First Impressions

Posted on 20 Feb 2012 @ 8:10am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy

2,825 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 00 - Pre-Deployment
Location: Starfleet HQ, Office
Timeline: MD 02 - 1400 hrs

[ON]

The news of her new command still took some adjusting to and Lirha wasn't settling into her role as quickly as she would have liked. Her reservations about her classified mission were being overshadowed by the daunting task of preparing a starship for launch. Of all the complex and detailed procedures she had to follow, she found the most relaxing one to be the personnel interviews. Lirha had always been an outgoing lady with a friendly personality and she felt comfortable around most people, regardless of their species or gender. As she looked over her crew's manifest while sitting in her office, she noticed that she had been assigned a new chief counsellor who had just arrived in San Francisco. Unsure of where the woman was or if she was wearing her commbadge, Lirha pulled a PADD from her drawer and sent an interview request to the counsellor's PADD. Hopefully she would receive the message promptly and arrive soon.

Dru looked around her now bare quarters onboard the USS Gladiator and paused for a moment. This had been her home now for 6years, being witness to all of her possessions being boxed up and shipped out, took more out of Dru then she had realised.

Of everything she had had to do to prepare for her new assignment, the hardest part had been saying good bye to Dexter. He had been the ships the Assistant Chief of Engineering and Dru's closest friend. When she had always needed a support, professionally or personally, she always knew that Dexter had been there to turn to. Dru smiled slightly as she remembered how happy he had been when she went to say goodbye. Dexter had received notice himself of new orders to report to the USS Avenger of their new Chief of Engineering. It had always been his ambition to become a senior officer and now those dreams were coming through. Dexter had promised to keep in touch but Dru was fully aware of the distances space caused between people, she was just happy that they had had the last 6years of friendship to make memories to move forward with.

As Dru wiped away her last tear, she realised the PADD beside her was flashed. As she picked up the PADD she saw the message requesting her presence in Starfleet head quarters in order to meet her new Captain. As Dru pressed the confirmation button and added a message asking to be given 20minutes, she picked up her shoulder bag and walked to the transporter room, turning her back on her old life as she headed for the unknown.


--------20minutes later in Starfleet Head Office------

Dru stood at the door of her new Captain and straightened her uniform jacket. She closed her eyes for a few moments, taking a few deep breaths in order to calm herself. As Dru reopened her eyes, she lifted her hand to press the door chime.

The Orion captain stood at her office's replicator and watched a glass of refreshing orange juice materialize. A soft chirp echoed throughout the room signalling the presence of someone outside of her door.

"Enter." she replied in firm voice, then turned to see who had arrived.

As Dru stepped through the door she stopped infront of the desk and stood at attention, "Ensign Drusilla McCarthy reporting for duty Ma'am"

Lirha walked over, took her place behind her desk, and took in the sight of her new counsellor. She was a shorter woman who possessed brown hair and blue eyes, and she looked very presentable judging by her crisp uniform and professional appearance.

"At ease, Lieutenant." she replied, then gave the woman a small smile. "Please have a seat." she added and motioned with her hand to the empty chair nearby.

As Dru heard Lirha address her as Lieutenant, she suddenly went white. She realised she'd never put the pip into her collar and had just introduced herself as an Ensign. Dru took the seat indicated to her, "Ma'am apologises my uniform is not in full order. My new pip is in my bags on the USS Galileo, with the changeover and everything I never got a chance to put it on." Dru looked down at her hands, mentally kicking herself for making such a small but important mistake.

"Yes, I noticed." Lirha said with a raised eyebrow and a hint of amusement on her face. "However, it's quite alright with me if you would like to run around my ship pretending to be an ensign." she remarked light-heartedly, then sat down in her chair and took a sip of her juice as she stared at Drusilla. "I see you just arrived in San Francisco. How was your trip?"

"The trip was fine Ma'am. I was stationed on USS Gladiator and we only arrived back from our deep space mission. To be honest, it's nice to see Earth again. It's fine getting to see the rest of the universe, but sometimes what you really need is home Ma'am. "Dru tried to relax into her chair but she was still upset at herself for forgetting her new rank and pip.

"Well, welcome back. At least for the next few days." Lirha said while nodding at the mention of home. She hadn't been back to her homeworld in almost five years, instead spending her time bouncing from ship to ship with occasional visits to Earth and Luna. The green-skinned captain noticed the lieutenant seemed a bit tense and she hoped she would relax throughout the course of the interview.

"So what brings you aboard the Galileo?" she asked, curious about reason for her transfer.

"I served onboard the Gladiator for 6years as the sole counsellor, is was my first position but Starfleet couldn't spare another counsellor to work alongside me. After what happened with the Dominion, they needed to ensure they spread out their counsellors. 6years is an extremely long time to serve on a ship, especially where deep space exploration is involved. Overtime my abilities to counsel people became diluted, the people were friends more then crew members, the lines became blurred. The ship needs a counsellor to help people, even though counsellors like to be seen as friends, there is still a thin line we must ensure we don't cross and the situations and passage of time meant I was reaching a point the line was starting to become crossed. This was the sign that I needed to transfer. "Dru stopped and took a deep breath, suddenly realising she is rambling. The counsellor blushed slightly. "Sorry Ma'am."

"No need to apologize, I asked a question and you gave me a good answer." she said with approval. "I agree with your sentiment, and six years is indeed a long time to serve aboard a vessel."

Lirha paused and took a long swig from her glass, savouring the lovely flavour of her juice. Orions had a fruit known as lokra'n which was similar to an orange yet was horribly bitter. She personally couldn't stand the taste and had become quite fond of orange juice over the years as an acceptable substitute.

"Will this be your first time aboard a Nova Class vessel?" she asked the lieutenant.

"I'm afraid so." Dru suddenly smiled slightly. "After being onboard a sovereign class ship, I believe I am in for a culture shock over the size of a nova class. I am looking forward to it though. A smaller crew is easier on me, means I am able to be more readily available for crew members should they need me."

"The Galileo's a small ship, that's for certain." Lirha replied at the mention of culture shock. "She's a bit cramped in some areas and we certainly won't have all the amenities of a long-range explorer, but she's a state-of-the art survey vessel."
"Have you got final numbers yet of how many crew we will have? Will we be carrying the full crew capacity?" Dru settled back into her chair as she felt on safer grounds talking about her job and what lay ahead for her.

The captain remembered the information which had been presented to her at the mission briefing, as well as the details of their hasty departure. "Our crew compliment is ninety, that includes officers and enlisted personnel, and we also have capacity for up to ten civilians. Unfortunately, we'll be launching with a skeleton crew of only about thirty, and we will pick up our remaining personnel when we dock at Starbase 234." she replied.

Dru nodded her head. "How long is it expected that it will take us to reach Starbase 234? I can use that time to help the initial crew settle in, it will help me spread the work out."

"At most, a couple of days, although our current mission requires us to make haste. I'm going to try and get us there in forty hours." she answered, not wanting to go into too much detail about the specifics of the assignment. "I'm sure the crew will be grateful to have you aboard...an outlet of sorts for all the stress and tension which inevitably arises on board a starship." Lirha remarked.

"Have you spent much time in the Beta Quadrant before?" she asked, changing the subject slightly.

Dru shook her head slightly. "We were within the Alpha Quadrant for our previous explorations, I have to say, I'm looking forward to the change in scenerory." Dru smiled slightly. "Is there anything you can tell me about what will happen after Starbase 234?"

"Unfortunately, no. That information is classified until we depart the starbase." she answered simply. Although she wanted to explain the situation to her new curious lieutenant, Lirha knew that she had to observe protocol. There would be plenty of time for questions in the Galileo's briefing room.

"How do you feel about serving on board a science vessel?" she asked. It was a question she rarely presented, however the counselor seemed like a rather honest and open person, and Lirha was curious to hear her thoughts on the matter.

Dru looked at Lirha in surprise, "You know what Ma'am. I've never really given it much thought. When you're a counsellor, your focus is the crew themselves. Of course environment enters into it but I would consider it to only be a minute detail."

Dru paused for a moment as she thought the question over in her head before responding. "I guess it'll be an easier job for me then my last vessel. The Gladiator had both a Marine and Fighter presence which Galiaeo obviously wont. Marine and Fighter presence can cause tension on a ship which people, in say a medical of science background, are not that comfortable with. I assume the environment on a science vessel will be more relaxed in the sense of how people are outside of their work."

Lirha nodded at the well-presented answer. She was already beginning to like the woman and couldn't agree more with her statement. "We do not carry Marines of any kind aboard our vessel." she said with pride. "Instead, you will be dealing with some of Starfleet's brightest young minds, as well as many civilian personnel. These are people who are not used to the discipline and doctrine of Starfleet life and might take some time to adjust. As a counsellor, I expect you to help them make the transition. Are you comfortable with that?" she asked somewhat bluntly.

Dru was a little taking back by the statement Lirha had just made. "I'm going to be a little blunt ma'am. I'm here to emotionally help people. If they are struggling to readjust I will help them find a balance which they are comfortable with. I won't force anyone to make a transition they are not ready to make. Instead I'll help them cope so as they can continue to do their job to the best of their ability and to interact with the crew members to the best of their ability. I can't make people do things they are not ready for."

"I'm not asking you to force anyone to do anything," she answered in a soft voice, "I was simply asking you to help our personnel adjust to the everyday routine of ship life. I'm sure you will get some gripes and complaints during the first few weeks, but it is essential that we all function as a cohesive unit. And the bottom line is that we all serve on a Starfleet vessel. I simply want my crew, Starfleet or civilian, to be mentally and physically healthy and to be prepared for the eventual unknown scenarios which we will encounter. If I have offended you, I apologize, but I have faith in your abilities and I wouldn't be a good commanding officer if I didn't push you a little bit." she said with a smile.

Dru looked directly into the eyes of Lirha. "Ma'am I know my history doesn't look good. I'm still young. I was an Ensign for 6years with no accolades against my name. And then, I turn up here seeming forgetful in relation to a privilege I've been given with a new rank, Despite all of this, there is one thing you will never have to doubt, I know how to do my job and I know how to do it to the best of my abilities. I'm prepared for gripes and complaints; I'm even prepared for people to not like me but not having a choice but to work with me as I am their only counsellor."

Dru took a breath as she tried to gather her thoughts and recompose herself. "I understand you need to push me Ma'am but understand in return, I will do everything, to the best of my ability, to provide you with a crew who can operate as a cohesive unit. Where this is not happening, or where I feel there is a concern, I will not hesitate to report this to our XO and to find a solution where possible."

Tilting her head to the side while staring at the lieutenant, Lirha stood up and slowly walked around the desk and stood next to the young woman. She put a gentle hand between her shoulder and neck and gave it a soft squeeze as she knelt down on one knee to look her close in the eyes. She wanted to put her counsellor at ease and help her to relax, and she did so in the most traditional and affectionate Orion manner.

"Please relax, Drusilla." she said, then rubbed the back of her shoulder for a moment to reassure her. "I have no doubts about your ability, and I'm grateful to have you on board. Despite what you think about your service record, it is impressive, and I would not have accepted your transfer if I didn't feel that you were a fine Starfleet officer." she said.

Dru froze slightly, unused to the intimate level of contact her new commanding officer had just shown. In her position, Dru often had to use gestures such as a squeeze of an arm or a hug but she was not used to it being done to her in return. Dru closed her eyes and took one deep slow breath before looking back to meet Lirha's eyes. "My apologises Ma'am, I'm trying to readjust myself to this new situation. I've known for awhile I would be transferred but I only found out this morning it had been finalised and it has been a rush since. You can have no doubts of the quality of counsellor I will be to your people, I just sometimes forget to stop and counsel myself." Dru smiled slightly.

Lirha stood up and sat on the edge of her desk, still close to the lieutenant. "Everyone needs someone to talk to, at some point or another." she replied warmly, then extended her olive-green hand towards the woman for an official handshake. "Welcome aboard the Galileo, Lieutenant."

Dru stood up and took Lirha's offered hand. "Thank you Ma'am. I'm looking forward to what serving onboard her will bring."

The captain rose to her feet in a formal manner and nodded at her new counselor. "Very good. You're dismissed, Lieutenant. Get some rest and enjoy the bay area. I will see you promptly at 1800 hours Friday for our crew banquet."

As Dru exited the Lirha's office, she let out a deep breath and mentally kicked herself, Well done Dru, fantastic first impression. Dru headed in the direction of the dry dock in order to get her first look at her new home and to get herself settled into her quarters and new office.

[OFF]

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CMDR Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

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