Posted by Lieutenant Commander Liam Madison (Chief Science Officer) in CSO’s Office - Nazeen reporting for duty

Posted by Ensign Viyara Nazeen (Scientist) in CSO’s Office - Nazeen reporting for duty

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Liam Madison (Chief Science Officer) in CSO’s Office - Nazeen reporting for duty
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The next morning, 30 seconds before she was supposed to be there, Viyara was standing in front of the CSO’s office. Her uniform in perfect order. Her hair in it’s usual, slightly messy, ponytail. A PaDD with the report she had written the other day in hand; even though she had already sent it to Lt. Cmdr. Madison right after finishing it. Squaring her shoulders and putting on her most charming smile, the Trill pressed the chime and waited calmly to be called inside.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Liam’s attention wandered into his work, his right hand’s fingers shifted and dropped files into their proper folds. The organization was key for his position even when certain events delayed it. His eyes shifted to the lizard-like creature perched on his least dominant arm. If he didn’t know better, he thought it wasn’t just basking, but purring too. Its vibrate feathers fluffed outward to absorb more of the heat rising from his skin into its body. Small claws dug it enough to anchor it into place rather than slice the surface.

By now, the shift change occurred and shortly someone would come to bring the little creature back to his enclosure. Surprisingly enough, Liam felt a pang of loneliness wash over him. He had gotten used to the late-night company recently and almost became a small routine.

He took in the time realizing Officer Nazeen would be arriving shortly. As if the time noted this, a chime happened and he clicked a nearby button. The doors hissed open in welcome while he spoke briefly.

“Please take a seat.” He gestured for the seat directly across from him.

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

“Thank you, Sir,” Viyara replied as she walked through the door and then took a seat in the proffered chair. While her hair was in it’s usual messy ponytail, her uniform was impeccable. Her posture was straight and her expression and body language showed that she was alert and focused on the here and now. She knew she couldn’t undo the negative first impression Liam had of her, but she was determined to make up for that now and leave him with a better second impression.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

“I ask you a few questions and ensure you know your duty. I believe the senior officer I left you with has already done that so it’s one less thing to endure.” Liam commented as he continued.

“Yes, she has,” Viyara nodded.

He did a few more quick taps on the data pad’s screen then gave Nazeen his complete attention. Best he could in his current situation.

“Did you have any prior assignments before the Athena?”

The small reptile on his arm blinked then cocked its feathery head, sizing her up in a fashion. It flicked out a blue tongue and pressed deeper into Liam’s arm. The small talons gripped tightly and fastened firmly into place.

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

Glancing at the reptile on his arm, Viyara couldn’t help but smile softly at the sight of the creature. Lifting her gaze to her superior officer again, she answered, “I have. My first assignment was on the USS Kajaani from 2391 to 2393 and then on the USS Irii Suu after that till I came here.”

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Liam glanced up and noticed Nazeen smile at the creature on his arm. He couldn’t help but comment on this fact with a calm and even voice.

“From that smirk, I assume you’ve met our resident escape artist?” If she did, the name would come easily and he expected she would mention it.

“I have and senior officer Madi showed me how to feed him. He is a beauty. Aren’t you Scales?” Viyara replied with an uncharacteristically soft smile.

As if noting it was being talked about, the creature raised his head and bobbed it a bit. Its feathered head puffed out briefly before it flattened out again. It rested its head back down on his skin where the warmth was the strongest.

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

After a couple of moments of watching Scales, Viyara tore her eyes away from the creature and turned her full attention back towards her superior officer. “I’m sorry, Sir. I shouldn’t have gotten distracted like that,” she apologised and hoped this wouldn’t result in her second strike in two days.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Liam shook his head at her apology. “Don’t apologize. I did draw your attention to Scales and he is a pretty specimen, one I’m gradually growing fond of.”

The creature nuzzled his arm as he continued.

“He’s become my unwanted company nearly every morning now. Especially when his heat vents break down. I suspect he does it on purpose because the Engineers found a few preened feathers stuffed inside. Rather difficult with a vent that blows out, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Indeed,” Viyara laughed softly. “He is a smart fellow.”

Liam then pulled up the datapad with her record on it, her information matched up with her records. Now came the harder questions.

“I noticed some concerns with your service record. Numerous offenses, including and not limited to mishaps in the labs and even turning off the safety protocol in the holodeck.” He paused long enough to let her prepare herself.

Viyara tensed almost unnoticeably at the mention of the reprimands, but she didn’t say anything and instead waited for the CSO to continue. After their rocky start the other day she wondered if he’d let her explain or if he’d jump to his own conclusions based on her file.

“I’m a firm believer in allowing officers to provide an explanation especially when each CSO has saw your potential.”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

“Thank you Sir,” Viyara replied with a smile. She was glad that he seemed to give her a chance. The question was: how could she explain those incidents without making things worse for herself right from the start. “The main incident in the lab that I received a reprimand for was fully my fault and I have learned from it. Even though my CSO at the time made it very clear that she wanted all of us to get enough rest, I ignored her and worked much longer hours than I should have to help analyse data to figure out what was happening on the surface of the planet we were orbiting at the time. At one point I decided to take a break from looking at the data to clear my mind, hoping to see more afterwards. One way for me to do that is to do a simply chemistry experiment. I hadn’t really been sleeping for at least two days at that point. I was tired and didn’t pay attention. Which is a dangerous combination no matter what you’re doing. Even more so when handling potentially dangerous substances. I got injured because of my stupidity and haven’t done the same mistake again.” Her expression was calm and earnest and she looked Liam straight in the eyes the whole time she was talking.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist