Walking through the main level hallway of the LNS Charger, Archer couldn't help but compare it with the essentially cramped hallway of the Tame where one was able to see the entrance to the bridge from the ship's docking port. On the other hand, the Charger was essentially a floating building with multiple levels, and more than a dozen hallways crisscrossed throughout its 3 main levels and numerous sub-levels.
The LNS Charger serves as the command ship of the 14th combat wind and as such came with more than just bunk rooms for the crew. It also had a decent hospital accessible to all the ship crews of the combat wing as well as a entertainment and relaxation facilities.
Archer who was getting a version of a tour from the soldier who was guiding him was enthralled at how practical Wing command ships are. Not only do they have enough firepower to provide adequate impact in any engagement, but they also come with facilities and crew adequate to keep an entire combat wing at space for an extended period without needing to resupply from a port or through delivery.
Naturally, no ship or group of ships can be fully self-sufficient without the need to make a call to port occasionally. Fortunately, most of the fleets have multiple logistics wings tasked with delivering essential resources to the individual combat wing.
While Archer was contemplating the intricacies of fleet logistics and unit makeup, his escort stopped in front of a door towards the front of the door with tagged with 'Chief of Staff' on the door.
After politely bidding farewell to his escort, Archer composed himself and pressed the doorbell. The door immediately opened with a woosh as a slightly chipper voice came from the room:
"Please come in. You must be Lieutenant Chase. I've been looking forward to meeting you."
Archer immediately stepped into the room while feeling somewhat on edge. The office was surprisingly sterile for a chief of staff's work area as it didn't have anything more than a desk and two seat in front of him.
Archer looked around at the bare office and spoke with an unsure tone as he continued walking to the desk that the officer was sitting at:
"Thank you, sir. It's a pleasure to be here."
Archer scrutinized the man sitting in front of him with 3 blue stars on his chest. He looked like a relatively kind looking man in his early to mid-thirties with barely combed hair and a pair of spectacles on his face that coupled with his slightly unkempt five o'clock shadow made his seemed a bit unkempt. In contrast, Archer's neatly combed hair and clean-shaven face provided an odd juxtaposition between the two of them as if providing a narrative on the difference in rank and experience between the two of them.
"Please have a seat. I hope you had a pleasant trip from…. was it Faylon. I hope you are not too tired, that is quiet a distance to travel. I am Commander Jason Strine, executive officer of the Charger and chief of staff of the 14th combat Wing of the 7th Fleet."
"Thank you, commander. It was a long trip, but I finally made it here and am eager to start."
"ha-ha, good to hear. I also hope you got to know Lt. Commander Naimes. She is an excellent ship captain and one of our best tactical officers. I hope you will learn from her anytime you get the chance."
"yes sir. It was really good to know Lt. Commander Naimes. I learned a lot in the short time we were together and hope to do more of the same."
Strine slightly adjusted his glasses while looking at Archer and proceeded to speak while reaching over a little box to Archer:
"Excellent. On to business, I don't have a lot time so I'll just get to it. Here's your encrypted communicator command chip. This has all the access information and clearances you need. I guess you probably know already, but you have been assigned as the commanding officer of the LNS Lietinna, one of our type 2 escort class ships."
Archer reach over and took the box from Commander Strine and immediately opened it. Laying inside was a small chip with Archer's name on it. He directly took the chip out of the box and inserted it into his issued communicator on his left wrist.
Strine sat back down on his desk as he saw Archer installing the command chip as he continued speaking:
"Your ship has a crew complement of 10. It is currently fully staffed except for a crew chief, which you will have to pick on your own. I can make some recommendations, but feel free to pick whoever you like within the list of qualified candidates. The information should have been sent to your communicator."
"Yes sir. Thank you, I'll go do that as soon as possible."
"Alright, great. Please look at our combat wing operations and objectives plan when you get the chance. It lists all the open tasks, missions and other wing related information. It's a great way to keep track of our wing's day to day operations. Please note that this is top secret and cannot be shared with anyone who doesn't have clearance. That should be it, any questions for me?"
Strine spoke quickly while pressing a few things on his console and monitor. The constant vibration of his communicator was a bit of a distraction, but Archer didn't mind too much as he immediately spoke in response:
"Thank you, sir. I understand. I only have a single question What is our fleet's long-term objective?"
Strine who was constantly engrossed on his monitor and communicator paused for a second as if he wasn't expecting that question. He immediately resumed his movement and spoke with a somewhat vague voice:
"That's above my paygrade am afraid Lieutenant. A combat wing is a tactical scale unit, so we are not privy to fleet wide objectives and goals, all we know if what we get from our strike group command who gets their marching orders from fleet command, who get theirs from the Admiralty. It is a long way up a chain for us to worry about it or even care."
Archer was slightly taken back by the answer but feigned embarrassment as he spoke:
"Ha-ha that makes sense. I guess I got over excited. Thank you, sir. I'll head on out now. It was good meeting you."
Archer immediately saluted and started walking out of the office. He didn't miss the hesitation in Commander Strine when he asked his question all but confirming his and Lt. Commander Naimes' conjecture.
As he was walking out of the room, Commander Strine voice echoed out once again from within the room:
"And lieutenant, please conduct your introductions and ship shaking exercises within the next two days. We need you operational as soon as possible as we've been a ship short for weeks now."
Archer's steps paused as a frown snuck on to his face, but he composed himself and turned around and acknowledged the command before continuing his exit. It seems that something is already brewing, and it was much sooner than he anticipated.