New Cap-ee-tan

Posted on Sunday, 28 November 2021 - 5:16pm by Captain Pippa Whitley & Lieutenant JG Adrianna Eberhardt

Mission: Operation: Mirror of Madness

It's not as if Adrianna had actively avoided meeting the captain. It was genuinely just one of those things. Between prenatal appointments, shoreleave and just meetings in general, there had been no 1-2-1 meet and greet.

In one sense though, Adrianna was concerned that being an enlisted officer would not give her the same ammunition to remain on board after birth. That said, they were currently going on a mission. The mission would see them to after the birth.

Sounding the chime to the captain's office, Adrianna was keen to get the meet and greet out of the way.

No sooner had the doorway parted, unveiling the Captain's Ready Room, there she stood. Pippa greeted the woman with a polite smile before pushing a saucer and teacup forward towards Adrianna. "Perfectly safe for an expecting mother," Pippa reassured her.

"It is tart Cherry tea, completely herbal, and not a bit of caffeine," explained Pippa. "It will help keep your immunity up. It's no coffee, but by the looks of it, you won't have to wait much longer, no offense. The mother's glow suits you well."

Adrianna was a bit taken back, but smiled politely, "thank you for the hospitality." She took a seat, rather stiffly with bump in the way and picked up the tea. After a quick sniff, Ade decided that there would be no reason for the captain to lie-- it was just tea and this was Starfleet for goodness sake. She took a sip before replying, "few more weeks and then they should be here."

"Ah, and by your posture and expressions in the Briefing, I'd suspect you are anxious to be back on duty will all the freedom included," stated Pippa. "I don't blame you. An intelligence officer even if it's just mulling through data and studying politics, being pregnant is like swimming with an anchor on your ankle."

"The anxiety has nothing to do with being pregnant or back on duty, captain," Adrianna answered simply, "my anxiety stems from just getting out of an Ekosian prison and being knocked because of it." She paused, "that and I find a certain member of staff unworthy of role because of their childish behaviour, attitude and all round stupidity. To be blunt and to speak freely, of course. I know that the individual must have some credentials to get to their position, but they actively have tried to sideline me early on and they have no respect for others, their roles or experience."

Well then thought Pippa. "I see. Let's spend some time unpacking that a bit. That was a bit more than I was expecting to hear," added Pippa who had since taken a seat at her desk and leaned forward a bit to listen to Adrianna.

"Ekos was a lengthy read. I had several reports on that from different perspectives. I don't think anyone will have a comparable experience to the one you had. Ekos is a very unique world, not one I plan of visiting."

"I hear it's lovely, this time of year," Adrianna replied flatly, though did punctuate it with a smile, "I'm seeing the psych. I'm fine. Rather, I'm getting there. If I can just get to the ounce of who I was prior to Ekos, we'll all do well."

Pippa nodded. "That sounds like a plan to me, but you state that you have been having friction with one of the Senior Staff?" The Captain looked at Adrianna curiously. "Is this an ongoing issue that has been going on for awhile?"

"Ongoing since meeting them after I got back," Adrianna shrugged, "they seem to like pushing buttons. The meeting we've just had is prime example. If it was just me, then I'd let it slide, but senior staff should know better."

"The elephant in the room then, Hamura?" asked Pippa for confirmation. "I believe my grandfather would call them arrogant," she added. "It was a tense meeting yet quite telling that there are issues among the Senior Staff."

"The senior staff did not have issues prior to them beginning," Adrianna assured Pippa, "arrogance is what will get one, or all of us, killed. They are an engineer that thinks they know better than Intel, ops, security, science, everyone really. They need to be reeled in before one of us winds up wheeling them out to the the morgue, or being wheeled out to the morgue because of their interference in matters above their knowledge base." She paused, "my father warned me about people like them, he beat it out of all of us aside from one of my brothers. That brother is now watching the empire collapse because of arrogance and has lost a lot of people, inclusive of family. Hamura deserves to have the opportunity to have it beaten out of them, metaphorically, because I'm sure they have the role for a reason. My concern is that their role came from being a pulled favour with an individual now in Vulcan that we are visiting because we're merely passing by."

"Their junior grade lieutenant pips on their collar came from me on my authority," Pippa admitted. "Though I giveth and I can taketh away. Having a Chief Engineer is essential, leaving them as an ensign did not seem reasonable for productivity in the department. I have come at the same crossroads with yourself, but given your circumstances, I haven't pushed the matter."

Pippa reined a bit. "I want to give Lieutenant Hamura the opportunity to prove themselves, but I do not settle for disappointment, and I won't settle for behavioral problems among my Senior Staff. I do not need you all to agree with one another nor with myself, but there are lines that I will draw. They would be wise not to cross them."

Adrianna nodded her understanding. "You stated in the meeting that you appreciated being blunt and honest. I appreciate the same. What cross roads have you sidelined due to circumstance with myself?"

"I don't find too many enlisted personnel who are seeking to cross into the ranks of commissioned officer." Pippa cocked her head slightly. "Not to make generalizations. Have you looked at opportunities for advancement?"

"I have," Adrianna replied, "the opportunity for Starfleet was not available to me when it came to usual routes, for obvious reasons. Trust me, if I could be a normal Starfleet member, instead of just an enlisted, I would be. It would come with substantial security in my role."

Pippa smiled a bit mischievously. "Sure, conventional avenues and normal routes may have been closed off to you, but that's why Captain's have privileges and discretion" noted Pippa. "There are alternative paths that may be open. If you aren't against the pursuit of those, then we may just have ways to ensure security in your role."

Adrianna couldn't help but look the captain over a moment as her brain thought about what had been said, "So long as I don't have to start again rank wise and have to climb my way back up to my current position, I'm open to hearing this out."

"Understandable," noted Pippa. "There is a bit of leeway with Captain's authority. You have a substantial amount of experience, and a bit of education underneath you. I believe that it would be well within my scope of power to grant you a field commission especially with the political unrest going on."

Adrianna smiled, "I appreciate the faith and assistance."

Pippa nodded. "Of course," Pippa replied. "I'll look at suitable options and we will have it settled within a day or so." Wity that, Pippa dismissed the woman.