Science Officer Orientation
Posted on 18 Jun 2018 @ 7:20pm by Captain Maia Sterling
Edited on on 01 Jul 2018 @ 2:20pm
600 words; about a 3 minute read
Mission:
S02 Episode 4: The Avian Flew the Cukoo's Nest (Incidental Posts)
Location: Various
Timeline: During S02 Ep05 Inflight
[ON]
- Briefing Room 2 -
Commander Sterling looked at the roster there were two new science officers, one she knew Ensign K'Muss who was a veteran of the USS Tomcat and a former security officer. The Other was a recent Starfleet Academy graduate apparently a specialist in Planetary Sciences with the background in Xeno Archeology. Seemed a perfect match for the upcoming mission. Maia set up the briefing room for the orientation and waited for her students to arrive.
Ensign Thompson was told to report here for his Science Officer Orientation briefing. He reported slightly ahead of schedule trying to make a good impression. He has already met Commander Sterling when he reported aboard in her capacity as the first officer and he gave her his reporting jacket. He took a seat and waited for the briefing to start.
K'Muss' heart was beating a mile a minute. Of course, he knew the XO from his previous service aboard the ship, but they really hadn't interacted much. And now she was his department head. He composed himself, entering right behind another Ensign whom he didn't know.
Commander Sterling started her speech when the new science officers were seated.
Welcome to the Starship USS Tomcat as well as to the great adventure as Science Officers. You have joined a family that has been both tried and tested and has come out on the other side successful.
Science officers serve in the science department on starships or starbases in Starfleet and are usually part of the sciences division. The head of the department is sometimes known as the chief science officer and may operate the science station on the bridge or operations centre. As the name implies, science officers are responsible for observations, research, and experiments in any of the sciences, including mathematics, statistics, physics (physical and temporal), chemistry, botany, zoology, geology, cosmology, and others. Some science officers specialize in a particular discipline, but the chief science officer is expected to be familiar with most of the sciences and rely on his or her staff for particular expertise. The department has some overlap with the medical department in terms of microbiology, xenobiology, and life sciences.
On this ship, I am the Chief Science Officer.
I encourage you at this stage in your career to specialize.
Science officers are responsible for observing and theorizing explanations for strange or seemingly unexplainable circumstances.
A general survey party requires the direction of the science officer. In a medical emergency, the findings of the science officer were heavily relied upon.
A science officer is required to keep sufficient data. They are also required to supply the commanding officer with all reports, observations, and speculations that might have affected the safety of their vessel. It is a science officer's job to always have a better idea or to find one.
How do we find the answers? We use the scientific method.
What are the steps of the scientific method?
1. Define the Problem: The question that you are trying to answer
2. Form a Hypothesis: An educated guess to the problem identified
3. Research and Collect Data: Observations and Facts
4. Experiment
5. Conclusion: Restate the hypothesis and the results discovered in the experiment and what you learned. It should include data tables and charts or graphs as well as include how the results relate to the real world.
Questions? Maia asked.
Neither of her new science officers had any questions.
Very well you're dismissed. Commander Sterling said.
[OFF]
Commander Maia Sterling
First Officer/Chief Science Officer
USS Tomcat
Ensign K'Muss
Science Officer
USS Tomcat
Ensign Matthew Thompson [PNPC: Sterling]
Science Officer
USS Tomcat
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