Common Ground

Posted on Fri Jan 22nd, 2021 @ 5:44pm by Lieutenant Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii & Commander Grace Vetur

1,786 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: The Lonesome Road
Location: XOs Office
Timeline: Current

Yiv emerged from the Intelligence Center at the end of a long day. Just one more thing on the to-do list,. Time had seemingly been a scarce resource since the Captain's briefing and the revealing of their new assignment to the senior staff. Though he did feel a little privileged that he had had the information revealed to him a short time before the rest of them. Though that was probably down to the fact I was the last senior officer aboard from the previous tour..

He sighed to himself as he walked down the corridor to his next destination. That sort of cynical thinking will get you nowhere, not now. That he had been afforded a second chance was clear to him, and he was determined to make the best of it.

Hence his next destination.

Through nine months of sulking, Yiv had not bothered to build a rapport with the previous Executive Officer, and had seldom interacted with them outside of the required briefings. Then again, the previous XO did not seem to be bothered by his lack of attentiveness outside of work. They'd been quick enough to move on from the Ontario after all. This time, though, it's going to be different, he vowed. Yiv would at least make an attempt with the current First Officer. Even though what he'd heard from scuttlebutt indicated that she could be stand-offish.

The short walk from the Intelligence Center brought him to the Executive Officer's Office, also on Deck Two. He ran the chime and waited for permission to enter.

Grace was putting the final touches on her office. She'd chosen midnight blue furniture to offset the paler colors and was hanging a painting of snow-capped mountains on the wall when she heard the door chime. "Come in," she said, stepping down to make sure the art was level.

Stepping through the door as it opened, Yiv glanced about the spacious office. He may not have enjoyed the posting initially, but one thing he had always appreciated was the amount of space aboard the vessel. Very cool colours. Either a reflection of her personality, or a cultivation of her reputation. Yiv chuckled mentally, or it could just be a reflection of her New Iclendican heritage.

'Commander,' he began respectfully, 'I thought it might opportune to introduce myself, and start building a working relationship with yourself.' He paused. 'Due to a few factors, I didn't have much contact with the previous officer, and I'd rather not make the same mistake twice.'

She indicated that he should take a seat and sat on the couch. "May I ask what those factors were?" It would help her know what she was up for, and if there were any issues she needed to resolve for them to have a good working relationship.

He accepted his seat with thanks. Making himself comfortable, he interlaced his hands and held them in his lap as he crossed his legs. Yiv thought for a moment before answering. Better go with the truth from the get-go. There wasn't much point in beating around the bush. 'Well ... One the one hand, the last Ex-Oh was a ladder climber and clearly didn't see himself sticking around for too long. I heard he got a transfer to an Akira-class cruiser somewhere along the border with the Tzenkethi. Good luck to him I say.

'On the other hand, I frankly admit I spent the last tour pouting. My transfer to the Ontario was not voluntary. I didn't deal with it very well in a personal capacity, and barely scraped by in my professional relationships. So things ... suffered. I've only just begun repairing that damage.' He motioned in her direction, 'it would have been unfair to not inform you.'

She took a moment to process the information. "I appreciate your candor. I don't think I'd appreciate working for someone like that, either and I assure you I'm not bucking for command. I'm happy where I am right now." She looked at him for a moment. "So, what do you expect from me as your new first officer?"

'An open ear,' replied Yiv. 'I don't need you to agree with me all the time, but I'd like to be heard and have my opinion noted. I'm a fairly good intel officer, and I have been for years. I just don't deal with the politics of situations well from time to time.' Yiv shrugged, 'more broadly, just have an interest in the ship and crew - although I'm sure you'll do that anyway, as you're also an excellent First Officer by reputation.'

She chuckled softly. "I'm a diplomat by reputation, but thank you for the kind words. I try to listen to opinions as well. I don't claim to know everything, so I rely on the expertise of others." She gave him a brief smile. "In spite of being a former diplomat, I don't like politics in general, but I can work with politicians. It's necessary in diplomacy--and command. Since we're being forthright, I will add that I don't like being lied to That being said, I like your attitude and I think we'll work well together."

'I'm glad to hear it,' Yiv rubbed his hands together a moment as he thought. 'Yes, lying,' he finally said a small smile fluttering across his lips. 'Lying.' He inspected his fingernails for a moment before finally saying. 'It's a big part of my job. Our lies. Our adversaries' lies. Our allies lies. Who lies when and who lies why. How we lie.' He looked at her, 'and so on and so forth. SI is a castle made of smoke, essentially. But I assure you I would never knowingly lie to you.' Yiv shrugged again, 'we're going out into the unknown, a place where Starfleet hasn't been for decades. We can't be at looking over our own shoulders at our own crew. We have to be able to trust one another. It's really that simple.'

The Efrosian felt a small wave of sadness wash over him. He had probably told Vetur his first lie.

"I should let you know that I'm an empath," she said, picking up on his sadness. "I'm not asking you to divulge secrets, or things you, as an intel officer, are not allowed to divulge. As a diplomat I was required, at times, to withold information, or to find out how a certain contingency felt. I was not able to be completely honest at times, either. I separate job requirement from deceiving someone a lie to cover up a peccadillo." She sighed. "I guess I see too many gray areas in what I constitute as lying. I count intention more than simply the act of withholding information."

'Hmmmm,' Yiv looked at his hands again, before nodding and looking at the Commander, 'you'd make a good Intelligence Officer, ma'am.' He sighed, 'very well, I'll not deliberately lie to you outwith the areas you specified. I think I can manage that. So long as we both trust we have the best intentions for the crew in our actions.

The Efrosian checked himself, and found that this was acceptable to him.

She nodded. "I can agree to that--although I'm a bit too forthright to be an intelligence officer. Diplomacy is as close as I get."

'It's pretty close,' replied Yiv, carefully, 'not quite as literally cloak and dagger as Intelligence work can be - though, thankfully, I'm an analyst and have no background in going undercover and having to adopt a different persona.' He pointed at his head ridges, and grinned, 'these are a pain to hide, apparently. Luckily all I have to do is collate reports, assess the data and present them with as little bias as possible to the right people. Then keep quiet. How did you move from the Diplomatic to Executive Officer tracks, if you don't mind me asking?'

"I don't mind," she said. "I had a commander who thought I'd be a good first officer and encouraged me to take the command courses. I like a challenge, so I went." She shrugged. "So far I like it. What made you choose intel?"

'Oh they chose me, during my Academy graduating year, and offered me an additional year at the Academy's Berlin annexe to look at Intelligence craft. My analysis and research skills were strong for a cadet, and they though they could use me.' He flashed a smile, 'barring a few incidents, they've been largely correct. And I much prefer it to Ops where I was headed at the time.'

"I'm glad it mostly worked out for you," she said. "It's much better if you're in a job you like." She paused. "Is there anything in particular I can do for you?"

'I think you've already managed to do the particular thing for me - we've managed to set out our professional boundaries and red lines, wouldn't you say?' replied Yiv evenly. He smiled a genuine smile, 'perhaps the only other real request I have is that I sometimes be considered for an Away Mission. There was very little in the way of off-ship action for me on the last tour. And I just get itchy feet from time to time.'

She smiled back. "As a former diplomat, I understand the feeling. I was only sent on official diplomatic assignments. I have no problem recommending you if any of your skills could benefit the team."

'Thank you, Commander, you'd be doing me a great kindness if I were to be considered.' He looked up at the chrometer. 'I feel I've taken up quite enough of your time, for today at least. I'm sure you have your own preparations to complete prior to launch.'

She did, but she also liked getting to know the crew. "I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you," she said, standing. "I hope you have a better experience on this ship."

He stood, tugging his uniform into place. Nodding Yiv extended his hand, 'I'm sure with the new team in place, I will have a better experience going forward. It's been a pleasure, Commander.'

She shook his hand. "I hope so, too. It was a pleasure, Lieutenant."

Shaking her hand firmly, he nodded, 'until next time then.' Yiv let go of her hand and spun about on his heel and exited the office.

____
OFF

Lieutenant Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Ontario

&

Lieutenant Commander Grace Vetur
Executive Officer
USS Ontario

 

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