Not long after Ayeka left her office, Sage contacted the Captain. =/\=Brennan to the Captain. There is a matter we need to discuss. When can I meet you?=/\=

—Sage

=^=I’m on the bridge, we can meet in the Ready Room. Come on up.=^= Marius nodded to one of the lieutenants on the bridge, “You have the conn.” It wasn’t much of a responsibility with the Captain about 15 meters away but procedures were procedures. He spun on his heel and walked into his ready room.

Marius

It wasn’t long before Sage stepped onto the bridge. She took a moment to have a look around with the eyes of the 2nd officer—her new position. She decided she was going to need to schedule a few shifts for herself working as a bridge officer, to familiarize herself with command once again. Giving her decision a silent nod, she made her way to the ready room doors and palmed the chime. She didn’t usually get to see Cal while he was wearing his ‘Captain’s’ hat.

—Sage

Marius looked at her with a slight squint trying to divine her purpose prior to her speaking. It would affect his response. His wife his second officer requesting a meeting… it was bound to be awkward especially the first time…

“What do you need commander.” It was not atypical to leave the lieutenant off when speaking to the ranks with two military titles.

Marius

His greeting was less warm than she would have liked, but Sage understood this was new territory for them. She rarely had to approach him with work matters and she was pretty sure her promotion and advancement in command were present in the room with them. “I wanted to talk to you about our new counselor, Ensign Lydia Ayeka.” Sage walked across the room to where he sat and gestured at one of the chairs across the desk from him. “May I?”

—Sage

“Take a seat.” Marius by temperament was formal while on duty. He couldn’t help but feel the pull of his personal attraction towards her. It was very odd because he didn’t feel confusion when he had to see her as a medical officer… He closed his moment for a minute.

“What do you have for me.”

Marius

“I’m curious how she wound up on the Genny. She’s very young and very green for a vessel like this. After having seasoned officers in the role of counselor for several years, I’m not sure what her welcome will be be once the crew sees how shiny and new she is.”

“We have a lot of old hands here. Maybe a burst of youth will keep us on our toes?”

Sage sat down and crossed her legs. Cal looked good sitting behind the ‘big’ desk. Their roles on the ship didn’t cross too often, so mostly when they were together it was off duty. She was sure after the meeting they would both have something new to think about.

“There is also the matter of her…uniform.”

—Sage

Marius had a confused look on his face. He didn’t take his wife for a ‘mean girl’ ostracizing a fellow woman for her clothes. “Uniform… how can there be a problem with her uniform. Uniforms by definition are unremarkable from one and another… you know… uniform.”

Marius

“Right, but it isn’t a uniform. Its a very shiny, silver, skin tight, micro mini dress. It’s cute, actually, and it looks exceptionally good on her with her slammin’ body. But that’s my point. Wearing that outfit off duty is fine, but during active counselling sessions it will probably be a big distraction to anyone who goes to see her.”

Sage watched Cal to see if he recognized what she was talking about. “Hey, you know I like to dress to tease you off duty, but even back when I was a counselor, I wore the standard uniform. Someone in that position needs to be thought of as professional and approachable, not as…a possible conquest.”

—Sage