Posted by Commander Dira Myqian (Executive Officer) in SB 157: The Boiler Room Cafe: Meeting with XO

Posted by Lieutenant Zoi Haven (Chief of Security) in SB 157: The Boiler Room Cafe: Meeting with XO

Posted by Commander Dira Myqian (Executive Officer) in SB 157: The Boiler Room Cafe: Meeting with XO
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“I dont think it would take much to observe that a child who loves their parent has a hard time leaving them when they are in pain.” She smiled softly. “So what now? Do I go for XO and Captain? Do I work to become the head of Star Fleet Security? Do I find someone and start a family? Do I join a band of merry men and seek justice through parlor tricks for the rest of my life?” This time her smile turned to a grin. “What would you recommend?”

Haven, CoS

“All of the above?” Dira said with an open laugh as she picked up her fork to dig back into her pot pie, lest it went cold.

This got a real laugh out of Zoi. It was hearty without being loud or sharp and ended softly with a half giggle.

After a few moments and with a bit of reflection, Myqian spoke again with a soft smile on her face. “There is something to be said for coasting along until you hit an inflection point. Sometimes you need an external event, or person even, to prompt you in the direction you should go next. There is nothing wrong with not knowing what you want to happen next, and there’s no rush to figure it out. You don’t want to waste opportunities, but everything that happens will help inform your next decisions. Life can be exceedingly short, even for those long lived. Though I think in your case, it comes with a much different perspective than I’ll ever have. My advice would be to lean into it.” She shrugged slightly and speared a piece of meat from the pie, popping it into her mouth.

Commander Myqian, XO

Watching Dira, she too realized she had forgotten about her food so she also picked up her utensils and continued eating. “Lean into it.” she repeated, musing on the concept. She had been going along pretty evenly, not exactly shying away from her life but also not quite being present either. What the XO was saying made a lot of sense and perhaps it was just exactly what Zoi needed to hear. It felt right. “I have to say Dira, I am finding you to be a most valuable new friend.”

Haven, CoS

A wide grin spread onto her face and her dark eyes glinted with merriment. “Well then, not too bad for my first few days if I say so myself!”

“Though I will say that conversation is always easier when you have such a interesting and reciprocal conversational partner,” Dira said matter-of-factly. “And when people don’t come to conversation afraid of what they might learn about the other person or themselves.” Zoi was exceptionally nice to be around and it probably helped that they were hardly fresh young things out of the Academy. They had paid their dues in various ways and it gave them interesting perspectives they could share with each other.

Commander Myqian, XO

“I will take that as the compliment it was intended to be.” She paused to eat the last bits of her main course and then sat back once more with her tea in her hand. “Now XO, where do you want to go from here? Assuming you can get a handle on your therapists nature … which I think will be just fine. What are your hopes?”

Haven, CoS

Inhaling deeply as she leaned back in her chair, Dira set down her fork, feeling more of less done with the pot pie. She tilted her head, gazing slightly upwards at the ceiling, gathering her thoughts as if she could pull them from the ether. When she looked down again and gazed back at Haven, she was quieter. Reflective. “I’m still figuring that out for myself, actually. I thought I knew once, but… things changed. One of those inflection points I mentioned,” she said softly, doing fairly well to keep the sadness out of her voice, though it was inevitable that the internal grief was evident. It wasn’t raw like it once was, nor did it hold a place in her heart every day. But here and there it could surface unexpectedly and wash over her as if it were new again. It wasn’t quite that strong this time, but Dira did need to push it down a little so it didn’t take over her so far wonderful conversation with Zoi.

The change in Dira’s demeanor, small shift though it might be, caught in Zoi’s honed instincts from years of security work. She purposefully had not read much beyond the basic profile of the new XO since as a general rule, she wanted to get to know peopmebefore the file came in to play. The less prejudices or expectations she had, the more well rounded her observations could be once the file was added as a secondary information vector to her in-person interactions. There was sadness, a loss? Not just grief but perhaps some regret too? Zoi laid those aside for now, filing it away for further study at a later time.

“And for awhile I was quite happy to just putter along. But I hit another event and it changed everything, almost more than the first one did. It’s why I switched to Command. Why I am an Executive Officer now. I didn’t see it coming but when it did it just seemed to be the most obvious path.” Myqian smiled sincerely, though it was smaller than earlier. “Sometimes we’re tested in ways we don’t expect and it doesn’t matter if you rise to the occasion or not, you are left changed.”

Commander Myqian, XO

Two life changing moments? Interesting. Zoi’s mind filled away a great many things as she watched the woman across from her intently. Finally she sat herself forward and refilled both of their cooling cups of tea to refresh them and warm them with the hot liquid. Her touch to the China was as delicate as it had been before. She was practiced in using the dishes and serving others. “You never know what life will throw at you. I suppose that is also the nature of the work we do and the lives it makes is lead. My mother was a bright jewel of a being when I was young. She and I are… perhaps were is the better term, very close. I dont know when grief will hit me for the loss of her mind. Probably long before her physical body will give out given our long lifespan. If it wasnt for her though, I would never have gone into Star Fleet. People change us as much, if not more than circumstances. Who will we be tomorrow?”

Haven, CoS