Getting Acquainted

Posted on Tue Oct 27th, 2026 @ 11:22am by Commander Jonathan Roebuck IV & Lieutenant Katie Harlow

1,145 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 122 - "Trekking the Multiverse"
Location: Starbase 400, Security Department

ON:

Katie had spent enough time aboard starships to become accustomed to learning a new assignment one corridor at a time, but Starbase 400 was going to require considerably more walking. She stepped out of the turbolift with a PADD in hand, pausing briefly to check the directions before continuing toward the security offices. Her transfer from Starbase 113 was complete, her belongings were mostly unpacked, and she could no longer justify putting off introductions by finding another box to empty.

The move had brought a familiar combination of anticipation and uncertainty. Investigative work suited her; she liked the patience it demanded and the importance of noticing things that others might overlook. Still, knowing the procedures was only part of settling into a department. She needed to know the people she would be working alongside, particularly Commander Jonathan Roebuck.

On reaching the security work area, Katie approached an available officer and asked where she could find him. Following the directions she was given, she stopped at the indicated doorway and lightly knocked against the frame.

“Commander Roebuck?”

She held the PADD comfortably at her side, her expression attentive.

“Lieutenant Katie Harlow. I’ve recently transferred from Starbase 113, where I was assigned to security investigations. I’ll be working in investigations here, along with security and tactical duties.”

Katie paused, allowing herself a small smile.

“I wanted to introduce myself before we ended up meeting over an incident report. If you have a few minutes, I’d appreciate hearing how things are handled here and where I can be most useful.”

Roebuck had been reading over a PADD when he heard or thought he heard someone talking. At first, he brushed it off as just some convocation the officer on duty was having with someone. Then he heard 'transferred' and 'investigations'.

He turned his chair to face the door. "Enter."

Roebuck's team was small, he liked it that way. A few officers he knew he could trust. Trust was everything in their line of work, not just the standard security issues...but the issues only top brass would discuss.

He watched the young Lieutenant step forward. "How can I help you?" At the same time, another PADD on his desk beeped the answer to the question before the Lieutenant spoke. "You've been assigned to my team?"

Katie stepped into the office, stopping a comfortable distance from his desk. At his question, she gave a small nod and glanced briefly toward the PADD that had announced her arrival more efficiently than she had managed herself. “Yes, sir. Lieutenant Katie Harlow, transferring from Starbase 113. My last assignment was in security investigations, and my orders place me with your team here.”

She offered her PADD with the transfer documentation displayed, then let her hands settle loosely behind her back. Meeting new colleagues had never been her strongest point, but discussing the work gave her something solid to focus on. “Before that, I served in security and tactical aboard the Halo. Most recently, I’ve been concentrating on investigative duties, so I’m hoping to put that experience to use here.”

Katie kept her attention on the commander, resisting the temptation to fill the pause with a longer account of her service record. He already had access to it, and she was more interested in learning what he expected than reciting what she had done. “I’d appreciate a briefing on how you run the team, sir. Are there particular cases or responsibilities you’d like me to start with?”

Roebuck took a deep breath and thought to himself, 'Who the f...' but it wasn't important who transferred the Lieutenant to his team. She was here and there wasn't much he could do about it right now.

Setting the PADD he'd been reading down, he stood and he glanced at the transfer orders and Harlow's record for a brief moment.

"I run my team on a need-to-know basis. We don't usually handle the typical pick-pocket on the Promenade, instead we investigate terrorist threats, theft of top-secret tech, VIP security details, and other threats to the security of the Federation that either Fleet Admiral Bremer, Starfleet Command, or the President assign us to. If we're not an active assignment, we follow up on leads related to open cases or potential threats. If we need to leave the Starbase we use the USS Cutlass, Saber Class. Our team is small, myself, Lieutenant Carter, Lieutenate Locke, Lieutenant Walter Roebuck, and now yourself. If we need resources from another department, you go through me." As Roebuck explained, he locked eyes with Harlow.

Roebuck then tapped in a few commands on his desktop display. Once the computer beeped, he then walked over to the wall monitor to the left of his desk and tapped in a few more commands. "You now have access to the Cutlass and our dedicated office on Level Four of the Station."

Katie met his gaze and listened without interrupting. The scope of the team’s work was considerably broader than her transfer orders had explained, and she took a moment to absorb it. With so few officers handling assignments at that level, she would need to learn their procedures quickly and be someone they could depend on.

“Understood, sir. Requests for outside resources go through you, and information stays within the appropriate clearance and need to know.” Her eyes briefly followed him to the wall display before returning to his face. “I’ll familiarize myself with the office and the Cutlass, and introduce myself to the others when their duties allow.”

She adjusted the PADD in her hand, considering what she could usefully do before receiving her first assignment. There would be limits to what he could share immediately, but she could still begin learning how the team documented and developed its cases. “Is there an open case you’d like me to review first, Commander? Even if I’m starting with background material, I’d like to get familiar with the work and your reporting requirements.”

Roebuck returned to this chair, but stood behind it instead of sitting. He eyed the woman for a moment, 'takes initiative' he thought. "Thankfully no. However that doesn't mean our work is done. There's a back log of data analysis that needs to be reviewed. Nothing showed any credible threat on the initial scrub, but I like for someone to look the information, computer forensics, tips, surveillance scans. comm intercepts, every data point over to see if there something the computers missed. Typically, Lieutenants Cross and Kanan in Intel handle a lot of that, but Kanan is on special assignment at the moment so Cross is behind. Any patterns, any thing that just doesn't 'feel' right, we send some one in to track leads and gather intel on the ground. The job can be tedious and mundane, but it's never boring." Roebuck smirked.

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