Arun was waiting in his office… well, he hadn’t really had a chance to make it his office. It seemed like yesterday that he had arrived here as the new chief of staff, and yet he was strangely reluctant to leave it. This was what he knew, what he was good at.

But real personal growth was only to be found outside of your comfort zone and he knew that well. Still…
* you’ll be a great XO * Anisha thought in their.. his mind. He smiled and stopped pacing.
* I wouldn’t even be a Lt. Cmdr. without you * he thought back to this twin mind of his, the mind he loved more than anything else. He felt her laugh.

Where was Lt. Cmdr. Walker. He had four siblings… at least he was better equipped to begin to understand Arun’s situation.
* Nobody can truly understand * Anisha thought an Arun agreed before he even thought the thought.

• Lt. Cmdr. Onuru, XO

At that moment, the door chimed. The telepath would know instantly who was outside.

Lt. Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Incoming Chief of Staff

The door swished back upon the chime and Arun stood up, his hands for now clasped behind his back. He remembered to smile. It always looked a bit odd when he did that, it looked like he was secretly amused about something, that’s why he generally avoided smiling.
He didn’t need to smile in order to enlist trust, his very dark eyes that stood in such stark contrast to his blond hair and 3-day-beard usually exuded enough warmth to make patients… and normal people trust him on sight.
* that’s not your eyes, that’s your presence * Anisha thought in their mind.
* whatever you say, it works the same way for you * he thought back and felt her mild disagreement. Anisha wasn’t a leader like him and she felt that this made a huge difference. It was a topic they never saw eye to eye on.

He cleared his throat “Please, come on in.” he said in his deep timbre.

• Lt. Cmdr. Onuru, incoming XO

Brad stepped in, for the first time in a long time wearing the Starfleet Medical blue turtleneck under his uniform jacket. He paused to appraise the new office, mentally cataloguing a few changes he’d like to make to the space once it was officially his.

“You know,” he said, walking up to the desk, “it occurs to me that in some ways, our situations mirror each other’s.”

Lt. Cmdr. Brad Walker
Incoming Chief of Staff

No pleasantries, right to the point. Arun warmed up to the man, although his expression stayed the same.

“New positions are always a welcome challenge, especially when we’re in the middle of a mission and you have basically no time to get settled. But I’m sure if we work together we can wing it in a professional way.” he said, one corner of his lips twitching up shortly.

• Lt. Cmdr. Onuru, incoming XO

“Plus, I’ve been in your position, transitioning from leading a Medical department to serving as an XO,” Brad said. “It’s an interesting switch at first, to say the least. I can only imagine on a medical ship the transition will seem even more abrupt.”

Lt. Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker
Incoming Chief of Staff

There was a strong temptation then for Arun to read the man’s mind. Was he seeing Arun as competition?
* Calm down brother * came Anisha’s instant thought. * He can talk all he wants, he can be the ex-president for all you care, you are the new XO *
Arun smiled and shrugged. “It’s a small ship and most of the crew is medical anyhow, so the shift is actually not so difficult.” he said while agreeing with Anisha.

Brad nodded. “All the same, you’ll have to learn a lot about the non-medical parts of the crew, and the ship itself. Myself, I’m plenty glad to be shedding the Red collar for Blue again.”

Arun just nodded, actually understanding. Being the XO of a Starfleet contingent on a planet was like flying a ship in the holodeck - not why you signed up for it.

“Please take a seat.” he said, and stepped away from the seat behind the desk, rounding it to sit in front of it. He sat down comfortably, showing Brad that he didn’t mind at all.

Brad followed suit, though he spun the chair around to sit leaning forward, hands on the back of the chair and resting his chin on them.

Arun lost his smile and raised one eyebrow.

“We have a short time to get to know each other, and we have to, since you’ll be the 2O. Plus I have to crack you in on the current mission. I’ve already started preparations, which you’ll now have to take over. But one thing at a time.”

“I just came from the surface, actually,” Brad said. “I came out from San Fran on a runabout carrying some medication you guys weren’t able to pick up at the Starbase with the rest of the supplies for the new clinic. What is the plan for our staff to support the efforts on the surface?” he asked.

• Lt. Cmdr. Arun Onuru, incoming XO

OOC: I’m playing this as slightly into the current future, once the Owie actually reaches the planet. Brad would have been there for probably a day or so, to account for differences in leaving and the Owie’s “detour” with the telempathic gastropods.

OOC: Ok, cool.

Lt. Cmdr. Dr. Brad Walker,
Incoming Chief of Staff

Arun was still looking at him critically. “I appreciate you are enthusiastic about starting your new assignment, but this is still you reporting in for duty. I’m not overly concerned about protocol, but this is a small ship, not a planet and as a senior officer you have to set an example. So sit down properly please.” he said calmly.

• I like him - a lot * Anisha thought, laughing in Arun’s mind. * He puzzels you! Good on him! *
• Ha ha. * Arun thought back, supremely unamused. * I’ll have to disagree. *

“Now, as you know the mission requires two teams. One is to go to the location of the current hospital, if you can name it that, set up a triage and take care of the patients. The other is to set up the new hospital and supervise the construction according to its efficiency and medical need.
Originally I was going to head team hospital and I was going to put Dr. Marshall in charge of team triage. He’s got a lot of ER experience under his belt and he has leadership experience as well.
We have a Bajoran Lt. Cmdr. Nurse on the Staff, PIlar O’Keefe. Don’t ask me how a nurse can become a Lt. Cmdr… I haven’t gotten around to ask the Captain, but she’s very capable and devoted, she should be on team triage.
With this change now, this set-up may change as well however. It depends if the Captain wants me on the bridge or panetside. If I stay, I’d suggest you take charge of team hospital. If I am to go down, you can take over team triage. Do you agree?”

• Lt. Cmdr. Arun Onuru, incoming XO