Beneath The Deckplates
Posted on Fri Jun 5th, 2026 @ 9:50am by Captain Saelira Venn & Lieutenant Wynning Pi
1,487 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Prologue: Taking On Crew
Location: Captain’s Ready Room - USS Resolute
Timeline: MD003 - 1400 hours
Saelira had left a little space between Wynning Pi’s meeting with Commander Vren’desh and the invitation to her ready room.
Not much. Enough to let the first conversation settle. Enough, perhaps, for him to form his own impression of the ship’s executive officer before command became a second voice in the room.
The Resolute was still in that unsettled state between arrival and departure, with new officers coming aboard, departments adjusting around fresh names, and the ship slowly settling around the people now coming aboard. Engineering sat at the centre of that more than most. A Sovereign-class starship could look calm from the outside while half a dozen systems quietly argued with each other beneath the deck plates, and a good Chief Engineer would hear those arguments before anyone else knew there was a problem.
Saelira stood near the viewport, a PADD resting in one hand but unread for the moment. She had already reviewed Lieutenant Pi’s record. The important parts were there, certainly, but records had limits. They could tell her where someone had served, what they had studied, what their previous commanders had chosen to praise or avoid mentioning. They could not tell her how he would stand in Main Engineering with a tired crew looking to him for certainty.
That was what she wanted to understand.
She set the PADD down on the desk and touched the comm panel.
“Venn to Lieutenant Pi.”
There was a brief chirp as the channel opened.
“Lieutenant, when you’re finished with Commander Vren’desh, come by my ready room. No rush. I’d like to speak with you before the day gets away from us.”
In his ear, the Captain's message cut through to Wyn as the Executive officer was wrapping up his expectations. Wyn touched the communicator band on his wrist and tapped out a quick shorthand message that the comm system translated to voice.
"Yes ma'am. Be there directly after."
Ten minutes later, Wyn had followed the follow me to the Captain's ready room. The annunciator tripped at his presence and the door cycled. Taking a breath, Wyn paused just within and said, "Lieutenant Pi reporting as ordered."
Saelira looked up as the doors opened, giving Wyn a moment to step fully into the room before she answered. There was no inspection in her gaze, only that calm attention she tended to give new people before deciding where the edges of the conversation needed to be.
“Lieutenant Pi,” she said, warmth sitting easily beneath the formality. “Come in. And at ease, please. You’ve already survived Commander Vren’desh; I won’t make you stand at attention as well.”
She gestured towards the seating area rather than the desk, keeping the meeting from feeling too much like a report being filed. “Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, water? Something stronger is probably frowned upon at this hour, though I suspect Engineering officers have made arguments for worse things under worse conditions.”
There was a faint smile with that, gentle rather than teasing too hard. She moved to the replicator, giving him a little space to settle.
“I wanted to speak with you properly before the day ran away from us,” Saelira continued. “The Resolute is taking on a lot of new people at once, and I’d rather not let my Chief Engineer become just another name I’ve signed onto the manifest.”
Wyn took the indicated seat, looking around the office curiously as he verbally waived away the offer of refreshment. "Forgive me, but I'm good without more to drink Captain. The Exec got to me first with his special blend of raktajino. I don't want to be bouncing all over your walls." Her manner was making him at ease and he let himself slip into the chair more fully. "You're busy ma'am. I understand that. I'm excited for the posting and want to thank you for giving me the job."
Saelira’s smile warmed a little at that, less because of the joke itself and more because Wyn had relaxed enough to make one. That told her something useful.
“Then I’ll spare the walls,” she said, moving away from the replicator and taking the seat opposite him. “Vren’desh’s raktajino has a reputation. I’m told it can keep an officer awake long enough to regret several decisions in a row.”
She settled back, letting the conversation breathe for a moment rather than turning it into another assessment.
“And you’re welcome, Lieutenant. But I didn’t give you the job as a favour. You earned the consideration. Your record shows the experience we need, but it also shows growth, and that matters to me.”
Her gaze stayed on him, calm but not severe.
“Engineering on the Resolute needs someone who understands the systems, yes, but also the people keeping those systems alive when it’s late, everyone’s tired, and the ship has decided to be difficult.”
There was a faint smile with that, but the point behind it was real.
“I know you’ve worked hard to be ready for this. Vren’desh and I will have expectations, of course we will, but I’m not expecting perfection on day one. I’m expecting honesty. If something’s wrong, tell me early. If your department needs time, people, parts, or simply room to breathe, I’d rather hear that before it turns into a crisis.”
She leaned forward slightly, enough to make the next part feel more direct.
“A chief engineer who tries to protect command from bad news usually just gives the bad news time to grow teeth.”
Wyn bit on the inside of his cheek. A habit he'd picked up that forced him to think before speaking. "It's a poor engineer that doesn't realize their own capabilities. It's a bad leader who can't communicate problems. Since I'm new, my policy is that everything bad that happens with Engineering is my fault. Everything good that happens, is my teams success. I need to get to know my department and they need to get me. That will take a hot minute. My intention is that when things start to go wrong, you'll be at least the third to know." He smiled slightly at that, "Assuming I'm likely the second one to find out from one of my gang."
Saelira’s expression warmed at that, the hint of a smile reaching her eyes.
“Third is perfectly acceptable,” she said. “If I’m first, something has gone very wrong. If I’m not in the first three, then we’ll have a different conversation.”
She let that sit with just enough humour before her tone softened into something more sincere. “And for what it’s worth, that is a good way to lead. Take responsibility when things go wrong, give your people the credit when they get it right. Just don’t forget to let them see you standing in the success as well. A department needs to know its chief is proud of them, but they also need to know he believes he belongs there.”
Saelira leaned back slightly, giving him room rather than pressing the point too hard. “You will learn them, and they will learn you. That takes time. I’m not asking you to have the whole department in hand by tomorrow morning. I’m asking you to be honest while you get there.”
She gave him a moment, then added, “Before you get started properly, is there anything you need from me? Access, context, introductions, anything that would make the handover smoother?”
"No ma'am," Wyn said. "Once you and or the XO sign off on me, all protocols should follow. Anything that doesn't is either on purpose or broken." Smiling slightly he said, "Since neither you nor the XO seem to want me to be gone, anything that is broken I can fix."
Glancing about one last time, Wyn pushed himself to his feet and said "By your leave, Captain. I'll get my dunnage settled and get to work."
Saelira stood with him, letting the conversation come to its natural end. Wyn had given her enough for a first meeting. Not bravado, not a polished performance, just a clear sense of how he meant to lead.
“Then I’ll let you get to work,” she said. “Get settled, meet your people, and take the time to learn the department properly. There’ll be plenty of chances for the ship to test you soon enough.”
She paused near the door, her expression softening a little.
“And Wyn? You don’t need to prove everything today. You have the job. Let yourself grow into it.”
A small nod followed.
“Dismissed.”
A Post By:
Captain Saelira Venn
Commanding Officer
USS Resolute
Lieutenant Wynning Pi
Chief Engineer
USS Resolute
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