So we are all here

Posted on Tue Dec 1st, 2020 @ 5:57pm by Captain Xavier Carey & Lieutenant Commander Tony Johnson & Lieutenant Commander Rutherford (RJ) Milton & Lieutenant Vanessa Jackson & Lieutenant JG Diana Morrison-Johnson

Mission: Welcome Aboard
Location: Main Lounge, Deck 10, USS Resolution
Timeline: Current

*****
Cameron looked at the room, the table was set, it wasn't a formal meeting, so they had something more casual, a dinner, with the chiefs and their significant others. Talsi would be here shortly, the table was set, and this wasn't a replicator meal, being as they were all gathering for the first time, it was a buffet style, though the food was in the next room.

"Captain Leonard, the room is ready and waiting." he replied as he tapped the badge, although the captain had talked about a more... professional atmosphere when everyone met, Cameron thought otherwise. This would lower people’s anxiety when first meeting new crewmates. There was steak, Gagh his personal favourite, and well.. there was plenty too many to count.

=A= Thank you, Commander =A= Leonard replied, =A= reserve me a seat, I'll be down shortly=A=

Milton came into room and realized he had been the first of the guests to arrive, a slight bit of embarrassment since he had no intentions of looking awkward but then there was the thought of real food and an unimpeded first pass at all the goodies. He moved forward to the Commander.

"Commander Greyson." Milton offered a handshake. "How goes the adapting Lady Talsi to her new quarters?" He asked honestly. "I remember reading that her culture are not fans of major changes of environment if I recall the article?"

Cameron shook his hand, "Its great, if you'd like a visit feel free sometimes. One of the extra Cargo bays was converted into our quarters... it was a little much and unsure why it was done to accommodate such things. It quite literally is a Jungle in there." He replied as he gestured to the drinks, "Help yourself, none of this is replicated."

Tony and Diana were the next to enter Ten Forward. The couple walked in arm and arm as they quickly caught wind of all the food around the table. "I heard they went out of their way to have Chef make all this food from scratch," Di whispered to Tony."

"Impressive," Tony replied as they walked over to the First Officer. "Commander Greyson."

"Johnson, and you must be... Lt Morrison." Cameron replied as he extended his hand. "Haven't had the pleasure of meeting you as of yet."

Diana shook his hand. "Its a pleasure to finally meet you as well. Did you put all of this together?"

"I think this alleviates the pressure, gives a more relaxed atmosphere. We aren't exactly doing anything right now so I thought why not."

The doors opened and Talsi walked in. Wearing a nice blue skirt bottom with a shirt that left almost nothing to the imagination. Walking over she bent over gave Cameron a kiss.

Cameron rolled his eyes, he did say it was a relaxed atmosphere, so he's lucky he got this. Gently he tugged down the bra part of the shirt well the only part of the shirt which was showing most of the bottom part.

Talsi quickly readjusted, took out a small wrap and places it around her torso. "Commander, Lt...."

Diana caught a glimpse of Talsi and smiled. Here she was concerned on whether the somewhat form fitting, knee length black dress she wore was appropriate due to showing a little cleavage. "Its good to finally meet you Lieutenant, I've been hearing all about from multiple children."

Milton was noticing the Counsellor had arrived; he would have to make more time to actually meet her as they were both of the same department and his manners would dictate an introduction of course. Bt now was not the time but he did move to his favourite Patient that he had hoped would arrive.

"Lady Talsi." Milton said with a wide grin, it is a pleasure to see you again." He made a flurry of his right hand and a white Rose he offered to her. "White symbolizes friendship I do hope you do not mind?"

"Doctor, so nice to see you," She replied as she took the flower and took in the aroma. "Thank you."

"Talsi... don't ea..."

With a smile, Talsi took the flower and ate it in one bite. "Delicious." She smiled as she started started munching on the stem thorns as well.

"She loves the taste of roses. Her favourite snack on movie night."

"Should we have a group Movie will have a Dozen or so for her to enjoy." Milton chuckled. "Lady Talsi, you are a delight." Smiling broadly.

The doors to the forward lounge parted, revealing Commander Kane. She had been debating whether to even bother attending this little gathering. That internal debate had mostly stemmed from the somewhat heated discussion that she'd had with the Ex-Oh just a few days earlier. They both felt that they deserved to be the Ex-Oh, and while she was disappointed that the Captain hadn't chose - or indeed couldn't choose - her, she did realise that she had to pick herself up and move on. At least as far as the rest of the crew was concerned. She nodded to a few of those gathered, and headed to the bar to get herself something to drink.

Milton noted the Second Officer entry and a Bee-line to the bar. "I do not think even Pixie Dust would help her fly." Milton said to himself as he noticed the body language, it screamed to be left alone. "Everyone needs a happy thought..." Shaking his head slightly and then separating himself as he had not gotten anything to drink as yet.

James walked into the room and immediately made for the nearest out of the way corner, he would wait to eat as eating at something like this could take away from getting a feel for the other department heads as well as the captain and the XO.

One of the last few to arrive was the Captain. Leonard thought that Commander Greyson's suggestion to have an informal gathering for the senior staff was a novel idea. It would give them the opportunity to get to know each other. He stood near the doorway, mostly out of the way for a short time. He was pleased to see them bonding. Glancing around, he spotted Commander Kane, alone at the bar. He went over to his second officer. "Here alone Commander?"

"Captain," Eve replied, turning to him as he approached.

The Captain sat alongside her, facing towards the crew, with his back to the bar. "Are you planning on keeping your distance?" Leonard asked, clearly speaking about the crew. "Establishing your command style early?" he grinned. There were some command officer's that preferred to maintain a separation between themselves and the crew under their command. He himself had tried to walk that line over the years. Since commanding the Resolution, he'd found himself slightly on the closer side of that line. The ship certainly lent itself to that kind of atmosphere. Of course, during his time as the Resolutions Captain, he'd spent time offering his support and experience to his officers, and giving them opportunities for advancement and career progression. It was difficult to keep his distance, whilst also mentoring.

"I've not quite thought that far ahead, Captain" Eve replied. She took a drink from her beer.

"Take the plunge, Commander," he offered, turning to the bartender to order two of the beers that Kane was drinking. "You'll miss out on something by sitting here alone. When you're the Commander, sometimes you have to walk amongst the troops. They need it, as much as you do."

Kane had often felt that the Captain had taken her under his wing. Whether he realised it or not, she knew that he had been pushing her in the right direction. So she knew that he was obviously right. She finished the beer that she had, and took the one that arrived in it's place. "I'm going in," she said, offering Leonard a grin, standing up from the stool. "Thanks for the drink Captain."

"Anytime," Leonard replied. He took a sip from his drink, watching her as she approached their crew. This was very much their crew, he knew. His, Commander Greyson's, and Commander Kane's. He had always thought that way in the past, of his Number One, and Number Two. Eventually, he stood up himself, and headed over to join them.

Vanessa walked in, feeling a little uncomfortable. She'd only met a couple of the other officers and she generally didn't like social gatherings, but it was also a great opportunity to meet those she'd be working with. She paused outside the door to straighten her shoulders and relax before walking in.

After viewing Talsi eating the flowers, Tony looked over at Diana and smiled. "This will definitely be an interesting evening. I'll be back going to grab us some drinks at the bar." Making his way to the bar, he found Doc RJ. "Bartender I'll have a scotch as well and also a chardonnay. How are you enjoying the evening thus far?"

"I managed to find out more about Lady Talsi, she likes Roses in ways few women do." He chuckled. "It should be an evening without boredom."

"Honestly, I didn't see that coming with the eating of the roses," Johnson admitted. "Though I have the strange feeling that I should have seen it coming."

"New cultures and biologies make things interesting." Milton answered as his Scotch arrived. "And a Lady always has surprising secrets no matter where they come from."

Diana walked over to Vanessa who appeared to be a bit uncomfortable based off her body language. "Hello I'm Diana Morrison counsellor," she introduced herself while extending a hand.

Vanessa relaxed a little. "Hi. I'm Vanessa Jackson, scientist."

"Its good to meet you Vanessa," Di replied. "Have you ever attending a gathering among the senior staff like this before?"

"Yes, I have." Vanessa wasn't comfortable with them, but she'd attended them. And not just in Starfleet. She had to attend staff meetings when she taught at university before that. "I'm not much for dinners or parties."

Leonard took a seat at a table, almost amongst his crew, but not really with them. He wanted to observe them, of course, to see how they interacted, but also he didn't want to interfere in too much in their fun. People tended to enjoy themselves less when the boss was around. And of course, part of the reason for this gathering was for the crew to have fun and socialize with their new shipmates. He knew from his younger days that Senior Officer's knew how to dampen every bodies moods, without even trying. Perhaps he shouldn't attend, to leave them to themselves. But then, that would certainly be contradictory to the very advice that he had so recently given to Commander Kane.

He spotted one of the crew's junior officers, who had been with the ship for some time, sitting across the room. The officer smiled, and raised a glass to his Captain. Matt could only do what anyone would do in that situation. He smiled, nodded, and raised his glass in return.

James thought he had the lay of the land as it were and so he went to the buffet and got himself a steak and mashed potato's along with a glass of crown royal whiskey. Then he sat down and started eating his meal in relative peace. He really did not want to talk to anyone right now he was polite but distant and would likely remain that way as long as he was in the presence of the captain.

Vanessa found the gathering fascinating. It gave her great insight into the various members of the staff.

Diana observed Vanessa who seemed to be examining everyone in the room. It was almost as if she was studying everyone's behaviours and interactions. She honestly couldn't blame her since she was doing very same thing in her own way. Hell almost everyone in the room was doing the same. Some much better than others.

Milton turned the Bar Stools to get a good look at the goings on as he sipped his drink.

Tony left the bar returning over to Diana. "Here you go babe."

"Thanks," Di replied accepting the drink. "Vanessa let me introduce you to Tony Johnson Chief of Security. Tony this is Vanessa Jackson our Chief Science Officer."

"Good to meet you," Johnson replied as he offered his hand.

The evening was starting off in an... interesting manner. Vanessa wasn't sure exactly what was expected, with some already eating and some mingling and others...like her...not doing much of anything. It was definitely going to be a new experience.

With everyone present, Cameron cleared his throat, trying to get people’s attention, however it seemed to not have been working.

Talsi had noticed Cameron's dilemma and turned to the group which was in full chatter mode. "The Commander wants your attention please" She bellowed.

Taken aback, Cameron was speechless, looked up to her and nodded his gratitude. "Thank you, Tal." He started "Now... Since we are all here, I want to welcome you all here. The Captain wanted to gather, with each of us a chief position, or the spouse or significant other of one, The Captain, the First Officer, we will be expected to work closely together for our duration onboard the Resolution together. So, we both decided something small informal would be better to lighten up the mood. I am sure the Captain has some great motivating speech he wants to tell us before we sit down and start eating."

Leonard stood, standing separate from many of his crew, who had gathered together. "The Commander is being humble by suggesting that I wanted this gathering of you all. This coming together was very much his idea, and I commend him for making the effort to bring us all together." He offered a nod to his Ex-Oh, before continuing. "I have very little in the way of motivational words to offer you all at this point, and I won't keep waffling for hours whilst the food that has been prepared goes cold. For now, I'll only say this. I look forward to working with you all in the years to come. The ship goes through growth, renewal and change, much the same as we do, and invariably it is the better for it. I have no doubt that having you all join this crew will also be for the better, for us, and for you."

He picked up his beer from the table and saluted his crew with it. "I only want to add this. To all of you, Welcome Aboard."

"I thought you weren't going to waffle?" Kane shouted out grinning, for where she sat at a table on the opposite side of the room.

"Pipe down, Number Two," the Captain replied, grinning.

Some-time Later…

Cameron looked to the Captain as they stood next to the window, but looking to the interior, "Looks like we have a pretty good crew."

"I certainly see potential here, Commander," Leonard replied nodding. "However, I think that we have a long way to go before we can fully commit to that assessment."

"I would rather see what we have right now Captain, than what I have heard about on other ships." Cameron replied as he looked back to the group.

"This was a good idea, Ex-Oh," Leonard offered, "next time, be sure to take the credit for it, hmm..."

"Meh, I would like to think this was a co-effort." Cameron stated as he looked at Kane. "What is wrong with Kane. Why am I here and she's not?"

"Honestly, Commander, I wasn't given the choice," Leonard replied, matter of factly. "It was felt that I could provide you with the opportunity to develop as a Leader, to prepare you for your future Command. Given the fact that you've already been slated to a starship command of your own anyway, I personally wouldn't have chosen you anyway. Yvette is a good, solid officer, who knows the ship and most of the crew well, particularly the Junior Officers that have been here a while. Don't dwell on what's wrong with her, because I'm not sure that that is a list that is worthy or your time.

"So I heard," Cameron replied, "You can thank my old CO for that, he suggested me for CO at the time but Admiralty decided it was premature but agreed to test me." He watched Kane over at the table alone. "She should be in my position. As long as I am here, there is nothing that will convince me it is where I belong. Shes passionate, she is stubborn, as you said she knows the ship. But I will tell you one thing, when I leave, if she is not made XO of the Resolution, she will be XO of the Bismarck. Someone like her I need. She knows how to stick up for herself even when I purposely made her feel like I was doubting her ability. I would have put more of a fight. She more than deserves that."

Leonard grinned. "Perhaps you should share that opinion with her, should you get the chance."

The doors parted, as a tall thin Saurian walked in, seemingly in a hurry. His big, wide eyes quickly scanned the room, and it wasn't long before finding who he wanted to speak to. "Commander Kane," he called out somewhat excitedly.

"What is it Kef'kan?" Eve asked him, "can't you see I'm eating?"

"Sorry sir," the Saurian replied, "it's just that I thought you'd want to know, the team pulled some overtime this afternoon, and we've locked down the last of the works. We're finished."

She stood, excitedly. "Good god, Kef, if you weren't so scaly I could kiss you. That's the best news." She settled for patting him on the arm. "Go and help yourself to a beer, have them put it on my tab. I'll go and tell the Captain." Eve watched as he walked off to the bar, almost regretting saying that. Saurian brandy wasn't exactly cheap, and she knew that Kef'kan probably wouldn't order anything else. Kane quickly scanned the room, spotting Leonard stood talking with the Ex-Oh by one of the windows. So far this evening, she had avoided Greyson, after their somewhat heated discussion the last time they saw each other. "I guess it's time."

She walked over to the both, "Captain, I have some great news."

Leonard turned towards Kane, who now joined them.

"We're ready, Captain. And I really mean it this time..."

Cameron was going to say something but paused, "Captain, how about the two of you go and launch, this was your ship before it was mine. I will inform the rest, that we are underway."

"Perhaps we'll get underway in the morning," Leonard replied, picking up his beer from the nearby table. "I think that we've now got something to celebrate. Commander Greyson, would you inform the galley staff to get everyone a round of drinks on me."

"Very well." Cameron replied he turned to the table. "Ok, round of drinks on the Captain. This time I cannot take the credit if I wanted to." He informed everyone. "The Captain and Commander Kane will launch the ship in the morning."