Another Round
Posted on Sun Jun 23rd, 2024 @ 9:10pm by Commander Martin Sorenson & Isabella Cerin
Mission:
Shakedown Shake-Up
Location: Esquimalt Lounge
1668 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure
Martin sat at the bar, staring disconsolately into his whiskey. There was a faint sense that he should find some more healthy way of dealing with everything from career decisions to frustrations with poorly made ships to troublesome avians from the Delta quadrant suddenly dropping right in front of them, but a run in the arboretum hadn't helped and it wasn't like there was Counselor to drop in on... He shook his head, swallowing a sigh. Was it him? Sarah said it had just been an opportunity the man couldn't pass up, but the CMO was beginning to have his doubts. After all, this made 6 Counselors since he'd joined the crew seven years ago - and three of those years had been a time skip.
If Martin's mood was morose, Izzy's was perhaps more the emotional embodiment of a middle finger, stalking into the bar and sliding onto the seat with more force than necessary, ordering a full glass of Saurian brandy, before even noticing who was nearby.
"...They get to you, too?" To her credit Izzy did at least glance around carefully before saying this; confirming none of the idiots in question were in the bar.
He looked up, momentarily surprised by the sudden company and then puzzled by the question. He could think of several people who might be said to be getting to him, but not many that would have gotten to Izzy as well. "They?" he queried. "Intel? Certification Commission? Starfleet Counseling? You're going to have to be more specific."
“The Oversight Committee. Or rather, the staffers they sent here to represent them; mostly so far by repeatedly bullying the Admiral and I.” A particular finger on Izzy’s right hand did in fact briefly extend itself, partly hidden by being in her lap. “Would’ve thought they’d leave anyone further down the chain alone, though; but maybe that’s too much to ask.”
It was difficult to imagine anyone actually bullying Yoshi, so these had to be above average caustic for the breed. "Yeesh. Anything in particular they're riding you about, or just poking to prove they're allowed to poke?"
“It’s been a variety of things in particular, but the net is wide enough that I’m very much leaning towards the latter.” She scowled and took a swig of her brandy. “So if they haven’t been hounding you…this about the…situation, then?” ‘The Situation’ was a rather bland way of describing something that was - both the Ziapteryx’s appearance in Federation space and what they seemed to have accessed and learned, and the risks of the remedy to it - undoubtedly giving a decent portion of headquarters migraines at the moment; but it wasn’t as if it could be discussed too freely in the bar.
"Several situations." He frowned, considering that at least two of them, possibly three, were things the Committee might want to question him about. For the one Izzy was probably referring to he could maybe plead that it was classified, but he wouldn't put it past them to get clearance. He downed the rest of his drink and signaled for another. "The one likely to cause the most ...ruffled feathers... has been resolved. At least for the time being. There were so many issues outside of that though..." he shook his head as he collected up his next drink, "...and I came back to find we'd lost another Counselor. This time before he'd even technically started," he added with a frustrated eye roll. "Though I hear you had a big 'situation' of your own here. Tell me it doesn't mean we're losing you too?"
"Unlikely. Though that was one of the things they couldn't resist harassing us about. We swapped spots with DS4; which I suppose was convenient if we were going to swap with anyone; DS4's man was close to rotating to another assignment anyways; I've simply put in to take over the sector from him and he'll move on a couple months early. As for losing another counselor...Well." Izzy shrugged and downed another swig of brandy. "Maybe they all get cold feet after reading about or hearing about how many totally gonzo things happen to this crew..."
"I'm glad to hear it worked out and you're staying," he replied, lifting his drink in partial salute. "As to counselors, my mom specialized in trauma survivors, so I guess I always assumed people got into the profession because they wanted to treat people who needed the help." He took a drink and blew out a frustrated breath. "Though I can understand if he was frustrated trying to get people to come to him. I think I may have accepted the XO role on this in part because I felt the same frustration as CMO."
"So you could force people to patronize the counseling services?" Izzy snickered slightly into her brandy. "Or because in such a role, you'd have a hand in managing the counselor themselves, and hoped to be able to head off any issues?"
"Nothing like that." He shook his head. "Though if I thought I could use it to force people to come in for care, I might reconsider telling Ewan I did not want to take XO on Vesta. No, I'd considered changing track to Command - let someone else take medical who might... well, not be the boogeyman to our chief engineer, or science officer, or intel chief," he took a shot of his drink. "But if one thing came out of this frakked up shakedown, it's that my calling is medicine." He turned the glass with the remainder of his drink as though turning from the subject. "But dealing with bad ship assembly and creepy hologram issues was probably preferable to dealing with the oversight committee."
"I wouldn't be entirely so sure you've escaped them, actually." Izzy rolled her eyes. "They may come knocking on doors once they hear about some of those technical issues. Though it might be worth it if you can make sure the people they bug next after that are the people responsible for building it..." Izzy's career had very little to do with interstellar construction standards; but she had most Luna brats (a quality for that matter shared with many starship-raised kids) reflexive horror at and judgement of the poor execution of such, since there was hard vacuum on the other side.
"If they talk to Ewan first, I expect they'll get enough of an earful to not want to ask further," he replied. "Though going by the debrief I just got through, there will likely be questions about reliance on so many holographic crew and the comfort level for organic crew. Or lack thereof," he added with a mirthless chuckle. "We probably should have dragged the Counselor along to help evaluate that. Though it might have only hastened his decision to leave."
"Honestly the people a counselor should evaluate is probably the ones who thought up that idea in the first place. Not just from a crew comfort level standpoint, but it just seems like an operational risk...in several different ways I can think of right off the bat." Izzy considered that not only would it mean losing half your crew to a power system disruption or certain types of interference; it was just begging some adversary to try to hack them someday either for information or for sabotage; the embassy security head when she'd been posted to the RSE would have horrified by the very idea she was sure.
Martin could only nod in agreement, though his recent conversation with Njalia did make him wonder if there was underlying prejudice involved. Something to discuss with a Counselor. If they ever got another to sign on for more than a couple months. "I'm sure that given the Romulan aversion to anything remotely AI, holo-personnel in our embassy would have practically seemed like a dare to them. Though to be fair, we rely more heavily on computer systems to run the ship and the risk of hacking there is virtually the same."
"At least it isn't like the Ferengi ones...you literally have to insert latinum slips every few hours to keep using some of their computers." Izzy rolled her eyes again. "But yeah, our receptionist on Romulus was 100 percent flesh and blood. Actually so were the ones on Qo'nos and Ferenginar; though the latter tended to get offered at least three bribes every day to try and get him to set up meetings...."
"At least the holograms were just creepy automatons - no bribes required," he laughed. "Though the EMH that came with a prior personality had to be reprogrammed to learn basic bedside manner." It was his turn to roll his eyes now. "I guess I should be grateful that out of the collection of species they used for templates no one decided to use a Ferengi. Of course, that might be because if they accidentally made one that too like a real Ferengi they'd find themselves on the hook for royalties."
"They would definitely make that case, yeah." Izzy laughed. "Besides, a holo-Ferengi would lack some of the useful skills and contacts a real one can have." Izzy's....side deals...with Noj over the years had been quite useful, when it came down to it.
"True," Martin laughed. Whether the drinks or the company or both, he was feeling better. "And true for most of us, I think. I'm glad there's something to be said for real experience, even if getting it means you want a few rounds afterwards."
"Real experiences is the only way to truly learn my job, honestly. Probably only way to truly learn yours, either." Izzy raised the brandy glass halfway in a sort of mock-toast, then downed the last of it.
"To learning on the job," he said, raising his glass and then finishing the remainder in one swallow.
