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

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

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Serena Stone (Executive Officer) in Business As Usual - CNS Office - Tag Kingston
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“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

That question gave her pause, and for a moment she lapsed into silence to consider. But no answers came. “I don’t know,” she said. It was filled with earnesty rather than confusion. “I feel like things are off-trajectory for me. But that may not be a bad thing. That might turn out to be the best thing actually. But right now I just don’t have enough information. I know I’m quick to pull away from rapid changes, or from uncertain ground. But given time to check my footing, and feel my way forward, I adjust well. It’s out of my comfort zone. Which is good. It’s an opportunity for growth. I always expected if I ever did make it to XO, it would be on a warship. And yeah, I know the Mythology-class types can fight. But it’s a different culture. A lot more people to deal with. And well, people. Civilians. It changes the rules of engagement. It changes risk factors. It changes so much about how I would operate. There’s now a thousand liabilities I have to account for. A thousand corners I have to be ready to see around before I get there.” The prospect was daunting. There were a bunch of departments to deal with, each with their own problems, and individual concerns. And that didn’t even account for the people that fell under no chain of command. And of course if they got into a firefight… The idea of the losses there, or having to run and hide instead of taking the fight to the enemy because Tiny Tim might get vaporized … Granted, Orvos would shoulder much of that, but it wasn’t his to do alone.

Lt Cmdr Stone, XO

“It’s a lot to consider,” Janna agreed. “And the risk over being overwhelmed into paralysis is definitely there, but what is one thing you think you can do as you settle in that would allow you to get to know the ship and crew and find that footing you need here?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Serena thought about it for a few moments. “I’m not sure. It’s one thing being responsible for a bunch of tactical types. Especially on an escort ship. You’re always in each other’s space, it just kind of happens.” She grimaced. “I’m not even sure I can hold everything I need to in my head about roughly a thousand people, as well as everything else that I have to do. I know I’ll get in touch with all the senior officers, and maybe their team leads. But I’m really not sure about the rest of it.” The mroe she thought about it the higher the impossible mountain of things she had to accomplish grew.

So reverse engineer the outcome you want. Disassemble it into all the little parts… and then put it back together again. The reassuring words of her father came back to her like a conglomeration of so many memories. She didn’t even need the whole solution right now. Just a piece of it. More would come later. One foot in front of the other.

“Besides meeting department heads, I will probably link up with other notable people around the ship. Of course get the tour. Maybe a few tours from various people. It’s always interesting to see people’s takes on things. Two people can see the same place in entirely different ways.”

Stone, XO

Janna nodded. “That sounds like a great idea. It’s a beast of a ship and I bet you’ll not only get perspectives you wouldn’t have otherwise, but you might find out about some interesting places.”

“Take a deep breath right now and tell me how you feel in this moment about this ship and your role here.” Janna was curious if anything had changed from when Serena had first stepped in, but also it was a reminder for the woman to check in with herself.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

If one were to take a before and after photo of the woman, they would notice her shoulders were visibly relaxed in comparison. She did as bidden and took another deep breath. Or rather took air in, then took another pulse of air in, before letting it out in a slow sigh. The neurological sigh, but as she did she seemed to relax a little more. A moment later she nodded. “A little more centered,” she mused. “I suppose a lot of it is …” She trailed off then broke into a smile, though her gaze had fallen and drifted to the side as she went internal again. Processing.

A moment later she seemed to come back, a little chagrined, but overall she seemed to have let go of another layer of stress. “I need to get a better handle on that pattern… habit.. thing.” She tilted her head, regarding Janna thoughtfully, chewing her lower lip. It wasn’t hard to feel the redhead contemplating a question.

Serena Stone, XO