A Story In Progress
Posted on Thu Feb 5th, 2026 @ 10:05am by Lieutenant Kolok & Senior Chief Petty Officer Jubal Yost
Edited on on Sat Feb 7th, 2026 @ 7:21am
1,669 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Episode 17 - Going Home
Location: Office of the Chief of Operations - Deck 6 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD002 1300 hrs
Kolok shifted in his chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. He intended to have it replaced when time allowed, but his current duty was more important than his personal comfort. He set the PADD he'd been reading down, a frown covering his broad face.
It had come to his attention, during his evaluation of the Operations Department, that most of the staff hadn't had a performance evaluation for far too long. He intended to remedy that.
"Lieutenant Kolok to Senior Chief Petty Officer Yost. Please report to my office at your earliest convenience. Kolok out," he said. The Pioneer might not have the same crew complement that the Iowa had, but he would adhere to the same high standards. He picked up the Klingon mug that occupied a large portion of his desk and leaned back in the uncomfortable chair.
"Perhaps I will use this chair for bat'leth practice," he mused and then took a long drink.
Jubal paused in his workout, dropping the jump rope, and touched a nearby wall screen. "Aye aye, Lieutenant," he acknowledged. "Be with you in a tic." Looking around his quarters, he retrieved the rope and stowed it, then stripped and headed into the shower.
Ten minutes later, Yost was out the door, and five minutes after that, activated the annunciator outside of the Ops Chief's office. "Chief Yost reporting, Lieutenant."
"Come," Kolok said and waited for the Quartermaster to enter and gestured for him to sit in the likely equally uncomfortable chair across from him.
"I have called you here to remedy the fact that you are three weeks past the time for your quarterly performance evaluation," Kolok said, watching the man's face carefully. "You are not the only one I will be meeting with today, unfortunately. It has been my experience that a Quartermaster is a key source of intelligence for an Operations Chief. I would like to hear your thoughts on how the department is functioning, where inefficiencies exist, and what challenges you have faced in supplying the crew with the required equipment and supplies."
Yost eyed the Ops Chief as he slid into the indicated chair and said, "That's just about as long as I've been aboard, Lieutenant, so I'm getting up to speed, but what I've seen, Ops is running about how you'd expect, that's a little light in experienced officers to back you up. They're all good people, but all need more experience and hands-on, which only comes with time. Equipment and supplies are the one thing we're full up on." He stubbed a foot against the desk between them and asked, "How's things from your window, sir?"
It took Kolok a moment to understand what the Quartermaster meant by his window. "From my window? The department is indeed understaffed and could use more leadership. My previous posting was the USS Iowa, an Akira-class ship," he said. "Obviously, the Pioneer is smaller, but even balancing for size disparity, there are many improvements that can and will be made to make the power, computing, and logistics of our department function better. I am not questioning anyone's honor. There are simply newer systems and techniques that have been released in the past year that we will implement over time. I will also be asking the Commodore to request more crew from Starfleet Personnel. How many people would you need to improve your section's performance?"
Yost kept his eyes from rolling. A Klingon DH would take just about everything personally. "There's always improvements to be made. Experience will get us there. More training will help, especially with damage control measures. Looking at the numbers, there are still some improvements to be made with the parties that have marines embedded. If we get a half dozen dedicated people, we can shore that up." All things being equal, Jubal decided that telling his new boss time would cure all wounds wasn't what Kolok wanted to hear.
Kolok nodded. "Thank you for your evaluation," he said. In his mind, he could hear his old Department Chief. Kolok had been a loner for much of his career, ascending to leadership by accomplishment versus patronage. His previous chief had told him that one day he would stand in judgement of others, subordinates, and doing so without understanding the person and why they did the job, was a disservice to them and to Starfleet.
"Senior Chief, tell me a little about yourself. You are, like me, new to the Pioneer. You're skilled and respected. Why did you choose Starfleet? And why pick the Quartermaster berth?"
Yost considered for a few beats, then said, "A girl got me into Starfleet, Lieutenant," Jubal said, settling himself to spin a good, mostly true, yarn for his new boss. "My family's mostly always been hands on workers. I grew up on starships and freighters and as kids, we got to see a lot of ports of call and unique races and people. When I was fifteen, I decided that was a good life too and my folks agreed. They'd posted to Proxima B and I signed up for the merchant marines. Their deferment program let me get part-time, hands-on training while finishing school. At eighteen, enlistment kicked in and I spent six years aboard various freighters. Discovered I liked the Quartermaster trade, though Motorhand was a close second."
Pausing for slight dramatical effect, Jubal said, "Her name's Claire Martel, she's the Chief Engineering Officer aboard the Astrea Imprimitar, one of the newer Reliant class Cruisers. Seven years ago, she was on Cadet cruise, about eight months out of Academy. I was serving aboard the Æolus and the USS Keen's lost three of their senior Operations personnel and DH in a plasma storm over by the BadLands. We caught the Mayday and were one of the first ships on the scene. We helped them get their systems back online. Did what we could for the wounded and I got tapped to fill out the bridge crew. Ms. Martel had gotten herself a field promotion from cadet to JG for her bravery during the plasma storm and been made acting DH while the Keen limped in to space dock."
Restisting the temptation to lean back, cross his ankles and relax, Jubal said, "Me and her spent a lot of watch on watch hours on the Keen's bridge and she quizzed me pretty hard on why the Merchant Marines. After a couple of days, she started at me about jumping over to Star Fleet, who according to her was painfully short of experienced crewman. She spent the next ten days waring me down and by the time we made Space Dock, I'd been sold. Freighters don't get to see interesting places really. Mostly the same ports over and over. So, here I am."
Having enjoyed telling his tale, Jubal raised his hands up and said, "As to why a Quarter Master berth? Why Lieutenant, it lets me go anywhere and do just about anything. I can pull watch rotations on the bridge either at Ops or Helm. The next day I can be deep in a Jeffries tube doing damage control or diagnostics. And maybe the next day see's me on an away mission or filling in for shuttle bay or shuttle craft operations. Nothing is ever dull. Bout the only place I don't get to play is Security, and that's ok too."
Kolok nodded. "Finding the right mate is important," Kolok said. "You are fortunate indeed to have had such luck. I myself have not. One day perhaps. I will have many more opportunities, I hope. If not, I will drink with my brothers and sisters in Sto'Vo'Kor." Kolok thumped his free hand down on his desk to emphasize his words.
The Klingon grinned. "Your answer to the second question is another reason I am talking to you. You have access. You can help our department work better by letting me know of anything that is substandard."
"That kinda goes without saying, sir,"Jubal affirmed. "I think the first thing to do is to start reviewing procedures to make sure we're optimized there. I'll talk to the enlisted and see how they're doing. With a marine as a COB there might be some...things being missed."
Kolok took a long drink from his mug. "Do you think they are acting improperly?" He asked. "I will have to meet this COB and take his measure. I will not tolerate people shirking their duty. We need to be ready for anything. The Pioneer seems to become involved in a variety of unusual events. What do you think of the Commodore? I have no personal connections to him."
"I doubt Sergeant Major Barr is shirking things sir," Yost said carefully, still the new kid on the block and not wanting to step in too deep a hole. "Rather as a marine, he might be a ship handler. Most marines aren't, really, and since I don't know him, I figure it's a good place to start. You've been aboard longer than I sir. What's your take?"
"He seems to be attentive to the details. When I speak to him, I feel that I have all of his attention," Kolok said. He realized that he was going on too long. "I'm sure that he and I will get along well. Just as I am sure you and I will. If you need my help or have any information that I need to know, you may contact me at any time."
Jubal knew when he was being thrown out of someplace and he said, "Aye aye, sir." Pushing himself to his feet, he came to attention then turned on his heel and exited.
A joint post by:
Senior Chief Chief Petty Officer Jubal Yost
Quartermaster, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Kolok
Chief Operations Officer, USS Pioneer
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