Vanessa stood outside of Calvin’s ready room with the distinct knot of someone who was about to pay the piper. It was not necessarily her fault that she was good at her job even though she was not that good at it. There were a multitude of other counselors with more experience and education than she and yet her name had been selected. The longer she debated why a new theory began to emerge in her head. Maybe it was not her career that landed them in this predicament but Calvin’s. He had more fruit in his salad between his stint in the Marines and his current career pathway in command than she did. This line of thinking, even if flawed, quelled the butterflies in her stomach as she palmed the door command.

Entering the room, Vanessa immediately began to chatter about her version of the events instead of waiting for Calvin to pose even a question. “So who did you piss off to drag us into this mess,” she asked in a chipper tone dropping into a chair across from her commanding officer.

Vanessa Slade CNS