A New Arrival

Posted on Tue Jan 24th, 2023 @ 8:50pm by Captain Charlotte Rhodes & Lieutenant Callie Knight
Edited on on Tue Feb 21st, 2023 @ 7:16pm

1,372 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: New Sheriff in Town
Location: Arcadia Station & USS Defiant
Timeline: MD 1: 1000 Hours

Stepping off the shuttle onto the deck of Arcadia Station, Callie took a few moments to acclimatise herself to her new surroundings. She’d served on a Starbase before so it wasn’t like she wasn’t used to the number of minds surrounding her, it was just everywhere was different in how it ‘felt’ to her.

She took a deep breath before heading for her new ship, checking her orders one more time she could hardly believe she was going to be Chief Counsellor of a Starship. She hadn’t served aboard a Constitution class before so it was going to be a learning curve.

~ USS Defiant, A few minutes later ~

Arriving onboard her new home, Callie made her first stop her assigned quarters. She needed to drop off her hand luggage and freshen up before meeting her new Commanding Officer. It didn’t take long before she was dressed in a fresh uniform, taking a deep breath she headed to find the Captain.

The turbolift doors opened a few decks short of the bridge and a young woman with blonde hair hopped on. Her attire stood out a bit from most of the uniformed officers on deck, donning a maroon hooded Stafleet Academy sweatshirt and denim jeans. "Ah, sorry, for the interruption. Headed up?"

Callie smiled and nodded. “All the way, I’m just on my way to meet the Captain and report in. You?”

“Headed the same way, more or less,” the more casual woman replied. She seemed to stifle a smile. She peeked at the rank stripes on the other woman’s blue uniform. “Lieutenant, huh? You wouldn’t happen to be the new counselor would you? Heard she was coming aboard today.”

Callie hazed at the other woman curiously, she could sense there was something she was holding back. “That’s me, I’m Callie Vali, and you are?”

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Charley," the other woman said extending a hand. "I do a bit of everything I guess you could say." She shot the woman an amused smile.

“Charley is it?” Callie grinned as she nodded. “It’s a good ruse, but it’s nice to meet you Captain! If I wasn’t Betazoid the ruse might have worked a little longer.”

Charlotte's brow furrowed in a mock grimace. "Damn. Was worth a try. Pulled the same thing on a former officer or two back on the Maui. Some causal welcome aboard hazing. I've always enjoyed a good misdirect. It works a little better when they're not a telepath though. Also helps when you see the 'what's your name' question coming." She extended a hand. "More officially though...I, as you surmised, am Captain Charlotte Rhodes. It's a pleasure to welcome you aboard, Lieutenant. Was your trip out to Arcadia alright?"

Callie smiled as she accepted the handshake. “It was fine thank you. For the record I didn’t read your mind, it’s considered a big taboo for a telepath to read another’s mind without permission. I am an empath though, which comes in handy at times. To put it into context I can sense people’s emotions.”

“That’s a helpful and informative distinction. I tried to read up on Betazed before your arrival, but as I’m sure you can imagine, we don’t exactly have a ton of info on your people,” the Captain said. “It seems like it’d be a very advantageous ability for your line of work though.”

“Indeed” Callie nodded. “Being able to sense emotions gives me a distinct advantage compared to a non-Betazoid Counsellor. It’s not an easy task being a Counsellor, but if I can help others back to a state of happiness then that is reward enough for me.” She smiled warmly at Charlotte. “Plus I’m also able to be an advisor, and sounding board for you. When I’m able I’ll be on the bridge, that is if you don’t mind my being there?”

"I always welcome other perspectives. Make yourself at home. My only request is that you don't question my orders once I've set a course of action, unless I'm going to needlessly endanger the crew. There are times my orders might seem odd. I just ask my team to trust I have a reason," Charlotte said warmly. She paused for a moment, reaching over to grab the handle and halt the turbolift. A second pause indicated she was second guessing herself for just the briefest moment before turning to the Counselor again. The words seemed to take an almost tangible strain to come out. "Also...do you think it'd be reasonable for me to make use of your Counseling services on occasion as well. I know as your superior that could pose a dilemma so I figured I'd ask. If not, I can make do another way."

“That’s fine Captain, that’s what I’m here for.” Callie offered a warm understanding smile. “What is said between us, will of course stay between us. My door will always be open, and if it’s awkward to be seen at my office then I can come to you. As for being on the bridge, I won’t question your orders unless I feel it’s warranted, in which case I’ll speak with you in private.”

“Perfect”, Charlotte said, releasing the button and visibly relaxing a bit. She often put on a very strong face and letting the mask slip to ask for something like counseling, however needed, was not something she often felt comfortable doing.

A moment later, they emerged onto the Circulation Lobby. The large multi deck circular chamber gave the impression of a larger open space than the ship generally allowed. Hidden force field generators meant that in an emergency, the room would be safer than it looked as long as the ship had power. But it’s impact on morale on longer voyages was certainly measurable, hence why the somewhat bizarre choice had continued in the Constitution line.

Charlotte felt this place made as much sense as any to discuss crew morale with her new Counselor. “Detouring us if you don’t mind. This room, as odd as it seems, often serves as a bit of a barometer for the ships morale. People congregate here between shifts, voices carry up and down several decks. It’s not functionally the heart of anything, but you’ll find that emotionally it’s surprisingly indicative. I leave it entirely up to you, but we have a set of rooms open which might serve as a good set of offices for you. The entrance is in a side corridor to provide a bit more privacy, but close enough you can gauge the overall mood.”

Callie nodded. “Actually that’s a very good idea, having a set of offices would be wonderful. I don’t know if we’ll get much in the way of families onboard, but I could set up one of the offices as a child’s area if we do.” She smiled warmly. “Thank you for the offer Captain.”

"The pleasure is mine. My last ship only intermittently had a counselor assigned. I'd prefer to keep this one staffed," Charlotte said with a smile. "So...I can rattle off all sorts of details about Defiant, but I'd rather just open it up to you. Anything you would like to know? About the ship or my command for that matter."

This was the question Callie always hated, she never ever thought to think up questions beforehand. “The ship ... about a thousand Captain, but those are things I can learn simply by exploring. As for your command, I think you’ve answered any questions I might have had.”

"If that changes, my door is always open," Charlotte said. "In the meantime though, I'll let you get situated in your quarters. There are still plenty of Officer's quarters open, so you can choose if you want Starboard or Port. Some people have strong feelings on the way the stars move."

Callie smiled and nodded.“Thank you Captain, that doesn’t bother me but I appreciate being given the option. I’ll see you later.”

{OFF}

 

RSS Feed