Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Side Sim - Head of the Ship (CO Check in)

Posted by Ensign Juliet Anders (Security Officer /RTF) in Side Sim - Head of the Ship (CO Check in)

Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Side Sim - Head of the Ship (CO Check in)
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Juliet stopped at her quarters and changed her tunic top. *There was probably nothing wrong with it,” she thought to herself, washing her face. But she would never go see the Captain in a uniform she had been wearing all day, if she could help it.

Drying her face and slipping the fresh top on, she made sure her hair was still plaited and coiled and moved into the hallway to head for the lounge. It was the place the computer had said the Captain was. If she was too late to talk to him tonight, she would make an appointment for the next day, first thing.

After several more double takes from those she passed in the hallways, she entered the lounge and looked around. She knew the Captain from her check in file. But it was hard to concentrate when so many were staring at her like she was some two headed anomaly they would need to box up in a containment field… if they could ever get close enough to catch her.

She saw the Captain by the fish tank. Tugging down the front of her shirt, despite not needing it, she straightened up and made her way towards the man.

Ensign Juliet Anders
Sec/RTF
“Jewels”
((corrected Capt gender cause I ran with a cell phone typo and never fixed it lol… done now))

Sanctuary was something hard to come by in any corner of the quadrant and most definitely on a ship like the Leviathan. But in the initial weeks of their voyage out, post-refit, it had been found by many of the crew in the Jörmungandr Lounge. The captain could not lay claim to the nautical theming, although to his delight it recalled his beloved Nantucket. And indeed, so popular had the space been, in those easy, more carefree days, that Cobb had chosen to stock the bar from his own, personal collection.

But then had come the incident with Ullr and, for the crew, a terrifying reminder that on this vessel, there existed no escape from anomalies. The nitrogen-based creature was now secured on the containment deck but still, with the memorial plaque to the fallen officers taking up a large part of the right-hand wall, it seemed as if the crew’s desire to relax and gather here had waned.

But for Cobb, one draw still remained. In the centre of the room, stood the old M/ARA reaction assembly repurposed as a colourful, tropical aquarium. And every evening, once his shift in the CIC had concluded, the captain would retreat to the lounge and to his favourite, aquarium-side couch, to nurse a drink or several and allow his consciousness to swim amongst the beautiful, graceful fish.

In fact, so engrossed was he in the fish at this moment, that he remained oblivious to Anders’s approach until she was right upon him. At which point he turned with a start and fixed blazing, blue eyes upon her.
“Ah, Cas,” he began, before realising his mistake. “Ensign Anders. How…can I help you?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

The fact that he startled was more surprising than that he mistook her for the same woman everyone else did. It was polite, but her response had a bit of an edge to it. “Yes, Anders, Sir. I see I am interrupting so I came to ask what time tomorrow you would like me to report for my check in with you.” By the time she’d finished, her voice and posture had settled once more.

It was hard to imagine, but she hoped her entire time here wouldn’t be in being mistaken for this woman everyone thought she was. It was already starting to grate on her nerves. But she pressed it back and absently opened herself to the Captain’s surface thoughts out of habit. Non intrusive and certainly not something he’d be aware of unless he was of a kind like herself.

Juliet
Sec/RTF

Zachariah frowned then shook his head. “Interrupting? Not at all. I assure you, Miss Anders, despite outward appearances I am perfectly capable of drinking and talking at the same time.”

Chuckling slightly at his own joke, the captain turned from the tank to face the table before him, nodding with his head towards the abundance of vacant seating, which Juliet could select from either the large, armchair-style seats on the other side of the table or, were she slightly more daring, the space on the couch beside Cobb.

Refilling his own glass, Cobb held the half empty bottle out to the security officer. “Grab yourself a glass, Miss. I find conversation comes easier with a well-lubricated throat.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Despite the nearness to the Captain her choice would produce, the armchair appear far too comfortable and lounge like for Juliet’s idea of a place to sit for checking in. It seemed, as she glanced at it, that it would half swallow her and draw her much further down than she desired to be in front of her Commanding Officer. Turning her head a moment, she spied the various glasses on the edge of the bar and fetched one before returning and sitting on the couch beside the Captain and reached for the offered bottle. “Thank you, Sir. And I meant no disrespect to the offer to return. I have no doubt you are skilled at a great many things, or you wouldn’t be Captain. I was merely offering to not intrude on your personal time.” She had caught the joke, but misconstrued it as a hit to her in thinking the man incapable of doing two things at once. As she set the bottle back on the table, she looked at him and took a drink from her glass without her eyes removing from her assessment.

“No disrespect inferred, lass,” Cobb replied, raising his own glass in a salute to hers.

He looked like his holo pic had and she was grateful nothing serious had changed. The only difference was the light in his eyes. She was certain it was because official pictures were always staged and rarely taken when one was actually ready. Yet here he sat, open and polite, with a shine in his eyes that held both a light that showed he was happy in his position in life, along with a shadow that she guessed, not knowing him well, was from fatigue or something specific that was troubling him. Either way, he was the type of person she could definitely learn to not just respect, but follow. And that made a world of difference to her.

She finished her sip and set the glass on her free hand as it rested on her knee. “That’s really good. Thank you, Sir.” Juliet settled on the edge of the couch in a posture that would instantly be called prim and proper. It was the proper way to sit in the presence of someone who, at their whim, could dismiss you with a wave of their hand, and you would have to be gone. “I’m not sure what you are aware of in my regards, Sir. But I am happy to answer any questions you have.”

Juliet
Sec/RTF

For what possibly felt like an age to Juliet, but in reality passed in a handful of seconds, Zachariah remained silent, his blue eyes scrutinising the woman beside him as if he could peer into her skull and dissect her very thoughts. Which, of course, he could not. Still, some things were obvious even without telepathic tendencies.

“Do I make you nervous, lass?” he chuckled after a time, his eyes sparkling with mischievous intent. “I suppose there are far worse qualities for a captain than to be feared by their own crew, eh! But that’s not really my way. I take people as I find ‘em and create no quarrel until they land one at my feet.”

Reaching for his drink, the captain released the young woman from his attention momentarily, allowing her a brief respite as he focused on his glass.
“In truth, I’ve already seen your files, Miss Anders. And Lt Synthi-er has filled me in on some of the rest. So what questions might I have remaining, hmm?” He thought for a moment, before clearly locating an answer and concluding with, “How are you finding my ship so far, eh?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

She shook her head as he asked about being nervous around him. “No, Sir. I guess it’s merely the grounds on which I arrived here. I suppose I’m just steeling myself for the “they’ll be none of that, here lecture and the stern talking to about proper Start Fleet Officer behavior, and all that.”

When he mentioned having seen her files and having gotten an update from Lieutenant Synthi-er, she actually startled. If he wasn’t paying attention, he’d have missed it. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. Recognition of the name reared up out of the darkness of her hard blocked childhood memories, and that moment flashed evident enough across her face, a child would have caught it. But in the space of the double heart beat, she was herself once more. Calm and poised and taking a sip of her drink so she could speak again.

“The ship is amazing, Sir. Truly. My Department Head took me from Security to the holodeck. And I admit, despite being excellent at navigating places I’ve never been before, I found myself pausing once or twice to confirm my bearings. I’m looking forward to seeing more. And I’ve read the containment areas are even more impressive.”

Her jaw clenched and relaxed as she took a longer draw from her glass this time. She was having trouble blocking the name he’d spoken from creeping to the front of her mind. Surely she was wrong.

She had to be.

Juliet
Sec/ RTF
(nope, no uh, that’s not who he meant… someone completely different)