Personal Interview

Posted on Sun Jun 2nd, 2013 @ 7:20pm by Commander Aztala Germond
Edited on on Wed Jun 5th, 2013 @ 6:10am

1,272 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 2 - Whispers in the Clouds
Location: USS Unification
Timeline: Day 1 - 1900

Since the staff meeting, LTCMDR Germond had been busy on one of the bridge terminals going over the duty rosters and finding holes in it from being so shorthanded. A lot of people were pulling double shifts to get everything in working order and though she couldn't really tell herself, she knew it had to be wearing on them. Everything was still in pretty bad shape, but some of it would have to take a back seat to ensuring the crew got rested. There was the possibility they were heading into a hostile or even a hostage situation and she'd rather see the crew at their peak and able to do their best with what they had, rather than everything working and pretty and the crew muddling their way through things.

The comm beeped and an unfortunately familiar voice came over. "Cynthia White to LTCMDR Germond. Are we still on for 1900 in my quarters? you promised me a private interview and it's that time already."

Her face unchanging, she replied calmly, betraying none of her frustration with the reporter's comments. "I'll be there in 5 minutes."

Saving her progress, turning the terminal off, and standing up, she noticed a crewman at an adjacent station smiling rather widely and glancing in her direction. "Would you like to go to this interrogation for me, crewman? I hear she's rather aggressive with her questioning." Turning pale and the smile slipping from his face, he shook his head. "No, Ma'am." Smiling a bit, she made her way past some tools on the floor to the turbolift, got in, and made her way to Ms White's quarters.

The door was open and waiting for her, with Ms White casually humming a tune she didn't know. Stopping at the door, she leaned in a little, noticing the wafting aroma of spiced Orion brandy. "Should I just come in and make myself comfortable, or should I knock first?"

"Please, come in and join me on the couch. I don't have much of an office to interview people with, but it's better than a desk and 2 chairs. As for the interview, I'll be doing a voice recording, but only for my own records - This is kind of an initial interview to get to know each other. Of course, anything you're not supposed to tell me is off limits, and if there's anything you want to ask me, please feel free." Motioning to the 2 mugs of the warmed brandy, she continued. "I got some good Orion Brandy from a colleague some time ago and I've been a bit wary of trying it on my own. I've scanned it and it doesn't contain anything illegal, and since technically you're off duty, I figured we could share some while we talk."

During the long winded reporter's monologue, Aztala slowly made her way in, closing the door behind her and hoping there weren't too many rumors already flying around the ship. Only a few crewmen had passed behind her during all this, so she hoped things would be ok. Sitting on the far end of the wraparound couch and unpinning her collar so she could breathe a little easier, she picked up the proffered mug, breathing in the aroma deeply, enjoying the scent. "It's been years since I've had anything like this myself. Where did you learn to heat it before you drink it?"

Picking up her own mug and shifting on her part of the couch to face Aztala better, her white and blue jumpsuit reflected the light with a silvery sheen. "I just looked it up in the Federation Database. It said that if i warmed it a bit, the aphrodisiac properties would be negated for most species, including humans." Sipping from the mug, she let out a slight moan as it went down her throat. "This is possibly the best Liquor I've ever had..."

Drinking deeply from her own mug and feeling the spicy tang and sweet aftertaste flow into her, she almost made a similar noise, but the bittersweet memories the flavor brought back to her and the reminder of the last time she had this drink brought her back to her senses and she set her mug back on the table and smiling politely, she looked to the reporter. "Shall we get this interview started then?"

Clicking on the recorder on the table, she took another sip of her brandy. "Of course. Let's start with What it was like coming aboard the Unification. It's your first actual starship assignment, if my sources are correct. And a position as XO to boot. That must be exciting for you."

Already wanting to escape, she put on her best stoic face and replied calmly. "I put in my application for the position hoping I could get off of courier duty and paperwork and get out and help people more directly. I assume you're aware of my past and why I joined Starfleet, so I won't go into that, but finally getting here... I guess you could say it's a dream come true, but I don't think the phrase fits somehow. I think "two ships meeting in the night" fits a bit better. As for actually being on the ship, I was expecting a harsher reception since most of my COs have kept me at arm's length, but everyone has been pleasant and respectful so far."

Cynthia looks a little confused, sipping from her mug again. "Two ships meeting in the night?"

Aztala continues, explaining the old saying. "It basically means it's a new encounter full of possibilities. Things could go very right, or they could go very wrong, depending on how both ships react to each other. Similar to the Vulcan philosophy of infinite diversity in infinite combinations, I think."

Cynthia then smiled like a cat that had cornered her prey. "Fascinating. And how did yours and Captain Lambert's meeting in the night go?"

Wanting to groan at that, Aztala looked to her mug of brandy, hoping for a refill already as the interview continued...

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4 hours later
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LTCMDR Germond left Cynthia White's quarters, a bit drunk and hoping no one saw her at this hour, repinning her shirt closed and heading to her own quarters just down the hall. She had to wonder where that reporter had gotten 6 bottles of that brandy, but thankfully they only drank the first bottle.

Gathering her PADD and thankful she hadn't passed anyone on the way, she then made her way to the mess hall for some more open space and some of that Klingon coffee, Raktajino, to clear her head enough to work on the maneuvers listing for tomorrow's shakedown tests. She didn't want to put too much stress on the ship or their new pilot, but there were some moves created by captains of various defiant class ships she wanted to see if they could pull off with the Unification.

She also found out from her terminal, while copying the necessary files that there were now 2 late arrivals to the ship. Since her duties included evals and reports and things of that nature, she figured that since she'll probably have to write up the reports on why they were late anyway, she might as well see if they were still up in a couple hours when she was feeling more herself and interview them directly. It wasn't that she wanted to relieve some stress after that interrogation by taking it out on the crew, but she couldn't help but grin at the prospect. Besides, the mess hall was a nice neutral and casual location that might set them at ease a bit.

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