Meet and Greet

Posted on Thu Jul 9th, 2020 @ 10:35am by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant JG Haru Hernandez

Mission: Into The Delta Triangle
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: Prior to Away Teams

With the ship underway from Earth a sense of calm had come over the crew. New crew were settling in easily, resources had been replenished, there seemed to be little of concern, which meant Abigail was free to leave Ichiko on the bridge while she worked in her ready room. Part of what she was trying to accomplish was to make her way through meeting the new crew, and now she was waiting for their new security officer to arrive at her ready room. Lieutenant Junior Grade Haru Hernandez. He had come highly recommended and had been vetted by both Security and Intelligence, so now Abigail was keen to put a face to the name and make sure he was settling in alright.

Haru had met the doctor, survived, met the science officer, was intrigues, met a whole host of people, was overwhelmed and now the CO had summoned him. It was routine and he was anxious to get all this done so he could just hit the ground running. He had to admit he was curious about the CO. She was considered one of the best in the fleet and he was hungry to learn. Straightening his uniform and giving his com-badge a shine he headed to the bridge. He'd never served on the Akira class but he was liking it so far. He actually had his own quarters.

Arriving exactly one minute before he was due he stayed his nerves and rang the chime.

She had just been contemplating a chai latte when the chime interrupted her thoughts. "Enter," she called, rising up from her seat, her full attention turned toward the door as it opened. "Lieutenant Hernandez," she welcomed him, holding a hand toward him. "Welcome to the Astraea. Can I get you something to drink?"

Haru shook her hand. "Thank you ma'am. Glad to be here." With the handshake over he executed a proper salute. "No thank you ma'am I think I drank enough coffee to power the entire ship."

Abigail laughed and motioned for Haru to take a seat. "I keep saying I need to cut back, then I realise I rarely ever finish them, so I'm pretty sure I'm safe enough. How was your journey back to Earth? Uneventful I hope?"

"I was already on Earth ma'am. My sister was injured at the Academy and I came to tend to her and my grandmother. When my sister was well again and my grandmother had passed I was reassigned rather then sent back to my ship."

"I'm sorry about your Grandmother," Abigail said gently. "It's never easy when you lose someone you love." She paused for a moment, contemplating. "I'm sure she was very grateful to have you there at the end, and I'm sure your sister appreciated your care as well." She took a sip of her chai and glanced at the PaDD on the desk that contained the transfer orders. "Have you met with Lieutenant Alani yet? She will be your department head."

"I have met with her yes. I've also gone through medical and have had time to settle in. I have not yet received my counseling clearance but I have that scheduled for tomorrow morning." He said. "I look forward to commencing duties once all that is complete."

"Excellent," Abigail said with a smile. "You've served on starships before, so this assignment won't be anything new or unique for you. Lieutenant Alani is very approachable, but if you have any problems you can come to either Commander Gail or myself, my door is always open. Do you have any questions about the ship or the assignment?"

"Not at this time however..." He stood and reached into a wait pack, much like a fanny pack, and pulled out a bag. He sat back down and gave the bag over to the CO. "This is Chai tea, my grandmother's mix. She thought me early on that one must never go into someone's office for the first time empty handed. It brings bad energy. I have it on good authority that you like Chai."

"Your sources are good," Abigail replied with a laugh. "Thank you, I haven't had a good fresh brewed chai tea in a good long while. Thank you, it is incredibly thoughtful of you. Maybe next time you're in my ready room we can share some?"

"I would be honoured." He gave a small bow. "I am looking forward to the posting." He looked at the CO. "Are there any specific rules that you wish followed. I know each Captain has a list." He smiled a little. "For example my previous CO did not allow anything but water onto the bridge. No Coffee No tea."

Abigail shook her head slightly. "I have nothing like that, just, when you're on duty, you're on duty. Your focus should be your position and your task at hand. Everything else can wait until you're off hours. When you're on your own time, you're on your own time. The crew is, for the most part, pretty laid back. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Anything else?"

"No ma'am." He said. "Thank you for seeing me today." He stood and bowed. "By your leave I shall head to my appointment with the counselor for clearance."

"Of course Lieutenant," Abigail offered with another smile, watching as he started walking away. As he reached the doorway, she called after him. "Oh, and Lieutenant, welcome aboard."