Posted by Lieutenant Sapeth (Chief Engineer) in Post-Mission Wrap Up Party - Observation Lounge

Posted by Captain Freja Andreassen (Commanding Officer) in Post-Mission Wrap Up Party - Observation Lounge

Posted by Ensign MJ Shau (Security Officer) in Post-Mission Wrap Up Party - Observation Lounge
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
As was her typical habit, after wrapping up her orders with command, Freja set up a reservation in the Observation Lounge for the crew for a few hours to have a sort of informal crew gathering to celebrate a mission well done and get her crew to relax after a tough mission.

Heading down to the lounge after completing some remaining paperwork, fortunately it was not mountainous, she looked around to double-check the wait staff had everything in order. As expected, they had everything absolutely in hand. She reserved a larger block mainly to allow crew coming off duty to pop by and crew heading to duty to appear before their shift. Usually people came for a bit of time and then left, so the Observation Lounge was the perfect venue as they hardly had any concerns about overcapacity, but she supposed if it ever happened, they could simply take over the crew lounge too.

Helping herself to a slice of kvæfjordkake, which was a childhood favorite of hers growing up in Norway. She was never surprised when she saw the dish among the variety of dishes the staff prepared, but she never specifically requested they prepare anything from her native Norway. They prepared other various dishes as well from a variety of worlds and places, but she had stated in the invitation that if someone wanted to bring a native dish from their homeworld to share, they were welcome to.

Digging into her dessert and taking a seat at one of the tables by the windows, she waited to see which of her intrepid crew would show up first.

~Freja Andreassen~

OOC: Everyone is welcome to pop in here if you like. Otherwise, I have updated the MOTD with some new suggested orders (they are suggestions, if you have something better to do, please have at it!). I’m still waiting to hear back from some potential new crew and the GM Department about a new GM, so please be patient.

MJ had debated not going to the post-wrap party for a couple of reasons. First… he wasn’t really in the partying mood, with so many of his friends from the Pickett dead. Second… he had only been onboard a very short time, transferring over mid-mission.

The internal dialogue didn’t last long, though, and Ensign Shau found his feet taking him to the Observation Lounge.

The Chimera was his ship now, and he needed to get involved. Get to know the crew and how things operated onboard. That couldn’t happen if he were holed up in his stateroom wallowing in his emotions.

This gathering would also serve as a sort of farewell to lost friends. Staring out a viewport as stars passed by had always been rather soothing to the young officer. An unexpected benefit of leaving his home planet.

Ensign Shau entered the Observation Lounge and took in the room as he moved to sample the food. His body was still recovering from the medical treatments, and he was hungrier than usual.

OOC: I thought it would be best to pause there.

The way you set the scene, I didn’t know if he would literally be the awkward “first person” to arrive at the party, or were would be NE’s hanging about, filling in the background.

Ensign MJ Shau - Security Officer - USS Chimera

OOC: Nah, it’s okay, we’ll say there’s various NEs milling about. lol

IC:

As various people filed in, Freja announced, “Everybody grab some food and mingle, this is my way of saying thank you for your hard work on the mission.” She then went back to tucking into her cake. Being mostly Betazoid, she often had the sense that when she approached crew they often braced themselves as they expected her to start barking orders, so she tended to let the crewmembers approach her here in the informal setting rather than the other way around. She’d rather they not feel like this was a compulsory endeavor, but more of a way to build rapport between departments without putting too much pressure on it.

~Freja Andreassen~

The security chief arrived in casual clothes, ready to enjoy a night out CIC. He heard there were going to be some native dishes at the food table, so he had been starving himself all day so he could sample as many of the dished his narrow waistline would allow. He nodded and said ‘hi’ to a number of crew members he passed on his way.

After filling his plate and getting something to drink, he made his way to a table and sat, ready to dig in. . . . .

Lt. Conner Reid
Chief of Security-USS Chimera

Finn entered the lounge and was pleased to see a bunch of crew already milling about. It was nice to see that the crew could function both professionally and personally. He caught the glace of the CO as he was making his way toward the table filled with all sorts of delights and gave her a friendly head nod. As he reached the table he took in the delicious smells and figured tonight was a good time to not worry about overeating a little. After he filled his plate he glanced around and saw one of the new officers from the Pickett and made his way over.

“Good evening, Ensign. How are you getting on?”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

After perusing the buffet table, MJ settled for some poke. The light, fresh dish was reminiscent of some of the meals he grew up on back home. Having so much food available felt appropriate for the occassion. Back on Risa, it was a common custom to serve a feast when remembering those that had passed away.

There were plenty of people in attendance already, so MJ took a few moments to people watch as he ate. Not that knew many of the crew yet. With the MUE embarked the ship had around 2000 people onboard… far too many to get to know in a few short days.

The only faces he recognized were the people he checked in with and the senior staff from studying the crew roster. The CO is over there enjoying her food, and the COS just sat down with his own plate. I think the XO was over… nope… he’s headed my way. MJ finished his bite of food just before Lt Cmdr Grady arrived.

“Good evening, Ensign. How are you getting on?”

“Well enough, Commander. The Chimera is a fine ship and the crew has been accommodating. As with most new check ins, I’m still learning the ship’s layout and getting used to the new routine.”

Ensign Shau recalled from the XO’s public bio that he was relatively young for the position, still under 30 standard years of age. Despite the fact he the man had around 5 years on him, Lt Cmdr Grady’s youthful appearance made MJ feel old.

Or perhaps that is just my physical and emotional weariness at play. It has been a long few days.

Ensign MJ Shau - Security Officer - USS Chimera

Freja so far was quite pleased at the turnout, it was great to see that she could essentially bribe her crew with tasty treats. Useful information as always.

Taking another thoughtful bite of her cake, she leaned back to observe the crew intermingling.

~Freja Andreassen~

Sapeth entered, still dressed in his uniform. He never quite understood why certain cultures tended to have such celebrations, but he had also observed that such celebrations did tend to have a non-negative impact on crew morale. Additionally, while attendance was not mandatory, his past experience demonstrated that attending for a small portion of the time, greatly reduced the number of questions that may arise in the future, distracting him from other necessary tasks.

Moving along the side of the room, Sapeth obtained a cup of tea as he stood off to one side.

Lt Sapeth - Chief Engineer

Freja noticed her Chief Engineer and politely nodded her head in silent thanks for putting in an appearance. Having a Vulcan husband made her somewhat more aware of their cultural norms, so even if this appearance was short, she viewed it as a significant sign that her Chief Engineer was willing to put in effort to build a rapport with the crew and she appreciated the effort.

~Freja Andreassen~