Posted by Lieutenant Commander Dr. Royal Sinclair (Chief Tactical Officer) in Counselor’s Office

Posted by Lieutenant Lake Holway (Counselor) in Counselor’s Office

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Dr. Royal Sinclair (Chief Tactical Officer) in Counselor’s Office
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Lake was in her office catching up on ‘paperwork’ and having a cup of tea. She’d left word with the Yeoman manning the reception desk in the outer office that if anyone came in unannounced, she would see them since her calendar was clear for the rest of the day. As she sat with her fingers poised over the keyboard of the console, she thought about NEnsign Broog whose chart she was making notations in. The young officer was having serious problems with night terrors and had come to her for help. They were in the beginning stages of his therapy, but she’d had some successes in the past and hoped that she would be able to help him work his way through the trauma that was the culprit.

—Holway, CNS

The comms chirped and Yeoman Evod said =/\= Lieutenant Holway? Lieutenant Commander Sinclair to see you, ma’am. =/\=

As the door slid open, the doorway was filled with the tall, broad shouldered form of the Chief Tactical Officer. Short cropped blonde hair and bright blue eyes topped a friendly smile as the man stepped inside. “A fine afternoon to you, Counselor.” the big man said with a thick Scottish brogue as he stepped forward and extended a hand. “Lieutenant Commander Royal Sinclair. A pleasure.”

Sinclair, CTO

Looking up from her desk, Lake smiled. “Hello, Cmdr Sinclair. I would have known it was you even if you weren’t announced. There can’t be another man your size on the Saracen, can there?” She stood and came around the desk to shake his hand. Turning, the Counselor held out a hand towards the seating area. “Can I get you something from the replicator or will this be a short visit?”

—Holway, CNS

“Ensign Reibold in Science is taller, but I have her in mass.” Sinclair replied with a chuckle. “And thank you, no. I’m alright for now. I just wanted to come by and introduce myself and see if you had any questions? I was the CNS here for a while, and I’ve been filling in for a bit between Counselors time permitting.” He took a seat, looking relaxed and openly friendly. “So have you served on a dedicated combat vessel before, Lieutenant?”

Sinclair, CTO

Lake seated herself in a chair opposite the Cmdr. “Actually, I haven’t. The addition of PTSD in the officers will make response time more important and I’ll have to be vigilant about it. I can handle the normal day to day things that come up, but BPD (battle psychosis disorder) can appear without warning. Do you know of anyone suffering from either of those among the crew?”

—Holway, CNS

Sinclair smiled slightly, and then shook his head. “No, not at the moment. But we have been fortunate that the Saracen’s particular specialty hasn’t been required much in the recent past. I am hoping that trend continues… but I doubt that it will. After all, the needs for ships like this one are not unknown to us unfortunately.” and he sighed slightly. “So what brings you to us, Lieutenant? How did you find your way to the Saracen?”

Sinclair, CTO

“No mystery there, it was just the next assignment. Star Fleet doesn’t like to keep the same officers on a ship too long. A couple of years, usually, and then you get new orders to report somewhere else. I guess it keeps us on our toes, though. Doesn’t it?”

So, he was a giant AND a counselor…AND a tactical officer? A man of many trades…

“My last assignment was on the USS Belarus where I served for three years. It was a science ship so most of my work there was the usual variety, but there were a few times when I had to deal with special situations.”

—Holway, CNS

“The joys of the job.” Royal said with a grin. “But we wouldn’t be here if we wanted the same thing all the time, now would we?” and he chuckled. “Well, I’ve been here for two years. So by your logic, unless they reset the clock when the job changes, I guess I should stop moving the furniture in my quarters.” and he smiled broadly. “Although this is only my second ship in my career. Kind of hard to believe when I think about it.” and he chuckled again.

Sinclair, CTO

“Well, there are exceptions to every rule.” Lake smiled again and pushed red curls behind her shoulder. “Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who will stick around long enough to make the Saracen feel like home. It happens, it just isn’t the norm—at least not in my experience.”

Leaning forward and setting elbows on knees, the counselor gave Sinclair an inquisitive look. “So which position do you enjoy the most?”

—Holway, CNS (perhaps putting her foot in her mouth)

Sinclair’s eyes sparkled with barely suppressed mirth, and he said “Well, I suppose that depends on exactly what you are referring to. Working? Wherever I’m needed. Yoga? Downward Facing Dog really works the core muscles. Sleeping? On my side. Um… not sleeping? I think thats a bit personal, now isn’t it? We just met, after all.” and he grinned and chuckled.

Sinclair

As soon as she heard the ‘not sleeping’ comment and what followed, Lake looked puzzled for the briefest of moments while she played her question back in her head. When realization of her phrasing hit, her blue eyes grew wide. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry! I was asking which department position you enjoyed the most…” Putting a hand to her face, she could feel the heat in her cheek and knew she was blushing.

Royal smiled a warm smile and said “I know, I know… consider that the ‘hazing of the new crew’.” and he laughed softly.

Trying to shake off the embarrassment, she took a moment to sip her tea. “I don’t usually fluster so easily…”

—Holway, CNS

“New ship, new crew, first interaction with personally unknown coworker… flustered is normal. I wouldn’t read too much into it.” and he gave her a friendly smile and wink.

Sinclair

Feeling relieved that he’d let her off the hook, so to speak, the counselor allowed the recently tensed muscles of her body to relax. Fine thing it would be if he’d reported her for sexual harassment to the CO. “I’ll try to choose my words a little more carefully in the future.” But she was smiling and shaking her head at herself.

“I appreciate you coming around to meet me. Its a big ship and I’ve only met a handful of people so far. Do you have family here on the Saracen?”

—Holway, CNS

Sinclair shook his head and said “No. No family for me. Lost my Ma when I just a wee thing. My Da when I was in my teens. Seanair… er, my grandad… right before I went to the Academy. Besides, this is a warship. Not many civilians on board. And the ones that are I think work for Star Fleet in some kind of scientific or engineering aspect. But you can ask the Captain more about that. Anymore, I just keep the torpedo launchers warm and ready.” and he laughed slightly.

Sinclair

OOC: Ooooo I’m sorry, James! I thought I’d answered this!!

IC:
She took note of the information—that there weren’t a lot of civilians on the ship. “I’m here on my own, too. My family lives on Earth, mother, father and three brothers, in Maine. I really like ship life, but when I go home the chaos is kind of wonderful, too.” Her smile grew warmer as family memories filled her head. “When I get assigned to a new ship I always wonder who I’ll grow close to—you know, like the people and family we’ve left behind.”

—Holway, CNS

Sinclair smiled a somewhat melancholy smile and said “I often wonder if I will find that level of connection again. But… the galaxy is a big place, who knows who we will meet while out running around in it?” and he laughed.

Sinclair, CTO

She wondered at his last ‘connection’—when was it and how had it gone? It didn’t sound like it ended well. “Look at it this way. We have a much better opportunity for finding someone to fill every single need now than people did even 100 years ago. The universe is wide open and there are literally, billions and billions of beings to choose from.”

—Holway, CNS