Pilot: Chapter 2, The Meeting

[JayB]

Marcus checked his notes. These meetings were never fun to be a part of, but they were even worse to prepare for. Still, they seemed to be helpful, and it was only once a year so it would be a while till he had to do it again. As he flipped through his notes, the realization dawned on him that while he had done most of the work last year, Dad had still been there. The business meeting had been his last act as captain. This would be Marcus' first time by himself.

People started milling in about fifteen minutes early. Marcus sat and listened as everyone discussed amongst themselves what they did with their time off. Marcus tried not to be jealous at that concept: time off. The crew worked hard for him on a daily basis, they deserved the time off. He would get his some other time. He did get a chuckle when Elliot pouted to Cat that he had been made to stay in his room and do school work.

Ms.Finster was the last person to walk in the room. She usually took the minutes for these meetings, so her presence meant that it was time to begin. Marcus watched her take a seat and then cleared his throat.

"Alright people, let's get this started so we can get it over with." Everyone quieted down after just a moment. "There is a tradition in Erikson Enterprises to start off every business meeting with a reading of the company mission statement, and I see no reason to break that." He looked down at his PADD, he was supposed to have memorized this, but he didn't want to mess it up in front of everyone. "To lead the charge in interstellar commerce and empower our employees to blaze new trails both professionally and personally."

He looked up and smiled. "Now, in the last year, we completed 2,942 delivery routes with a 98.7% customer satisfaction rate. That's an increase of 5% over last year and a .2% increase in satisfaction rate. 37% of our business was from new customers. Overall, we were up by 7%, that's a significant jump and I think it is something to be proud of. We have done a good job as a company and that reflects on all of you guys. Great job everyone!"

Marcus waited for the light applause and murmurs to die down before he continued. "I hate hearing all of that business come out of my mouth so now it's your turn." He motioned to Paul. "I want you all to go one by one and give me a rundown of your department. Tell me the big stuff that happened this year, what your goals are for the next year, and what big stuff you need to make those goals happen. And please, state your name and department for the record. Paul, you go first."

TAG: EVERYONE

Note: Please don't feel any obligation to post in any particular order. Paul, being the old man he is, might take a while to get anything out. If you need some help with what to discuss, feel free to use the following discussion points:

Compliance- Violations from the last year and what to do to prevent them.
Employee Relations- Tutoring program, complaints/fixes in kitchen or housekeeping
Supply- Supply budget, streamlining/expanding supply request forms, excessive use or disuse of regularly supplied items
Auxiliary delivery- Building up flight hours, possible copilot position

[Angelo]

K'Roth stood up with his PADD in hand. So far he'd been a little nervous about having to actually give a report. But he got over it quickly as he read over his repertoire. "We only lost four items sense I've been on the ship but that was mostly my fault I didn't read labels correctly. Drops off have been exceedingly well sense I've been on and it looks as if we might need lighter material to hold the cargo in these metal crates are a little heavy on the runners."

He flipped through his notes to check anything else. "And the last mission down with the drop off crew I went on was a little better then it should've been they over paid for their cargo and left in a hurry. I believe that's about it for my area at least. Just the runners having trouble moving the heavy metal crates and that's it."

After he sat down he wiped his ridges of sweat a little nervous and anxious to get out of here. But as he looked about he noticed everyone else seemed to be so calm. Like this was completely normal and that they weren't about to panic as soon as they stood up. He relaxed greatly after that and smiled. Wondering what this ship, The Heimdall had in store for him.

Tag: Everyone

[Kris]

Employee Relations

Cat kept ignoring Elliot during the bulk of the meeting. All he wanted to do was complain about the homework he’d been given. Cat knew she’d have to keep him out of his father’s hair while they were docked, and that seemed to be the only way to do it. Apparently though, he still managed to make a mess of their quarters during all of that, and had been tasked to clean it up. Whether that was happening though, Cat had no idea. Knowing Elliot like she did? Most likely not and Marcus was probably the one who cleaned it up.

But now it was time for everyone to give reports. She always hated this part, as she liked to sit and listen. But instead, she had to tell how everything was. Between medical and relations, she had been busy. Mostly, though, due to the youngster on board who was always causing trouble.

Once it was finally her turn, Catrina didn’t want to stand up, so...she didn’t. Tapping on the PADD in front of her, she let out a sigh.

“Name first you said, Marcus? Fine, Catrina Tendai, or Cat. Employee relations and medical. What happened this year? Let’s see...more tutoring and schooling for Elliot. Did some basic field medic training for some of this lot here, though I’m not sure who kept the knowledge. Medical had to deal with a few random surgeries but nothing serious. Helped create a new menu for the kitchens, which seems to be a big hit.”

She looked back down at her information, looking a little bit bored.

“My goals for the next year? Get this man,” she motioned toward Elliot, “to pay more attention than he does. Get him up to the grade level he should be at for his reading and his math, he’s okay everywhere else. As for medical? Make sure no one dies on my watch.”

Cat’s eyes turned toward Marcus.

“Good enough for ya?”

Tags: Marcus and all.

[JayB]

((Going to try and make a quick reply to everyone's posts, no need to reply back))

To K'Roth: "Thank you K'Roth. Keep those losses down as much as possible of course and let me know if you have suggestions to fix the weight issue." Marcus jots a few notes and looks back up. "Next please!"

To Cat: "Thank you Cat. I must agree, the new menu is certainly better. And always, keep me updated on my son's performance." Marcus shot a quick look at said son. "II know how lazy he can be. Next please."

[KatyS]

Ari stood up, holding a PADD in one hand. "Arianna Flynn, Supply. First of all, I am quite happy to say that we came in under budget this year by a few hundred credits. There has been some small issues with replicator rations being a bit overused by some, however, that was balanced out by a few people that rarely if eve use theirs. I have a full breakdown for each person aboard for your viewing after the meeting Marcus. I don't think you will be surprised at the number one abuser." She shoots a pointed look to Elliot before continuing. "As for goals for next year, I am working on a bit more streamlined supply request form. The old one has been in use for more than ten years now and there are some new additions that can be made there."She looked at her PADD again and frowned slightly. "One odd note, I have been getting some strange requests from the cargo department for a few different small items including Cherry flavored suckers, a configurable security drone, balloons, and red dye... These requests are on hold pending your approval. That is all I have." Ari nodded and sat down.

[Ricker]

Paul:
Paul glared at Marcus, he didn’t like doing this at all, and he certainly didn’t want to go first. There was no point in arguing it though, the Captain had already spoken and he was on the spot. At least he would have this out of the way early. Maybe there would be a problem and he would get to leave early to do something useful.

He stood up. “Very Well. Paul Stasik, Operations. In the last year we have done a major upgrade to the engines. They were beginning to need major maintenance on a constant basis and it was getting in the way of normal operations. We stripped her down to her basic parts and rebuilt or replaced just about everything. The engines are now capable of about half warp a factor more in speed and can sustain it longer than before. This setup should be good for another 10-15 years under our usual strain.”

He took a breath. “As far as what is coming next for our department, I think it’s time we refit the cargo bays. We need to increase the power supplies throughout for one, and it seems we are having to customize areas for loads more often now. I’d like to make all of the bays easier to work with in the customization. Attachment points for temporary walls, plug-ins for separate environmental controls, a more extensive, separable ventilation system to provide those new environments; there’s a whole list of things. I’ll just need the money and permission to shut down a bay at a time. My crews can do the work, it can take anywhere from a couple of months to the whole year depending on how fast the money comes and how much cargo space we can shut down at once.

That’s all I have. I’ve deferred the supply items to Ari and there isn’t anything to report with the bridge ops.”

[Ricker]

Elliot:

Elliot had been waiting for this for a few days now. Really he had been waiting for it since last year when he got to be a part of the meeting for the first time. Back then, he had just been an assistant, Grandpa had enjoyed managing the cargo himself and only had him helping to give him something to do. Dad on the other hand, liked to spend his time on the bridge so he got to be in charge under Paul and Dads watchful eyes. As long as his grades were good that is.

He rose from his chair regally, and cleared his throat, trying to sound big and important. “This year between Parim and myself, we have expanded over 2,300 labor hour’s accepting, moving, and sending out more than a billion kilotons of cargo. We have adapted to 23 different environmental conditions in temporary separate bays. We have handed 57 louds of hazardous materials. And in the last year we have had 1 accident that resulted in the loss of product. No injuries have been reported.”

“I concur with operations that an upgrade is needed in the cargo bays to accommodate an increasingly diversified number of specialized environment and safety precautions that are needed to transport a wider variety of cargo. I think we will be able to keep the same capacity that we do now if we only shut down small sections at a time. It will take longer but we won’t have to take a loss in potential profit making opportunities.”

“I’m also requesting an additional part time helper in the cargo bays. My school requirements are requiring a larger amount of my time and sometimes compromises my ability to be at work. As I have been instructed to maintain a higher priority on school, it is necessary to get help for Parim occasionally.”

Elliot looked up from the PADD he had been reading off of. He was quite proud of his level of preparation for this. He had known what Paul was going to propose so he had written a response to it. He must look so mature and responsible. He gave a broad smile to his father and then switched to a more serious look. “That is all.” He took his seat again.

[Angelo]

((I just wanna point out i was blamed for ordering small items ... I am one of the person in cargo. Plus last I checked all orders had to go through me...))