Talks

Posted on Wed Jun 8th, 2022 @ 6:16pm by Captain Temperance Harding & Lieutenant Rose Kersey
Edited on on Wed Jun 8th, 2022 @ 6:16pm

Mission: Mission 2: Chasing Shadows
Location: Sickbay, CMO's Office

ON

The trio entered Sickbay, just as the transporter sequence was coming to an end. Harding deliberately refusing to look at the Lieutenant, as she watched the doctor head that way. Beconning Kersey with her, the Captain made her way into the now empty CMO's office, and let the door close behind them. Allowing them privacy.

"Counsellor?" Harding tried, genuinely tried to keep the agitation out of her voice.

“I’m sorry Captain but we really need to talk about your emotional state” Rose gave Harding a knowing look. “You were making other people nervous on the bridge.”

Harding took one of the chairs arrayed around the desk, and waved the Counsellor into another. "Okay, what exactly was I doing?"

Rose took a seat before looking at Harding as she spoke. “You were pacing, which wasn’t helping the nerves of the crew. That, plus your reaction to the loss of one of your crew... your face was pale, your hands were shaking and the tone of your voice gave away your feelings.” She paused.

Letting out a breath, Harding took a look out of the soundproof window, where doctors were now attending to her chief pilot. "Yeah... okay." She admitted in a small voice. "This whole situation with the pirates has me on edge. Something about it doesn't feel right, and it feels like nails on a chalkboard."

Rose nodded. “That I can understand, I hate that too it makes me cringe.” She offered a lighthearted smile. “I’m here to help you Captain, I’m not just the ships Counsellor, I’m also here to be your sounding board. In-front of the crew you have to be a rock, you acting like that makes other people nervous.”

Harding nodded, and looked away from the scene before her. She couldn't let herself second-guess her own choices. Not in public. "You're right." She agreed. "I'm still trying to figure out this whole 'Captain' thing. Back on the Ark Royal, I had someone watching my back. Sure, I may have been the one giving orders, but I always had Captain Markov there, to keep an eye on me. No instructor here, no safety net. It's my call. It's my people on the line."

“I don’t somehow think Starfleet would assign you as Captain of a ship, if they thought you couldn’t cope.” Rose offered a smile. “Don’t second guess yourself Captain, you have a First Officer and senior bridge crew there to help.”

"Thanks Counsellor." Harding gave the woman a genuine smile. "I just want these bastards. We missed them once, dealing with the Liberte, I want to nail them to the wall this time."

Rose nodded. “I can understand that, but we need to air on the side of caution. You don’t want to walk straight into a trap. For all we know they could be waiting to get their chance to get hold of a starship.”

"This is why I had us pull out of the Nebula. The fact they have defensive systems that are designed to disable, nor destroy. I find that extremely troubling.” Harding's gaze once again went to her CAG, being worked on in Sickbay. "Though they don't seem to concerned about endangering life."

Rose’s gaze turned the same way her hand coming to rest on her rounded stomach. “No, they don’t.” She paused for a moment as they both stood watching the medical staff at work. “My only concern in all this is that if anything happened to the ship, I’d prove to be a weak point for you. I don’t want anyone getting hurt protecting me.”

Harding's head came around, an almost shocked look on her face. "We all look out for each other, in our own way." She said, realising what the Counsellor meant. "You look out for the crew's well being. My job is to make sure everyone comes out in one piece. Starfleet has protocols for evacuation, should it come to that. Those protocols include procedures for making sure everyone gets out. Everyone."

Rose nodded. “Thank you Captain, I’m sorry I tend to over think things sometimes.” She offered a smile.

Harding reach across the table and took Rose's hand. "Hey now." She said in a soft, reassuring tone. "You've got a lot on your mind." She nodded to the woman's abdomen. "Nothing is too small to be worried about. Nothing."

Rose offered a more relaxed smile. “I appreciate your kindness, I’ll admit I’m nervous. However I won’t let you down.”

Harding offered a reassuring smile. "As long as you try - make the effort - that is all I ask. Success is less important than the fact you make a genuine effort."

“I do nothing less than give me best Captain” Rose smiled warmly. “I love my career as a Counsellor, helping others back to a state of happiness is an amazing feeling.”

"And that." Harding answered. "Is why you are on my ship. I wouldn't have taken you on board if I thought you would be a burden, or unable to do the job." Harding leaned back in the chair. "thank you, Rose." She had managed to calm down from the anxiety she had been feeling on the bridge. "You are good at your job."

Rose smiled. “Thank you Captain, I guess I helped without even really having to try.”

"Sometimes, just having someone to talk to can make a world of difference." Harding agreed. "If you will excuse me, Rose, I should get to trying to save this mission before the Pirates get away."

Rose nodded. “Of course Captain, I’ll return to the bridge for now.” She smiled warmly.

Harding rose from the chair and led the Counsellor.out.of the CMO's office first, before leaving it herself for theain floor of Sickbay. She could see medical staff still hovering around the biobed, and hovered for a few minutes. Not interfering, just observing.

OFF