A congradulatory drink

Posted on Mon Jul 12th, 2010 @ 6:08am by Lieutenant JG Erin Tal & Lieutenant Commander Karma Sinclair

644 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Transitions
Location: mess hall
Timeline: current

On her way to the lounge for her evening coffee, Erin stopped in her tracks and backpedaled, catching sight of the new XO.
''Karma!'' She exclaimed with a grin, walking briskly up to the former intelligence officer.
''I just heard. Congratulations on your promotion. How are you feeling?''

"Hello, Erin," he said to her. "Excited and nervous," he said in response to her question.

Erin nodded. ''Only to be expected. I'm sure I speak for the crew when I say we're happy for you. Come on, lets go get a drink- or are you busy?''

"Actually, I've been trying to visit all of the department heads," he said to her. "I guess this will save me the trouble of going to your office."

''Indeed it will.'' Erin assured him with a grin. ''So how are people treating you differently since the title of 'intelligence officer' is now gone?''

"It's too soon to tell," Karma said to her. "I haven't actually talked to many people since the promotion."

''Give it time.'' Erin replied confidently. ''If anything, it shows that the captain trusted you enough to give you the position- and first and foremost, its her trust that you need.''
She stopped at a replicator.
''Coffee. Two sugars. Lot of milk.'' She told the machine, grabbed the cup as it materialised.
''Want anything?'' She asked Karma.

"Coffee, black," he said. A moment later he grabbed the cup and looked around. "Where would you like to sit?"

Erin shrugged and pointed towards a random table.
''Here's as good as anywhere I guess. I was never one for having a favorite table.'' She admitted with a grin. ''Back on the Kazon ships we didn't even have tables.''

Karma sat down and looked at her. "What was that like? Being on a Kazon ship, I mean."

Erin looked at her coffee thoughtfully for a few seconds.
''Its different than anything in this quadrant.'' She said eventually.
''Imagine being on red alert 24/7 on a ship. The threat of battles were so high that it was always tense and busy. We thrived off of it.'' She smiled a little.
''Its hard to explain the atmosphere to someone who wasn't there- its such a close community on a Kazon ship- you know everyone. They're your kin, your brethren. Yet you're trained to ignore it if they die in battle.''
She snapped out of her revere, mentally shaking herself. ''As I said, very different.''

"Sounds very interesting," Karma replied. "Do you miss it?"

Erin nodded. ''All the time. Yet I'm also glad I left.''
She gave a little lopsided smile, accompanied by a shrug. ''Its a conundrum.''
''How about you? Did you grow up around starfleet or was that introduced later?''

"Later," Karma replied. "I was always good at gathering information when I was growing up and some friends suggested I join Starfleet. I didn't have many options at the time so I did."

Erin nodded, listening.
''Now look at you.'' She smiled. ''From not many options to the XO of a starship. You don't need a shrink to tell you that you've come a long way.''
She raised her cup in a toasting gesture.

Karma looked at her and smiled as he raised his own cup and touched hers. "Thank you, Erin."

''No problem. To be honest its a promotion you deserved. An-'' The counselor was cut off by a beeping from her commbadge.
Erin sighed.
''I totally forgot- I've an appointment now.'' She drained her coffee and stood, giving the XO a quick hug.
''Thanks for taking the time for a drink. See you later.''

"Any time," Karma said, watching her leave.

:OFF:

Lieutenant Commander Karma Sinclair
Executive Officer
USS Calypso

Lieutenant (JG) Erin Tal
Chief Counselor
USS Calypso

 

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