[ LT Joshua Niles - The Eastman-Williams Kerelian condo ]

Even though the meeting had clearly been indicated initially as being informal in nature, that did not mean one Joshua Niles had slept well the night before after he had handed over his notes, findings and report to another investigator.  And while it had been a relief that further looking into those dealings were going to be someone else's problem, he knew his performance had been a tragedy of errors, and the Old Lady had most certainly let him know that in her inimitable, gentle fashion... 

Which hurt even more than having her scream at him until she was blue in the face in so many a way.  

At least, he was not scheduled to take a watch that day, which meant he had spent the morning puttering away at various administrative tasks until lunch, and then boarding one of the stations' more diminutive shuttles and flying himself down; being flight-qualified had its advantages, and in a case like this, at least it meant he wasn't bound to someone else's schedule, especially if the meeting ran long; last thing he wanted was to have to see if he could return as a walk-in passenger, or have to secure himself transient quarters on the surface at the last minute and get on the first morning flight up.  And with his own shuttle, it also meant that if he was in no condition to fly back up after the meeting, he would have somewhere to sleep in a crunch.  

And going to see the Captain at home?  That felt... almost wrong.  Being stood up at attention in her office would be a pain, but at least he would know precisely what he was walking into... 

However, he had gathered himself at the appointed time and hit her door chime, and was invited in as informally as could be.

The door opened obediently to his touch, and shut behind him with a hiss that nearly made him jump out of his skin.  Given there was no one to meet him, he took a few steps deeper into the apartment, though not before dutifully wiping his boots on the doormat before doing so.  "Captain?" he called out hesitantly.

---

Tag Judith Eastman

[ LT Joshua Niles - The Eastman-Williams Kerelian condo ]

And there she was, rising from a... beanbag chair? And telling him to relax of all things? When he knew he was getting cornered for his performance the previous day, and was operating on little enough sleep. And the ice cream, well that was simply putting him clean off his game. Being invited for coffee, or even a simple breakfast, was one thing.

Ice cream was... off the chart so far as he was concerned.

And there he found himself, in the Captain's kitchen, looking at two tubs of ice cream with attendant bowls and spoons. And just to make things worse, neither were among his first choices either. "Like you said yesterday Captain, you know this isn't my specialization. To me it was like... requiring a Counselor with a psychology degree to perform open-heart surgery just because they answer to the CMO."

However, he saw he was making excuses, and took a deep breath. "But no, you're right, not my best day's work."

---

Tag Judith Eastman

[ LT Joshua Niles - The Eastman-Williams Kerelian condo ]

And it would seem the analogy was lost on the Captain, or simply ignored. Of course a cardiac surgeon was still a practicing physician, whose specialized skills would likely see very little use when dealing with a patient base known for physical fitness rather than needing multiple bypasses. But would she let a psychiatrist who'd not handled a scalpel since their residency operate on her? On her family?

Apparently, that was not good enough for her, and when beckoned he followed her to the patio, and out into the Kerelian sun.

"Basic Investigative Technique was three years ago," he replied quietly. Of course, he did not expect that would carry him very far. But, Advanced Investigation was an elective, and he'd taken a course in sensor interpretation instead. That much would have been in his service record, which he fairly expected the Captain to have memorized by now. "But I'm not about to pretend yesterday went anything like anything I can be proud of regardless. To be honest, I really wasn't certain I shouldn't have recused myself the first time I had the chance."

---

Tag Judith Eastman

[ LT Joshua Niles - The Eastman-Williams Kerelian condo ]

And once more, the weight of the Captain's disappointment, if not disgust, nigh on crushed the young Lieutenant and when he sat down opposite his elder, it was with a bonelessness born from shock, and no small amount of very visible dissatisfaction in himself. He knew that what he was good at, he excelled at. But he also truly valued the Old Lady's good opinion, and he had the very, very clear notion that without her recommendation, even a transfer would see his career stalled for a very, very long time.

But this warning, or threat, that she would employ him as nothing more than a Tac officer despite the fact he had passed his bridge officer's exam and was fully qualified to stand as officer of the watch by Fleet standards, that her standards were higher and he failed to meet them.

And that every other avenue of professional development he had followed, from a course in shipping pattern analysis to studying the nature of their area of responsibilities to the economic implications of every major shipping route in the sector. And precisely where coverage was at its weakest, and what volumes were better-suited to illicit activity, were now insufficient. All because he had not pursued more investigative training and instead focused on everything that happened in a hard vacuum.

A generalist," he said softly. "I've spent the last year learning everything there was to know about our region of space and who travels through it on a regular basis."

That was all he could say for now. He had screwed up. He hated that. And now, he was clearly under the impression he had wasted his off-duty time studying entirely the wrong thing.

---

Tag Judith Eastman

[ LT Joshua Niles - The Eastman-Williams Kerelian condo ]

"You are right, Captain, I'm really not sure I understand."

There was really no other way for him to express his stance at this point. Wasn't it precisely because no one could possibly be on top of everything there was to do with a department that department heads had assistants and section heads, and that commanders consulted with their department heads rather than just make a decision on their own? "But isn't this why one consults with their subordinates, and that it is a subordinate's job to make their superiors understand? If there was a disease running rampant across the station, would you need to be able to moonlight as an epidemiologist to manage it, or would you rely on the CMO to talk to his own infectious disease specialists, to provide recommendations?"

Truly, he was finding himself wondering precisely what was expected of him. Was he expected to somehow master every aspect of the Security and Tactical trades in order to advance under Captain Eastman? Or to just have an understanding of each aspect, which not necessarily translated into the ability to perform the tasks involved?

---

Tag Judith Eastman

[ LT Joshua Niles - The Eastman-Williams Kerelian condo ]

To say Niles was starting to get somewhat frustrated by his failure to establish at least what chapters the Old Lady and he were on would be an understatement, and certainly it was starting to very visibly wear on her legendary patience. And then, she hit it. Granted, he was no particular great sports fan though as any red-blooded Canadian he did keep track of hockey, at least during the playoffs, but at least she had managed to hit on something that he could understand.

And, in explaining the kind of balance she was asking for. And, it left him somewhat surprised in the end. He had been so bloody focused on mastering the tactical aspect and performing in that role, including increased management of the tactical sections, that he'd not realized that his roles were being expanded for a reason; he was seeing it as being assigned to tasks that were not rightfully his and should be sent to others, rather than as superiors grooming one of their officers for career advancement.

And when he sighed, it was loud, and the way his shoulder fell it was clear that it was a sound of great displeasure... in himself, a sentiment further emphasized by how his eyes went to the deck. "I really dropped the ball, a lot of balls for that matter, haven't I?" He was speaking softly, just starting to realize the enormity of his professional failings. "And I've let you and The Skipp... Captain Baker down."

---

Tag Judith Eastman

[ LT Joshua Niles - The Eastman-Williams Kerelian condo ]

Well, it would take time, and some remedial training to get caught back up on his proficiencies, and to one Joshua Niles it meant that for the foreseeable future his downtime would be spent studying and booking holodeck training sessions. Which would not make him the most popular officer given that training and operational uses took priority over recreational when it came to those facilities...

But what came next, well, he wasn't especially surprised that another failing of his would be exposed; at this point it would hardly surprise him if he was told he was wearing his socks wrong. And, well, he was hardly proud of the way he'd acted with the female Keltner; her brother had been much easier to deal with and he'd provided some valuable information willingly. But L'Sho? Granted it hardly was a secret that he firmly disliked the Talorian Primary, but he'd actually been courteous to the man, something that certainly was not returned in kind!

"Captain, I was well aware of the thin ice we are all on with the Talorians and I did show the Primary the courtesy his position dictates, no matter the plenty of reasons I have to dislike the man. I might not have bent over backwards to kiss his a..." The word never fully materialized as he stopped himself, and after a quick breath he continued on. "I mean shoes, but I did remain within the bounds of protocol."

That, it was a hill he was willing to die on. Keltner, on the other hand, was another story. "As for Doctor Keltner, my understanding was that in such matter, until such a time as a permanent constabulary can be established, especially for major crimes, we have full jurisdiction on the planet; and that would mean cooperation is expected as a matter of course, not contingent on whether local business administrators decide on whether or not they recognize Starfleet authority without the need to name-drop someone they deem is important enough."

---

Tag Judith Eastman