<snip>

OOC: No problemo!

IC: Dael watched the cadet as she answered his question, taking in what she was saying but also paying attention to how she said, what she chose to pick out about herself and what she didn’t see to mention. He had a leg up as a Betazoid in doing this, but he’d also tried being more studious of others behavior since coming into a leadership role. People after all were just another puzzle to be cracked, and he did enjoy mental challenges. However people proved to be much less easy to predict or piece together than a power coupling. At it’s core a power coupling was a power coupling, different designs existed but they all ended in the same result. Too often he’d found that while that logic could hold for many of his crewmates, the variations stretched into infinity, making the determination of bugs or quirks to their “system” much less easy to find. As Whitfield was winding her answer down though he smiled, seeing a lot of himself when he first started work on a starship, and hoped to bring her talents out as his had.

“That’s good to hear, Cadet. I’m always eager to have a good team player in Engineering. I know you wouldn’t be here on an Academy field ship without good academics, but attitude is just as important as a good head on your shoulders on a Starfleet ship. I’m glad to see that you fit that bill.” He looked down at the PADD the cadet had repaired and called up the shift schedule.

“I’ll be setting you into the rhythm of the staff in no time, as soon as you get your medical check in and trip to the counselor squared away. But before I let you go, I’ve thrown a lot at you so I want to know, do you have any questions for me? As your department head I’m as much a resource to you as you are to me here on the Challenger.”

-Lt. jg Dael Stadi, CE

“Thank you, sir.” Whitfield paused for a moment after speaking, breathing out slowly and as calmly as she could, dropping her serious expression and smiling once again. It was hard not to in a situation like this, and she was certainly glad to have not ruined things for herself - or anyone else, for that matter.

“If I may ask a more… personal question, sir,” she spoke quickly, looking to the Chief. She paused once again, specifically taking time to figure out exactly how to externalise what she was thinking, far from willing to say anything that may be unwarranted. She definitely wasn’t a troublemaker, but once she had some idea as to how to say what she wanted, she let rip. “Was it hard for you, being a Cadet? Did you ever have, er, trouble with responsibilities… and being responsible?”

Her expression shifted to a more nervous one, tilting her head slightly as she questioned her own choice of words. She didn’t want to be too informal but she felt that perhaps it might be good to lighten the mood when questioning the DH’s responsibility, even if not referring to the present. Still, despite her outwardly appearance of curiosity there was a certain importance to the question. She’d definitely had doubts about her future that she’d hoped she would’ve grown beyond but they worried her yet. She waited, hoping to get some insight where she previously had nothing.

She wanted to be an engineer and she absolutely wanted to work with the Chief’s team. That’s all she knew was certain, for now, at least.

-Cadet Olive Whitfield, Engineer