Harriet Auburn, Chief Steward
“The Chief Steward supervises and coordinates activities of the pantry, storerooms, and non-cooking kitchen workers. The Chief Steward also supervises the Hospitality team and Maintenance Department, while being responsible for the cleanliness, order, and inventory of the kitchens, workrooms, storerooms, and equipment.”
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The Chief Steward is an interesting position, because it covers a deceptively large portfolio of responsibilities across the ship. The Chief Steward works closely with both the Food Production and Food Preparation departments, which is the most public part of her role. But she’s also responsible for working with the Logistics Department for the storage of both the food and the farming and cooking equipment used in the whole process of feeding the entire population aboard the Arvad. Additionally, all public spaces and the Hospitality team fall under her mandate, so the Arts and Entertainment Department works closely with her any time that anything is performed anywhere in the ship.
But then, the Chief Steward is also the Department Head for the entire Maintenance Department, so any Internal Maintenance that does not explicitly fall under Engineering or Technology is performed by her department. Additionally, all External Maintenance is entirely part of the Stewards purview. All in all, the Chief Steward is tightly integrated with fully half of all the departments aboard, leading to the wry observation that while the High Commander is like the Queen of the ship, the Chief Steward would be the Steward of the Throne if that throne ever sat empty.
The last person behind this vitality important, but only moderately prestigious, position is well-suited for it. Harriet is extremely good at her job and she knows it, but she also doesn’t really care if other people make a fuss about it. She’s always polite, but also unshakable and will never back down when she knows she is in the right. She won’t hesitate to call out anyone that treats any of her Hospitality or Maintainance people poorly, tactfully but firmly pointing out that they are essential skilled workers and not servants or slaves.
Written by: Matthew A DeBarth
