Counsellor and Commander

Posted on 16 Jan 2013 @ 2:56pm by Lieutenant Dawn Meridian & Captain Jonathan Holliday

1,302 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo - XO's Office, Deck 2
Timeline: MD 13, 1200

[ON]

Her quarters were... good enough, she decided in the turbolift. There was enough room for her things, including her guitar, Gwen, and really, that was all she could ask for. Quarters were for sleeping, among other things... and she didn't really see herself spending much time there. Quarters were a place of isolation, of separation from other people in cold silence. She shivered, not really wanting to think about it.

Thankfully, the turbolift's sudden stop gave her an excuse to stop thinking about quiet isolation and darkness, and that was definitely for the best. Giving a little shaken sigh, she straightened her uniform and strode out of the lift. Her mind, thrown off its previous train of thought, began to wonder about the First Officer - what was his name? Holmes? Holland? Hollins? Hollins sounded close...

Unconsciously, she'd already pressed the chime. Well, on the bright side, I don't have to call him by name, she thought with a slight smile. She wondered if she was supposed to feel nervous instead of curious.

Sighing to himself, John knew that the only reason someone would be knocking on his door right now would be to introduce themselves as a new officer aboard the Galileo. In the space of a few hours he had already met the latest two arrivals, and had become more than a little bored about repeating the same half a dozen questions to a different face. Allowing his PADD to fall from his hand and clatter onto the desk, he depressed the door release, watching them slide open in front of him to unveil a female he did not recognise.

"Come in."

As she stepped into the room, Dawn tilted her head slightly, grey eyes studying the First Officer intently. He seemed bored, she decided, and she wasn't sure she understood why. Learning about people was one of the best parts about serving on a starship. Maybe he was just tired of being chained in his office. "I could do a jig," she offered. She hadn't the faintest idea of what a jig was, really. She blinked. There was definitely something she was supposed to... oh. "Counsellor Dawn Meridian, reporting in," she said completely seriously.

First impressions of their new counsellor made Holliday think back to the first time he had ever met their Chief Medical Officer, and how she had equally been fond of these so called...jigs. Holliday on the other hand cared little for such activity, and generally avoided any situation where such events might occur. Sitting back in his chair, the XO folded his hands on the desk in front of him.

"Lieutenant Meridian welcome aboard. I'm Commander Holliday. Please, take a seat."

No jig, then. That was probably for the best. And his name was Holliday, not Hollins. For such a relaxing name, he didn't seem very... relaxed. Still, Dawn took a seat in front of the commander's desk and crossed her legs, her eyes not once leaving him. There was a scar on his cheek, she noted. Did that mean he liked to fight, or had he just been in the wrong place at the wrong time? "Thank you, Commander," she said. That surprised her. Normally, she didn't like calling people by their rank, but, somehow, 'Commander' seemed to fit the man.

"You're welcome. Before we start can I ask, do you prefer Lieutenant or Counsellor? I know some of our medical staff enjoy using their titles rather than their ranks when outside of official confines."

John was grateful that this latest member of their crew had followed the correct protocol and addressed him by rank, some in the past had used decisively less formal wordings, something that had always irritated the XO.

"I prefer counsellor," she said. "I prefer that people focus on what I do rather than where I sit on the chain of command." She could have been talking about the weather as far as her tone was concerned. There was no accusation or bitterness in her voice. "It makes it easier to... connect with people." Honestly, she was happy that he'd even asked; a few higher-ranking officers she'd met had insisted on lording their rank over others just to pad their own egos.

"I'll stick to Counsellor in that case." the XO replied with a smile, taking a moment to subconsciously type a short note into his desk to update the personnel file to account for her preference in naming convention.

"I trust your transfer went smoothly? We've had a lot of new faces coming on board these last few days."

"More than I expected," she replied, giving a thoughtful nod. She'd been on Earth since the Washington's last mission had ended, so she had hadn't been very far from the Vega system to begin with. "The ride was boring, but I'm here in one piece. I guess I can't complain."

"Hopefully you won't have long to get used to being on the surface of Vega. Galileo has no intention of being here any longer than we absolutely need to."

There was very little time left before the small Nova class would be making it's way into space and leaving the surface of Vega hopefully for the last time, something of course that John was already more than looking forward to.

"I know that our Chief Medical Officer will be glad to know her staffing levels are increasing."

Dawn nodded. "The ship looks to be in pretty good shape now. It wouldn't surprise me if it was good to go anytime." She paused, smiling slightly. "Not that I'm an engineer." She vaguely remembered the few teams she'd seen scuttling over the ship's surface; it had looked like any repair work the ship might have needed had been finished. "Still, I wouldn't mind. Vega Colony's a nice place."

"I'm more of a space dwelling man myself. Never felt quite as comfortable on the surface of planet as I do travelling at warp."

The ship was certainly looking far better than she had done when they first arrived on Vega, somewhat haphazardly and much less than gently. The final engineering teams were slowly making their way off the ship, and in a matter of hours, Galileo would be due back in the stars.

"But to each their own. I presume you've been assigned quarters, commbadge, additional uniforms etc?"

"I have," she said. "I got that out of the way as soon as I could." She remembered combing the ship for Operations due to her stubborn insistence not to consult a deck plan. It had taken much longer than it should have, but she'd learned a lot about the ship in the meantime. Looking over a deck plan never told her as much as walking through the ship herself. "It went really smoothly, actually."

"A lot easier than when I first came aboard - in fact where you are right now was originally just an EPS conduit with no flooring panels over. No such problem now thankfully."

The XO chuckled for a moment, before awkwardly remembering that he was of course still on duty, and in front of a new and impressionable member of the Galileo's crew who had only known him for a short period of time. Clearing his throat, John returned to his authoritarian face as he sat back in his chair.

"Well Lieutenant, I don't want to keep you from getting settled in. If there's nothing else you require then please don't let me keep you?"

"It's been a pleasure, Commander," she said with a genuine grin. It was good to see that the stern-looking man wasn't entirely that. "She's a wonderful ship."

[OFF]

Cmdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Dawn Meridian
Counsellor
USS Galileo

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