Oops

Posted on Mon Apr 8th, 2024 @ 7:22pm by Captain Rylan Gray & Lieutenant Ayren Kelan
Edited on on Mon Apr 8th, 2024 @ 7:24pm

1,520 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Opening Moves
Location: Ready Room | Deck 1 | USS Thunderbird
Timeline: MD021 - 0830

Her quarters were considerably larger than the guest quarters she lived in for the last few weeks. Ayren's belongings had already been transported there and stood neatly packed to the side. She had been looking forward to unpacking and started with the first container, her clothes.

The reminder tone startled Ayren. She had been so engrossed in unpacking that she hadn't been cognizant of the time. "Oh shit. shit, shit, shit," she said as she quickly put her code into the replicator for her uniform. While that was being replicated, she undressed, fixed her hair, checked her appearance, brushed her teeth, seemingly all at the same time. "Next time, remind me fifteen minutes before the time, not five", she instructed the computer, whilst getting the uniform on as it was completed.

"Your instruction was five minutes," replied the artificial voice.

"It was not, I am not stupid," Ayren grumbled as she put on her jacket and gave herself a last check. Her hair was not very obedient, and with another unsavory word she tied it at the back of her neck with a band.

"You clearly said..."

"I am NOT going to get into an argument with you!" Ayren said to the computer as she exited the door. In her hurry, she didn't look where she was going and walked head first into someone. "Sh.... sorry," she apologized. "I am a bit in a hurry," she explained as she started to look upwards. The red was a first warning, and the four pips confirmed the identity of the 'bumpee'. "Oh great," she mumbled. "Captain..." she grimaced. "I was on my way to report to you..." she said checking her time. "I had a minute still...don't let me be in trouble... and you know all this," she added lamely to the other half-Betazoid.

"Not at all," Rylan said, in a polished accent that betrayed his early years, as he gestured for her to join him. He smiled politely as he continued. "I was just on the way up to my Ready Room. We can walk there together and we'll both be on time."

Ayren relaxed and regained her composure. "Well, than neither of us would be in trouble," she said with a mock-serious face. "I have never set foot on an Akira class ship. She packs a lot of punch for this size vessel or do I have it wrong?" she asked as they approached the turbo lift.

"She does," Rylan said as he waited for her to enter the turbolift first and then followed her in. "Deck 1." As the turbolift rose, he continued. "And its no surprise since the Thunderbird is one of the first five in her class. The Akira launched last week, the Thunderchild is next and then us, about a week from now." The turbolift doors opened onto the bridge. With the ship still in its frame, and the engineering team doing its final checks, the bridge was quiet and no one looked up when they stepped out. "This way," Rylan said as he led her to his Ready Room. As they went, they passed a small reception area outfitted with a desk. "For my yeoman," he said as he gestured toward the desk. Once inside, he circled around the desk and waited for her to be seated before finding his own and waited.

"I hope your yeoman is not going to be a battle axe like the one on my previous assignment," Ayren said with a fond smile as she took her seat. She remembered how he made her drink Tequila, and of course she had no idea what it did to the uninitiated. Ayren sat down in the proffered seat and folded her hands on her seat. "You stole my line, Captain, I was going to wait for you to speak," she chuckled with a wide grin. "I know officially we only report in later, but I can now already, and see if there is anything you would like me to start with. That being said, do you have any questions for me, Captain?"

"Officially, you report when you come aboard," Rylan said as he took his seat. "So that would be now. Why don't you tell me a bit about how you see your role?"

"Obviously I keep my fingers on the pulse of the mental health of the whole crew. But those in command and other senior officers, who make decisions which can effect those under their authority, have a high priority for me," Ayren replied, "that includes you, Captain," she said without being confrontational, but rather matter-of-factly. "My general approach is based on mental health and coaching, so I focus on what works for a person, and their strengths, rather than 'abnormality'. So, I don't call people that see me "patients". That implies disease or a medical condition. A person that struggles with something is not weak, there is not something "wrong" with them, they sometimes just need a different perspective, or a reminder of what they can do, rather than what they can't," she said and took a breath. "I am sorry about me rambling on, but I feel passionate about this" she said with an apologetic smile.

From his time on Betazed, Rylan knew that he possessed a formidable set of shields, not easily breached, and his time in Starfleet had done nothing to lessen their effectiveness. If anything, they were stronger now than before. It was, in fact, something that the counselor on his last vessel had complained about -- how hard it was to read him.

"I grew up in London," Rylan said, "and I have been accused, on occasion, of being reserved. The kind of relationship you are describing takes time to develop." His mouth quirked up ever so slightly on one end. "And for me, it might take just a bit longer."

"Captain, many leaders are reserved," Ayren said. "If you function well professionally and privately, there is no reason for me to know you more than you allow me to. But I need you to trust me, and I know that takes time. Also, I need to inform you that I lost my psionic senses on a mission. I am not a full Betazoid, so I never relied on or used my senses to aid me professionally, unless I had explicit permission from a client or were instructed by my Captain to do so. In fact, I found them to be unreliable at times," she admitted.

"Understood," Rylan said and felt himself relax inwardly though outwardly he remained as he was. seated at his desk with his hands resting on the tops of his thighs. "I must say, Counselor, you bring a refreshing approach to the position. In my last position, I spent a lot of time listening to complaints about the ship's counselor." He shook his head slightly as the memories came back. Being waylaid in the turbolift, on the way to the gym, and occasionally in the transporter room as he stepped down off the pad.

"I do expect you to keep in touch with returning members of the away team as well as the department heads," Rylan said. "Our patrol route puts us in range of both the Badlands and the Cardassian border. I do not anticipate an easy time of it."

"Of course, Captain," Ayren said. "Away team? I am not following, are the crew members on a mission now?"

Rylan couldn't help but chuckle at that. "We're still in the space frame, not even under our own power yet, with engineers swarming all over the ship, Counselor. No, there's no away team. My mistake. I wasn't clear. I meant as a general rule."

Ayren laughed. "I was wondering, that would have been a first, but one never knows," she said. "Captain, thank you for your time, if there not anything else, I would like to check out my office," she asked permission to leave.

"Well, there are a couple of things," Rylan said. The idea of standing on one foot, waiting, if not eager, to get out the Ready Room, was not a new one though this was the first time he'd been on the receiving end, to be sure. "First, the position of Morale Officer has been eliminated in favor of a 'Hospitality Yeoman' who will work under your supervision. So, while you're not a department head, you will have one direct report. Second, I hereby accept your transfer to the USS Thunderbird in the position of Counselor. You will report directly to the Chief Medical Officer but are still expected to attend department head meetings. Computer, make a note in the official record to that effect."

"Noted," the computer, in its neutral male voice, responded. Lieutenant Ayren Kelan is the ship's Counselor."

Rylan nodded, smiling ever so slightly, "Now, you can go," he said. "Welcome to the USS Thunderbird."

"Thank you, Captain," Ayren answered. "I am looking forward to starting," she added and then left his office. Now to see if her office was ready.


Captain Rylan Gray
Commanding Officer
USS Thunderbird

and

Lt Ayren Kelan
Counselor

 

RSS Feed