Posted by Captain Molly Holloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Trouble in Paradise

Posted by Ensign Wiles Osten (Security Officer) in Trouble in Paradise

Posted by Captain Molly Holloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Trouble in Paradise
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(snip)
“Great! I’ll be right back!” The speed with which Holloway disappeared from the table might make Osten wonder whether she wanted to be there in the first place. However, it didn’t take long for the CIO to be back with two stacks of pancakes, complete with syrup and butter on top.

Placing them on the table and sitting back down, Molly pushed one of the plates towards the security officer. As she eyed her own stack, there was a faint glow of innocent joy in her expression that didn’t quite match the general somber stance of the intel officer.

Surprised by the Captain’s offer to get his food as well, Osten sat at the table silently until she returned. He tried not to let the moment of quiet allow him to think about the situation further and become more nervous than he already was. Not that he couldn’t hold his own in a conversation with Starfleet’s finest, he told himself, just that he cared an awful lot about what the senior crew of the Dresden thought of him. And first impressions were important.

When Holloway set the plate in front of him, Wiles smiled genuinely and said “Thank you Captain,” as she sat.

“My uncle used to take me and my sister out for pancakes when I was a kid. Some of the best memories I have were made around them.” She smiled, as she dug her fork into the dough and took it to her lips. “Not the same…” Holloway commented as she took her first bite. “… but close.”

Wiles nodded as he dug into his own pancakes a little too eagerly, popping a forkful in his mouth as Holloway spoke, which made him have to chew faster and swallow hard to be able to respond in a timely manner when she paused. “Replicator food is good, but homemade food is great,” Wiles agreed.

“So what brought you to the Dresden?” Molly asked. It might seem like she was trying to make small talk, and that her mind was miles away from the event that had started the evening. But with Holloway rarely was anything left to chance, so it was safe to assume that the casual question was not casual at all.

Capt. Holloway, CIO

“Uh,” Wiles stalled as he finished another bite and wiped his mouth with his napkin, “well, this is my first assignment out of the Academy. I was recommended for this posting by the captain of the USS Challenger.” Realizing that he had told Holloway about his duties earlier, he felt the need to justify the responsibilities: “Lieutenant Ashur was very generous in making me a division officer.”

(Ensign Osten, Security Division Three Officer)

Molly smiled slightly in between two bites of her pancakes. “Lieutenant Ashur is one of the best security officers I worked with. He recognizes potential when he sees it.” Her mind briefly went back to his… lack… of check in when he was first posted in the Dresden. Even though both of them had had different experiences with Starfleet Intelligence, her own troubled past with the service had made her empathize with him from the start. “I’m sure there’s a good reason why he made you division officer.”

Molly took another bite of her food, taking that time to ponder how to work what she wanted to say. “There’s not a lot of officers on this ship that would have the courage to go knock on my door, for starters.” The smile was gone. “People seem to think that I’ll shoot them the moment I open the do–” Holloway’s words trailed off as she realized that she had greeted Osten with a phaser aimed at his head. “I can assure you, that is not my usual way of greeting guests…” She sighed and offered the security officer an apologetic smile before taking another bite. “Ah, I’m sorry, it’s been a rough week.”

“So… I am curious…” Holloway said waiving her fork around slightly. “I know this is going to sound a bit like a job interview, but I assure you it is not the case.” Her tone was casual. Or at least, less stiff than what was usual for Molly. “Where do you see yourself in five years? What are you expecting to accomplish within Starfleet?”

Capt. Holloway, CIO

Wiles wasn’t quite sure what to make of Molly’s “rough week.” He had experienced a few tough weeks in his life, but none of them had prompted Wiles to answer the door to his Starfleet quarters with a phaser in hand. If Wiles was talking with almost any other officer, this conversation would be going very differently. There would have been questions about paranoia, searching for a pattern of violent tendencies, investigating holodeck usage. The more he thought about it, the more Wiles’ security training made him uncomfortable sitting with the earlier actions of both the colonel and the captain. Tension like that on a Starfleet ship, especially from two of the senior officers, was worrying.

But those instincts were warring with Ensign Osten’s awareness of his rank and insecurity about the newness of his position on the Dresden. So for now, he said nothing of it.

“Um,” Wiles stammered for a second, pulled back into the present moment by Molly’s question, “well. Perhaps this isn’t the most endearing answer, Captain, but honestly, I’m not sure. Getting here, to where I am now, has been such a huge goal for the last several years. To be here now… I don’t think I’ve had enough time to soak it all in yet. Of course I am here to protect the crew from threats external and internal,” at which he winced mentally after saying it, “but I haven’t quite had time to think of a new ambition, I suppose.”

(Ensign Osten, Security Division Three Officer)

With a new bite of her pancake stack, Molly’s thoughts went back to her Ensign years. To the new responsibilities being placed on her shoulders, to the uncertainty of her actions, to the enemies she had made on the first few days. Looking back now, she realized ‘enemies’ was a strong word… all she wanted had been to be left alone.

“Everyone has an ambition, Mr. Osten.” Holloway finally said. “Even I had one, if you can believe it.” She chuckled slightly stabbing the pancakes with her fork. “I wanted to lay my head low and be a security officer for my remaining days. It was a steady job that I enjoy and that allowed me to go about my business. I could see myself getting to Chief of Security, maybe… but if I didn’t, I was set.” She pondered for a moment. “But most people want to have their own ship, you know…?”

Wiles nodded in agreement as he stared blankly into his pancakes. It was a bit uncanny how easily she had been able to pick up or predict his feelings. Again, he wondered what he had gotten himself into by putting himself on Holloway’s radar.

In general, Molly had always been very oblivious to the body language of the people around her. Her Security training at the Academy had made her a little more aware, but in a situation like the present one, she wouldn’t have thought of it twice. It had been Intelligence that had polished the paranoia with the need for constantly reading others, and there had been something about the officer sitting opposite her that had been bothering Molly for a few minutes. And now she had finally placed her finger on it.

With a tired sigh, Holloway placed her fork down on the edge of her plate, before leaning against the back of her chair and crossing her arms in front of her. Had she really thought that her rank and position on board the Dresden would make a Starfleet trained Security officer overlook her earlier behavior? What was she trying to mitigate? What fires was she trying to put out? Hers or Cal’s? What was she afraid of?

For a moment, Molly silently examined Osten without even realizing she was doing it. When she finally spoke, her attitude was somber. Almost as if a realization had dawned on her own mind.

“You have questions…” Holloway finally said. “You’re wondering what it is that caused me to open my door with a phaser ready to fire, aren’t you? You’re wondering why Colonel Harris acted the way he did, and you’re possibly also wondering if there’s something deeper going on.” She paused to catch her breath before continuing. “I’ve had my own ship, Ensign. Don’t think I don’t know how bad it looks. And I am not here to make excuses for Colonel Harris’s behavior.” She sighed again, this time in a more resigned fashion. “I know there are a lot of people in this ship that are afraid of my uniform or my rank, but I assure you, there’s no reason for it. What is on your mind?”

Capt. Holloway, CIO

Ensign Osten blinked and began formulating his response. Then he shook his head, battling the instinct to tread carefully. Holloway had just given him permission to be upfront, after all. “I’m wondering why the Dresden doesn’t have a ship’s counselor, and if it should,” he blurted out. Wiles hurried to explain. “I would rather have referred this incident to a counselor, I know it’s not my place or my business or my skillset to intervene necessarily. But I believe that the security of a starship can be compromised in more ways than just physical.”

(Ensign Osten, Security Division Three Officer)

The question caught Molly off guard. She had expected something about Cal, or even something about her, but she hadn’t expected a reference to the lack of a counselor on board the ship. The kid was definitely insightful. However, the smile she gave the Ensign didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“You’re right. The Dresden should definitely have a counselor.” Holloway finally said. “However, they don’t really seem to stick around…” At the same time, Molly thanked the absence of a counselor on board, as that way, there was not one for Osten to report the incident to. Her file was already bad enough without more occurrences. “Rest assured, Colonel Harris is not actively keeping us away from one. If anything he wants a counselor on board more than any of us.” So that way he could force me into appointments… Her mind completed, but she didn’t say it.

“You said you believe that the security of a starship can be compromised in more ways than just physical.” Holloway pondered for a moment. “Are you worried that the security of the Dresden may be compromised due to the current absence of a counselor?”

Capt. Holloway, CIO

Wiles shifted nervously. “Well… yes, that too, when you put it like that. But I guess that’s not exactly what I was implying.” He looked Holloway directly in the eyes, emboldened. “You and Colonel Harris are the two most senior officers on this ship. If you have conflict or stress that’s unresolved… it could impair your judgement during a dangerous situation. If your reasons for distress were separate that would still be the case, but considering your issues seem to be with each other… that is a dangerous recipe for lack of trust or teamwork when we need it most. A counselor would hopefully know how to solve that problem.”

Wiles turned his attention to his pancakes, cutting a mouthful and promptly jamming it in his mouth to stop himself from talking.

(Ensign Osten, Security Divison Three Officer)