Posted by Lieutenant Commander Renveer (Executive Officer) in First Day on the Job

Posted by Captain Molly Holloway (Commanding Officer) in First Day on the Job

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Renveer (Executive Officer) in First Day on the Job
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Molly stared at the empty walls of the ready room, and the empty walls of the ready room stared back at her. Everything felt ethereal. As if she was walking on a dream she hadn’t awoken from just yet.

She hadn’t slept that night. Instead she had snoozed on the shuttle with Cal’s shoulder serving as a pillow, but even then it hadn’t been enough to hide the dark circles under her eyes.

In her hands she carried a few personal objects: a blue mug with UCLA spelled in large yellow letters, an old and battered copy of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, a small spherical glass terrarium, and a framed picture of her and Cal laying on the grass of a holographic version of Oklahoma City’s Scissortail Park.

There was something eerie about the emptiness of the place. Like a distant memory she’d repressed for a long time that was only now coming to the surface. Her grip faltered and the book slipped from her grasp, hitting the ground with a thud. Promptly placing the other objects on the desk, Molly crouched down to pick up the book that had once belonged to her mother, only to notice that two pictures had fallen from inside of it. One of them was a picture of two little red haired girls smiling at the camera. It had been her uncle that had taken the picture, in one of the rare occasions where his nieces had enjoyed a day out. A soft gasp left Molly’s lips as she looked at the second one and at the half-Korean man smiling beside a five year younger Molly — Ashton Young. The first man to truly steal her heart. She would never forgive herself the pain she had put him through.

Take care of Ashton, yeah? The words, uttered in the holodeck of the Montgomery by none other than Lai Lysis, now seemed so distant. She had failed Lai, and she had failed Ashton. And yet, here she was again, on the center chair of a ship. She had promised herself she would never take the job again, but just like the promises she had once made to both Lai and Ashton, this one too had been broken.

Blinking, hoping to stop the tears threatening from falling, Molly slid the pictures into random pages of the book and placed it on the desk, near her terminal. The terrarium on top of it, and the framed picture and the mug sitting by its side. It was everything she had at the moment. In fact, together with the small gold Rosary currently around her neck, these were the most important things she owned. Everything else she could do without.

With the soft tap of a button the terminal’s screen came to life. Sitting down on the chair that had up until a few weeks before belonged to Cal, she brought up her messages. Her eyes still didn’t want to believe what they was seeing.

The first XO Command had placed with her had been Gren Aullar. An Orion female and granted, a peculiar choice for a newly minted Captain, but Molly had learnt a lot from her. The second one… well, she’d rather forget about him. And now, once again, instead of letting her choose, Command had determined who her right hand would be. Only this time the choice had been certainly intriguing.

Taking a deep breath Molly tapped her commbadge, opening a commlink.

=/\= Holloway to Renveer. Please report to the Ready Room as soon as you can. Holloway out. =/\=

Why a counselor? Molly didn’t trust counselors. She didn’t like them one bit. And yet, on more than one occasion she had found herself opening up to the Trill officer with an easiness and peace of mind she hadn’t shared with almost anyone before. Had that been why he had been chosen?

Propping her elbows on the desk, Molly rubbed her eyes. Staring at the naked walls around her she waited for her new Executive Officer to arrive.

Capt. Holloway, CO

=^= Acknowledged. =^= Came the uncharacteristically short response from Renveer. About a half hour passed before the chime finally sounded, indicating that he had arrived.

When the door slid open in front of him, Renveer offered a smile that was a combination of a greeting and an apology. “I’m sorry for the delay, Captain. I was finishing up a counseling session.” He moved forward, a hand extended and his smile widening. “Congratulations, Molly. Well deserved.” Should his handshake be accepted, it was firm but not tight, and he would clasp his other hand over the back of hers in a gesture of genuine warmness.

Renveer, for his part, was still in his counseling teal. He had spent the day operating almost as if nothing had changed. He assumed the new orders meant nothing without Captain Holloway’s approval, after all, and his obligations to his clients did not evaporate with the promotion. So the counselor looked as he always did, calm and nondescript with an air of approachability about him. If there was a part of Renveer that knew this was a bit of an awkward meeting, he did not show it. But he was a counselor by training, after all.

(Lt. Cmdr. Renveer, XO)

Even though her thoughts had been roaming through the different possible reasons that could have led Command to assign her a Counselor as First Officer, Molly found herself smiling at Renveer when the doors opened, promptly getting up as he walked in.

Even though the handshake was promptly accepted, Hollway’s grasp was somewhat loose. It always had been. Almost as if she was afraid of physical contact, even if that contact came in the form of a simple handshake. Despite it all, she had made considereable strides during the past few years.

“Thank you, Commander. I believe congratulations are in order for you as well.” She said warmly, motioning towards a small sitting are with a sofa, a coffee table, and an armchair. Every single piece was standard Starfleet issue.

Moving to the area she had indicated, Molly let Renveer pick between the armchair and the couch and sat on the one left unoccupied. “I see, however, some habits die hard.” She gestured towards the teal uniform the new Executive Officer was wearing. An understanding smile played on her lips. “Hard to move on?”

There was a different air about Holloway, as if she was still getting around the fact that now she had a full crew under her command. It was clear that she wasn’t as much at ease in Command Red than in Intelligence Black. “I’m sorry…” She said apologetically, shaking her head. “Where are my manners… do you want anything from the replicator?”

What already had the chance to become an awkward meeting was clearly being exacerbated by Molly’s attempts at small talk.

Holloway, CO

Renveer settled into the corner of the couch closer to the armchair, leaving the more formal seat for Molly. In his office, Renveer was the one in the armchair. But this wasn’t his office, and he didn’t intend to transfer that dynamic into this new environment. At least not directly.

The former counselor looked down at his tunic and exhaled a laugh through his nose. “You caught me. I’ve always worn blue, no matter how many different versions of uniform we’ve cycled through over the last decade. I’m not sure red is quite my color, but someone back at headquarters seems to disagree. I must admit it’ll be a little bit of a mental shift to think of myself as part of the command staff now.” The way Renveer spoke about the promotion, it was likely clear that he had mixed feelings about the transition. Undoubtedly, he had loved his job as ship’s counselor. He just hadn’t had time yet to fall in love with being an executive officer.

Renveer shook his head lightly at Molly’s last question. “No thank you, but I appreciate the offer.” He set one elbow on the arm of the couch and crossed one leg over the other at the knee, leaning back slightly. “Although if you want to give your new accommodations a whirl, by all means. A captain’s ready room is quite the space to be proud of, and you have to break it in sooner or later.” Renveer raised his eyebrows, obviously being light-hearted. With grace, Renveer was seemingly unphased by the forced small talk, his brown eyes regarding Molly with no hint of judgement or expectation. His body language indicated that he was relaxed, perhaps even moreso than he had ever been during their sessions. Knowing Molly well enough, though, he didn’t intend to drag out the pleasantries.

(Lt. Cmdr. Renveer, XO)

“Is that an offer to help?” Molly chuckled, sitting down on the armchair. “Because I may take you up on it.” She paused for a moment. “In all seriousness though… I never figured how to decorate a space. I mean… That’s all I have…” She pointed to the four objects sitting on her desk. “Everything else seems rather pointless. Do you have any suggestions or advice when it comes to interior design?”

Even though Holloway had been the one calling the former Counselor, she had done so out of formality. She didn’t really have an idea to where the meeting might lead other than it felt like they should probably talk about the fact that they were going to be running a ship together.

Renveer grinned widely at the question, his interest obviously peaked. “In my opinion, the ambiance of a room sets the tone for everything that occurs within it. So I’d recommend considering what type of atmosphere you want to create in this ready room, and go from there. Art is a personal favorite of mine. Not prints or recreations, but original pieces by amateur of independent artists from across the quadrant. Art is great for conveying emotion, and a room with a personality is always more engaging than one with none.” His thoughts wandered to the paintings he had yet to unwrap in his new quarters.

It was a different take on Molly’s usual ‘decor is not useful’ stance. She pondered Renveer’s words for a moment before continuing.

Clearing her throat Molly finally worked up the courage to ask a question that had been weighing on her mind. Having considered all the options as to why Command might have appointed Renveer as her First Officer, she could not stop herself from thinking about yet another option. The more serious tone in Holloway’s words was clear when she spoke again. “Now… before we start talking about more… ship related things, I would like to ask you… if you don’t mind, that is… And I hope I won’t offend you when I say it but I feel like it will trouble me if I don’t at least mention it…” It was clear that she was slightly afraid of the reaction her question might cause, even though Renveer had seemed to bring nothing but peace to her. After all, the Counselor’s support had meant a lot to her in the past few months. “The XO position… did you personally request it, or did Command assign you?”

Holloway, CO

The former counselor hesitated. Not to formulate a lie, but instead to consider how to present the truth. His tone was even, but his gaze flickered slightly as if trying to figure out why the question was being asked as he was answering it. “I was asked, by Command, to accept the executive officer position after Captain Manning returned to Earth. I said yes, so I suppose it was a combination of both. It wasn’t my idea, by I’m certainly here by choice.”

Molly nodded, acknowledging the answer, but she gave no signs of what she was thinking.

Renveer’s brow creased slightly, creating ripples in his trill markings. “You said it was troubling you. May I ask why?” A very counselor-like question, but the slight display of emotion showed that Renveer was perhaps personally concerned that his acceptance of the position had offended or upset Molly in some way.

(Lt. Cmdr. Renveer, XO)

Holloway smiled at the question. “It seems that Command likes to interfere in my own job. And…” Her tone trailed off for a moment. “… I couldn’t shake off the feeling that you were assigned as my Executive Officer because ’someone needed to control the crazy one’.” Molly added air quotes. “You know my history with counseling… and you know how extensive it is. I just wondered if it was Command that had found me crazy enough to warrant a counselor as my Number One, or if it was you…” She chuckled softly. “It doesn’t surprise me that it was the former.” Molly shook her head. “I’m sorry if that was too honest. But I think it is better to put everything on the table.” It was a rare statement for Holloway. She shrugged. “After all, paranoia is part of my previous job.”

“Which leads me to another question about counseling…” She pondered for a moment. “How are our meetings going to work from now on? Is there any way we can continue with them?” A pained expression momentarily crossed her face. “When we find a new counselor I’ll have to go back to the beginning with them… and I am really not looking forward to it. But I also understand if you don’t feel comfortable keeping our meetings…” Even though her expression didn’t quite show it, for the first time in her life Molly felt as if an important part of her support structure was being taken away from her. It seemed that Renveer’s guidance through her past events had had a bigger impact on her than she would ever admit.

Holloway, CO

Renveer had to admit (to himself) that he had shared some of Molly’s suspicions. He had never considered an executive officer position before this one had been offered, so he hadn’t told anyone to consider him or that he wanted his hat thrown in the ring for such promotions. Renveer knew that he was a loyal, steady officer who tended to play by Starfleet’s rulebook on most everything, and considering Molly’s background in Intelligence and her previous assignment as a captain, he wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Starfleet had chosen him to help manage Molly in some way. But Molly and Renveer had developed such a good relationship over the past months that whatever Starfleet’s intentions, Renveer himself really did think that they would be a great team, and that they complimented each other well.

He didn’t say any of this out loud, and perhaps with Molly’s training she could tell that Renveer was holding something back. But Renveer gave a reassuring smile at her question. “I’m still a trained and licensed counselor, so I don’t see why it would be a problem to continue to meet in that capacity as well. There might be some…” he paused to consider his wording, “overlap of our professional relationships, but I don’t anticipate that being a problem. And if it becomes one, we can reevaluate at a later date.” the counselor shrugged light-heartedly. “Besides, now I get to be your personal advisor and confidant on a daily basis, rather than weekly.”

Renveer’s grin turned nervous. “I’ll admit that I’m a little less prepared on the logistical side of things for this position, so I’d appreciate any guidance and patience you can give me as I get settled into the new role. I’ll need your support too, which will be a little different, but refreshing for me as well.” There was something behind those words, an innate relief in being able to say them. Renveer was usually the one who supported others, and he had often found himself needing to look outside of the ship for more personal relationships where he could vent about the stresses of his job, for example.

“But how about you, Captain?” He leaned back slightly, watching Molly as he tried to ask the next question nonchalantly. “How are you feeling about being in command again?”

(Lt. Cmdr. Renveer, XO)

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