When The Bell Tolls

Posted on Fri Aug 7th, 2020 @ 10:20pm by Captain Michael Meezo & Lieutenant Commander Whistela Au’rel

Mission: In The Beginning...
Location: Skippers office
Timeline: Prior to the Captain’s sickbay visit

=ON=

=Counselors Office=

Talla knew the moment had come to meet the new Captain of the Wayfarer. What was he like she wondered. Further, was she in hot water of did it manage to pass? Only one to find out she thought. *She checked herself over in the mirror for anything out of place.* "Am I going to a job interview or date? This is ridiculous," she said. Letting out a sigh she made the short journey to the Ready Room.

=Bridge=

Upon exiting the turbo lift, she got her first glimpse of the bridge. Impressive, even for in-port operations. And, as she had expected there was a skeleton crew on the bridge. Three going about their shifts. It was then she took notice of the chair off to the left of the Captain. Looked rather comfy during Diplomatic or Aggressive negotiations. She looked forward to it.

=Captain's Ready Room=

"Here goes," she muttered.

::Rings bell::

Mike looked up from his desk at the sound of the bell, the dark rings of fatigue now starting to became evident under his eyes. The number of personnel PADDs that sat on his desk had to be hitting the 50+ mark by now. Could he really have met that many people thus far today? He looked down at his sore hand and realized he probably had. “Enter!” he called out.

Mike watched as a beautiful young woman in a teal Starfleet uniform stepped into his ready room. He couldn’t tell if she walked with confidence or with urgent anxiety, but she moved directly towards his desk and stood before him.

Talla looked at the Captain a little puzzled. She could sense he was tired. She noticed the stack of PADD's on the desk. Ironically, she didn't bother to bring one as she already checked in the Command Duty Officer the day she arrived.

"Something tells me a another PADD is the last thing you want to see. Wanna talk about it? First counseling session is free you know. May I?" As she gestured to a near by chair.

The corners of Mike’s lips curled to a smile. He nodded, indicating for her to take the seat. He stretched his arms up into the sky, an audible crack coming from somewhere in his body. He appeared slightly more relaxed after this. “Can you believe I’ve been sitting here for the last few hours greeting new crew members? And I haven’t even had anything to drink in that time.” He got to his feet and crossed over to the replicator.

“Frothy latte, with one sugar.” He turned towards Talla, “Can I get you anything, Counselor?”

"Sure, I could go for a latte actually," and the two sat down.

Mike returned to the seat at his desk, and sipped on the scalding hot coffee. “I received our first mission orders from Vice-Admiral Savage moments ago. I can’t go into detail just yet, but I’ll be going over it in my mission briefing in the morning.” The Captain took another sip of his drink and looked out the large window towards Utopia Planitia, and Mars. “I feel that I’ve accepted command too soon. But maybe I am ready, perhaps I have achieved a lot in my relatively short career, but up here...” he gestured his finger towards the side of his forehead, “... am I ready up here?”

Talla could sense his insecurity on the question. "Well your service record would show that you are and honestly, you're not the first nor the last new Captain to have doubts. It's perfectly natural and if you weren't just a little intimidated. I'd be worried for the both of us. The crew profiles that I have reviewed, depict a capable one. So, if you can trust there expertise. Your command decisions should reflect well. Remember, you are only as strong as your weakest link."

“I certainly appreciate your words, Counselor. And I look forward to us working closely in future. You have a very impressive service record that leads me to conclude that you’re going to be a valuable of my senior staff.” Mike smiled at the woman.

She returned a warm smile. "Whatever, this mission brings. We will meet it head on together. I'm always available to bounce ideas of off of. And, thanks for the latte."


OFF

LCDR. Whistela Au'rel
Ships Counselor
USS Wayfarer

&

Captain Michael Meezo
Commanding Officer
USS Wayfarer