the replicator to recycle the one mug, before ordering up a second. "Enter," he said aloud, indicating to the computer to unlo k his officet doors and slide them open, granting his guest entrance.

In the intervening seconds between Damien ringing the chime, and Commander Reece granting him entrance, Damien once again soothed out the imaginary wrinkles in his uniform, and attempted to flatten his hair as much as he could, running his fingers through the short locks as a makeshift comb.

As the door slid opened, he took one final, steadying breath, before stepping into the office. As he felt the doors close behind him with a soft ‘swish’, he took a small step forward so he was properly inside, before snapping off a quick salute. “Commander.” He said in a crisp, clear voice, eyes fixed on the wall in front of him.

Kyle looked over. "At ease, Lieutenant. Have a seat he tilted his head towards the two guest chairs set up in front of his desk. "Would you like something to drink?" He pointed at the replicator.

Damien's body relaxed slightly at the Commanders words, and walked over to the indicated chairs, taking a seat, hands folded in his lap. "Thank you Commander. Just a tea, would be kindly appreciated."

Kyle grinned, then queried the computer to replicate Damien's usually tea request. He then placed his own order. "Raktajino, extra strong." After both beverages materialized, he picked them up and turned to face Damien, handing him his. He then moved to sit behind his desk. "So, Damien, we haven't had the chance to really speak, since I took over for S'hib." He looks the younger man in the eyes. "How do you feel things have been going?"

Damien took the tea, thanking the Commander as he did, taking a sip, before looking up at him. “How have things been going?” He repeated back, before shrugging ever so slightly. “I have no complaints, Commander.” He answered truthfully. “The department runs as smoothly as ever.” Was this really all he had been called in for? To Damien’s knowledge, Junior Officers were rarely asked for their opinions on things. Especially Officer’s who were still, essentially, fresh out the Academy and still on their first posting.

This caused Kyle to grin slightly. "Thank you, Damian. However, I was more referring to yourself. There has been more than a fair amount of chaos, specifically in this department. First Lia and S'hib are relieved of their duties, and I step back into the office i held when I was a young Lieutenant, then Lia..." he didn’t say that she killed herself. "S'hib assumes control of the department, then he makes the decision to turn in his commission," he and Kyle still spoke, from time to time, as he like the Sequuis. "Fircing the Commodore to shuffle her department heads, putting me fully in Security." He let out a short breath as he continued. "One of those things is enough to shake a junior officer on a good day, that all of it, and much much more has happened since you joined Elyisum, I wouldn't be surprised if you had some issues you were dealing with."

Damien couldn’t help but chuckle as he took a sip of his tea. Chaos was certainly one way of describing what had happened recently. “Thank you, Commander.” He said, smiling at Kyle. “I’m doing…” he trailed off. How was he doing? In all honesty, with everything that had been happening, he hadn’t really taken the time to stop and think about it all. “I’m doing as well as can be.” He eventually said. “I will admit, it’s been a more… eventful first posting than I was expecting.” Here he trailed off, letting out a dry chuckle. He’d been on the Elysium for just a little over a year and a half now, and he’d already experienced more than he expected most junior officers faced in the first few years of their careers. “It’s been eventful.” He repeated. “But my father warned me that life in Starfleet could be like this. I’m… I’m coping.”

Kyle nodded thoughtfully as he listened, remembering his own path through Starfleet to date. After a couple beats, he responded. "This way of life is definitely not for everyone. There are those at home who think they know what we do, yet don't even know a tenth of it." He paused and inhaled a quick breath, exhaling as he continued. "It's understandable that we hit stumbling points along the road. What separates us from those that allow their careers to stagnate, is that we keep pushing forward." He paused again to allow that to sink in some.

"I've been looking over your file, and discovered that you once held the rank of Lieutenant, but were busted back down to Lieutenant Junior Grade, due to performance issues. Would you care to describe in your own words what happened that caused your demotion?"

Damien nodded, letting the Commander's words wash over him. He had struggled to understand when he was younger why when his father had come home from deployment why he was sometimes distant. But now that he'd been on ship for a while, he realised that unless someone had been through the same things, it was difficult to explain what you were going through. Even his mother, for all her attempts to understand, wasn't always able to help him.

Damien felt his face flush slightly, but he refused to look away from the Commander, meeting his eyes. "Some things happened in my personal life that I, regrettably, allowed to spill over into my professional life. I accepted that I shouldn't have allowed this happen, and can only make a promise that in the future I will not allow such issues to cause conflicts."

Kyle nodded thoughtfully as he listened to the younger man. He then leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk as he responded. "We all make mistakes. Thats what makes us mortal." He chuckled softly as he continued. "Trust me when I tell you, I've made my own fair share of mistakes during my time wearing this uniform." He took in a quick breath, then released it. "What matters is that we learn from the small mistakes, so we dont make any of the big ones."

Picking up a PADD containing Damien's file, Kyle took a beat, then put it back down and said, "Since I've been head of Security, you've been doing very well. Your work is neat, your reports are concise and you demeanor professional. If you keep this up, we can start to consider giving you your lieutenant rank pip again in a few months."

Damien nodded, smiling. “‘To err is human’, as the old saying goes.” He said, remembering something that his mother had always said to him when he’d make a mistake. “My father warned me that being in Starfleet, I was likely to make more mistakes than I realised. The important thing was to always acknowledge them, and use them as a learning opportunity.” He sighed softly.

Daniel straightened up at Reece’s words. He took another sip of his tea, nodding. “Thank you, Commander. I promise I won’t let you down.”

Kyle nodded, then replied. "We all make mistakes. Ive certainly made more than my fair share," he paused as he remembered his court martial a few years prior, where he had nearly lost everything. "The best we can do, like you said, is learn from those mistakes, and strive to not repeat them."

He looked back at Damien's personnel file, then back up at the young officer. "Let me ask you something personal. While I can see how your work is going...how is your private life going? It's important that everyone spends enough down time to decompress, especially with everything that we have been going through as of late." He pause to take a breath, then asked, "Are you taking care of yourself during your off-duty time, Damien?"

Damien paused for a moment, picking his drink up and taking a sip as he thought over the Commander’s question. Okay, so he wasn’t always the most social of people, but he still did his best to relax after his shift. “I’d like to think I am, sir.” He eventually said. "I like to read, cook. Practise my violin. I have a few holodeck programs set up so that I can practise my karate and archery.” As he finished his list, he realised that, indeed, the majority of his ‘social life’ revolved around solo activities.

Kyle nodded as he listened. When Damien finished speaking, he responded. "While those are all well and good, you need to incorporate some time doing things with your fellow crewmates." He sat back and chuckled softly as he continued. "Now, I'm not saying that you have to join a quilting circle or anything...just...do some group activities."

Damien chuckled, picking up his drink, and draining the last few dregs from the mug. "Understood sir. And, trust me, no one wants to see the results of my quilting." Placing the empty cup back down on the table, he ran a hand through his hair, straightening it out, before folding his hands in his lap. "Thank you for the advice, Commander. It means a lot to me."

Kyle nodded and grinned softly. He could see potential in the young officer. He just hoped that Damien could see it in himself. Only time would tell.

"Alright," he said as he looked across the desk to the other man. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, Damien. You just keep doing what your are doing, and we shall see what the future will bring." Kyle nodded his head once, signaling that the meeting was ending. "Do you have anything else you'd care to add?"

“Understood sir.” Damien said, nodding back at him, before shaking his head in response to the question. “No sir. I believe I’ve said and asked everything I would like to.”

Kyle nodded, then responded. "Then you are dismissed. Be sure I have your status reports of the brig systems and our current guests, by end of business today." He then picked up one of the many PADDs on his desk and looked over a report on the current level of readiness of their Romulan counterparts.

Damien stood, adjusted his uniform, and nodded. "Aye sir. Will do." He said, snapping off a parting salute before heading out the door. He let out a small sigh, smiling to himself, before running his hand through his hair, straightening it slightly, before making his way to his assigned posting.

~OFF~