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)

SNIP

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.”

“Oh, we can do that, if you like,” Cobb teased, before instantly growing more serious. “But you’ll find out for yourself, soon enough, Miss Anders, that our methods on the Leviathan can sometimes be a little…unorthodox. So, what kind of behaviour do I expect of my officers?” he locked eyes with the woman. “I expect you to not die, Miss Anders. And even that is an expectation that some of this crew regularly struggle with.”

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.

He caught the brief flutter behind the eyes. His words had unsettled her. Casela had alluded to their history and their connection to ‘31 but he’d believed it to be a situation that was under control. However, in that moment, as he witnessed the momentary almost-panic from the security officer, Zachariah could not help but wonder how much trouble was still to come where these two women were concerned.

“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)

“Impressive?” Cobb repeated, one eyebrow raising at the woman’s enthusiasm. “Aye, they are indeed that. But perhaps a little scary too, no?”
Was she truly the mirror of Casela? Where did the similarities between the two women begin and end? The Counselor was, without question, one of the strongest and most courageous people he had ever known. But such courage came at a price, and it was one he knew only too well - a complete and total lack of regard for one’s own safety.

Was Juliet as equally apathetic towards her own continued survival?

“What do you know of anomalies, Ensign?” he asked suddenly. “I find that nobody falls into the ARU without prior history of some form or another.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Juliet frowned a moment in thought. “I honestly don’t know much about anomalies. But my guess is I was sent here for my skills. You are aware I am Betazoid. But beyond that, I can read the thoughts of nearly every species I have come into contact with. And those I can’t read I can find and sense. So if there are ten people in a building, while I may not be able to read every mind, I am aware of their locations. I was told it was born out of a need to survive during and after the Dominion Wars that took my parents and orphaned me on Earth from the Fleet rescuing me. I can also use my mid to disrupt those minds I can read. It’s a type of mental scream that can cause severe enough pain to sometimes take someone to their knees, or actually knock them back and down.” She knew it was probably a skill a lot of Betazoids had. But the question was, how many were on this ship?

“Impressive,” the captain replied, although his own thoughts were pouring into a diversion created by something else Anders had said - the war. How many people, he wondered, had found their true potential amongst those fields of destruction and death? How many had discovered and honed skills that came to define their value as a Starfleet officer whilst burying their shame and regret as a sentient being? For Cobb himself, it had been the first time he had sat in a captain’s chair, the first time he had commanded a starship. He wondered often which path he might have chosen in life had innocence not been wrenched from him by the Dominion.

“That and my knowledge of tactical skills. I was an Elite Squad leader before my demotion. They may have taken the pips, but they couldn’t take the knowledge.” She had a bit of bite to her words as if she wanted to gnash her teeth and snap at those who had removed those rank buttons from her collar. Deep down there was resentment at being punished for things she hadn’t done. She knew, in her rational mind, that since it was her squad to had committed the atrocities, she deserved to be punished. But the righteous part of her lashed out in disgust and it came in the form of a hinted growl behind words that could be read as pride or stubbornness.

Juliet
Sec/RTF

Zachariah nodded. He was intimately familiar with the scourge of demotion, the indignities of discharge from service. Everyone deserved a second chance.
“The nature of the anomalies we have onboard, I can bring you up to speed on easily enough, subject to your clearance level, of course. But tactical skills I can not teach so easily, so I am relieved to hear that you bring plenty of your own,” he chuckled.

But still the subject remained, standing like a wedge between them. The proverbial white elephant.
“Look, Miss Anders,” he attempted, clearing his throat in an attempt to diminish his own anxiety at his question. “Am I to expect issues between yourself and Lt Synthi-er? I accept that, in a crew of this size, there will be the occasional disagreement. But, when it counts, I need to know that the two of you can work together. So…can you?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

There was that name again. Surely it was just coincidence. So as that thought went thru her mind, she shook her head. “Since I am not familiar with the Lieutenant, I see no reason for their to be issues between us, Sir. To be sure, if there ever comes a conflict point between myself and any other crewmembers, I will be sure the Department Heads are involved or I come to you, personally. Is that acceptable?” She quickly chose that moment to try and change the subject. “Speaking of which, I have informed the Chief of Security of my actual background. As my supervisor and someone I will need to deal with directly in life or death situations, I am sure, I saw no reason to keep it from her. I have told no one else, though and will, if possible, clear it with you before others know.” She gave a small half laugh. “That is, for the next couple weeks until the entire ship knows, of course.” She took a sip of her drink and wondered how he was going to feel about her already breaking protocol with regards to her actual heritage.

Juliet
Sec/RTF