Syl O'Connell
Flight Control
[TI8]
Posts: 662
Likes: 9
Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
Position: Flight Control/Caldonia 5
Species: Human
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Post by Syl O'Connell on Aug 2, 2021 14:51:04 GMT
[Ens. Syl O'Connell - Front Ear - Private Quarters]It had been a very good couple of days. Well... Except for almost blowing up with the ship, barely being capable of getting the crew home safely, and spending an entire day in Sickbay for observation and brain surgery. But the neural implant had begun functioning immediately to assist her brain in processing stimuli, so the migraine that had almost debilitated her was gone, and even bright lights didn't bother her anymore. Syl considered that a win, even before her debriefing with the COs, during which she had been highly commended for her performance. Once she had submitted her report to O'Leary about the drones' first real-time use (and explaining why they returned with one short) she had the rest of her day to herself. So she sent Admiral Ellis their agreed upon message to let the woman know she was available to turn in her next report, and settled down to wait for the encrypted call to come through. The young woman looked much better than she had the last time they spoke. Her uniform fit her better, her skin and eyes had a healthy glow, and her hair had even grown long enough to tie back in a ponytail. The last one she was particularly grateful for, as it concealed the bare part of her scalp where the implant had been inserted. Overall, she looked far more like a Starfleet officer than the victim of a science experiment.
Tag Felicity Ellis
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Felicity Ellis
Command
Cap'n Mum
[TI11]
Posts: 719 Likes: 59 
Rank: Commander
Position: XO
Species: Human
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Post by Felicity Ellis on Aug 3, 2021 19:44:23 GMT
[Admiral Antoinette Ellis - The Ellis Residence, San Francisco]Antoinette Ellis had been entertaining when she got O'Connell's notification. Her husband was once again being honoured for his contributions, and she'd thrown a little last minute soirée to celebrate him. The Fleet's best mingled with Nobel nominees and renowned scientists in their grand drawing room, and with champagne flute in hand, the Admiral left the hum of the party behind as she made her way on stiletto heels to one of the townhouse's studies. She sat at the mahogany desk, hair perfect and twisted into a sleek up-do, black dress smoothed before she activated the link. Absently patting the string of pearls around her elegant neck, she waited to connect. This time the sight of the young woman was less... discomfiting. She'd grown hair, at least, and didn't look as though she was about to pass out from dehydration and malnourishment. "O'Connell," she greeted. "I have about ten minutes before I need to return to my guests. What do you have for me?"
Tag: Syl O'Connell
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Syl O'Connell
Flight Control
[TI8]
Posts: 662
Likes: 9
Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
Position: Flight Control/Caldonia 5
Species: Human
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Post by Syl O'Connell on Aug 3, 2021 20:30:53 GMT
[Ens. Syl O'Connell - Front Ear - Private Quarters]The Ensign was surprised to see the formal attire the Admiral was wearing when the screen flicked on, and to hear the woman had guests. Syl had never intended to interrupt - that was why she sent the message and waited for a call at a convenient time. But clearly, blabbering through apologies would only waste time now. Shifting in her seat, she nodded briskly, trying to ignore her suddenly hammering heart. "Yes ma'am. Dr. Paawin Riyo was Acting Chief Medical Officer when he assaulted a Cardassian civilian to the point of hospitalization on Kerelia. He's no longer Acting CMO, but he's still one of the senior medical practioners that Captain Baker trusts." Part of her felt guilty for ratting out Leanna's boyfriend like this, but it served her previous point that senior officers on the station were getting away with all sorts of poor decisions and behaviors. "Our new XO felt a teambuilding treasure hunt would be enough to smooth over the rift between officers and civilians. In many cases it did more harm than good," she recalled not only the incident her own team faced, but also the way Eliska's team had been ready to send their own doctor to Sickbay for his attitude. "We just returned from the Melkon system, where we were exploring a mysterious planetoid that ended up being created by an ancient civilization. That civilization is gone, but there was a functional Artificial Intelligence that tried to steal our warp core to use as its own power source. We made it back with no fatalities, and I believe the science team is working on deciphering the information they gathered." Well, at least there was one bit of good news she was able to share. "And Captain Eastman is going out of her way trying to make me like her." While that last part may not seem important, it did confirm her earlier assessment that the older Captain wanted to be close to her crew on a personal level. It was a personality trait that Syl felt could easily lead to misguided decisions. Fairly certain she had mentioned everything she had been planning on bringing up, she relaxed back in her seat just slightly, watching the screen carefully to try and judge the Admiral's reaction.
Tag Felicity Ellis
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Felicity Ellis
Command
Cap'n Mum
[TI11]
Posts: 719 Likes: 59
Rank: Commander
Position: XO
Species: Human
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Post by Felicity Ellis on Aug 5, 2021 17:51:28 GMT
[Admiral Antoinette Ellis - The Ellis Residence, San Francisco]Antoinette was pleased when once again, O'Connell wasted absolutely no time in getting down to her report. It took multiple conversations for some of her agents to understand that the Admiral had no time or need for small talk with her subordinates; she merely wanted them to do their job and get out of her sight. Not only had O'Connell picked this up in a flash, but she'd also quickly discerned exactly the type of information that Antoinette would find interesting, and handed it over without prompt. That aside, the information itself was worrisome. She waited for the young ensign to finish the preliminary round before commenting herself. "I will look into this Dr. Paawin Riyo further," she told her, tapping a note on an unseen surface. "The Command team you serve under have a long history of turning a blind eye to the bad behaviour of those they personally favour."Her daughter, the endless optimist, was wasting her time. That time should really be spent on finding ways to make herself so integral that they Admiralty would see no other option than to return her Captaincy. Instead she played silly games with useless civilians. She was aware of the situation in the Melkon system, and had personally redirected two vessels to take over study of the planetoid from the Mac. It presented a unique opportunity for insight into the team, however, and Antoinette pushed. "Give me more of your observations regarding the leadership," Antoinette requested, poised for more notes. "How did you find working under Commander Ellis. And please, do not spare me your honest opinion for fear that it will offend me. Trust me, it will not. And please expand on how Captain Eastman is going out of her way to make you like her."
Tag: Syl O'Connell
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Syl O'Connell
Flight Control
[TI8]
Posts: 662
Likes: 9
Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
Position: Flight Control/Caldonia 5
Species: Human
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Post by Syl O'Connell on Aug 6, 2021 20:58:28 GMT
[Ens. Syl O'Connell - Front Ear - Private Quarters]Syl's shoulders relaxed slightly, as she was grateful that someone was finally concerned about one of the senior doctors having a violent streak. She decided not to mention that same doctor was the one who inserted her neural implant the previous day. When asked to go into more detail about the Command team, she paused for a brief moment to think about it. The more she talked to the older woman, the more she realized why she got along with her parents. Though she was still trying to figure out just how well she knew them. "Commander Ellis was actually quite capable. She was willing to take risks, but wasn't too prideful to pull back when the risks turned out to be too great." Syl had been very impressed by the way Felicity handled the situation, and looked forward to serving with her again. "I haven't had a chance to see Captain Baker at work since she was CMO. Captain Eastman... We had an agreement when I came back that I would give her a chance to regain my trust before I put in for a transfer. There are plenty of ways she could do that in a professional capacity... But she instead keeps inviting me to spending personal time together." It was weird for Syl, honestly. And made her question even more if the Captain believed she wasn't capable of regaining professional trust, so instead relied upon personal trust.
Tag Felicity Ellis
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Felicity Ellis
Command
Cap'n Mum
[TI11]
Posts: 719 Likes: 59
Rank: Commander
Position: XO
Species: Human
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Post by Felicity Ellis on Aug 7, 2021 13:36:27 GMT
[Admiral Antoinette Ellis - The Ellis Residence, San Francisco]If Antoinette felt any kind of way about O'Connell's opinion on her daughter, she didn't show it. In truth, only one of her three children had pursued the careers that she had chosen for them, and unfortunately for the Admiral, Cameron Jr. was dead. Gregory had been a natural leadership choice, and she had felt some pride as he'd climbed the Starfleet ranks at speed, but then he'd left it all behind so he could be close to his floozy. Felicity had a promising career in medicine ahead of her, following in Antoinette's very own footsteps, but then she'd decided to go into psychology - medicine's equivalent of the cat lady aunt at your wedding. They'd all been a tremendous disappointment to her, but O'Connell's opinions worked as a decent baseline for how Antoinette could rely on her objectivity. "You can be well-liked, and not respected. You can be disliked, but well-respected. One doesn't always lead to the other, and one is less important when it comes to effective leadership." Finally, a physical reaction, the Admiral shook her head with disappointment. "I know which I would prefer." Too often she'd seen command officers fall into the trap of needing to be "liked" by their subordinates. "Go with it, Ensign. Learn what you can; it will help us decide the future of the Station."She had something else of her own to impart, but she would wait until O'Connell had finished. "Is there anything else?"
Tag: Syl O'Connell
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Syl O'Connell
Flight Control
[TI8]
Posts: 662
Likes: 9
Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
Position: Flight Control/Caldonia 5
Species: Human
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Post by Syl O'Connell on Aug 7, 2021 22:44:30 GMT
[Ens. Syl O'Connell - Front Ear - Private Quarters]Syl nodded with her agreement with the Admiral's comment about the difference between liked and respected. That was exactly how she felt, and precisely why she kept bringing it up in these meetings. Every time she thought about Captain Eastman's behavior towards her, she heard her father's voice echoing in her memories. It's not my job to be their friend! Though she was slightly surprised when Antoinette told her not to resist the attempts. That might take a little time for her to open up to, but she would make sure she took the Captain up on at least one of her invitations before she contacted the Admiral again. She shook her head when asked if there was anything else she had to report. "No, ma'am. That covers it." Of course there were plenty of rumors going around, of varying levels of concern. But since Syl hadn't been able to even slightly verify any of them yet, she chose not to bring them up.
Tag Felicity Ellis
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Felicity Ellis
Command
Cap'n Mum
[TI11]
Posts: 719 Likes: 59
Rank: Commander
Position: XO
Species: Human
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Post by Felicity Ellis on Aug 8, 2021 16:20:11 GMT
[Admiral Antoinette Ellis - The Ellis Residence, San Francisco]"Very good."Antoinette nodded, then leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs beneath the desk. "Now, something for you. As there has been no official debriefing of the Caldonia 5 forthcoming, I have been chosen to oversee the appropriate interviews. This is not public knowledge, so keep it to yourself, but I did want to give you a head's up." Naturally, there was a reason behind that. There was a reason for everything Antoinette Ellis did. "I will be leaving for the Station in the next couple of days. You will all be asked about your time in prison, as well as the events that lead to your capture."
Tag: Syl O'Connell
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Syl O'Connell
Flight Control
[TI8]
Posts: 662
Likes: 9
Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
Position: Flight Control/Caldonia 5
Species: Human
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Post by Syl O'Connell on Aug 9, 2021 17:09:57 GMT
[Ens. Syl O'Connell - Front Ear - Private Quarters]Syl wasn't surprised to hear that Admiral Ellis would be taking charge of the debriefing, given her reaction to hearing that Captain Eastman hadn't done it. "Understood, ma'am," she replied simply. She definitely appreciated the heads' up, as she wasn't sure she would have been able to keep the shock and recognition off her face when Antoinette showed up on the station otherwise. Part of her wanted to let the others know there would be a formal debriefing soon, but she also knew there was no way she could tell them without explaining how she already knew about it. She'd made it this long without slipping, she wasn't about to screw up now.
Tag Felicity Ellis
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Felicity Ellis
Command
Cap'n Mum
[TI11]
Posts: 719 Likes: 59
Rank: Commander
Position: XO
Species: Human
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Post by Felicity Ellis on Aug 12, 2021 18:21:20 GMT
[Admiral Antoinette Ellis - The Ellis Residence, San Francisco]"Very good. Thank you, Ensign. Enjoy your evening."And with that, the screen went blank. Antoinette Ellis leaned back in her chair for a moment, fingers back to her pearls as she considered the conversation. Within the next few days she'd be taking the Dauntless and heading for Front Ear. She thoroughly hated that station, especially its name, but there were multiple reasons that she needed to be there. Her first grandchild was about to be born. And she had some intel to collect.
Soft: Syl O'Connell , scene.
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