Home Truths

Posted on 30 Mar 2016 @ 10:55am by Petty Officer 1st Class Rebecca Williams & Captain Jonathan Holliday

1,928 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo: Executive Officer's Office
Timeline: MD95 0700hours

[ON]

Sitting back into her chair, Rebecca crossed one leg over the other before gently tugging down on the hem of her skirt in order to maintain some modesty. She had called this meeting rather that the other way around for once as a rumour was doing the rounds below deck and she wanted to hear the truth from the boss himself. If the rumour was true, her position could be at risk. "So...I have heard some rumours that we have a new Captain in the ranks...So that now makes you back as our executive officer?"

Holliday was a little taken aback by the comment from his Yeoman. He didn't realise that his reassignment had become such public knowledge amongst the crewmembers of the Galileo.

"You would be correct Petty Officer....I have indeed been reassigned to my former posting as First Officer. Admiral Saalm will be returning as our Commanding Officer with immediate effect."

Sitting back into her chair, the only outward sign of the woman's concern was the furrowing of the skin across her forehead. This wasn't good...this would only go one of three ways and she figured she wasn't qualified enough to be an Admiral attache just yet. "Immediate effect...permission to speak frankly Sir?"

"Of course Petty Officer Williams. Speak your mind." Holliday replied, already knowing what was likely to be coming out of her mouth in a few moments time. It was obvious that the CO's Yeoman would be likely facing a change of situation if the CO she served was no longer her CO.

"I like it here...I like this crew, I like being your yeoman and I would like to explore if there is a situation in which I can be retained on the ship. I have experience in communications, you are aware that my experience with languages is extensive that I could perhaps take on a position which would need that experience." Rebecca wasn't begging, she wouldn't allow herself to resort to that level given that she knew at the end of the day that Starfleet did whatever they wanted, no matter the outcome to those it effected. She just wanted to at least be able to tell Wilhelm she had tried when she had to break the news.

"Calm down Miss Williams." Holliday replied in his usual tone.

"As First Officer I will still be retaining some of the furnishings that came with my former position as Commanding Officer - having a Yeoman is one such perk. Just because I am not a Captain in position does not mean that I am no longer a Captain in rank. Your duties aboard ship will be unlikely to change."

Holliday had made sure that he would not be reduced to the almost unending workload that he had endured in his last tenure as XO. Certainly he had grown accustomed to having a spare pair of hands, and with the increase in workload likely to come his way with a reduction in position, that spare pair of hands would need to be as good at juggling as possible.

Rebecca blinked as she first tried to process what Holiday had just said and secondly tried to figure out if he'd insulted her by calling her a piece of furnishings. This was what she needed to hear...she'd be staying on the ship but also remain working alongside Holiday with whom she had build a relationship with. "Ok...that's...good to hear at least. Will you still be expecting my presence in senior briefings or will my physical presence be required less now unless it's guest dignitaries or formal occasions?"

"We will...play it by ear." Jonathan replied. In all honesty he hadn't quite figured it out himself by this point in time, there was still a lot of adjustment to be made to his previous role and as a side effect, a lot of adjustment to his environment to make as well.

"But suffice to say your posting aboard Galileo is not at risk. I am sure that Lieutenant von Haeften will be glad to hear that particular fact, which I am also sure is probably part of the reason for this line of questioning anyway Petty Officer?"

Rebecca couldn't stop it, she blushed. Clearing her throat as she shifted in her seat, the woman managed to shrug her shoulders just a little. "That's partly it but it's also down to me. I've worked hard to gain the reputation that I've built as a yeoman, I know that the job is easily come by but I like this crew...I also like the working relationship myself and you have built together...it's...different to what I'm normally used to."

The Captain was not sure what exactly she meant by different - it would either be a compliment of some sort, or a thinly-veiled attempt at insulting him. Regardless of the meaning behind it, John was not planning to pay much attention to the remark.

"An effective working arrangement is indeed valuable at any posting. You have certainly been a most efficient Yeoman during your time aboard ship - it would be foolish of me to have you reassigned unnecessarily."

Rebecca found herself pausing for a moment as she tried to understand if Holiday had actually just given her a compliment. "Ok...right....have arrangements been made regarding the Admiral's pregnancy and the implications it may have on her role both before and after birth?"

"The Admiral's business is her own." Holliday replied, raising an eyebrow at the very idea that he would attempt to make a flag officer do anything that she didn't want to. At the end of the day she was still his superior, however loud he might have been able to shout.

"Should she choose to take some personal time then I expect I will be ordered to take command once again on a temporary basis. As soon as I receive my orders, you will receive yours, nice and clean."

Rebecca parted her lips before taking a moment to persuade herself t move on, "Sir that's all well and good but unless the Admiral is considering making the bridge into her birthing room so as she can still command the ship...an emergency plan needs to be in place in the event that she should go into labor."

"That sounds like a job for Medical. In the event of an emergency, as First Officer I am authorised to immediately take command if the Commanding Officer is rendered somehow incapable - I imagine childbirth counts as such an event."

Holliday replied, not really wanting to focus on the biological side of the conversation. He had trouble enough dealing with the armada of children appearing on his ship without having to think about how they got there.

Rebecca found herself hesitating once again, on one hand it was humerous to watch how Holiday seemed to almost squirm at the mention of children and child brith but on the other...she genuinely was worried he was under estimating essentially what the situation would mean.

Waiting a moment more, Rebecca finally took her PADD before placing it facing Holiday. "Petty Officer First Class Van Zyl. A request was placed approximately five weeks ago by Lieutenant Junior Grade Von Haeften. Any chance you could take a look when you have a second as it keeps being placed at the bottom of the pile and the Lieutenant is getting a little anxious that this be dealt with before we leave dock."

"Inform the lieutenant it will be dealt with in good time." Holliday acknowledged as he took the PADD from her and placed it to rest beside him.

"There's one thing I'd like to do first if I may Petty Officer...although protocol does insist that I ask you to stand at attention." He said before rising to his feet himself.

Rebecca hesitated before moving to her own feet. Holiday didn't typically stand on such formalities when they were on their own and if she was honest...a part of her felt scared as her mind ran at a hundred miles an hour to try and figure what it was that her boss was about to do.

"This seems to be my last act in this area as CO of the Galileo so I wanted to do this properly. Petty Officer 2nd Class Rebecca Williams - for outstanding commitment to duty and dedication during my time as Commanding Officer of this vessel I hereby promote you to Petty Officer 1st Class effective immediately."

Reaching into the pocket of his uniform pants the Captain presented her new rank pin in the small wooden box that was Starfleet's traditional method.

"Congratulations."

For the first time in her life, Rebecca found herself tongue tied. Staring at the box she was offered, it still took her a moment more before she was able to take the offered box her hand almost shaking. "Sir...I..."

"Take a moment Petty Officer. I appreciate that this perhaps wasn't what you were expecting when you arrived for duty today - as I mentioned before, there were certain things I wanted to get done whilst I still held the mantle of CO."

Holliday replied with the slightest of smiles. Considering a year ago the idea of having a Yeoman was virtually offensive to him, to reach the point where having an adjutant was almost seen as necessary for him now was most surprising, not least to the Martian himself.

Still staring at the box in her hand, Rebecca rubbed her thumb across the smoothed wood finish. Still no words came, the woman finding that they seemed to be clogged in her throat and so difficult to get out. If she looked further, she'd have felt the damp threatening to pool in her orbital sockets. "I..."

Pausing for a moment, Rebecca finally managed a low sound in her throat as she attempted to clear the vocal passage. "Thank you Sir. You're right...this wasn't how I was expecting my day to start but genuinely...this is an honour and thank you."

"Don't thank me Petty Officer. You earned your promotion, the same as any other I have issued during my time as a command officer. Just keep up the good work....now...if memory serves a certain Lieutenant probably wants to share in the good news. I think I can bring myself to work alone for an hour on this occasion if you would like to leave the office?"

Holliday replied with a wry smile, knowing the relationship that seemed to be developing quite rapidly between his yeoman and one of his officers. He knew he would be able to trust Rebecca to keep this decision to herself - after all, Jonathan didn't need just anyone knowing that he gave people time off duty for relationship matters.

Rebecca couldn't prevent the small smile that spread across her lips at the mention of Wilhelm. It's only been mere days ago where they'd spoke of eachother's dreams and ambitions; delved into how important career was to the woman. Would he be proud of her for this achievement?

Tightening her hand around the small box, the yeoman came back to a sharp attention before briskly nodding her head. "Thank you Sir, I promise that I won't let you down...Ill prove that your faith in me is well placed."

[OFF]

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Petty Officer 1st Class Rebecca Williams
Yeoman to Captain Holiday
USS Galileo

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