Posted by Ensign Cassidy Abrams (Security Officer) in Bridge - Some ideas are so bad…

Posted by Lieutenant Siennadye Nox (Counselor) in Bridge - Some ideas are so bad…

Posted by Ensign Cassidy Abrams (Security Officer) in Bridge - Some ideas are so bad…
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Sienna had been lost in her thoughts a bit and only vaguely aware that he had called Abrams to his ready room. IT was when she heard her name that she looked up and returned her full attention to him. For a second, it did not register what he meant. As it dawned on her, that he didn’t remember she was not qualified to take the conn, she stood and shouted out to him, “But Captain! While I appreciate the vote of confidence, I am not qualified to be put in charge of the Bridge. I lack the requisite training.”

This was incredibly hard for her to say. It was embarrassing that she was having to say it and everyone on the Bridge would be present for that humiliation and would likely spread it around the ship later. The other Siennadye Nox had been his XO and it must have been by rote that he had assigned her the conn. It only made it worse for her though. It meant that for at least that moment, he had forgotten who she was and for this Siennadye, that was an awful feeling.

Nox, CNS

Shit, he thought. He was embarrassed for making that mistake, though he was too focused on what he was going to do next to really dwell on it.

“Uh, right. Sorry. Li, take the conn.”

“Aye, sir.” Ensign Li was manning the flight control station already, but now had actual responsibility for control of the ship in addition to being the one who pushed the buttons on the control panel. Although little had actually changed, the young officer felt simultaneously overwhelmed and joyed that his captain trusted him to command the ship, even if it was only for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, in the Ready Room, after the door had shut behind them, he looked at Abrams.

“You know, I don’t think we ever talked about why you changed departments… I don’t think I even noticed it until your shirt color changed one day.”

– Johann Dvorak, CO

Cassidy shook her head. “No, we haven’t. I did talk about it with Commander Nox at the time… the other Commander Nox.”

“It’s uh, a fairly straightforward thing. At the Academy I had aptitudes for both science and security, but I chose science out of fear. There was a near drowning incident when I was a kid, and my cousin died and I survived. After that I had a very significant fear of water.” Abrams shrugged slightly, though it wasn’t a small event for her. “Science felt less risky, but I really didn’t have any ambition for it. As I went along I was good at it, but it never felt like I was striving for anything, pushing myself at all. I wasn’t growing. Security became this thing in my head that felt right. But the fear of water held me back. But several years ago, someone gave me a swimming lesson and I was able to actually be in the water. I didn’t anything about it then, but later when I felt restless in yet another botanical analysis, I went back to that tiny little win. And so I enlisted that person to give me more lessons until I could swim well enough to survive. After that, I had no excuses. So… I asked for the transfer and was approved, in part because I already had most of the skills and my training catch-up would be fairly minimal. Commander Range wasted no time throwing me into the job either, and for that I’m grateful.” It wasn’t a secret that she was on the department’s sharp shooting score board, even before joining Security, but it also was’t something she expected people to know.

Ensign Abrams, Security

The Captain actually blinked for a moment before continuing. “I had no idea your story was that involved,” he observed simply. He shouldn’t have been surprised, but it was an odd sort of thing to actually realize that there was that much behind her career choices. As if you didn’t have a similar experience, he thought self-mockingly, because, you’re the only special snowflake in this particular snow bank…

“Anyway, the reason I ask now, is because we obviously need somebody to replace Commander Range. He seems to have been shaping you for that role. Are you ready to take it?”

Sienna sat down. She could sense the elation and excitement of Ensign Li, being given this important duty and she didn’t want to rain on the man’s parade. Noticing that Ensign Li was sneaking glances her way, she gave him a reassuring smile and settled back down in her chair. Not for the first time since she had come on board this ship, did she feel the ghost of her other self haunting her. She wanted so much in this moment, to leave the bridge and hole up in the safety and silence of her quarters, away from the scrutiny of the other officers on the bridge and their inevitable gossip.

She pulled her PaDD closer and seemed to examine its contents as she had been before, but her mind was not focused on the task. Helping NE Lang conquer her fear of insectoid-like species would have to wait. Her mind simply wasn’t on the problem. She was wondering if she should take the necessary command training to take control of the Bridge when necessary. It wasn’t a hard course and wouldn’t take her long to do. She had not necessarily avoided it, just had chosen other things to concentrate on.

Sighing softly, she adjusted herself in her seat and pulled up the course materials to examine. The Captain couldn’t guess or didn’t care what his slip had done to her. Well, at least if she took the course, she wouldn’t have to deal with it again. Between a mix of anger and sadness, she signed up for the course.

Nox, CNS

There was an electronic bleep from the computer on the Ready Room desk as Nox submitted her course application. But it didn’t attract the Captain’s attention, as he was focused entirely on Abrams in front of him, waiting to hear her answer.

– Johann Dvorak, CO