Meeting Hart

Posted on Fri Mar 26th, 2021 @ 1:55pm by Lieutenant Adora (Addie) Hart & Captain Dirk Taggart

Mission: Transitions
Location: Counselor’s Office

Dirk had spent nearly all day conducting inspections throughout the ship, he still hadn't been through engineering yet, he was saving it for last. His motive was also to give Lieutenant Hart a chance to settle in and set up shop. He approached the Counselor’s office carrying his Padd, and announced himself. "Lieutenant Hart, this is Captain Taggart, may I enter?"

Addie's office was a hodge podge of cargo crates yet Addie herself seemed rather nonplussed by her surroundings. Instead, she sat back on one of the comfortable couches, feet up on a cargo crate, uniform jacket slung over another crate and boots laying in the middle of the floor. With her mass of blonde curls piled up on top of her head, starting to fall free from the pins that were trying to contain them, she brushed one back from her eyes before taking a sip from the tall glass in her hand. "Enter!" she called, looking up toward the door.

Dirk entered "I see your making yourself at home, Lieutenant," he said with a bemused smile. "Don't worry about going to attention, this time Lieutenant, I just wanted to make sure you were settling in ok. Admiral Rochelli told me you would be arriving this morning."

"Sorry Sir," Addie grinned as she looked up at him. "I was moving some crates around and decided to take a break. Can I replicate you a coffee or something?"

"No thank you Lieutenant, and please don't apologize. You are following orders and setting up your work area. I don't expect you to be ready to pass a uniform inspection while moving crates, but I do expect it to be proper uniform while in the line of duty. Do you need a drink?"

She held up a tall, clear glass and shook her head. "I have my chocolate milk," she said with a grin. "You can sit," Addie paused and looked around. "Well, if you can find a surface."

Dirk sat down on a closed crate, "I won't be long, I just wanted to introduce myself and see how you were settling in. Do you prefer being called Lieutenant or Counselor?"

"Addie, if it's all the same." She shrugged slightly. "I've never really been one for all that pomp and ceremony. Besides, I find people relate to me better if I'm just Addie, it removes barriers."

"I understand but as the Captain I will address you as Counselor Hart. I do not want to give the impression of any type of favoritism," Dirk explained.

She rolled her eyes. "You Commanding Officers are always such sticklers." she smirked. "Now, tell me Captain, how are you feeling about taking over this ship? I did some light reading while we were on the way here, it looks like you've inherited a few problems?"

"I am excited to have command of a ship, Counselor and I am looking forward to challenges that I have inherited. I don't have problems, I have challenges. They are mere obstacles, simply puzzles that have yet to be solved. So have you known many Commanding Officers in your line of work? I'm just curious since you just grouped me with all of them"

Addie laughed at his question. "Now, Captain, a good counselor never reveals her secrets," she retorted. "I spent two years working at Starfleet Medical on Cestus III. I have worked with a lot of Fleet members in my career, all the way from crewmen up to Admirals." She took a sip of her chocolate milk. "I quite enjoy the company of people."

"I too enjoy the company of some people, though the hand you shake today may be the one holding the knife tomorrow. People are fickle Counselor," Dirk said easily as he relaxed, enjoying the conversation.

"Perhaps," She shrugged slightly. "I've come across a few people who are, well, lets just say not entirely pleasant to deal with." She laughed softly. "When I was fresh out of the Academy there was this one particular person who was just wretched. No one wanted to deal with her at all. I was determined I'd get her to, if not like me, at least appreciate me for my job. Every day I followed through with one ridiculous request after another trying to break down her barriers and not be so awful."

Dirk chuckled, "Some people are difficult to break through their walls. I'd assume she would have had a good reason to be that way around you. Most people I find have walls around something, some just protect more than others. Did you ever break through the barriers/"

"The last day I saw her, she asked me for this absolutely ridiculous hand ground green superfoods smoothie with a kelp and kale salad on the side of an all egg white omelette, and it had to be hand made, she didn't eat replicated food. I got up five hours before my duty shift started. The first thing I did was took it to her. She took one look at it and told me it was pathetic." Addie bit her bottom lip, setting her chocolate milk aside. "I called her a horrible green goblin bitch then took the smoothie and tipped it over her head. It was only as I turned on my heel to storm out that I realized my Commanding Officer had just seen the whole thing. Turns out she was his lover."

If Dirk had been drinking he would have spit from laughing so hard," You seriously dumped it on her head in front of the CO her lover?" he wiped a tear from his eye. "That is unreal Counselor, is it safe to assume that you didn't stay there too long after that?"

"I stayed on that ship for another fourteen months after that, they broke up a few weeks later." Addie replied with a grin. "I actually had dinner and drinks with Captain Harward while I was on Earth before I joined the Astraea crew to come here."

"That is most impressive Counselor. I congratulate you on your staying power. I think though that you will not have those sort of issues here. I find relationships between Commanding Officers and crew cause issues with morale. I've seen what happens when it goes wrong and it isn't pretty."

"You're definitely right about that," Addie replied quietly. "But it's also human nature to seek out companionship, and when you're in a situation like you are Captain, that makes things difficult. The current situation of this ship, the fact that we're essentially stranded here in the Delta Quadrant until further notice, we don't exactly have the luxury of a regular home port at this point."

"Christopher Columbus didn't have a home port either when he departed on his quest, but he achieved success all the same. I believe we will be fine and we will learn and explore things out here. It's what I'm looking forward to the most."

"What ever floats your boat Captain," Addie replied with a soft smile. "Literally and figuratively. Now, as fun as this little chat has been, if there's nothing else you need Captain, I really do need to get back to unpacking. Otherwise I'll be running counseling sessions at the bar." She smiled again as the Captain stood up, nodded and bid her farewell before heading to the door. Once he was gone, Addie shook her head slightly. "This is going to be a very interesting assignment."