Posted by Captain Michael Stout (CO) in CO’s Office - Meeting the XO

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Omni (2 of 13) (Executive Officer) in CO’s Office - Meeting the XO

Posted by Captain Michael Stout (CO) in CO’s Office - Meeting the XO Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻 Stout walked into his office and tapped is comms on the desk. =/\= Commander Omni, report to my office as soon as possible, please. =/\= he said and then sat down behind the desk. He had yet to really talk to his Executive Officer, and now that discrepancy was beginning to catch up to him. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Stout, CO : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : =^=Yes, sir. Omni, out.=^= The Commander had been working on PaDDwork and such, but was otherwise unbusied, when Captain has requested her presence in his office. A bit perplexed, she rose to her feet and stepped from her quarters, heading towards the Captain’s office. Several minutes later, she stood before the metallic doors, pressing the chime. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Lt. Cmdr. Omni : : : : : : : : : : : : : : “It’s open.” came a voice form the other side of the door, and the door slid open. Stout was looking at a holographic rendering of one of the vessels docked at the station. As the XO came in, he brushed the image away and said “Thanks for coming, Commander. Have a seat. Want anything to drink?” he asked as he stood and retrieved a large cup of coffee from the replicator. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Stout, CO : : : : : : : : : : : : Omni stepped through the parting doors, inclining her head to the request of the Captain. Making her way to his desk, she lowered herself into the chair vertical of his. “Certainly, Captain.” Omni remarked, well aware that it would have been rude to deny his near-order to come. “Lemon tea, thank you.” She answered, shortly. : : : : : : : : : : : : Lt. Cmdr. Omni : : : : : : : : : : Stout ordered the drink, picked it up and handed it to the XO. Taking his own seat, he leaned back and said “So. I have a sneaking suspicion we are going to be spending a lot of time together. I thought it might help us out if we had a meeting to get to know one another. Clear up any questions, address any issues, so on and so forth. So let’s start with you. How long since you were part of the Collective?” he asked. There was no hostility in his voice, no sense of judgement of the woman before him. Whether or not he thought his question crass, callous, or even impolite was not apparent. It seemed it was a simple question to him, on the same intensity level as he might have asked ‘How’s the tea?’. : : : : : : : : : : Stout, CO : : : : : : : : “I would only assume you to be correct, sir.” Omni found it astounding, the amount of times that this simple question was the first and most prevalent amongst people and their inquiries. She had trained her mind to be unaffected by any sense of indignation in the face of the query, taking it at face value, as opposed to personally. Despite this, she still discovered a certain.. displeasure at the question, regardless of the absence of any ill manner or intended malice. Perhaps this was simply due to its frequency, or the fact that many formed an opinion based entirely upon appearance. There was no proper indication of which. : : : : : : : : “Four years, three hundred fifty eight days.” Omni responder, the ease of her voice erasing any aspects or inflection that might insinuate her discontent. “I can assure you, Captain, my past as a member of the Hivemind, has no effect on my present nor future.” : : : : : : : : Lt. Cmdr. Omni : : : : : : Stout’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at the response, but his face remained passive. “Didn’t think it would, Commander. I doubt you would be placed here if there was any concern as to that. I asked because I know that the longer a former member is away from the Borg, the more they tend to experience resurgences of memory and personality. I was just wondering how far along the process you were, and what I should expect going forward.” and he took a drink of coffee. “Personally, I could give two damns about your former life. My job is to make sure that everyone on this station is taken care of and these ships get the TLC they are supposed to. And in that vein, I’m gonna need people around that are working with me to make sure that happens. Are you an Engineer?” he asked, almost as an after-thought. : : : : : : Stout, CO : : : : “Resurgence does occur, from time to time. However, they are generally within the realm of sleep or otherwise rest and lack of movement.” Generally. There was still the undeniable possibility that she could easily slip into one of the resurgence during active duty and work. But they had to do more with her memory, as she does her best to deal with the personality issues. It was more of a PTSD issue, than an actual threat to her ethic or cooperation. Omni hid the faintest smirk of approval at his words, finding that she agreed with his thought process. : : : : “I am an intelligence officer, sir. However, as per the nature of this shipyard, I do possess knowledge upon engineering. Specifically, starship engineering. As it does appear the most effective for our line of work.” Her tone was unwavering, as if her words were intended to be informative, and nothing less : : : : Lt. Cmdr. Omni : : “What was your previous assignment before this one?” he asked flatly. : : Stout, CO “The USS Decahedron, for three years, one month and seventeen days.” Omni responded, clasping her hands together. Her words remained simple, inflectionless and debatably emotionless. Lt. Cmdr. Omni

“And what did you do on the Decahedron? Intel or Enginerring… or both?” Stout asked her.

Stout, CO

“Primarily Intelligence,” Omni informed. “Engineering was only when the Engineering Department required it, sir.”

Lt. Cmdr. Omni

Stout looked at her and said “Okay. How do you feel about reversing that while you are on Serenity? I mean, I don’t want you to feel that you are being… neglected, I guess?”

Stout, CO

“Such makes sense, Captain. This shipyard clearly requires more engineering knowledge than it ever would, Intelligence.” Omni gave a curt nod of her head, as if solidifying the fact, that she completely understood. “There is no objection, sir.”

Lt. Cmdr. Omni

Stout nodded, but looked at Omni intently. “So with regards to your role as XO. I need someone I know I can trust, but that comes with time. But what else I need, I can let you know now. I need you to be honest. If there is something you need, an issue you need help with, a problem with something I’m doing… I need you to tell me. I have no problem with you asking to speak with me in private at any time. But I need honest input and honest assessments of what is going on on this station and on these ships. I also need you to be able to be flexible. Scheduling, personnel, incoming and outgoing ships and such… it’s not going to go perfectly. I need you to be able to make adjustments on the fly. And lastly, I need you to be open and available to the crew. I need them to know that you are there for them if they need help. I have an open door policy myself, but I expect you to handle the things that don’t need my ugly face in the middle of them.”

Omni found herself somewhat perplexed by his choice of words and metaphors, as it was quite clear that she was not human, judging simply by her appearance, when not paying attention to the additional pieces that were the product of her reformation. However, she managed to grasp a general understanding of what he was saying, which was more than enough for her to figure out what he was attempting to say. Clasping her hands back upon her lap, she inclined her head. All such things were understandable, as an Executive Officer was intended to be another set of eyes, ears and a tongue, specifically regarding situations where the Captain couldn’t be present. She had been briefed prior, by the Admiral who recruited her, about what the position entailed. Thus, his request didn’t come as a surprise to her. “Understood, Captain.”

As he spoke he leaned forward and his speech matched the intensity of his look. He paused for a moment to let his words sink in, and then said “Are you up to that? It’s a big shift from your past roles. I need to know that you want to and are able do this.”

Stout, CO

Omni never understood why people chose to use their bodies to convey such deeply emotional effects. It had no impact on her, as she found the action to be nothing more than somewhat.. pathetic. That being said, she knew better than to speak her thoughts. “I do not believe that it would have been wise to accept a position with this regard, without being prepared for anything, sir.”

“Captain,” Omni fell quiet, but it was to collect her thoughts. She wasn’t going to say anything rude. “Permission to speak freely?”

Lt. Cmdr. Omni
XO