Evaluations
Posted on Fri Dec 26th, 2025 @ 9:01pm by Lieutenant Bayre Hirata & Captain Cassandra Hawk
1,936 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Episode 1: A New Sheriff in Town
Location: VIsiting Professor's Office, Starfleet Academy, Earth
He was sitting at the desk, feet up, staring at the PADD in front of him. Leland's face, round, impressionable, and sweaty, was staring up at him. Waiting. He closed his eyes, reviewing every time he'd seen Leland, worked with him, taught him. Most times, the answer came easily. Black or white but with Leland? It was more gray and gray was hard to grade. "Can you do the job," he murmured to the PADD and then repeated the question in every language he knew. No answer from the static image on the PADD.
This was the hard part of teaching and something he'd had to learn. How to lower expectations. Not to judge against himself because he came out of the Academy as a Chief. Most took years to get there. For the average Engineer, it took months of converting what they learned to real-time knowledge and that was usually done through basic maintenance and on the job training, working with someone more experienced.
But could Leland do that? He wasn't sure. "You have the intelligence," Bayre murmured. "Buried under a ton of insecurity and apologies, but it's there. If you can learn to trust yourself, you'll do fine. Maybe not great but fine. I don't know. No wait, I do. I'll ask that counselor ... what was her name?" He closed his eyes again, summoning her to his mind's eye, hearing her speak, and then said, "Lieutenant Doyle. Margaret Doyle. She'll know."
"Placement decisions?" The voice, calm and friendly, came from the doorway where a woman in a red-shouldered Captain's uniform had been standing a moment or two, observing. Four silver pips on the neck of her fresh uniform indicated her commanding rank. She had her hair pulled back into its traditional ponytail, though it was slightly less orderly in the humid air of the bay.
Captain Hawk liked to see her officers in their element sometimes. Not from a judgmental position, but to understand them better as people. Sometimes watching someone work told you a lot about a person. Who they were, what kind of environments they felt comfortable in, what kinds of support would help them best succeed. She also preferred to meet them where they were, introducing herself through their own activity rather than commanding attention and a salute.
The young man before her was ironically weighing similar decisions right now, trying to use his own experience with a Cadet to determine what that young officer would succeed or fail at. However, per his file, she also knew this officer wasn't exactly run of the mill. This activity would likely be challenging for him in a number of dimensions. "Mind if I assist for a moment?"
Bayre opened his eyes and, rather than seeing what was in front of him, focused instead on what she was saying. "Leland," he said, pushing the PADD across the desk. "Passes his exams. High marks. But under pressure? Very different outcome."
The Captain, inviting herself in to some extent, approached and took a seat across the desk from Bayre, retrieving the padd as she sat down. She took a moment to skim it. The boy's test scores were quite strong, but his file also did have a few key notes on it. *Cracks under pressure*, some might say. Cassandra wasn't so sure.
"You know, I had a horse growing up," she said, still pensively looking over the file for a moment as she continued. "Mysteria. She was a Morgan, beautiful white and grey creature. When I first got her, I was so excited. I had these dreams of taking her on these grand adventures through the Arizona desert. She followed commands well, she ran through the training courses, didn't even complain when I was taking her around by the reins. Then one day, I took her out on the open trail. We made it about 20 feet before a little ground squirrel spooked her so bad she threw me off."
Hawk set down the pad and met his gaze. "And then I rode her everywhere for the next 6 years until I headed off to the Academy. Best damn horse I ever had. Believe it or not, she isn't even on Earth anymore. She lives on Alpha Eridani II with my Aunt Selene," she said finally cracking a smile and a light laugh. "The damn horse who used to spook at her own shadow has been to Warp."
She let her laugh fade before sitting back a bit more casually. "You can't know for sure if the boy is going to sink or swim. But his test scores mean he knows his stuff and the nerves mean he cares. Give him the right posting with the right mentor, and that fear might just blossom into diligence. Sideline him and you ensure it remains paralysis. I'd say give the boy his shot."
Bayre pulled the PADD back and drilled down to the practicals before shoving back in the woman's direction. "Crashed the ship's computers in one. Came close to a warp core breach in another. I used that one as a training exercise and it took all of them a full twenty-four hours to figure out how he did it."
"There's a difference between being nervous in a new situation and a 'paralyzing fear' that leads to bad decisions. On the Faraday, I mentored several fresh out of the Academy so I do have some anecdotal experience in this. Leland feels different. My hunch is that it's more than nerves but I need someone to watch him in action and give me a more experienced perspective." He paused. "I don't want to crush his dreams but I don't want to crush a starship either."
“That’s a fair point. We don’t want any crushed starships,” Cassandra said. She kept a straight face but couldn’t quite contain the mischievous twinkle that came to her eye. “What about a station?”
"None of the practicals involve stations," Bayre answered flatly. "They are, as the lead instructor told me, less 'dramatic' than a starship though the techniques and procedures are largely the same." He paused a second. "Any crushed technology is bad ... well, that's not entirely true. There are some things generally believed to be better crushed; the planet killer encountered by the USS Constellation for example."
Cassandra let out a whistle as she looked out the window, recollecting the horrifying device that had become a popular footnote in 23rd Century history books. “Oof, I cannot disagree with you there. Some things are worth crushing,” she said, before returning her gaze to him. “Some things are better nurtured. Like a promising, but timid young Engineer.”
She tilted her head ever so slightly. “And as it so happens, I have a station with quite a few postings I’m looking to fill.”
"You are interested in Cadet Leland," Bayre asked, his brow furrowing as the notion that someone could actually be requesting him registered. "I'm not opposed but I do have others in the same class that show a great deal more promise."
"I don't doubt it, and I'm sure that they all will have no issue getting postings. Cadet Leland, on the other hand, may not be afforded as many opportunities. And what can I say? I like a project," the Captain replied, shifting in her seat, the slightly worn leather creaking as she did so. "Besides, I think trying to help him succeed might be a good learning experience for my Chief Engineer."
"Alright," Bayre said, sighing softly, "I'll make the arrangements. Just need your name and the duty station."
The smirk spread across her face freely at this point. "Captain Cassandra Hawk, Starbase Mojave."
"Alright," Bayre said, head canting slightly to one side, "but so you know, I'm putting in my own recommendation on Leland. He needs further training and maybe some time with a counselor before he graduates."
"Fair enough. That should be reasonable," Cassandra said, her eyes squinting as she assessed the Engineer in front of her. "As it turns out, Cadet Leland isn't actually the reason for my visit. While I do want to give the young man a chance, I actually was most looking to fill the head of my Engineering department."
"Hmm," Bayre said, casting back through his memory for people he knew that might be suitable, rejecting one, adding another to the list. "The students are in no way ready to run a department but I do know of three or four people who might work for you. What makes the position interesting?"
"A space station on the very fringes of Federation space. Strained resource chains, unique mission requirements, state of the art sensor tech that needs keen eyes on it, and the freedom to set standards without the Starfleet Engineering Corps giving them a hard time. Add on top of that the assignment of an experimental Protostar-class starship, complete with its Protowarp drive, that needs finishing," the Captain said, providing her best pitch.
"Shortens the list considerably," Bayre answered. "I"m the best choice but sadly, the Academy pulled me off the Faraday for this ... job ... and hasn't approved any of my requests to get back to actual work. Did give me a workshop though so it's not all bad." He smiled down at the desktop for a moment at the thought of the place. "I'm teaching a robot how to jump."
The twinkle of pride she saw in his expression confirmed what she had already been fairly sure of. She’d found her pick for Chief Engineer. It’d be a transition for him, and it would certainly stretch his comfort on things, especially since she’d just lined up to have one of his more challenging students as an ongoing challenge. But she needed someone smart, and like she’d said, she liked a project. She could make Mojave somewhere he wanted to be. “Lieutenant Hirata, believe it or not, I’m here for you specifically. I have a few strings I can pull with the Academy. I’d like you to be my Chief Engineer,” she said, giving a slight tilt of her head and an upturned palm as she added an addendum. “And I have plenty of space I’m working with, so I can match that offer of a workshop. I’d be delighted to see your robot learn to jump.”
"Challenges and a workshop. I have an assistant I want to bring along. As long as you're good with that, I'm in," Bayre said as he rose from his desk. "How soon can we leave?"
Cassandra rose to her feet as well, a sense of triumph well contained behind her calm demeanor. “48 hours, if you’re able to manage it. The Achilles is in orbit as we speak. I have a pick up on Trill, and then I’d be back here to make the jump to Mojave. So, shall we make it official?”
"Consider me your new Chief Engineer," Bayre answered, shooting a disgusted look at the evaluations as he rose. "I'll contact Reno, that's the guy I'm bringing along, and we'll be ready."
“Well then, Lieutenant, I look forward to seeing you in two days,” she replied, with a final nod. “Good luck with your final evaluations.”
"Thanks," Bayre muttered, dismissing her from his notice, as his mind plunged into preparations and the work ahead. "Got to start packing up the lab ... Reno can help with that ... hope he's not too far away ... "
Captain Cassandra Hawk
Commanding Officer
Starbase Majave / USS Achilles
and
Lieutenant Bayre Hirata
(Semi-officially) Chief Engineer
Starbase Mojave / USS Achilles
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