Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Bridge/Ready Room: Ashford Checking-In

Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Bridge/Ready Room: Ashford Checking-In

Posted by Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Bridge/Ready Room: Ashford Checking-In
Posted by… suppressed (13) by the Post Ghost! 👻
On such a massive ship, the Bridge was always a sight to behold. Though for as large as it was, at least in Valerie’s opinion, it was still overshadowed by the technological vanguard that was her previous posting. As she took in the Atlantis’s center of command, Valerie came to the realization that the kind of tech she had worked with on board the Thresher was probably one of the things she was going to miss the most about the Intelligence ship. Maybe one day. Right now that was not relevant to her work.

With another quick look around, Ashford swiftly crossed the space that separated her from the Ready Room’s door, and thus, from her final check in.

Smoothing her uniform, she reached for the chime and pressed it.

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO

“Come,” Kelly called out. She had expected the CSO and was rather excited to meet her. After the meet and greet, there was a lot to tell Ashford about the ship and the new toys they had just acquired.

Kelly Bordeaux CO

As the doors slid open, Ashford stepped in, greeting the Captain with a polite smile and a nod.

“Lieutenant Commander Valerie Ashford, reporting in, Ma’am.” The words left her lips with practiced ease, and her stance was formal yet natural. Even though Ashford wasn’t too keen on excessive formalities, one was never sure of the quirks a new Commanding Officer would have, so she played it by the book. At the same time, she didn’t want to seem like a newly appointed Cadet, eager to please their new Captain, so over the years, Ashford had made sure to perfect her introductions to where they looked respectful yet effortless. And this time, she had nailed it.

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO

The room was the standard in furnishing and size for a CO but the decor would make most people do a second take. The walls and shelves were not filled with awards and trophies. Instead, it was an eclectic array of items that one might struggle to piece together to find a theme. There was a kazoo, a model of a yacht, an original Jackie Robinson jersey, and a hacky sack ball to name a few items. “Valerie,” Kelly stood up and crossed the room to meet her. “I am so happy to meet you. Can I get you something to drink?”

Kelly Bordeaux CO

OCC: So if you want to invent a random object I will work whatever you dream up into a story. I have a blurb in my bio about her office. If you want a more traditional approach we can do that too. ~ Kate

OOC: Oooh, I shall take some creative liberties then! Though, feel free to void them if they don’t fit the narrative! :) – Joana

IC:
Alright, so informal style it was. Valerie felt the pressure leave her shoulders. “Oh, no need. I’m fine, Ma’am. Thank you.” She heard herself say as her eyes were drawn to the panoply of items on the shelves. This was… the very opposite of the minimalism she had tried to practice and hone for the past few years, although recently she had found herself letting her ‘humanity’ add a little more chaos to the mix than she likely should. For a moment, she wondered what Salvek would say if she saw this, and her lips twitched in a soft smile.

Suddenly, Valerie’s gaze shifted to meet the Captain’s, as she realized she had been staring at the collection for probably far too long, but something had caught her attention. “Also, ‘Val’ is just fine. I know ‘Valerie’ can be a mouthful at times.” She said with a warm smile, trying her best to not give the first wrong impression.

Curiosity, however, always seemed to take the best of her against her better judgement. “I hope this is not out of line, but I can’t help but ask… is that a Vulcan meditation lamp?” Ashford pointed at a small object tucked away in the higher shelves. “A uh… friend… had one just like it.”

Lt. Cmdr. Valerie Ashford, CSO

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“Yes,” Kelly replied with a lop sided smile. Gesturing to a seat, Kelly replicated a cup of coffee for her and one for Valerie. “My ex-husband is Ric Erins host of Man vs Universe. She wasn’t sure if the science officer had ever watched the OMAP show where the Ric Erins met with various cultures and experienced them first hand for audiences to witness. The show was more like an action documentary where the host often found the extreme groups and spent time with them eating their foods, playing their games, sleeping in their visiting hosts homes. At times the show felt more like an action-adventure show than stuffy interviews.

Valerie was aware of the show, not because she watched it herself but because some of her fellow scientists back on the Rosalind Franklin followed it religiously and the subject had sometimes bled into their coffee break conversations. She wouldn’t have placed the name of the host though, had Bordeaux not elaborated on it. For a moment, Ashford wondered what it must have been like to be married to someone with such a widespread public presence.

“Every time he left a location the people tended to give him a trinket. Everyone knows about Vulcans but there is a small colony of Vulcans that have not only turned their backs on emotions but also all technology. Think Amish but from Vulcan. It was interesting filming since they shun technology but Aedan Teller can get just about anybody to do anything.” Kelly took a sip of her coffee. “I didn’t get to go on most of them but some I did.”

“Anyway we spent all day out in the field medieval style and then had to come in for meditation. I don’t do meditation. I fell asleep. Normally I am pretty good at quiet sleeping but I toppled over, hit that lamp,” she hooked a finger over her shoulder, “and burned down the tent.”

Kelly Bordeaux CO

Ashford’s eyebrows shot up in astonishment and she barely managed to suppress a gasp. Over the past few years, Vulcan culture had become very dear to her, with aspects of it seeping into her own daily routine. Meditation being one of them. Valerie had heard of the small Vulcan colony in question (although she couldn’t say the same about the word Bordeaux had used to exemplify it. ‘Amish’, was it?) and, even though she was no expert, Ashford could imagine the importance traditions like these held in such communities. They were likely even more important to them than to ‘regular’ Vulcans. So the thought of having a tent burnt down by a toppled mediation lamp during the recording of an entertainment show seemed outrageous to Valerie, even if it had been an accident.

“So… w- what happened?” Ashford managed to articulate, while trying her best to hide the shock from showing on her face. It seemed even more baffling to her that after such an event Bordeaux had been gifted the lamp by the people. But then again, Valerie was definitely not a cultural expert. Heck, she wasn’t even a cultural expert of her own species, let alone a different one! “Did they not want the lamp anymore?”

Lt. Cmdr. Ashford, CSO

Kelly let out a full-bodied laugh that made her body shake. It had been years since she thought about the event and her ex-husband. Ric’s birthday was this week. Maybe she would call him and say happy birthday but that was something for another day. Taking a sip of her coffee, Kelly let out one more chuckle. “I am not laughing at you but your expression was rather amusing. Unless you have been informed about my command prior to this…we enjoy a healthy sense of humor here. Anyway,” Kelly continued, answering the CSO’s question, “luckily they were Vulcan. That race can hide emotions pretty darn well but I knew they were pissed.” Her voice was sarcastic but full of humor. “Of course, I felt bad I burned down their tent but it was an accident. I had just come off a three-month deep space run and had taken three shuttles to get to my ex so I was exhausted. I still stand by it really wasn’t totally my fault and that meditation can be dangerous to one’s health.”

Oh… yes. There was the obvious fact that they were Vulcan, and that they would, obviously, take it in the least emotional way possible. As someone who had spent some time immersed in the planet’s culture, Valerie kicked herself mentally for not even having considered it.

And well… even though Ashford tended to disagree that meditation could be dangerous for one’s health… she could see how it could be detrimental should they set the room on fire.

“So after we put the flames out Ric found the lamp. On the show it was customary to give Ric a gift to remember the experience. I am not sure they were going to give us the lamp but I am damn sure they didn’t want it after it was scotched. You can see the marks on the back,” Kelly joked. “For the rest of the episode the Vulcan’s did not light anything and Ric had to narrate,” Kelly’s voice took on a deeper tone as she imitated him. “And if they lit the torches,” she laughed again.

Kelly Bordeaux CO

It was impossible not to smile at Bordeaux’s cheerfulness as she recounted the incident. Even Ashford, who was usually more subdued in her emotional expression, found herself chuckling with her new Captain. “Well, I suppose it made for an interesting episode!” She said with a soft laugh.

“I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be directly involved in a show like that.” Valerie said looking up wide eyed at the objects on the shelves. “I know I wouldn’t be able to endure the constant traveling. Though I’m sure the adventure made it worthwhile, it must have been exhausting, no? I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are these all from places visited on the show?”

Lt. Ashford, CSO

“Most,” Kelly nodded and thought about her next response. “The others I stole from my ex.” Kelly spun a picture around of Ian on her desk. The image was a typical couples picture on beach with both looking happy. “This is my current husband who is the Chief Diplomatic Officer of the ship. All of this,” she waved a hand at the stuff on the shelves, “came from my Ex Ric Erins. Ric and I met in the academy. We served Starfleet for a number of years before he was approached with the Man vs Universe gig. Half the stuff was places I visited him on leave. The other half are things procured as part of the marital assests.” The way Kelly air quoted the words indicated she probably took it rather than was given it.

Kelly Bordeaux CO

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