STF

CNS office Meeting the counselor

Posted Sept. 27, 2021, 11:11 p.m. by Fleet Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) (Kate O'Neill)

Posted by Lieutenant Cara Esmé O’Farrell (Counselor / Education Specialist) in CNS office Meeting the counselor

Posted by Fleet Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in CNS office Meeting the counselor

Posted by Lieutenant Cara Esmé O’Farrell (Counselor / Education Specialist) in CNS office Meeting the counselor
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Kelly stood at Cara’s door and rang the chime. She had no idea if the woman was free or not but Kelly had a break in her schedule. If the woman was busy she could come back later. It felt weird standing on the other side of the door waiting to be let it. Reminded her of the earlier years in her career where the occupant on the other side of the door always outranked her. Now the only one on the ship that outranked her was Ian and that was only because the mail came as Mr. and Mrs. and not Mrs. and Mr. Taking a sip of the coffee she had in her travel mug, Kelly waited for Cara to respond.

Kelly Bordeaux

Cara was in her office, she had no appointments yet, having cleared the schedule for two days to give herself time to get familiar with the files. “COME IN!” Her Irish lilt clear even through the door. Cara hadn’t changed much in the office. It was still the soft earth tones that Revna had preffered, the chairs and a massive reinforced couch were the same. The shelving unit, however, was bare and Cara had added a small desk to the space and removed the floor pillows. “Ah Cpt. Bordeaux, please come in. Have a seat. Can I get ya anythin’?”

O’Farrell

“Coffee thank you,” Kelly said entering the space. “Sorry to just pop in unannounced but I was making my rounds and thought I’d try. How was your transfer over. Uneventful I hope,” she said coming in and taking a seat. “I think maintenance is scheduled to come later in this week to see if you want any changes to the interior. If you need anything specific let me know.”

Kelly didn’t know much about the new officer but the basics in the woman’s file. She was going to miss Revna but life was about change.

Kelly Bordeaux

Cara nodded and went to the replicator. “Do ya have a specific recipe of coffee ya like, Cpt?”

Cara ordered a strawberry lemonade for herself. The citrus helped keep her stomach in balance and then brought both drinks over and handed the coffee to the captain. She’s scheduled time to meet with the captain later that day, and was taking time between appointments to get familiar with the case load left by the previous counselors. She appreciated the captain coming to her. Especially with her nonexistent internal compass. Of course to date she hadn’t lost her way to a bridge or ops center. Those were easy the computer was programed to recognize those locations as specific destinations. She sat in a chair opposite the captain. She liked the variety of seating in the room, allowing people to find was fit their comfort level. “I suppose the trip out was as good as it could be. I donna travel well – space sickness. But it was uneventful. As for maintenance, the only thin’ I think I need is a desk. Honestly, I like the way this room is set up. It’s warm and inviting. I may have ta steal the colors for my quarters.”

She sipped at the lemonade contemplating the captain. “What can I answer for ya? I’m sure you are as curious about me as I am about the ship.”
Lt O’Farrell

“It is always nice to know what brought you here. The first choice, last choice or no choice,” Kelly let out a laugh. She was not the type of Captain that thought every crewmember that boarded her vessel had been working their entire career to get there. True there were a lot of people that requested her ship due to her style as captain but some just got a name on a slip as their next assignment. Those people either loved the job or hated it. Only a few people felt neutral about the placement here. Kelly wondered where Cara fell on the spectrum.

Kelly

“Well I joined Star Fleet ta see what’s out here. My older sister made it sound so excitin’. But I’d been on Earth at Star Fleet Medical for three years, and I was ready ta go out again and see more of it. So I asked for a transfer. Didna specify where, just made a general request. And here I am.” Though now she was wondering if she should have asked for an outpost or station…if she couldn’t adjust to the space sickness it was going to be…embarrassing. “So I guess it was no choice, but there’s a fun ta that. Ta be surprised, and ya might end up somewhere you wouldna requested yourself. What about you Captain? Is the Atlantis the kinda ship you always wanted to command?”

O’Farrell

“Not really. I always figured myself in some sporty little cruiser warping around the galaxy putting down fires as they popped up but instead they gave me a floating city,” she let out a laugh. “At first I was less than thrilled but I was married to Ric and his holo-show Man vs. Universe had him in production and on-location ten months out of the year. I was happy being the XO of the Broadsword but then Dante had to go and promote me. At times I feel more like the mayor of a small town than a Starfleet captain but I can’t say I haven’t grown to like the atmosphere of being close enough knit that we all can look out for each other but not so small that everyone knows everyone’s business like in a science class vessel.” Kelly had grown to like the Atlantis posting far more than she initially thought she would have. “Besides its a great ship if you want a family and turns out for a lot of the crew the perfect place to keep their careers going once they got hitched and settled down.”

Kelly Bordeaux

Cara picked up her drink savoring the sour citrus of the lemon. “So ya like adventure then? You ever considered asking for a different ship? Get back ta your roots so ta speak?”

O’Farrell, CNS

Kelly let out a laugh. “Things are not as they often appear. I got my hands full with this girl.” she looked around the room.

Kelly Bordeaux

Cara nodded, “So part time mayor, part time fire fighter, and star ship captain ta a ship that provides for families and builds careers. Other than tha crew, what’s her favorite part of tha ship? I’m lookin’ for ideas.”

O’Farrell

“Stellar cartography lab. People are always talking about looking out but you need to look up. For thousands of years people looked up to navigate. Crossing oceans or deserts, the map is always right above you to lead you Home. You just need to know the point you are looking for. In space It’s disorienting no clear up or down to give you stable ground. In the lab it shrinks things to a manageable level. Gives you one small area to focus on. You can pick a point and say that is where I am headed. Life is about small steps. Giant steps leave you floundering. It’s a peaceful place to go and find your path whether it’s to someplace you don’t know or a way back home,” Kelly took a sip of the coffee she had in her hand.

Kelly Bordeaux

That seemingly benign question gave Cara a deep insight into the captain. Of course Cara could look up at the sky and name the stars all she wanted…she was no better navigating by them than she was a physical map. “I think most species have a fascination with the stars and using them to guide them one way or another. Me, personally, though, I think I’ll stick with the ancient stories told about them rather than trying to navigate by them.” Cara laughed softly at herself before taking a drink of her lemonade. “Where is home for you, Captain? For me it’s Ireland.”

Lt O’Farrell, CNS

“The United Stared by specifically Annapolis Maryland. Home of Old Bay, Blue crabs, the Chesapeake Bay, and the United States Navy. My family has lived there since before there was a Federation,” she laughed. “Before there was an United States however we came from Wales which are you would know is basically surrounded by water on the south, west, and north. For the record we were sailors then too only it was more of the Shanghai kinds and not enlist kind,” she shook her head with a smirk taking a sip of her coffee draining the cup. “It’s why rhe Jolly Roger is so near and dear to our family as an emblem. Though fun fact,” Kelly held up a finger, “someone from our family has always been in one sailing entity since we crawled out of the primordial soup of the ocean. Henry Morgan, to USNA, to the federation we have always been a sailor. In fact my family has the honor of being the first and last class to graduate from USNA to being in the first graduating class of the fledgling starfleet academy.”

Kelly Bordeaux

Cara nodded towards the empty cup, “Refill?”

“I got it” Kelly pulled a disc out of her pocket and set it on the arm of her chair. Placing the cup on it a few lights swirled before a new one materialized in its place. “Nifty huh,” she winked. “Drayke made it for me for Christmas. It’s a site to site transporter that is hooked to the replicator in my quarters and ready room. Now I don’t have to stop a staff meeting every thirty minutes to get a new one. That guy is all about saving time.”

“Now that is a present.” Cara grinned. Some kind of genius engineer the man must be.

“That is quite the family legacy ta contribute ta. My family, I’ve had a few great grands, uncles, aunts, cousins and such in Star Fleet. My sister is at Star Fleet Medical, but da rest stayed home. Me though, I love ta be in the water not on it. I’ve done more’n my fair share of polar bear swims. At the heart it’s the need ta explore. For me, at least. Ta see what noone else has.”

O’Farrell, CNS

“Well Ian and I have a sailboat here in storage. Perks of being a CO. Large storage space. We drop it whenever we can on leave. When you live on the bay you have to be part fish. My first vehicle was a jet ski followed by a boat. I do get the idea of exploring. In a way the galaxy is just a huge ocean in many ways and we are still using a boat and a star to steer by. So where’s the best place you have been and where do you want to go?”

Kelly Bordeaux

Cara thought about it, “I havena been ta many places. K7 was fascinatin’ though. So many different people came through. Best place ta be to explore when ya donna travel well. I would love ta visit the Didiron mountain range on Vissia. They are supposed to be unlike any other.”

O’Farrell CNS

OCC: I can not apologize enough. I am sorry I let it go this long. It’s been rough for so much more than the obvious reason but I am trying. Thank you for your patience.

No need to apologize. The stories are here when you are ready.

IC “I have heard the same thing. Maybe one day we can point this old girl around and check them out,” Kelly suggested with a smile. “So tell me something unique about your counseling style. Not the whole listen and help people work through things but what do you Cara O’Farrell do the best as a counselor.” The question might have seemed odd but Kelly hoped she had something more than the standard answer or a laundry list of degrees to say why she was the perfect person for the job. Kelly already knew the woman was brilliant and every single reference said Kelly would be insane to pass up someone like Cara for her crew. That is why Kelly jumped at the chance to bring her aboard. Kelly just wanted to know more about the woman on a deeper level.

Kelly Bordeaux

Hmmm that was a loaded question. What Cara was really good at was making fast accurate assessments that were often unsettling in their accuracy, but that was a talent that she liked to keep to herself until necessary. When people knew that, they tried to cover themselves in ‘fake’ personalities. Cpt Bordeaux didn’t strike her as being that way, not with her crew anyway. She was a woman of many layers, but Cara wasn’t ready for it to get out just yet. She’d only been on board a couple days. And the Security Chief already knew this about her.

“My bluntness. I donna beat about the bush or sugar coat things. I will hold yer hand if needs be, but I will use that same hand ta drag ya where ya need ta be goin’. I will give anyone who comes into this office what they need, but few get what they want. They are not the same thing. More often than not though I can wait out anyone. Draggin’ is all fine and good when necessary, but I can also out weight even the most stubborn of Tellarites.”

“And what is it you need, that you expect, from a ship’s counselor? Other than ensurin’ the mental health of the crew?”

O’Farrell CNS

“That is honestly about it. A happy crew is a productive one,” she said with a grin. “I try to not micromanage. As long as everyone does their job I have never seen a reason to be involved in every aspect of someone else’s field. I mean if I have to step in I will but I tend not to. People are people,” she shrugged. “You can’t toss a thousand people into a floating soda can for five years and not expect things to go arse up every once in a while.” Picking up her PaDD that had beeped, she gave a small smile before laying it back down.

“Sorry. I just got the IFEA shipment in for the playground equipment. Drayke will be grumpy for the next few weeks so ignore it if you see a brooding Irish engineer walking the halls talking to himself,” Kelly laughed.

Kelly Bordeaux


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