Getting to know the crew I

Posted on Fri Mar 4th, 2022 @ 6:46am by Lieutenant Sky Jansen-Carey & Commander Antonia 'Tony" Stoffels

Mission: Free write
Location: Counsellor’s Office

Commander Antonia Stoffels XO

It was her first full day on board the ship and Tony was still finding her feet. It was her first tour as first officer so she had no experience in the role. But why would it be different? She would do what she usually did on a new posting and that was meet the senior staff and get things like psych and medical exams out of the way. It often took medical personel by surprise as well as they usually had to hunt for people to come in.

Now she had come to the office of the chief counsellor and making sure she was alone she hit the door chime.

Sky was sitting pouring through a pile of new padds containing personnel files. She was doing her best to not think about the fact that she’d recently lost the baby she’d conceived with Talsi. When the door chime rang she looked up.

“Come in”

"Hi." Tony said. "I hope I am not disturbing you. Tony Stoffels. I am new on board so I am doing the rounds to get to know everyone. And I wondered if you had time to get my psych eval out of the way as well. It's been a little while, so I thought I would mention it before you start hounding me." She smiled.

“Not a problem” Sky smiled warmly as she motioned for Tony to take a seat. “Feel free to use the replicator if you’d like anything. So you’re our new XO, I was just about to go over your personnel file funnily enough!”

"So you haven't yet." Tony said as she walked over to the repllicator to get herself a glass of hot tea. "Should I give you a minute or should I fill you in myself?"

Sky smiled. “That would be helpful, in-fact I tend to prefer to get to know people from personal meetings rather than what their personnel file says.”

"Well in a nutshell." Tony began. "I come from a fleet family, marine branch. At first I resisted going into the fleet myself and studied at Oxford on earth. But the bug bit me in the end. So here I am on the command track. I am single, no children and no relationships for a while."

Sky nodded. “I know that what it’s like to be part of a fleet family, my mother is fleet too.” She smiled. “In my case I wanted to join Starfleet, to make my mother proud. So have you been in the position of First Officer before, or is this your first time?”

"First time actually." Tony admitted. "Have we started the eval? So this all stays between you and me?"

“We’re starting now, and yes anything you say here stays between us.” Sky smiled warmly.

"Ok in that case, I am bloody nervous. I have only been a second officer for a year. I have come on board just finding out that the former XO stepped back from the position. And although she was bloody nice she assured me that I wasn't taking her place, it feels like an extra burden. And then I find out that the captain is a former patient."

“Ohh ... well that could certainly make you nervous.” Sky smiled. “You said Xavier is a former patient?” She looked at Tony curiously.

"Yes, I treated him for PTSD after he had been a prisoner of war. It was not easy going."

Sky nodded. “As we’re talking about Xavier there’s something you should be aware of. Xavier, Talsi and I are in a relationship. Though nothing you say about him will leave this room, i thought it best to be honest and open.”

"He told me." Tony said. "And I believe you. I am also glad to hear that you are not treating him any longer. It must have been difficult for you to make that decision." She smiled at the other woman.

Sky nodded. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to be Xavier’s counsellor given our relationship. So you used to be a Counsellor, what made you go for the change of career path?”

"I still consider myself a counsellor." Tony said a little defensive. "Sorry. I mean I keep my licence active. It was about 15 months ago when the ship I was serving on found itself without a second officer and I was senior in years and I had done some command training. So I stepped in on the spot and I found that I did like it after all." She grinned.

Sky nodded. “I may call on you in your capacity as a Counsellor, but not right now. This is your evaluation and I’m not going to complicate that.” She offered a smile.

"Oh that is not what I meant." Tony said quickly. "But thanks for letting me know if I came across as such. That is important. Like most therapists I find it easier to help others than to talk about myself."

Sky nodded. “I know that feeling all too well. It sounds like command is a position that you’ve faired well in, Starfleet doesn’t assign the position of executive officer to just anyone. You’ve earned the right to be here.”

"I hope so." But that was something she did not want to get into during a first meeting with the therapist. "But I worry about building a good working relationship with the captain. I knew him at a pretty low point of his life. Therapy was sometimes rough. Will he be able to adjust to seeing me as his XO. To trust me, work with me." It would take time for her as well to see him in a different light. Damn uncle William for this.

Sky nodded understandingly. “I completely understand your concerns. To be honest I think Xavier will appreciate having someone he knows as his XO. It may feel strange for both of you until you’ve had a chance to settle into a new working relationship. Any problems I’m here to help.”

"Thank you, I appreciate it. Except for nerves I think my mental health is fine. I have been mostly concentrating on my career the last few years. So no relationship entaglements for me."

Sky nodded. “That’s understandable, sometimes our careers come first.”

"Yeah. Tell that to my parents though. Or my granddad." She groaned.

"I guess not everyone understands" Sky smiled.

"Old fashioned. I swear my granddad lives in another century. but I know he loves me very much. So is there anything else you want to cover, need to hear from me?"

Sky offered a shake of her head. “Not right now, I’m perfectly happy to let you get on with your day.”

"I think we are having dinner tonight." Tony said as she stood up. "I'm looking forward to it."

“Me too!” Sky nodded. “Be warned Talsi is ... very different in all respects.”

"I am not worried." Tony said smiling. "I am an army brat so I think I have seen it all."

“Trust me!” Sky grinned. “You haven’t seen anything like this before. Wait until you see our quarters.”

"Ok. I will be honest. I will tell you afterwards if I am surprised. And I do look forward to working with you."

"Likewise" Sky smiled warmly.

{OFF}