Dana took a seat and nodded her thanks as the scent of both beverages mingled in her nose pleasantly.
She considered the question while taking a sip, her piercingly green eyes trained on the Captain.

„Well I’m glad to be back on a ship. I‘m certainly much more able now to handle the challenges than my first time around on the USS Saratoga and I believe my experience from that time will be of benefit to this crew.
I’m also an experienced psychologist as I’m sure you’ve read in my file and on my last assignment on the starbase some of my consultations have been more about healing the mind than the body. I’m very much looking forward to get to know the crew and you.“

Dr Anu, CMO

Asam considered the answer. “What makes you feel that you are better prepared this time?”

Cpt. Asam, CO

Dana gave a soft smile. “Oh many reasons. I’m not thrown in without experience or prep, I have the position and experience that allows me to actually lead a triage effort or a medical mission… I’m sure you’ve read in my file that last time, I had none of those benefits and it’s difficult to fulfil an unspoken expectation to lead when you don’t have the resources to actually do so.
But most importantly, I’ve experienced the physical and mental after effects of those intense and emotionally draining extreme situations, I’ve learned how to deal with them, how to heal from them and integrate them into my character by learning from them.” she said simply. “I realise that no two situations are the same if you are a Starfleet Officer, but the psychological process is pretty much the same.”
It was anything but simple of course, and they both knew it. But they also both knew that you inevitably came out much stronger on the other and - if you had managed to integrate the experiences into your personality. Dana had seen enough of the Captain’s profile to know that she would be able to relate.

Dr Anu, CMO

Rende sipped her coffee and let that soak in. “I understand the sentiment, doctor, but it’s also a very broad answer. Can you give me an example? Something specific that you’ve experienced that you feel has made you more prepared for this position?”

Cpt. Asam, CO

Dana raised one eyebrow. “No, I can’t from the top of my head. May I inquire about the reason for this line of questioning?” she asked. Her hands had started sweating and she didn’t appreciate the direction this conversation was taking.

Dr Anu, CMO

Interesting. The captain set her coffee on the desk and leaned forward. “I am your captain, Dr. Anu. It is my job to guide you, lead you, help you grow, and keep you safe, and to best make use of your skills and training. I can not do that if I do not know what makes you tick, what makes you struggle, what challenges you in a good way, and what will crush you under the strain. I can not lead you, if I do not know you.”

Cpt. Asam, CO

“That is very commendable, however different species and even different humans have very different cognitive processing styles. I have no issue with telling you about psychologically impactful episodes of my past, but this is our very first meeting and it is unusual to dig deep when you have just met a person, since that level of intimacy should be built on trust and mutual understanding, and those things take a bit of time. By asking me this already now, you have changed the tone of the conversation from a first getting to know each other to something more like an interview, which is one of the few conversations where it is expected to disclose personal information to an unfamiliar person.” Dana said and gave Rende a soft smile.

Rende raised a single brow. “I’m sorry, Lt. Anu, if for some reason you thought that meeting your captain for the first time would be anything but an interview. You were mistaken.” She leaned back only slightly. “I am quite well aware that different species handle cognitive and emotional events in a fundamentally psychologically different ways. However, you joined Star Fleet, and there are certain expectations of performance and behavior and directness of answering. If you feel that my question is some way violates the law then we will call in my yeoman and she will take a full statement. Otherwise, make no mistake, this is an interview. Command sent you here, but I have the right of veto.”

OOC: Hm, while I enjoy our thread, Dana would not have answered with the following if Rende had said that, so either you could take that out or we void all the below and I’ll answer after the above, up to you :-)

OOC: You are free to edit your own responses accordingly. Or continue to insert here and leave it to circle back to. Your character, your choice to edit your responses.

OOC: Yes but that would make your subsequent answer not fully fitting as well. No worries, I’ll let it lie.

Dana’s eyes widened. Ok, so she was that kind of Captain. Very well, she was used to this, yet she thought she’d give it one more try.

“I’m not a shy person Captain, but I do hate job interviews… always have. I do want to get to know you better, very much so, and I want you to get to know me better, with time. I will tell you now that what makes me tick is when I am allowed to do my work unencumbered, I love my work and I enjoy helping others heal - physically and mentally. I struggle sometimes with remembering to take a break, mostly because as a Denobulan I require little to no sleep… until my hibernation period. Leadership tasks challenge me in a good way and I’m seeking to grow as a leader within my domain. I get annoyed if I don’t have all the resources I need to do my job and what crushes me is losing a crew member because I wasn’t able to heal him or her, because there is no cure.” she said and leaned back, smiling.

Dr Anu, CMO

“I understand you don’t like interviews, but we all deal with things we don’t like. Service in Star Fleet sends us into all kinds of uncomfortable situations. As much as, one day, I would like to be friendly with everyone on the crew, I simply don’t have weeks or months to ‘get to know you’ in a personal and friendly manner to decide if you are a good fit with the rest of my crew. Space is wonderous, but it is also dangerous.”

She picked up her coffee and sipped before continuing. “You have told me nothing that I would not hear from every other doctor who has graduated the Academy. Nothing that says, ‘I am the fit for your crew.’ I do not have time to coddle you, Lt. So I need to show me that you know with every flicker of energy in every cell, that you are ready for a ship assignment.”

Cpt. Asam, CO

Really? Every other doctor had told her they could work through the night but require a longer time out for hibernation? She doubted that.
She was tempted. Tempted to tell Asam that if she wanted to get to know a new crew member and see if she fit into the crew, maybe she shouldn’t punish attempts to be authentic and open with quoting textbook rules and proper procedure, especially since she hadn’t disregarded any, she had just shown some real vulnerability which most humans would see as a willingness to be open and trusting. But instead, Asam had responded with pressure. If this Captain wanted procedure, she was able to supply that too.

“Understood Captain. On the USS Saratoga we ran into border conflicts frequently and doing triage had become an almost normal mode of functioning. But the worst of it was when my mentor Dr Tischler was incapacitated during a rescue mission on a border colony that was under Klingon attack. He stepped on a mine and both of his legs were shredded. I had to do an emergency operation right there in the sand, while all around us other crewmembers were hurt and others were fighting the Klingons that were advancing on our position.” she halted, remembering the blood and the chaos, the screaming. It had taken months of thearpy to come out of her PTSD. “We all became a unit then, nurses picked up phasers and started firing, security ensigns took cortical stims and revived fallen crew members so they would survive long enough for me to reach them. We were drenched in dust, grime and blood and somehow that seemed to mute the colour of our uniforms in the same way that we forgot to which department we belonged to, united by the sole purpose to do anything necessary to survive and save as many souls as possible in the process. Anything.” she repeated and then took a long sip from her tea.

Dr Anu, CMO