Lend A Helping Hand

Posted on Thu Feb 9th, 2023 @ 9:02am by Captain Charlotte Rhodes & Lieutenant Callie Knight

712 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: New Sheriff in Town
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 5, Very Closely Following 'An Outlier'

After the rest of the crew left and she’d spoken with Ryan, Charlotte called after her counselor on the comm. She wanted to have a word with the woman, but she needed the other two to leave. The conversation was going to be about both of them after all. The device chirped to life when the connection was established. "Lieutenant Vali, can you come back for a moment?”

“On my way Captain” Callie headed back to the Ready Room, Any proper comfort she could offer Ryan regarding his sister would have to wait until shift anyway. Pressing the chime she waited for a call to enter before stepping back inside. “Is everything alright Captain?”

"Yes. There's no immediate issue. I just wanted to check in briefly before all of this goes down," Charlotte said, leaning against her desk. "I know you're already prepping for some serious Counseling needs when we arrive at Vela IV. But half the meeting we just left may be in need of your help to. As you heard, Lt. Knight's sister was among the crew on the ground."

Callie nodded. “I know Captain. I plan to speak with Ryan... err Commander Knight.” She silently cursed herself for the slip.

The casual name drop didn't really phase Rhodes. She was used to encouraging a strong sense of community among her crew. Friendships among officers were extremely natural. Fighting it only caused resentment. Fostering it often strengthened morale and boosted productivity. Happy, comfortable officers were often better officers. "Good. He's holding up well, but...I myself am a poster child for keeping it bottled up so deep no one can see it."

Smiling Callie took a seat as she looked at Charlotte. “I hope you don’t mind crew members being in relationships Captain?”

She had Rhodes' attention now. A brief eyebrow raise was followed by a smirk. "I thought I'd noticed you two hanging around each other a bit. Didn't take too long." She met the other woman's gaze. "To alleviate your concerns though, I do not mind. You'll find no opposition from me. My only requests are that you maintain objectivity on the job. And...just..."

Charlotte paused for a moment. It'd been how long now and she still hadn't figured out how to talk about her. The one who'd made her question everything. Nearly made her question the trust she put in her officers, her friends. "Just make sure you're watching out for yourself. Sometimes...sometimes you're wrong about people."

Callie nodded. “I promise Captain, that’s where being an empath comes in handy. I trust Ryan with my life.” She smiled warmly. “I get the feeling there’s something you need to talk about?”

"Oh, I'm sure I have plenty to work through, but that's for another time," Charlotte said, appreciating the kindness. "For now, I want to also flag that Lt. Commander Wolff might be in need of your services too if my suspicions about this mission are correct. She's been through some extremely traumatic previous dealings with the Orion Syndicate. Her official record is grueling and even that leaves much off the table. If this really was a Syndicate hit, she's going to need some help. Whether she accepts the help, might be a different question."

Callie nodded. “I’ll have a read through her file, and speak to her. Let her know that I’ll be there if she feels the need to talk. I don’t like to force people into accepting help, it just makes things a whole lot harder.”

"That's all I ask," Charlotte said with a nod. On that note, I think I should let you get back to preparations. We'll be arriving before we know it."

Callie nodded. “It can’t come too soon especially for Ryan, I doubt he’d let his worries interfere with his objectivity, but just knowing his sister could be in danger is bad enough.”

"Agreed. I'm hoping for the best. Thankfully this girl is fast as hell," Charlotte said, patting the desk affectionately. "Anyway, I'll stop distracting you. Go get prepped. I'll see you on the bridge shortly."

“Yes ma’am” Callie smiled warmly as she rose from her seat. “I’ll see you on the bridge in a little while.”

 

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