Posted by Lieutenant Commander Zef Rollo (Counselor) in Ready Room 1000 hrs

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Ready Room 1000 hrs

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Zef Rollo (Counselor) in Ready Room 1000 hrs
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
As requested the night before, Zef was standing outside the CO’s office at 0954 the morning after her dinner with the Captain. She had no idea what he wanted to talk about except it had something to do with the crew. She smiled, remembering the previous evening, then palmed the chime and waited for permission to enter.

—Rollo, CNS

The doors slid open to the office when the familiar voice said “Come in.” Cochrane looked up, then stood and smiled. “Counselor. Thank you for coming. Please, help yourself to something to drink and have a seat. Your day going well, I trust?” and he gestured to a chair and sat back down.

Cochrane, CO

Zef returned the smile and bypassed the replicator. “My day IS going well, thank you. I only have a few appointments this afternoon.” She sat in the chair indicated and crossed one leg over the other. “I’m curious to hear what this idea for the crew is.”

—Rollo, CNS

“Well… we have all been working very hard, almost nonstop. We are isolated and in strange surroundings far from home, so I thought we may bring home to us. And since everyone’s home is unique, I thought we could highlight some of the things that make us special. A talent show, perhaps. Volunteer, of course. Not a competition, but more of a showcase. What do you think?”

Cochrane, CO

The idea was leagues away from anything Rollo had been imagining. “Oh…what a wonderful idea! Do you really think with out ship’s numbers that we can limit the entertainment to an hour or two?” With six hundred crew they were bound to have several dozen people who would want to perform.

—Rollo, CNS

He shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea what kind of response we may get. I was hoping that you would take the lead on this. You can have the shuttle bay, that would work as a big enough venue, I think, where we could get people in there in numbers. And whatever else you think you may need or want. What do you say, Counselor? Want to be a Morale and Recreation officer for a bit as well?” and he smiled.

Cochrane, CO

Surprise!! She sat with her mouth open slightly, not sure what to say, but it was only for a second. “Of course, Sir, if you think I’m the right person for the job. Would it be alright to have Dave’s help? I think we could accomplish more if we both worked on putting together an evening.”

—Rollo, CNS

“Use anyone willing to help on a volunteer basis. And run with it, Counselor. I just thought it would be fun for the crew. Implementation and execution falls to you, all right? I dont have a vision for it, so I dont want you to worry about checking with me or stepping on my toes.” and he laughed. “I hereby remove my toes from the equation.”

Cochrane, CO

Zef smiled as she was expected to, but truth be told, she didn’t want the job she’d just been given. Although she understood the sentiments behind what the Captain wanted, she truly wished he had asked someone else to get it done. Internally sighing, she was at least grateful that Dave would help her. She’d had other things on her mind since receiving a certain communique in her quarters the night before. It was fine for a counselor to tell others not to worry, but who told the counselor? Bringing herself back to the present moment, she engaged Cochrane once more. “Was there a particular time frame you had in mind for this, or is that open too?”

—Rollo, CNS

“Open. I know you are busy and I don’t want this to become a chore. Schedule is up to you, Counselor. And I will help you in any way I can. I didn’t want to do this myself because I didn’t want people to think since the Skipper was putting it on, they had to do it.”

Cochrane, CO

“I understand, Sir. The first thing I’ll do is send out a ship wide memo to see how much interest there is in performing. Depending on the response, Dave and I will begin planning after that.” The Captain might notice Zef looked a little preoccupied, or he might not. She was aware of Ganro’s communication in the forefront of her mind, fighting for attention alongside everything she’d experienced since reading it. This meeting was no exception.

“What about you, Sir? Would you like to perform for the crew?”

—Rollo, CNS

Cochrane laughed and said “I’ll tell you what. If the crew wants to see that, I’ll do it. Not sure if that will boost or destroy morale, though.” and he laughed again.

Cochrane, CO

“I assume not that many know of your musical abilities and I’m certainly not going to ask if they’d like to see their Captain join in. They would feel obligated to say ‘yes’.” She smiled with raised brows. “So, I think you’ll have to decide on that for yourself.”

Thinking the meeting over with as there wasn’t much else to discuss, Rollo scooted forward in her chair. “Alright, I’ll meet with Dave and we’ll come up with a working plan. Was there anything else?”

—Rollo, CNS

He smiled and said “No, that’s it for me.” and his smile softened slightly and he asked “Not trying to pry, but are you ok? You seem a bit… I don’t know… preoccupied, I think. Anything I can help with?”

Cochrane, CO

Zef took a moment to wet her lips and then took a deep breath. “Last night I received a communique from home. A friend has been keeping an eye on a certain situation for me. It has something to do with my dead mate, Broggs and his family.” At the moment, there wasn’t a need to go too deeply into detail, so she tried to make like it was already handled.

“I’m sorry if I seem preoccupied, but I am a little concerned about it. It’s probably not going to amount to anything, but until I get word from Ganro Fleg, my friend, I can’t completely relax.”

—Rollo, CNS

Cochrane nodded and said “Very well. But if you need any assistance, I am here to help. Besides… we are in the Delta Quadrant. Hard to serve a subpoena this far away.” and he smiled and winked.

Cochrane, CO