Posted by Lieutenant Benjamin Grey (Chief Medical Officer) in 17 Forward - Thoughts on the Past
It was just after 1900 hours, 17 forward was mostly full with the dinner crowd chatting away, having finished their morning and afternoon shifts. Most had already finished eating. Benjamin sat at a table close to the observation window and was looking out at the stars. His meal of Andorian Spice peppers, a fish that tasted like halibut, and Tellarite Rice, sat half finished on its plate next to a glass of water. There wer two other glassess on his table, a glass filled with his personal favorite Isley Single Malt, a gorgeous golden brown. Next to the refined Whiskey was a clear glass with an ugly yellowish brown tint, Ferengi Snail juice. He’d grown accustomed to the taste over the years but there was never going to be a day where it would be his prefered drink.

He finally sighed, grabbed the drink and raised it to the stars “Cheers to you old man” He said with a sad smile then downed the drink, he’d learned that he prefered the extra shells as they made the drink slightly less bitter. He coughed once and put the drink down after spitting out the snail then finished the entire glass of water. Today was the 13th anneversary of the Death of Lieutenant Grimp Omag, his second Department head within Starfleet. The man had tested the patience of a young Ben Grey more than any other person, they had not been a good match, not with Ben’s temper and the Ferengi’s complete lack of social grace. Ben had been struck, vomited upon, thrust into situations far beyond his experience, and promoted well before his time all because of Grimp. He’d only known the man for a year and yet he was one of the most influentioan people in his life.

Benjamin hadn’t really lasted as Chief on the Polaris, the pressure was too much after only a few years so he’d requested a demotion and a transfer just before his first ship was decommissioned. The next five years had been a haze, transfering from the Polaris to Betazed, to the Genesis, then finally to Earth. Then seven years on the Genesis. He recalled sitting in the office of Fleet Captain Koraia and arrogantly stating his intentions to go far. Then for seven years he just did his job. A single bump to full Lieutenant, a handful of commendations, doing triage surgery in an empty pool in only swimming trunks and a garish shirt. An alternate universe version of himself that was in a relationship with someone he considered a dear friend which gave him an interesting look into how the universe worked and an alternate timeline version of himself that he saw die. Fifteen years in Starfleet and weird didn’t begin to cover it. He rememberd when he’d turned thirty, working as a junior officer after failing as a department chief, feeling as if his career was over, that he’d failed. Now a decade later, and if not wiser he did feel more confident. He no longer thought of his career success in terms of pips and status but in lives improved and saved. He didn’t lament relationships that failed or never were. The Athena was a good place to be, a senior staff he’d served with for years, qualified doctors in his team, and old friends gone on with their lives. And it all came back to a tempermantal, unstable, bad drinker, of a Ferengi Medical Chief.

Ben shuddered feeling the aftertaste of the snail juice and quickly sipped on his Single Malt “Stubborn bastard” He muttered and smiled.

Doctor Grey
CMO

OOC: Beautiful post! Hope it’s okay I ump in here.
IC:
Speaking of dear friends, a glass with a dark liquid and a couple ice cubes slid onto the table and Janna pulled out a chair and sat, pulling the glass towards herself. “Heya Ben. You look 100 light years away.” It was an invitation but a soft one. No pressure, just her being her usual self. Though he also knew better exactly how she ticked now, since quite a bit of that had changed.

~Janna Kingston, CNS