07-21-2024, 05:09 PM
As more personnel filtered into the room, Cass couldn't help but feel like a circus act with the way eyes flitted her way for a moment before quickly looking away. No one seemingly wanting to acknowledge the truth of her presence but no one being quite capable of denying it altogether.
She sighed as she took another sip of her coffee, her dark eyes moving over the room as she took the opportunity to assess. This section of the Artemis crew, and maybe all of the crew, was a strange hodge podge of backgrounds and ages. She'd almost go as far as saying that Captain Crawford had liked to collect lost causes but she also seemed to like to give chances to the young and hungry.
Then again, she couldn't say that she truly knew her predecessor. She'd met her a handful of times, most in passing at functions following her departure from the field, but as she'd combed through the Artemis' logs, it was her first encounter with the Captain that had continuously risen to the surface.
She'd been a green, eager midshipman on the Cairo when the ship had been tasked to give CSAR Alpha and Bravo a lift to the nearest starbase. It had been Commander McCalla that had caught her attention first with his easy smile and hulking form, easily making him the giggling talk of the women's locker room, but there has been no ignoring the woman with him, not with how she had carried herself. Then Commander Crawford had been confident, she knew exactly who she was and what she was capable and she had been comfortable in her own skin in a way that Cassandra had envied immensely from afar. The pair of Commanders had felt like the ideal of what she should have been striving for as a security officer and she felt like she's accomplished that. And yet, here she was once again feeling like she was called to fill boots that were too big for her, boots worn by someone who seemed far more enigmatic than she had some ten years ago. This time, the path didn't seem so sure or measured.
“What did I miss? When does the boss get here?” The words seemed to settle through Cass' musing, her dark eyes shifting to fall on the redhead, a recent arrival from medical, who had uttered them.
For all of Cass' bluntness, she still understood a baited line when it was dangled in front of her and judging by Coleman's reserved response to the question, she wasn't judging the statement incorrectly.
She was grateful when he answered the query in his own subtle way, saving her from having to weigh how to proceed in a potentially volatile balancing act.
“Here are the numbers you were looking for,” Coleman offered as she leaned over her chair to look at the figures. She didn't take it from him, not needing a third PADD in her stack, and instead, focused on memorizing the numbers quickly. They weren't needed for this meeting but they would be when she called the mother ship with an update.
"Thank you," she said quietly, offering another tiny smile. She appreciated that he wasn't making this more difficult on her, even though he was certainly capable and maybe even expected to. He was certainly handling this more graciously than the last FO she'd been forced to step around and for that, she was immensely grateful.
Before she could make any other requests or reconsider answering the young doctor's loud question, the door to the briefing room behind her opened and Lieutenant Command Morgan stepped inside, carrying a small crate with a small thermos balanced on top. The quartermaster motioned for Cass to step aside as she placed the small box at the head of the table where Cass was still loitering.
Cass patted the box lightly, knowing exactly what was inside based on her previous conversation with Morgan. However, she was surprised when Morgan offered her the thermos and what appeared to be a genuine smile before disappearing from the room once more.
The almost brunette couldn't help but let her gaze follow the quartermaster out, her expression likely puzzled. The tiny blonde had been nothing if not professional and polite in every encounter Cass had with her but there had never been any sort of friendliness or warmth. And yet, it seemed like there had been some sort of thaw between their talk on the bridge, along with their brief talk in the ready room where Cass had requested the crate, and now. Maybe she'd come to accept this change, though it seemed a fast turnaround for one of Crawford's closest associates, or maybe the quartermaster's reputation wasn't an understatement.
She carefully cracked open the lid, peering at the caramel colored liquid within with the tiniest hints of suspicion, before pouring it into her cup. If the quartermaster intended to poison her, might as well get it over with before she had to deal with this room full of people.
She took a careful sip of coffee, surprised when it tasted just like she preferred it. That merely served to confuse her even more but she tucked that away behind a neutral expression.
With her coffee tucked into her hand, its warmth offering some comfort, she evaluated the room once more. It seemed that everyone was present as she counted off faces versus bio profiles and that meant it was time to dive in.
"If I can have everyone's attention, please," Cass requested, her drawl lilting over the syllables. She remained standing behind her chair, her forearms resting on it as her hands clasped the cup securely.
"I'm Captain Cassandra Givens. As of about 10 hours ago, I was assigned as the acting commanding officer of the Artemis. Some of y'all may have seen me over the past few weeks as I conducted the command review following..." Her head tilted as she considered her next words carefully. Incident felt like an understatement but that was how she had referred to it in her report. After all, there were people in the room not privy to the full details.
"Following the reclamation of the Callisto. I say that to say I am not a total stranger to this ship, your history or your files, though I understand that I am a stranger to y'all."
I'm not here to tear this down to its roots.
"Before anyone asks, I do not know how long I will preside over this particular circus, as your previous captain so lovingly referred to you all," she preempted, the tiniest hints of a wry grin breaking through.
"On that, I'm as in the dark as you all are but I understand that you all have been left in the dark about more than you should be. I can't promise I have answers for everything but I am willing to answer any pressing questions before we get down to business."
== Tag everyone! ==
She sighed as she took another sip of her coffee, her dark eyes moving over the room as she took the opportunity to assess. This section of the Artemis crew, and maybe all of the crew, was a strange hodge podge of backgrounds and ages. She'd almost go as far as saying that Captain Crawford had liked to collect lost causes but she also seemed to like to give chances to the young and hungry.
Then again, she couldn't say that she truly knew her predecessor. She'd met her a handful of times, most in passing at functions following her departure from the field, but as she'd combed through the Artemis' logs, it was her first encounter with the Captain that had continuously risen to the surface.
She'd been a green, eager midshipman on the Cairo when the ship had been tasked to give CSAR Alpha and Bravo a lift to the nearest starbase. It had been Commander McCalla that had caught her attention first with his easy smile and hulking form, easily making him the giggling talk of the women's locker room, but there has been no ignoring the woman with him, not with how she had carried herself. Then Commander Crawford had been confident, she knew exactly who she was and what she was capable and she had been comfortable in her own skin in a way that Cassandra had envied immensely from afar. The pair of Commanders had felt like the ideal of what she should have been striving for as a security officer and she felt like she's accomplished that. And yet, here she was once again feeling like she was called to fill boots that were too big for her, boots worn by someone who seemed far more enigmatic than she had some ten years ago. This time, the path didn't seem so sure or measured.
“What did I miss? When does the boss get here?” The words seemed to settle through Cass' musing, her dark eyes shifting to fall on the redhead, a recent arrival from medical, who had uttered them.
For all of Cass' bluntness, she still understood a baited line when it was dangled in front of her and judging by Coleman's reserved response to the question, she wasn't judging the statement incorrectly.
She was grateful when he answered the query in his own subtle way, saving her from having to weigh how to proceed in a potentially volatile balancing act.
“Here are the numbers you were looking for,” Coleman offered as she leaned over her chair to look at the figures. She didn't take it from him, not needing a third PADD in her stack, and instead, focused on memorizing the numbers quickly. They weren't needed for this meeting but they would be when she called the mother ship with an update.
"Thank you," she said quietly, offering another tiny smile. She appreciated that he wasn't making this more difficult on her, even though he was certainly capable and maybe even expected to. He was certainly handling this more graciously than the last FO she'd been forced to step around and for that, she was immensely grateful.
Before she could make any other requests or reconsider answering the young doctor's loud question, the door to the briefing room behind her opened and Lieutenant Command Morgan stepped inside, carrying a small crate with a small thermos balanced on top. The quartermaster motioned for Cass to step aside as she placed the small box at the head of the table where Cass was still loitering.
Cass patted the box lightly, knowing exactly what was inside based on her previous conversation with Morgan. However, she was surprised when Morgan offered her the thermos and what appeared to be a genuine smile before disappearing from the room once more.
The almost brunette couldn't help but let her gaze follow the quartermaster out, her expression likely puzzled. The tiny blonde had been nothing if not professional and polite in every encounter Cass had with her but there had never been any sort of friendliness or warmth. And yet, it seemed like there had been some sort of thaw between their talk on the bridge, along with their brief talk in the ready room where Cass had requested the crate, and now. Maybe she'd come to accept this change, though it seemed a fast turnaround for one of Crawford's closest associates, or maybe the quartermaster's reputation wasn't an understatement.
She carefully cracked open the lid, peering at the caramel colored liquid within with the tiniest hints of suspicion, before pouring it into her cup. If the quartermaster intended to poison her, might as well get it over with before she had to deal with this room full of people.
She took a careful sip of coffee, surprised when it tasted just like she preferred it. That merely served to confuse her even more but she tucked that away behind a neutral expression.
With her coffee tucked into her hand, its warmth offering some comfort, she evaluated the room once more. It seemed that everyone was present as she counted off faces versus bio profiles and that meant it was time to dive in.
"If I can have everyone's attention, please," Cass requested, her drawl lilting over the syllables. She remained standing behind her chair, her forearms resting on it as her hands clasped the cup securely.
"I'm Captain Cassandra Givens. As of about 10 hours ago, I was assigned as the acting commanding officer of the Artemis. Some of y'all may have seen me over the past few weeks as I conducted the command review following..." Her head tilted as she considered her next words carefully. Incident felt like an understatement but that was how she had referred to it in her report. After all, there were people in the room not privy to the full details.
"Following the reclamation of the Callisto. I say that to say I am not a total stranger to this ship, your history or your files, though I understand that I am a stranger to y'all."
I'm not here to tear this down to its roots.
"Before anyone asks, I do not know how long I will preside over this particular circus, as your previous captain so lovingly referred to you all," she preempted, the tiniest hints of a wry grin breaking through.
"On that, I'm as in the dark as you all are but I understand that you all have been left in the dark about more than you should be. I can't promise I have answers for everything but I am willing to answer any pressing questions before we get down to business."
== Tag everyone! ==