Posted by Lieutenant Commander Serena Stone (Executive Officer) in Business As Usual - CNS Office - Tag Kingston

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Business As Usual - CNS Office - Tag Kingston

(snip)

it sounded like good advice. She opened her mouth to reply but then seemed to think better of it. Then nodded. “I’ll try.” She pursed her lips together for a moment, making a thin line out of her mouth. “Best I can do is just aim for excellence,” she murmured quietly, her voice hardly carrying in the quiet confines of the office. Misgivings and uncertainty rolled off of her, flaring up in particular at the mention of t he crew and being compassionate. And perhaps a feeling like she’d bene holding her breath for a long time, afraid to really breathe lest she fall apart.

Lt Cmdr Stone, XO

Janna leaned forward, searching for Stone’s gaze. “Hey, we’ve got you, just like we know you’ll have us. There’s an old saying that extreme pressure can create diamonds, but sometimes that pressure shatters things as well. We’re not one thing all the time Serena. We don’t need you to save us, to hold it all on your shoulders. We’re in this together, and trust me, after all this crew has been through, you won’t find a tougher group. But they are also a traumatized lot. We’re all learning to be softer at the same time. You just have to choose to join us.”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

The redhead said nothing for a long moment, her gaze locked with Janna’s, seeing, searching. Though she kept a good poker face, it was a mask. Beneath it swirled uncertainty, skepticism, dashes and splashes of hope, descending into a long note of resolve. Finally she nodded. “I don’t even know how long I’m going to be here. This happened so suddenly. It could be for a few weeks, or it might be for the next decade. For now, I’m just going to have to play it by ear.” She finished with a shrug. Best she could do for now was to just do what she could and roll with the punches for now. At least she knew how to take a beating, especially a tactical one. Flashing Janna a small smile she shifted in her seat, getting a little more comfortable.

Lt Cmdr Stone

“How long do you want to be here? If you had a choice, of course,” Kingston asked, sipping on her cooling coffee. Her newfound perceptiveness only went so far and thus she was still relying on her skills and experience to guide her and Stone through the conversation.

~Janna Kingston, CNS