Posted by Captain Jonathan McBride (CO, USS Centurion) in The Other Shoe Drops

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in The Other Shoe Drops

Posted by Captain Jonathan McBride (CO, USS Centurion) in The Other Shoe Drops
Posted by… suppressed (11) by the Post Ghost! 👻
It was not odd to get a request for a meeting from Cpt. McBride. Oed was a huge facility, but McBride didn’t miss much. Sharah was meticulous about making sure her status reports, requisitions, personnel reviews, etc were always done on time. It was a huge workload in itself, but then she also was working with Sacred Heart. She loved every moment of it. However, she knew in her gut that this was not a meeting about simple administrative or personnel matters. Sharah had a feeling she knew what it was, and no she didn’t use her telepathy to find out. It was a conversation that she knew was coming, but it filled her with mixed emotions. None of them were particularly positive. They weighed all too heavily on her for that.

Avoiding it wouldn’t make it go away, so here she was, walking down the hall of the main operation center of the Fleet complex toward Captain McBride’s office. She stopped outside, made sure her uniform was neat and her hair as tamed as possible and then rang the chime.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

“Enter.”

The door slid open and Fayth stepped inside. Her eyes traveling the room, quickly finding the only occupant. Sharah moved away from the door so it would close and approached the middle of the room.

Inside the modest office, McBride was at his corner desk, with one side facing out so he could have guests. Two chairs sat on the other side. Behind him was a stretch of windows along the exterior that wrapped around the other corner and led the eye to a sitting area with a replicator. There was a door just next to the that that led to a small washroom. Adjacent to his desk area was a sitting area comprised of a loveseat and an arm chair. A bookcase with few photos and mementos sat in the corner.

Jonathan flashed Fayth a smile as he rose to his feet. “Doctor, come on in. Thanks for setting aside some time for me. I know how hectic things are, especially lately. I’m going to grab a coffee. Can I grab you anything from the replicator?” he asked gesturing for her to take a seat.

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

“Just ice water, please, Captain.” She moved to a seat opposite his at his desk. She’d never quite gotten used to the informality of sitting on a couch while talking to one’s superior officer. It just felt weird. Sharah sat quietly, even as the complex around her was loud and busy and chaotic. She was without her headband today. It had to charge sometime, and she still wasn’t sure what the long term effects of constant use might be. She didn’t feel exhausted, but she was sleeping so heavily lately and having a hard time waking up. That wasn’t like her. But that was a concern to address later.

McBride gave a nod. “Water, coming right up.” He replicated their drinks and returned to his desk, sliding the glass over to Sharah. He took a sip of his coffee as he settled and folded his arms on his desk.

“What can I do for you today, Captain?”

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

Jonathan was quiet for a moment as he considered how best to bring this up. It was a normal part of being in Starfleet, but in this case it had repercussions for Oed. “As I’m sure you are aware, your current tour of duty is coming to and end. I was curious if you had thought about what you wanted to do, whether or not you were going to stay in Starfleet or not.”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

Sharah set her glass down with focused care. She didn’t answer right away. “I am honestly not sure, Captain. This has come faster than I expected. Star Fleet has been good to me. I love the work I am doing here on Oed.” That was part of the problem. In the last two years she had fallen in love with Oed and the place she had found for herself here. There was a reason she had chosen the shortest tour of duty possible. Now, well she had never had a reason to believe she would need to think of a future past that tour.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

He nodded. “And I, personally, love having you here, and you are invaluable at Sacred Heart. I honestly don’t know what they would do without you. And as you know, Oed is a unique place and its situation with Starfleet is sometimes precarious. Our presence here has grown so much over the last years and it requires stability with the senior staff to keep things manageable. Which is where the problem lies. Frankly, I don’t want to lose you from my team. But if you sign up for another tour of duty, it would mean a transfer to a new assignment. Maybe if you had more years in, Personnel would be okay with you stating a preference, but we both know that at the end of the day we go where Starfleet tells us too. It’s a rare privilege to get to have a true say in where we are assigned.”

Sharah could only nod. She went where they told her. Coming here had been perfect for her in the end. She wasn’t ready to leave. Star Fleet and the Federation would be idiots to pull her now. Not that she thought she was the best person for the job, but because she had earned the colonies trust. That didn’t come easily and they were already on bad terms with the Federation council because of the Vren. But she had no say in her future orders.

He drew in a deep breath. “I will support your decision no matter what, and we might have some options, but before I say anything more, I want to know where you feel you would be most fulfilled, most able to help. In Starfleet, or in a different capacity outside of it?”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

“That isn’t a simple answer, Sir.” Sharah picked up her glass and took a long drink. “I enjoy being a doctor, I still want to do that. It is a lot running a medical facility of this size for Star Fleet. Adding helping out with Sacred Heart to that and down time should be rare. Balancing the needs of the Fleet with the needs of a colony as unique as Oed and some weeks there are just not enough hours.”

“But I love it. Every moment of it. I feel like I have made a huge difference walking that fine line. I feel fullfilled doing this, in a way I never expected to do. Ideally I want to continue that, but rarely is life ideal.”

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

On the surface of his thoughts and emotions, Jonathan was relieved. It was confirming something he had intuited. “No, it’s not. Sometimes we have to make compromises. Career considerations aside, personally, if you could stay, but it was in a very different capacity than now, and you could continue that same work, would you want to do so?”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

He had something in mind, and she would love if he had a solution. There were other considerations, personal ones, though. Those made her the most nervous. “Yes, I would.” There was no hesitation. She loved her work.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

He nodded his head as he drew in a deep breath. “Okay, so… the caveat on all this is that I would have to talk to Captain Dasca about this, and so even if you like this idea, nothing is truly an option until I talk to her and she talks to other people. Okay?”

Fayth nodded, “Of course, Captain.”

“I know Doctor Helaky does not want the Chief of Medicine role at Sacred Heart. He’s made that abundantly clear. But the hospital does need someone in that role. What if you were to take it? It would, however, result in retiring from Starfleet though. And I’ll be honest, Doctor Fayth, I really don’t want to lose you as a member of my senior staff, but your work here has been impeccable and even I can see how well you manage things at the hospital. They need someone who is dedicated to Oed and understands the delicate nature of civilians working with Starfleet.

“Thoughts?”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

Sharah was quiet for several minutes trying to order her thoughts. “I don’t really want to leave my position here, but the truth is, even if I had earned the privilege to request to stay, the council is not happy with Oed and they aren’t likely to accommodate.” Fayth sighed, “It sounds like an ideal solution, Captain, but one thing I’ve learned in my time here, is that Star Fleet and the Federation shouldn’t make plans or hopes on what belongs to Oed.”

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

He smiled in understanding and nodded. “Hence why we bring in Dasca. It’s both her purview as far as Starfleet is concerned, and as a leader of this colony. This isn’t me pulling strings. This is me making a staffing suggestion and letting everyone else sort it out. But it all starts with you taking some time to think it over and decide if it’s potentially a good path for you.”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

“I understand, Captain. How much time do I have to think everything over?” Sharah wasn’t going to be able to make a decision right now. She needed to think over and consider what it all would mean in the long run.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO

“You have time. A couple weeks, I would say, before we need to take things higher up and start working out details before your transfer orders would come in.” Jonathan offered a gentle smile. “It’s a big decision. You don’t have to rush it.”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

“Thank you, Captain. I will let you know as soon as I decide.” Fayth had an appointment with Korczak later. She supposed she knew what they would talk about today.

Lt. Cmdr. Fayth, SFCMO