Posted by Lieutenant Séan Iven (Counselor) in Plaza Exchange- Sounding Boards

Posted by Captain Jonathan McBride (CO, USS Centurion) in Plaza Exchange- Sounding Boards

Posted by Lieutenant Séan Iven (Counselor) in Plaza Exchange- Sounding Boards
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
He chose a different spot than the last time, but then again, Jonathan was attempting to try as many different places as possible on Oed. It was quite the feat, all told.

Today’s pick was a small 10-table pop-up place serving rotisserie chicken with a wide variety of seasoning types and swath of sides. He had messaged Séan and asked to meet outside of the Complex in a professional capacity regarding some personal stuff. They settled on lunch and he was in uniform.

He picked this place because it was new to him, but also since he wasn’t a regular unless he saw someone he knew, or there were other Starfleet personnel dining here, he would be able to go mostly unnoticed.

He ordered a couple waters and sat at a table in a corner where he felt like he could have a quiet conversation and waited for Iven

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

Séan arrived ten minutes later than the agreed upon time and slightly out of breath. It took him a second to spot the Captain in the corner before he approached with a short hand gesture and an apologetic look. “My apologies Captain.” He said as he took a seat opposite the other man. “My last session before lunch ran over time and it was difficult to disentangle myself.” He reached for his water and took a sip before he asked. “How have you been since last we talked?”

Counselor Iven

“No worries, I know how it is,” Jonathan said in his typical relaxed manner. But then he sighed. “As for how I’ve been, I would say pretty good given the chaos that seems to show up at every turn around here.” McBride snorted. “I don’t know how to contextualize everything some days. Objectively, things are good.”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

Séan nodded sympathetically. His own recent experiences had been far outside the norm. Though it really begs the question; what really is normal in Starfleet? His musing was interrupted as a server approached their table to take food orders. “I would love to go with three thighs, the greenbeans with bacon, sweet buttered rolls, mac n cheese with brisket, and a sweet tea please.”

Counselor Iven

“I’ll have the herb-basted quarter of a chicken, with the garlic mashed potatoes, lemon green beans and a plate of garlic toast. Plus a lemonade, thanks,” Jonathan said to the server.

Alone again, McBride folded his arms over the edge of the table. “So, I bet you are wondering why I called you out here.”

Taking a deep breath, Jonathan gazed at the table before looking at Séan again. “I feel like a duck some days. On the surface everything is calm and under control, but underwater I’m kicking furiously. And it’s not just the unique challenges that Oed and my position here bring. I have stuff going on in my personal life and I was able to keep it compartmentalized, but it’s getting harder.”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

Séan nodded as he focused on Jonathan during the explanation. “I can understand how that can get harder. Keeping a facet of yourself separate from the rest tends to complicate things when they start to bleed over.”

Counselor Iven

He nodded slowly. “And as much as I want to know my senior staff better, it’s been hard to have time for us to do so. Those that have stuck around, anyway. I have to admit, I’m missing my starship days. At least, regardless of the size of your crew, you were essentially all in the same place consistently and you got to know each other just through the daily interactions. I can’t say I get the same opportunities and even when we’re all in meetings, there’s just so much going on right now there isn’t time or energy. And I need my team to have the downtime they need to be at their best.” Jonathan shrugged. “It’s just left me in that unenviable position of watching from the sidelines. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I realized yesterday when I snapped at Lieutenant Watts, Dasca’s aide-de-camp, that I needed to talk to someone. Fortunately she was good about it. I apologized and she made a comment about everyone needing a way to vent lately and that she didn’t take it personally because she knew it wasn’t directed at her.”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO

Séan nodded again with a smile. “Sounds like you both handled it like adults after the initial faux pas. No harm no foul as they say. What was it that caused the outburst at Lt Watts?”

Counselor Iven

He shook his head, more out of frustration. “I’m behind on a couple things. Report stuff. Which right now, with all the extra scrutiny on Oed and our Starfleet presence here, means other people will notice any little thing that isn’t perfect. And it’s my fault for not getting those reports done on time, but I had something personal come up that took my attention that last few evenings. Family stuff,” Jonathan said with a sigh.

“Do you have siblings?”

Captain McBride, Starfleet CO