Meeting the Chief Medical Office

Posted on Sat Jun 8th, 2024 @ 8:46pm by Commander Cornelius 'Kit' Hanlon & Lieutenant Astrid Nyx

1,257 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: To Boldly Go
Location: Mars Station
Timeline: Day 2 - before the crew board the Fenrir

[ON]

Commander Kit Hanlon had gotten used to the room he had booked as his temporary office. Even so, truth be told, he was itching to actually get onto the ship. But from this office he could just catch a glimpse of her nacelles in dry dock. Just enough to remind himself that yes, there was a ship and yes, he was the First Officer on it. The crew were finally arriving to Mars as well, which made him feel better. There was always that risk of someone suddenly turning around and being given a different ship, whereas for him it felt more secure once boots hit the deck. If nothing else he could at least object then.

Their Chief Medical Officer's record had interested Kit. He had never met anyone from Varda Prime before, at least that he knew. As an Earther, it was always fascinating to meet people, humans especially, from other planets. She also had a great record, one of those he used to be jealous of. Clever people and all that. He had also liked the honesty in the transfer request. She had a dependent, a child, and with two class rooms and teachers the Fenrir gained in her refit it was more equipped as a family vessel than most of her class or size.

As he perused her personnel record, Astrid herself hurried from the far side of the station, where the family daycare facilities were. Aurelia had been in a somewhat intractable mood that morning, and everything had taken longer than Astrid had planned. She would be late. Normally, she didn't feel too worried about the impression she made: because she was good at first impressions. But, this wasn't just any first impression; this was her first assignment off the Valkyrie, and a nastily nagging voice in the back of her head kept telling her that someone was going to swoop in and take it all away from her. If she had known that Kit, waiting for her in his makeshift office, felt much the same way, it might have helped. But, as it was, she had only the company of her own mind on the long walk across Mars station.

Even so, when she finally arrived at the temporary office of her new XO, she forced herself to pause and take a deep breath, even though she was, indeed, several minutes late. Then, she drew up her best smile, pressed the door chime, and waited.

"Enter," Kit said and smiled when the woman entered. He had not noticed she was a little late, his mind still on a thousand things and her record. None of those things were bad, it was just that the human brain had a finite amount of things it could juggle in a single moment; keeping track of seconds and minutes had been pushed aside, deemed less important.

Astrid entered the little room at the amplified sound of the XO's voice, and came to attention as soon as the doors hissed closed behind her. Beyond the man sitting at the lone desk, a large window opened into the stardock's interior, where several starships were currently docked. As Kit took her in, she kept her chin up and eyes forward.

The Lieutenant was dark-haired and her hair was cut in a severe style that Kit associated with Vulcans, but also reminded him of the historical holodeck programmes you could play with. There was something inherently glamorous about her, the large eyes and striking features. "Lieutenant Nyx," he said and the warmth in his voice was clear. He was pleased to meet her. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Kit Hanlon, the First Officer. Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?"

"Commander Hanlon, it's a pleasure, sir." She let herself relax from the formal posture at the tone in his voice. You never knew what sort of officer you were going to get on a new assignment, but she always preferred the ones with a more easygoing manner. Not noticing her tardiness was another interesting sign, something to think about.

She seated herself in the chair across from him, and glanced toward the replicator set into the wall. "I'd love some tea. Jasmine pearl?"

He nodded as he made his way over to the replicator. "If we were at my sister's, she'd insist on the real stuff too. She got it in her head that replicator tea doesn't taste right..." he shook his head at it, the smile fond. He might not agree with his sister but he loved her for the passion she had for something as simple as a drink. "Tea, jasmine pearl, hot," the tea materalised in its glass mug with the red handle and he picked it up and carried it to her, putting it down. "I'll just..." he went back to the replicator and got himself a black coffee, hot, before sitting down. "Sorry about the office. I am hoping to make my actual office on the ship a little more..." he paused, clearly trying to find a way of putting it. "Welcoming. It feels like I am being put in storage here, so who knows how it feels for you."

"Well, this is the first time I've made a major transfer, so not so much stuffed in as unmoored." She crossed her legs and leaned back, cradling her cup of tea in her hands. Jasmine suffused the air. She sort of agreed with her new commander's sister about the quality of replicated foods, but decided that might be a better discussion for a later date. Even so, the smell was lovely. "It's hard to explain to a kid why you're making a big change like this. But I think that the Norway class has a lot to offer. That's... that's her, isn't it - the Fenrir? Out there in the dock?" Astrid gestured toward the window with her tea.

Kit sipped his coffee before he nodded, putting his mug down. "You can just see her from this window," he said and there was unmistakable pride in his voice. The Engineer shining through in the First Officer, all excited about a different class of ship coming off almost new, for a new crew to get to know. "Full refit, they stripped her down and redid a lot of things...apparently it was a vision of some Admiral here, more community driven with the space to show the values of the Federation." He stopped, his brain catching up on what she had said. About the child. He didn't have children, what he had was nieces. Hardly the same thing, but at least he could relate through them. "My niece, L'Orla, she has moved three times in her life so far. All to different planets with different cultures. She didn't understand but kids are...resilient." He sat back a little in his chair as he watched Nyx, his eyes meeting hers and holding them for a moment. "And we're here to facilitate that Aurelia settles in as well, so if there is anything specific you need, or suggest, please...don't say silent."

A warmth flooded Astrid's chest at Kit's words, and she found it difficult to say anything around the sudden lump in her throat. It was surprising how keen the emotion was, while still being impossible to properly name. She knew only that it felt good. Really good. Like coming home.

[OFF]

Lieutenant Commander Kit Hanlon
First Officer
USS Fenrir

&
Lieutenant Astrid Nyx
CMO
USS Fenrir

 

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