Posted by Lieutenant Belle Harper (Chief Intelligence Officer) in pre-sim - Reporting For Duty - XO’s office

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Renveer (Executive Officer) in pre-sim - Reporting For Duty - XO’s office

Posted by Lieutenant Belle Harper (Chief Intelligence Officer) in pre-sim - Reporting For Duty - XO’s office
Standing in front of the full-length mirror, Lieutenant Belle Harper studied her reflection. The creature staring back was a far cry from the caramel beauty she once was. Her skin had a grey-ish hue now instead of the mocha tones she had inherited from her father. Instead of the long straight black locks that had always hung down past her waist, there wasn’t a single hair on her body anywhere. Her chocolate eyes, once sparkling and alive, were replaced with a cold metallic steel grey. Previously she had been rarely seen without her infectious bright smile. This new face had never smiled once.

Belle didn’t give two shits. Trivial matters like appearance no longer mattered.

Leaving her quarters Harper made her way to her XO’s office without the aid of maps or directional beacons. She had the specs memorized. These days information just appeared in her head. She wondered if the XO would know of her history with the Dresden’s captain and Colonel Harris. She doubted it. She doubted whether the pair had even given her a second thought after she had died, let alone talked about her to members of the crew. Abandoned. She told herself.

Having arrived at the office door in a matter of moments, she activated the door chime.

-Lt. Belle Harper, CIO

Compared to Harper’s demeanor and hue, Renveer’s office was an oasis of richly warm tones and inviting furniture. It was arranged more like a counselor’s office than an executive officer’s space, with a high-back chair that Renveer sat in situated across from a loveseat and with an ornate rug bridging the gap between the two main seating options. The desk had been pushed up against the far wall, underneath a display of an assortment of original art pieces from a variety of cultures in a rainbow of colors.

Renveer himself was more understated than his office, just a plain-looking trill man with ordinary short brown hair and a “familiar face”. He looked up from the PaDD he was reviewing as the door slid open, and he offered a practiced, polite smile as he motioned to the couch opposite him. “Lieutenant Harper, a pleasure to meet you. Please, come in.” He left the welcome at that, curious to see if Harper would volunteer the direction she wished this conversation to go.

(Lt. Cmdr. Renveer, XO)

Upon the invite of the XO, Lt. Harper took a few steps inside. She took no notice of the interior design or aesthetic value of the space nor did she even glance at the artwork. She simply took a few steps in, stood at relaxed attention, and simply said, “Lt. Belle Harper reporting for duty, Sir.”

Before the door closed behind her, two security NEs, NE Laurel Hardy and NE Jimmy John stepped just inside the office. Saying nothing they each took a position on either side of the door.

-Lt. Harper, CIO

The space between Renveer’s eyebrows scrunched in concern as the security ensigns entered. He had tried to review Harper’s file, though what he had found had been sparse. Still, he had not even been aware she had been assigned a security detail, much less seemingly for the crew’s protection, rather than her own. Renveer’s demeanor turned formal as he addressed the ensigns. “Dismissed, thank you ensigns.” Should they protest, Renveer was more than ready to remind them of his rank and position. Unless the captain herself had put them up to this, he wanted them out.

Once they were alone, Renveer held out a hand to again motion to the couch. “Please, take a seat,” he requested. He felt no apprehension, and if anything his bristling quickly subsided when the security ensigns were no longer squandering the welcoming aura of his office. Renveer was getting the impression that Harper was interested in the professional aspects of this meeting, rather than the personal, but he figured he could try to intertwine the topics. “We’ve had a number of intelligence or former intelligence officers on this dreadnaught, and it seems as if each has had very different experiences with the organization. How are they treating you?” His eyes glanced to the door where the ensigns had departed.

(Lt. Cmdr. Renveer, XO)