Tête-à-Tête
Posted on Sun Jan 14th, 2024 @ 11:29am by Lieutenant Vura & Major Cornelius Tremble
Edited on on Tue Jan 16th, 2024 @ 11:50pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 15 - The Evil That Lies Beneath
Location: Executive Officer's Office - Deck 2 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD003 0910 hrs
“Lieutenant Vura,” Rommie intoned through the Pioneer’s comm suite. “Please report to the XO’s office.”
Vura wondered at the page. She wondered who it was. She did not recognize the voice and the individual did not identify themselves. She called back, =^= Acknowledged. =^= Thankfully, she did not have a patient at this time. What could the XO want with me? If he wanted to talk about Corporal Shy, would he not have done that yesterday? Why wait?
The Deltan left her office and told Nina that she would be back as soon as the XO was done with her. She further told Nina that if she was running late, just let her next patient know and that she would be right there. Vura did not like running late. Her time was precious, as was crewmembers. It was important to keep things moving along, especially as she still had a great deal of evaluations to complete and to attend to those who had regular appointments.
As she half-strolled, half-sauntered through the corridors, she continued to dwell on the XO calling her to him. Why did he not come to her as he told him at the arboretum? This is a power play. I have made him uncomfortable in front of others and he wants to show me who is boss. That also explains why I told Nina "as soon as the XO was done with me." I subconsciously knew, all along that he wants to exert his authority. Well, won't this be fun?
Her easy smile was gone, replaced by a tight-lipped smirk as she walked into the XO's office area.
"Ship's Counselor Vura approaching," Rommie informed Neil, her eyes un-hooding as the ship's sensors notified her.
Neil's HUD had already flashed him a heads up and the bulkhead/wall had gone transparent in his display's view.
Actually, he'd been tracking her since she left her office, security cam's giving him an idea of her mood.
He was pretty sure she'd be in one. Most counselors (and medical staff) tended to be if you interrupted their preconceived notions. Neil almost left her waiting, then shook his head and swept away the hallway image and continued to regard one of the feeds on the nearest wall. He DID cycle the door just as she approached and said, "Come in, Lieutenant. Thank you for making the time."
Vura did not sit, as he did not invite her to do so. Instead, her eyes made a sweep of his office, looking for clues as to the XO's personality, likes and dislikes. So much could be told by a person's personal collections. She acknowledged him politely but tersely, "You are my superior officer, sir. I do hope that you checked my schedule before calling me up here if this is not an emergency."
Neil regarded the Deltan, watching her eyes flit about the office and he noted the AI still present. "That'll be all, Rommie."
The AI's eyes opened and she nodded to the counselor and said, "Aye aye, Major," before disappearing.
Neil let his own eyes drift around the office for a moment. It was spartan. All of the walls were unadorned, finished in Federation blue/grey with a crystalline coating. The floor's carpet was command burgundy with operations yellow borders which ran up the corners of the walls as well. There was a bare minimum of furniture and no personal mementos. "Spartan, isn't it. I cased all of my dunnage when I moved up here. A Marine officer as XO of a starship needs to set a certain tone. This is a place to work."
Meeting her eyes, Neil said, "As to your schedule, no, I didn't consult it. You seem put out so we might as well address that right off." He gestured at the bulkheads and continued. "Pioneer is a ship of the line, as such the good of the ship comes before any of her crew especially when it comes time to go into harm's way. She is not a hospital, a clinic or some spa. Barring emergencies, yes, you attend when I request. I don't do appointments unless it's of a personal nature or part of medical requirements. "
He gave that a few beats to settle, then said, "That being said, I've read the departmental filings. I need to know if there are any personnel who are unfit. Addressing Corporal Shy, he will be back to see you. Assess him. Treat him if you can or give me a recommendation for transfer."
So, let's see, control freak, all business, and no sense of tact. Check, check, and check. At least the Commodore had a sense of fun at the bar. Well, this will be a tough nut to crack. "I agree that Corporal Shy needs more treatment and is not yet ready to resume duties. His trauma was great and he has not fully addressed it," Vura started, addressing the XO's concerns first.
"If there were others who were unfit, they already would have been referred to you." She thought about Rowena and decided for the moment that it would not be wise to bring her up. She needed to see if Hermia was able to meet with her and if not. She was not about to sell out a patient without much more certainty. There were ethical issues to consider.
"And while I agree that the Pioneer is not a hospital, clinic, or spa, interrupting my sessions with a patient could do great psychological harm to someone. In the future, I would ask that unless it is an emergency to either consult my schedule or have my assistant know that I am to contact you immediately upon the conclusion of an appointment. I am quite certain that you do not want to harm anyone on this ship, intentionally or otherwise," Vura replied with a slight defiant smirk. You tell me that you don't care and you might be off duty, so I know that you will not. We definitely need to set boundaries.
"Ask all you like, Doctor. I'll remind you that you're a staff officer. Not a line officer," Neil said, keeping his voice even and gaze steady. If I summon you, there's be a xaxtdamned good reason for it. Today, is about setting what is what aboard Pioneer." He straightened from his easy position and said, "From what I've seen, you and a number of others don't quite grasp that. Up until now, I've had my hands full getting a grasp on being the executive officer. A line officer and all that entails. Don't get cute with me, Lieutenant. Others might ignore that smirk on your face, but I won't, so get rid of it."
Neil stared at her unblinking and said, "Do your job, and we'll get along fine. You're dismissed."
Vura did not leave, her question remained unanswered. His militant attitude was going to be an issue for the crew. Furthermore, there was no "God damned good reason" for his summoning her here at this moment. This was a power play and the Counselor was not going to accept that and it sounded like he needed a fair amount of counseling just from his own statement that he needed to get a grasp on being the executive officer. "Sir, permission to speak freely?"
Neil gave it five beats before focusing back on the counselor, stopping the feed he'd been browsing. He gave it a further few seconds then sighed and said, "Within limits. Speaking freely is a privilege. I'm not sure we're there yet."
Vura straightened up further, then calmly with her voice barely above a whisper stated, "Well, sir, the fact that you summoned me here today without a 'good goddamnreason,' as you put it tells me that you are trying to exert power and control for no other reason. My guess is that somewhere down the line, you had a problem with a counselor before. Whoever that person was, I'm not them and I would ask you to remember that. However, my job, whether you like it or not, is the mental well-being of this crew. That includes you. I assure you that if you interrupt one of my sessions without it being an emergency, that you will be on the other end of an inquiry. That's not a threat. That's a fact.
"Now, Major, you say that you are new at the XO thing. I'm new as a Chief Counselor. I would rather work with you than against you. However, this tactic that you pulled today will not work with me and expecting the crew to react to this exacting behavior will not work either. This is a Starfleet ship, not a marine ship. Because you're a marine, you have to integrate both halves of your jobs. That is going to be a rather difficult task.
"Furthermore, as an XO, I'm advising you for the good of yourself and the ship that you need to be more of a counselor. You're the buffer between crew and the Captain. Yes, you have to set drills and schedules and the like. However, you will have to deal with ship complaints and things that a Captain does not. I can help with that burden as well. I would rather not be fielding complaints about you."
The counselor took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and asked quietly, "Now, would you like to start over and pretend that this meeting did not occur the way that it began?"
Neil grinned wolfishly as she ran through her rant, "Lieutenant, if you think all I do is set drills and the like, you are sadly mistaken. When I talked about getting a handle on being XO, that wasn't about people. I learned to lead since my first day in the corp. Rather, I was talking about running a starship. Marines typically guard or break those, so it's...an adjustment."
Taking a half step closer, he let the timber of his voice lower and he continued. "What isn't an adjustment is teaching. Summoning an officer is my prerogative, regardless of reason. Or for no reason whatsoever. The primary point is that while you're aboard this ship, you will conduct yourself as an Fleet officer and that means you are in my chain of command. And I'll jerk that chain any time I think anyone needs reminding just what's at stake while serving aboard a ship of the line. You're telling yourself this drahk of an XO is heavy handed and pulling a power trip. It's no trip, it's a path I walk every day as an officer of the Federation."
He let his eyes narrow further and said, "So far, Doctor Vura, what I've see from you makes me think you believe this is a vacation post. It's not. People die. If you think me harsh well good. Because I am. A firmly run ship is a happy ship where everyone knows their place and what's expected of them. And what happens if they don't give their best.
Neil let his words sink for a moment, then said "You do the hand holding and if the crew complain about me, log it. If you don't like it, go ahead and file a protest. Right now you've a hair up your backside because I had the audacity to summon you for a face to face. Guess exactly how far a complaint like that will get you?"
"I see," Vura replied. "So, you operate under the misconception that I think this is a pleasure cruise. I do wonder what you base that on, considering the only interaction that I recall us having was where I was reminding you that there is a time and place for confidential communications about crew members."
She then moved a step closer to Neil, making it clear that she was not going to back down from him and was not threatened by him. "If you want to play command games and 'yank chains,' then you're going to find yourself losing the respect of the crew and likely be shown your way out of the Fleet. You play that game with me again, you had better believe that I will file the appropriate complaint. I believe there is a Terran parable about a boy crying wolf...."
Her voice continued to be barely above a whisper but a more dangerous tenor entered it. "Denigrate me or my position all that you want, but if you do no think that I understand death or the trusted position on this ship, then you have shown more than one misstep in judgment on this day." When she mentioned death, she stared hard into the Major's eyes, never blinking. Vura knew death all too well, having occurred too close and in front of her. After all, her fiancé's death was her impetus for leaving Delta IV.
Her tone softened slightly as she took a small breath to recenter herself and finish her statements, "You have a great deal to learn as an XO and about people, Major. You do not want to hear what I am saying. You only want to make your points. You want to prove your authority, which is, in my opinion, rather foolish, as we all know you're second in command. Again, you're new to the XO position, as you say. Rather than seeking help from your colleagues, you wish to take on all of the responsibility yourself, treating anyone that does things different than you as a hinderance rather than as an asset. That's a much more difficult route for handling your crew. Going at it alone, rather than as a team is never wise, Major, but so be it. That choice, like so many others, is ultimately yours. Just a small piece of advice, Major: Make certain that you do not isolate yourself too much. When you place yourself on an island without a dock, nobody is going to come to your port when you need it."
"Nice speech," Neil remarked as several flags began ticking on his HUD.
She was wasting his time.
"The pretty words are that I'll take all that under advisement. But, this is already taking longer than it should have and that is my fault. You're dismissed. You claim to be busy so shoo."
The office door opened. The walls all began to resume scrolling data, some of them moving to holding points awaiting Neil's attention and acknowledgement with cascades of various colored lighting.
He summons ME here and then has the audacity to tell me that this is taking longer than it should have? Such nerve! At some point, I should probably have a conversation with the Commodore about this. He needs to know what is going on behind closed doors with his XO. Vura gave an indignant, "Hmph" and headed back out, mulling her thoughts as she headed back to Counseling.
A Joint Post By
Major Cornelius Tremble
Executive Officer, USS Pioneer
Commanding Officer, The Cure
Lieutenant Vura
Chief Counselor, USS Pioneer
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