EXETERRPG: (1, 0930) 2O/CEO, Commander Keira Merek & HC, Lt. Jack Roberts

[Todd Holladay]

Mission: Space was cool before it mattered
Day: 1
Stardate: 2446.04.25

(USS Exeter - Counseling Office - 2O/CEO, Commander Keira Merek & HC, Lt.
Jack Roberts - 0930)

Keira had thought about what Roberts had said on the bridge. The assignment
helped her understand how much progress she had made, and more importantly
how much farther she had to go. She went to reach for the chime and the
door just opened. Taking that as an invitation she stepped in, “Lieutenant
Roberts?”

“Please, come in and have a seat.” Jack said with a smile.

“I’m not late, am I?” Keira asked as she ventured further in.

“No not at all, you are right on time.”

"Good." Keira said sitting down.

“So, do we play the small talk game or do you want to dive right in?”

"Right into the deep end." Keira said pantomiming a diving motion with her
hands.

“Sometimes the best way to get into a pool is to just cannonball right in.”
Jack replied.

"The homework, that was more a pop quiz.." Keira said, "I did think of
something a few things to mention."

“Well then just tuck those knees into your chin and make a splash.” Jack
said continuing the metaphor. “Let’s start with the lowlight and then we
can build to the highlight. How does that sound?”


"Good as anything." She paused, no she hesitated. ~Sure let's start with
the failures.~ "I was not able to make as much time for my friends, reach
out…" Keira began,  "rebuild what we had."

“How so.” Jack asked.

"It was difficult, being on duty now, when everyone else is generally
sleeping."

“Well I’m certain you get a day off every so often and are not always on
the night shift.” Jack replied.

"Well… I do. Our schedules don't always line up, though." She said, "I
might have the day off, Ire has a drill scheduled, Erin is charting a
nebula, Greta on helm duty."



“Do you think maybe it is hard to reconnect, rebuild because of the
scheduling or is it deeper? Please correct me if I am wrong. Do you fear
maybe that they remind you too much of Ravok or perhaps were more his
friends than yours? Or perhaps that they have moved on? If I am off base
let me know, I just want to be sure.”

"Erin was like a sister to Ravok, she had known him longer than I," Keira
admitted, "Ire and Trip and Greta always had that fighter jock club they
seemed to be a part of."

“And did you feel like you were an outsider to the fraternity, that maybe
they were more his friends than your friends?”

"I don't know, I guess I never thought about it that way," Keira said, "
Ravok was always more of a social butterfly, though."

“And you consider yourself more of an introvert?”

"I'm usually more slow to open up, yeah." Keira said.

“Outside of those friends who you made through Ravok, who would you say
make up your circle of friends?”

~ Damn. That one hurt.~ "It's hard to untangle that, after a while the
friend group tangled together like a ball of  yarn." She paused in thought.
~Think it through.~ "I had made friends with Erin separately, I met Ravok
through his mother. I found out later that they knew each other from the
academy. I…Trip it was after the fighter mission, I was given / volunteered
for the task of analyzing the crash of his command ship. Ire I had met him
separately, helped him out with his drone idea. The group kind of
introduced me to Greta, but we hit it off right away…"

Jack just nodded.

"So Erin and Ire I met outside the group, with out Ravok. Greta directly
because of the group, Trip because of the group's activities, I got to know
him better…."

“I see.”

"Am I rambling?"

“Kind of…I mean you established that your meeting the group wasn’t because
of Ravok, but you didn’t quite answer my question. Actually you dodged it
quite perfectly.”

"Thanks?" Keira said, raising an eyebrow.

“Regardless of the order of who met whom, when, you didn’t touch on what I
was really hoping to get at. Who are your friends outside of that circle?
Do you have anyone? Were there any friends that you didn’t share with
Ravok?”

"I guess not from before the christening of the Exeter." ~Who had time to
make friends at the academy?~ "My first two years were hell, and the latter
two were academia damage control, you'd have to go back before the academy.
To my friends in the Carraya colony."

“So you have no other friends on board?” Jack asked.

"Wait, I'm sorry I am mistaken. One of the new doctors…" ~ What was his
name?~ "Dr. Vulon. I met him during a Karaoke night, when we were around
Vandalos. Klas has been helping me with showmanship."

“Commander…Keira….I want to get to the highlight, I do. I want to see how
you have grown, become more integrated, but before we move on to that, I
need you to make me a promise.”

"Okay, what is it?" Keira asked.

“Broaden your horizons a bit, expand your friend group. Reconnect with the
old, and do your best to make new. Don’t let work or grief keep you
isolated.”

"I'll reach out, today, I promise." She said solemnly.

“As they say, make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the
other gold. Build your treasury.”

"I've never heard that one," Keira admitted. "This part has been dragging
me down, can we move on, please?"

Jack nodded, “So the highlight?”

"As I mentioned earlier, I made a new friend. Dr. Vulon. Who I met after I
had belted out a song during Karaoke night, it surprised me."

“How so?”

"Well it's surprising because I'd spent most of my adult life avoiding
doctors

“Well, I can clear out the rest of my schedule if I need to address the
fear of doctors. Though I assume in your case it is more just dealing with
the hassle of it all rather than an actual case of iatrophobia.”

"No, no phobia." She confirmed.

“Ok, so tell me more about your new found friend.”

"He's blunt like me," Keira said. "He's one of the few on board that's as
familiar with pre-war Earth music as I am. We both enjoy coffee, though his
palate is more refined than my own, and takes his coffee black."

“Interesting.” Jack nodded. “Seems to be an interesting fellow.”

"Yes he is." Keira confirmed.

“Did you find making friends with him to be easy or difficult?”

" I think this was another case of an introvert being adopted by an
extrovert, but to answer your question, it was easy."

“Ah yes, where would the introvert be without the extroverts forcing them
out of their comfort zone, like an atomic bomb of lack of personal space
and outgoingness.”

"I know, right?" Keira said.

“Is that why things worked well with Ravok? He was more outgoing to counter
your introverted nature, creating a balance?”

"It was certainly part of it." Keira paused. ~He also had a fantastic
rear-end.~ "He was patient with me, more patient than I thought I deserved."

“Well, why do you think that? Why do you think you didn’t deserve the
patience he showed you?” Jack paused as he looked at the clock.. “On second
thought, hold on to that, think about and reflect on that one and get back
to me. Unfortunately, I have a scheduled conference call with a VIP that I
can’t miss.”

"Some Admiral?" Keira asked one eyebrow raised.

“And by VIP, I mean my wife. She’s stationed on Mars, and its right around
now where our time zones mesh the best to have our daily chat. I should
have factored that in when I gave you a time to meet.”

"Can't dole out advice about me taking care of myself, with out following
your own advice." She said, and stood up.

“Anyways, take care commander, and remember, you deserve more than you
think you deserve. Meditate with that.”

"Thank you, Counselor." Keira said and left the office.

(Reply none)
(Posted by Will & Todd)

-- 
Todd Holladay
SGT, IA ANG (Ret)

"There will always be those who mean to do us harm. To stop them, we risk
awakening the same evil within ourselves. Our first instinct is to seek
revenge when those we love are taken from us, but that's not who we are." -
Captain James T. Kirk
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