Posted by Captain Aaron Foley (Commanding Officer) in CNS Check-In - Capt Foley

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Pilar Halcyone (Counselor) in CNS Check-In - Capt Foley

Posted by Captain Aaron Foley (Commanding Officer) in CNS Check-In - Capt Foley
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Aaron grumbled as he made his way down to the counselor’s office. He always hated these meetings, it seemed like they were always trying to over analyze him, or dig up some new nugget that they would reference back down the line. But requirements were requirements, and Command had pushed through a request that he stop in as part of his new command position.

Stopping outside of Pilar’s office, he took one last deep breath before ringing the chime.

Capt Foley - CO

As the chime when off, Pilar immediately said, “Enter!”

When she looked up she saw it was the Captain. A pleasant surprise indeed. He had been so busy lately and she wasn’t sure if he would ever get around to paying her a visit. She smiled at the man and said, “Captain! You finally made it my lair some people might call it.”

She grabbed her PaDD off her desk and motioned to a table with two chairs that was near the window, “Please have a seat. Can I get you anything before we get started?”

Halcyone, Counselor

Aaron chuckled to himself. “You know, I think there is some saying about being wary of any counselor who seems happy to have you in their office. But yes I did find my way down here,” Aaron said as he walks around to the offered chair.

“Oh? Really? I am not aware of such a saying. You are going to have to enlighten me. Also now I am curious to know what you think. Are you wary of a counselor who is happy to do her job?”

“And I’m good. So where do you want to start? I’m not sure what your schedule looks like for the rest of today,” he said with a laugh.

Capt Foley - CO

Pilar joined the Captain at the table. “My schedule has plenty of time to accommodate our session. We can start with how you are transitioning into your new role. I know this is not 100% new for you as you have been in a command position as an XO for some time, but actually taking the Captain’s seat, how does that feel?

Halcyone, Counselor

OOC: I’m not sure how I missed this one!
IC:
“Jumping right into the deep end I see,” Aaron said as he shifted in his seat, getting more comfortable. “Honestly, it’s a bit weird. I was not exactly expecting the promotion, especially with so much turnover in the Captain’s seat right before it came my way. It seemed more likely that they were going to bring in a senior officer to help resettle the Challenger, to bring some stability back to the ship.

“Well, Captain I get the impression that you are right to the point kind of guy,” she said with a smile. She stood and walked over to the replicator to get a cup of coffee and then asked, “Can I get you anything?”

Aaron waved her off, he was good for now.

“Well I guessed right, they were looking for some stability. I just didn’t guess that there plan involved looking within the ship. I was actually kind of looking forward to another assignment back at the Academy so I could wrap up my current line of research.”

Capt Foley - CO

“So the promotion took you by surprise then?” she asked with an interested inquisitive look.

“Forgive me if I am misunderstanding you, sir, but to me, it seems that you did not really want or were you expecting the promotion. It was offered to you and so you took it. Why would you take the position when there was no initial interest in it?

Halcyone, Counselor

“Guilt? A really persuasive Admiral? Honestly I was not expecting a promotion. This was only supposed to be a short term assignment. I was supposed to be back on Earth filling in for one of my former astrometrics professors who is on sabbatical. But they needed someone to be the Challenger XO on short notice, and well my credentials for that are pretty good. Experience teaching at the Academy, and in field experience, even better having been previously XO on Starbase Magellan.

Pilar nodded, “Pretty Good? More than that. You are absolutely qualified for thr job, no doubt about that. Therefore its only logical to me you would be the next one in line to take the Captain’s chair on the Challenger.”

“But when they offered the position, and would you be able to tell them no? Especially when it in some ways is the best of all worlds. Because when I stop to think about it, I’m still getting the chance to mentor young officers. And who knows, maybe I’ll get a chance to work on my research up close, instead of sitting back on Earth waiting for one of the deep space arrays to send back the appropriate scan data. And isn’t it supposed to be every kids dream to be the Captain of a starship?”

“I am not sure. If offered the position today I would turn it down, but maybe in a few years, sure, it would be hard to turn down. So this guilt, is it because you knew there was no one else to step in quickly? Therefore turning the position down would mean that the Challenger would be that much longer without a Captain to lead it?”

Aaron stopped to take a breath. “Bet you didn’t expect this when you woke up this morning.”

Capt Foley - CO

She smiled and said, “Each day is full of surprises. However that is what I love about my job. By the way, that you for keeping me on as Counselor after your promotion. I know you could have chosen someone else if you wanted to.”

Halcyone, Counselor

“You’re welcome. You’re record spoke for itself, and you hadn’t shown me a reason on why I should replace you either. But where were we? Oh yes, guilt.

“Partially that it would mean leaving the ship without a CO. And then would it be selfish of me? Especially when I am capable of doing the job. But I feel that at this point it’s a little late to go back, so I just have to deal with it and move forward. Because the choice is done.”

Capt Foley - CO

She nodded in acknowledgement at everything he said. “So now that you are the CO, tell me what is your vision. I mean your true vision, not the one Starfleet wants us to pass on to new cadets on the ship.” She couldn’t help but display a smirk as she said, “I am sorry to put you on the spot like this, but to make it fair, I will share my vision as the ship’s Counselor afterward.”

Halcyone, Counselor

Aaron nodded. “Well first and foremost, this is a training ship. So the education of our cadets is paramount. But I also want to give them as much of a leg up as possible. Whether it is more realistic type missions to what they would expect in the fleet, or making sure they have the experience needed to potentially run their department after graduation. Whatever we can do, we should do. That way they are not only prepared for what they can expect after graduation, but hopefully they will get a chance to get a better idea of what exactly they want to do while they are in Starfleet.

“The last thing we want to do is for someone to graduate and end up hating their job. Better to take the time to find out what they really want to do now.”

Capt Foley - CO

“I agree Captain. So along with that, my vision is to support you in guiding these cadets and ensure they not only have the tangible skills but the mentality as well as the ability to be prepared for the emotionally difficult situations they may face.” She smiled, “You being here is good. It’s sets a good example and I think it says that mental health is just as important as doing you job.”

Halcyone,Counselor