Posted by Lieutenant Kadence Argona (Counselor) in Presim - Acadia checks in with the Counselor

Posted by Lieutenant Kadence Argona (Counselor) in Presim - Acadia checks in with the Counselor

Posted by Lieutenant Kadence Argona (Counselor) in Presim - Acadia checks in with the Counselor

The dark haired woman, all five foot eight inches of her, walked towards the Counselor’s office with a bit of a sigh on her lips. The last thing she wanted was to bare her soul to some stranger about her whys and wherefores of her past. She was here, and was going to work. That was all there was to it. She headed for the office and steeled herself for the onslaught of smiling and ‘roundabout’ questions that will leave a bad taste in her mouth. All she wanted to do was go to work.

Lt JG Acadia LeBlanc
Engineer

Kady was sitting on the couch in her office, padd in hand, one bare foot curled under her, as she waited for her next appointment.

Acadia LeBlanc was a new engineer joining them and concern crossed the Counselor’s face as she read over the file. While the young woman certainly seemed physically capable of keeping up with the demands of her job, it was all the other aspects of serving on the Wolverine that Kady thought she might not be prepared for.

Guess they’d see shortly.

She checked the time and went back to reading, her fingers sliding across the padd as she made notes of points of concern.

Lt Kadence Argona
CNS

Several years on a MACO ship had certainly drilled one thing into Acadia’s head… perfection in everything. From the lack of creases in her uniform, to the perfect braided knot in her hair, she was inspiration ready when on duty at all times. Someone had teased her once that even covered in engine grease, with a tear in her pant leg, crawling out of a Jefferies tube, she could have passed inspection over some of the crewmen that sat at a console all shift.

This perfection and readiness had served her well. She saw no point in changing it now because she was on a ship of misfits and laid back soldiers. She was outside the Counselor’s office, tapping the chime, at the precise moment of her appointment. Showing up early to most things wasn’t in her nature, either. In fact, if she wasn’t late, she considered it a win.

Acadia
Engineer

“Come in,” a voice rang out. When Acadia entered she’d see the woman on the couch rise up, set aside a padd and smile.

“Come on in. Have a seat. I’m Lieutenant Kadence Argona.” She met the woman half way to the couch.

The room was simple. Shelves were covered in various eclectic objects. There were rocks, and branches, pieces of jewelry. One shelf held a broken necklace and a bracelet missing most of its beads. Another hand a large rock, the size of a fist, and a piece of driftwood. There was a broken PaDD that looked several years old and handkerchief, letters embroidered on the hem.

There were a couple framed pencil sketches on the walls as well. One was a close up of a puppy’s face, another was a horse running along the surf of a beach.

On the table before the couch was a tray with ice tea in a pitcher and two glasses. Also a bowl of sugar and two long spoons.

Kadence
CNS

Acadia came in a few steps and took in the room before moving to shake the woman’s hand. “Lieutenant Junior Grade Acadia LeBlanc, Ma’am. And I am the new engineer.” Her accent was heavy but clear. It smacked of a location somewhere around Louisiana.

After they shook hands, Acadia moved to the chair and couch set. Choosing a chair, she sat down and crossed her legs at the knees and put her hands together to keep from fidgeting. She was looking around the room in curiosity.

Acadia
Engineer

Kady nodded to the introduction. “Welcome aboard,” she said and watched the woman take a seat in the chair. Many did. The idea of being here was bad enough. The thought of sitting on the couch and possibly having Kady join them didn’t seem to be what people wanted.

She watched Acadia for a moment and moved to sit on the couch. As she was pouring tea for them, she didn’t look up. “What do you think?” Letting the woman garner whatever she wanted from the question.

Kadence
CNS

Acadia didn’t stop looking and she furrowed her brow slightly. “I think for a Counselor on a ship with this kind of crew and mission,” she looked at Kady and sized her up. “I think you look too soft to be here.” With that out in the open, Acadia leaned back in the chair, her arms rising to rest on the arms. She wasn’t being rude, just not being overly formal. “I guess you don’t go dirt side very much, do you? More like stay up here and just listen to them when they need someone to talk to?” She was smiling, more or less.

Acadia
Engineer

Kady offered her a drink and then nodded to the table. “There is sugar there if you wish. I made it unsweetened so you could choose.” She stirred several spoons of the sweetener into her own drink and tucked a leg under herself before sitting down and leaning back. “Would you feel better about me being here if I was a half Klingon warrior female, with a bat’leth or sword on my walls?” She curled up the corners of her lips to tease the woman with the idea.

Kadence
CNS

Acadia smiled and nodded. “I think that would have been less shocking. I admit.” She shrugged. “But I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s not like you are the XO or even the Security Chief.” She added a couple spoons of sugar and licked the spoon before setting it down.

Acadia
Eng

Kady smiled. “Well I will keep that in mind when they consider my replacement in four years.” She laughed softly. “So what are you doing here? Do you think women shouldn’t be on Black Op ships? Or are you just thinking I don’t belong here?” She added before the woman thought of it.

“And I assure you, what you say in here, as long as it threatens no one, stays in here. So speak your mind.” She took a sip of her tea hoping the woman would open up.

Kadence
CNS

Despite not tucking her leg up under her, Acadia almost mirrored the Counselor’s posture. “No, I don’t think you belong here. I think to be on a ship like this, you need fire. And you need determination and a physical ability to deal with whatever is thrown at us. Whether it’s something we need to go dirtside for, or whether it’s something thrown at us up here.” She waved out the window indicating space. “I come from a MACO ship. I know weapons, and fighting. I have been down in the mud and blood and I have been in the fires and electrical shortages in battle. I don’t care if my makeup is perfect, I don’t wear any. I don’t care if my uniform is ripped, torn or gets stained. I can get another. And while I love a nice glass of tea, it’s in my blood, a shot of bourbon at the end of the shift, sitting over a nice dinner with my crewmates, is a pleasure I indulge in every chance I get.”

“How about you? How do you relax at the end of the day? Tea and a good read?” It was snide, bordering on rude.

Acadia
Engineer

Kady smiled. “Actually I clean my blade collection and run a sparring holo when I want a good workout. And you are right, I am no Bourbon drinker.” She winked over her ice tea glass. “I prefer Scotch.”

She laughed and set her glass down. “Everyone on this ship has earned there place here. You will do well to remember that. And some have earned their way more than once. And not everyone is kind to those who judge.” She sat back but it wasn’t relaxed now, it was professional. “What would you do if you reported to your Department Head and thought they were ‘soft’? Are you going to not do your job? Or try and be over protective and over bearing to prove you are tougher and able to take it and they can’t?”

Kadence
CNS

“Scotch is a good drink. Not my cup of tea,” she shrugged back like it was a vastly inferior drink. “And just because you spar on a holodeck doesn’t mean you can truly hold your own.” When Kady turned on her professional mode, Adi simply got more comfortable, almost to the point of blase.

“And no I would not over bearing with my supervisor. On a ship like this, he obviously has skills or wouldn’t be the Engineering Chief, would he?” She shook her head slightly and looked out the window. “But yeah, I’d probably be protective of him if he couldn’t handle himself in a fight.” She looked at Kady like it was obvious. “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? Look after those who can’t look after themselves? I mean, I’d help you if it all crashed down and hit the fan on the ship. Just make your way to engineering and you’d be safe there. Between the security lock outs and those of us with experience, you’d be fine.” Her smile was genuine. She believed she was doing Kady a favor by offering her protection.

Acadia
Engineer

Kady took a long look at the woman. She was full of fire and spirit, and arrogance, that was for sure. But if she couldn’t control the arrogance, she wasn’t going to make it much past JG if at all.

“What did you expect to accomplish, coming here?” She watched the woman. “Do you want to prove you can do it? Or do you want to find out what else you are capable of and see where that accomplishment can take you?” There was a distinct difference and she wondered if the woman knew the answer.

Kadence
CNS

Acadia looked at her. “I’ve already accomplished it. I qualified to be stationed here, haven’t I? So now I’m gonna get even better. Better at engineering, better at fighting, better at everything I can get practice and practical experience with. I’m sure there are plenty here willing to share their skills and pass on their knowledge. I just had to get here to get it.”

Acadia
Engineer

The answer disappointed Kady on a deeper level than she had anticipated. The poor girl thought this place was a reward. She was completely oblivious to the fact it was a death sentence. This was the one ship that was dispensable more than any other. The Command staff, the crew, all of them. The Federation would sigh, and move on as if nothing was amiss if they were lost on a mission.

And then to think that everyone here was looking for someone to mentor was another delusion the woman suffered from. She truly had no idea what kind of ship she had boarded, voluntarily.

It was moments like this that sometimes challenged the Counselor. Part of her wanted to smile and shake hands and let the young woman loose to experience the fact she was wrong on every level. The other part knew, despite Acadia’s open willingness to protect Kadence, it was actually Kadence’s job to protect her. Leaning forward, elbows on her knees, hands clasped together, she looked into Acadia’s eyes and looked serious. “Let me tell you something, Ms LeBlanc. This is no mentor training ship. We are not the Pride of the Federation, and everyone on this ship has chips on their shoulders the size of your own and bigger.” She gave a short laugh, “Mostly bigger.”

Sitting up, she took her tea. “The fact they dropped you here, probably the first time you asked, isn’t because of your abilities, but because of your short comings. You are arrogance. And you cannot see past your very limited experience to realize that not everything is as it seems. There are people on this ship with more kills under their tunic tops than the Federation even knows about. And there are people on this ship who would as soon slit your throat as teach you how to slit it yourself. So do not leave this room and think you have found your Battle Eutopia. Because you will be sadly disappointed at best… and dead at worst. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

Kadence
CNS

Acadia looked back at her and smiled. Leaning over on her own knees, her arms mirroring Kady’s when she was leaning over, and shook her head. “It took me two tried to get here. And I think you are exaggerating a bit much. Sure, this ship has the most combined kills of any three ships put together. But look at her crew.” She cocked her head. “I’m not going to be disappointed, I assure you. So some don’t want to share, that’s fine. I learn from watching, as well. I know what my limits are, Doc, so no worries there. I just don’t plan on being stuck in one place because of them.” She sat back and shook her head. “You said I need to watch my step, I get that. And I will. I’m not dumb enough to skip free advice. But I’m not gonna turn into a sheep, suddenly, just cause I’m in a den of wolves. I’ll do my job, behave myself and make myself as much an asset to the Wolverine as the rest are.” She smiled like that was all that was needed.

Acadia
Eng