First Impressions

Posted on Wed Jun 29th, 2011 @ 10:12pm by Lieutenant Elizabeth Lynn & Captain Vorn Krace

Mission: The Fate of the Swiftsure
Location: USS Iapetus - Transporter Room, Bridge, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD2 0845 hrs

Lieutenant Elizabeth Lynn found herself materializing on the transporter pad of what would soon be her new home. Her gear had, thankfully, been transported directly to her quarters for her convenience. The fact that she had given the transporter chief of the Discovery a bit of gentle persuasion to make that happen would go unmentioned. No matter how many times she'd done it over the years, the fact that a few eyebrows batted and a few swipes of her tongue against her lips in a suggestive manner were enough to make men into jelly amazed her. She'd even gone so far as to compose a paper that received quiet a bit of recognition in the counseling circles... thankfully most men didn't read medical journals and were therefore oblivious to the fact that looks were nothing but weapons of manipulation in the hands of an intelligent and unscrupulous woman.

Stepping off the transporter pad, Liz took note that the gaining vessel had a woman for a transporter chief, and by the look of her she wasn't the most pliable of sorts. The Counselor simply gave her the requisite polite nod that said in a manner or fashion that she was beneath Liz. Indeed, most women were, in her humble opinion, rather low on the totem pole... or at least the ones that let men lord over them. Being a counselor, she'd seen hundreds of women come and go out of her office complaining of relationship troubles; the list ranged from ineffectual spouses or lovers to abusive ones. Her bread and butter resided with the middle ground between the extremes, but it never really got easier to listen to... Men and their relationship issues were far more entertaining...

Liz snapped herself out of her contemplation as she strolled down the corridor she'd entered following her departure of the transporter room. People passed her by with only a slight glance. The teal of her uniform didn't actually tell them the specific nature of her job, simply that it was one of the more cerebral of them. Most people placed her in Science before anything else, Counselor normally came dead last in their assumptions. The half-Klingon wasn't offended by that in the least... in fact she preferred the shock factor of being the only 'Klingon' in Counseling. The fact that her cranial ridges were subdued and her features mirrored her father's Asiatic heritage did little to divert the focus from the fact that she wasn't just another human or Betazoid talking to a person about their feelings.

Lieutenant Lynn boarded the turbolift and ordered it to the Bridge, making the logical assumption that her newest commander would be there.

As the turbolift doors opened to reveal to the Lieutenant a view of the bridge, a quick scan informed her that there was nobody standing or sitting in the center of the bridge, where the command officers were normally situated. Instead, the three command chairs were empty, though there were a few officers at other stations and moving about the bridge, carrying out various duties.

"Can you increase the sensor resolution any? Try to filter out the disturbance from the plasma discharges in the nebula?" Vorn was completely oblivious to the new presence on the bridge, with his back to the doors as he leaned over the shoulder of one of the junior officers at the science station. When he rose this morning he had a burning desire to use the Iapetus' advanced sensor array to view space in this region past the Solaria Nebula, but the plasma discharges were making it very difficult to get a clear read off the sensors, regardless of how top-of-the-line they were.

Lieutenant Lynn grinned as she stepped fully onto the bridge. The fact that the vessel's commander was adamant about seeking things out spoke volumes of the personality he most likely possessed. She might have mistaken him for a former science officer had she not had the benefit of spending an inordinate amount of time with Science professors at the Academy. Had he been a major in that field, he'd have been doing the scans himself, protocol be damned. Still, stellar phenomenon weren't solely the realm of the scientist... Helmsman perhaps? Time would tell...

"Excuse me, I'm looking for the Captain of this vessel. I do hope I haven't missed him," Liz said in her 'cutest' voice possible. She enjoyed the looks on the faces of those who had their backs turned to her when she first met them. They were normally priceless; mouths agape in utter dismay that such a melodic and sweet sound could come from a half-Klingon. She had her father's side of the family to thank for her deceptively high-pitched and cheerful sounding tones.

Krace looked around over his shoulder and - quite out of the ordinary compared to Liz' usual experiences - stated quite matter-of-factly with nothing more than a welcoming smile, "Ah, Counselor." Turning back, he quietly told the science officer to keep on trying, patted him on the shoulder, and stood to his full height, stepping over towards the newcomer and extending his hand.

"Welcome aboard the Iapetus. I hope that your journey here wasn't inconvenienced in any way by our late arrival to this sector."

The fact that the Captain didn't betray anything of what he was feeling wasn't altogether disappointing. The Science Officer had responded properly enough when he glanced back and nearly shat himself. A victory even if not a complete one.

"Hardly... there were a few cadets I needed to finish sessions with on the Discovery, so the timing was nearly perfect. Thank you for accepting my transfer, I wasn't expecting to get picked up so soon," Liz gave the man a slightly flirtatious smile, just for kicks.

"Well, we do like to be prompt when we can manage it," Vorn responded, as he extended his arm towards his ready room where they could talk away from the eyes and ears of the bridge crew. Even though he kept himself under much better control than the majority of them, he could feel how the attentions of most of the bridge staff were drawn towards this young woman.

Liz nodded and made her way to his secluded office. It was becoming increasingly obvious with the decreasing activity levels that she had made an impact on those around her. She was more than a little impressed with the swiftness of the impact this time around, though it didn't compare to the countenance of the Discovery's cadet population. Hormones that wild seldom had enough resilience to withstand more than a few minutes with Elizabeth before caving in to adoration.

When the two were properly inside the small office, Liz watched and waited for the man to speak first. She wasn't entirely sure what manner of in-brief he was apt to give, and being it was only her third Fleet posting and the second one she'd been a senior staff member of, she sided with caution and let him take the lead... not something she did very often.

"I think you'll find you'll be quite eagerly welcomed aboard the Iapetus, Counselor," the Captain said, the amused smile on his face indicating that he was partially referring jovially to the reactions of the bridge crew. "Counselor Duvall has been doing a fantastic job until now, but she has only been a counselor for the past four years or so, and one counselor alone isn't really adequate to deal with a crew this size."

"I would have to agree... and given that I've just finished a tour at the Academy, I suppose it wouldn't be unfair to say that I'm a little better equipped to handle things than Ms. Duvall. As for my welcome," Lt. Lynn said with the slightest bit of mirth in her voice, "I'm sure I'll get to know the crew well in due course. First off, however, I need to make sure I know your expectations of me... Wouldn't do to have you upset with me on the first day."

While she hadn't utterly abandoned her 'charms', she was getting the impression that the man was one of two things; uninterested or unavailable. Those two situations normally threw off the vibe she was getting from him. She was slowly but methodically slipping into her 'comfort' personality, that being the persona that was relatively tame and business-like... more so than some of the other facades she had to choose from.

"Well, first and foremost, you'll be in the direct charge of maintaining the crew's mental health, obviously," the man responded as he perched himself on the edge of his desk. "Morale too, if you can manage it. We're much farther from home than any of this crew have been before, and we likely won't be going back any time soon." He paused as he tried to recall her service record, and specifically the qualifications and experience she had received prior to her assignment to him. "You've not had much experience as a fleet counselor, have you? How are you with reading body language of those you've just met? Possibly interpreting alien species whom you've never seen before?"

"I taught behavioral psychology, first contact protocols, and I've been known to throw the odd party in a lounge or holodeck when the mood strikes me," Elizabeth remarked, folding her arms just below her chest, giving it a little added 'lift' without actually meaning to, "I've actually sat in on a few inter-cultural exchanges as an Intern, so I'm not utterly inexperienced even if I'm a bit rusty."

"OK," Vorn said, mulling her answer over as he averted his gaze to the ceiling slightly, giving a thoughtful expression to match. "Well I'd like to be able to make use of you as a contact specialist as well, then, working together with Lieutenant Rogan," he told her, returning his eyes to her. "I imagine that we're going to be meeting a lot of new races that none of us have had any experience with before, and I'd greatly value any help you can give me on the inter-cultural matters out here."

"I'd be more than happy to help you," Liz gave the man a slight smirk, "Now, as for where you're going to want me the most often..."

While she hadn't intended for that to sound so... propositional... it did kind of fit the motif. It wasn't exactly far-fetched to say that she did tend to use her looks and her skills as an orator to get what she wanted out of who she wanted. Such slips of the tongue were normally done on purpose for a purpose, but it was funny every now and then to catch herself doing it with no real goal in mind.

She let it hang for a second before continuing, "Am I to be on the bridge at a specific station or do you care if I'm there? My last commander didn't much care where I was as long as he could contact me quickly. You might have a preference for me to be at arm's length... Thought I'd ask."

Vorn chuckled at the woman's unintentional slip, the very slight blush on his cheek the only sign that he was flattered by it otherwise. "You won't need any specific station, no," he told her. "You can utilize your time and schedule as you see fit around your duties, just as long as you're able to get to the bridge when needed."

The slight coloration of his cheeks was the sign she'd been looking for. He wasn't attached after all, and by the looks of it, wasn't adverse to having her around either... But then again she'd just left the command of a Miran, and teasing a twelve year old was never on her list of things to do. Liz walked up to the Captain, letting her arms hang at her sides. She looked him square in the eyes for a moment before giving him a rare facial expression...

Lieutenant Lynn wasn't known to grace people with the tight-lipped smile. Normally a flirty smirk or a full, photogenic manner of smile was all she'd pass around. This private facial arrangement the Captain was witnessing meant something to her. Among other connotations, it carried with it the formation of a bond. She liked this man standing before her. He didn't lord over her, didn't push her at arms length and berate her mannerisms. He'd just accepted it, and in a small way let a little bit of it sink in.

"I think I'll spend a good deal of time on the bridge between my sessions. I'll likely hang on your arm for the majority of my first week here until I get some patients lined up. Besides, I can read records on the bridge..." Liz remarked in a soft and borderline intimate tone.

"That works for me," Vorn responded, his head tilting momentarily at the start of the sentence - and odd bit of automatic body language Vorn knew a lot of humans did when making a firm statement of agreeing with something, but a natural one none-the-less. He had to look up slightly as she stepped closer to him, as he was still perched on the edge of his desk, as a slightly lower level than she was at, but even from this vantage point he got the distinct impression that the tight-lipped smile wasn't one that usually adorned her face. After a moment's pause, he extended his arm towards his door again. "After you?" he asked.

"Mmm..." Liz murmured in acceptance. He'd made it clear the meeting was at an end, but she'd gotten some good information out of him, not the least of which had been that she was going to like her new posting. She made it to the door before him and turned back just before the doors could sense her presence.

"I'm going to tidy up my quarters a bit... you don't mind if I take a day to get my affairs in order, do you?"

The manner in which she had positioned herself flattered every curve she possessed. While she was sure he wasn't going to leap at her or any such nonsense, she figured she might as well finish what she started if she was going to bother being flirtatious at all.

Vorn had to stop himself short as she turned around suddenly to prevent himself from walking into her, but he recovered quickly, standing at a respectable distance away without looking like he was back-peddling from someone frightening. "Be my guest," he told her with a smile. "We haven't received any specific orders from Starfleet yet, and I'm not due for a meeting with the Task Force staff for at least another day, so we're not likely to be going anywhere for a while."

"Good..." Elizabeth graced him with her private smile one last time, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

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Captain Vorn Krace
Commanding Officer

&

Lieutenant Elizabeth Lynn
Chief Counselor
USS Iapetus