[S] JP: LtJG Carter & Capt Rahman: Everything's better with pie (Part 1)
Carter Greyson
((Crew Lounge, USS Syracuse))
::The captain took a sip of her coffee as the engineer continued.::
Greyson: There are some things you just can't get out of a textbook, I admit. I prefer taking things apart to putting them back together.
Rahman: Well, I've always found hands-on and active learning to be the best approach.
Greyson: You aren't the only one. ::He paused thoughtfully over a bite of his pie.:: How are you finding being the captain?
::She raised an eyebrow at the question, not because she found it inappropriate but rather because she hadn’t expected it. Even her closest friends--and Tristam--had simply acknowledged her shift over to the command path.::
Greyson: I mean, I know from our past conversations you felt at home in the gold collar, but now that you're the captain we haven't had much time to actually talk.
Rahman: You’re right. We haven’t. The red collar and four pips come with a bit of loneliness, I must tell you.
::She returned a resigned, half-hearted smile.::
::Carter took another bite of his pie and let her continue.::
Rahman: There are times I envy you. To be back down in Engineering. I think I could have stayed a chief engineer the rest of my life.
::That is, if Starfleet had let her. Perhaps what was most disheartening about her memories of being a full-time engineer was that it had ended not with retirement or even promotion to command but in disgrace with her arrest and then, even after her exoneration, her discharge from active starship duty.::
::Envy was an emotion he wasn’t very familiar with, because thus far he hadn’t really experienced.::
Rahman: But I’m sure you didn’t want to spend a meal hearing your captain reminisce about the past.
Greyson: Not just about the past. Best way to put it: I can't seem to break out of the habit of calling you by your title of "Doctor" or "Professor" rather than "Captain." I know I need to eventually, but I'm at a loss for suggestions.
Rahman: “Doctor” is perfectly fine, lieutenant. “Your Majesty” is also acceptable.
::He nodded, seeming a bit surprised to her from the suggestion.::
Greyson: I'll give it a go the next time the situation arises.
::She chuckled.::
Rahman: But honestly, the method I use to learn names, titles, or any other facts really is to repeat them to myself a few times and write them down over and over again each day until I can rattle them off in my sleep.
::Writing down titles and names seemed like a great idea, if only he remembered to carry a pen in his pocket. He wasn’t *that* forgetful, he thought. Was he?::
Greyson: Maybe I should start carrying a pencil in my tool box. Still, old habits die hard.
Rahman: But really, if your first inclination is to call me by my other titles, I won’t take offense. It took quite a bit of work after all to achieve them, so maybe it’s nice that they’re not forgotten.
Greyson: ::nodded:: I’ll remind you from time to time, if you like.
::She smiled.::
Rahman: You were asking me earlier about being a captain. How about you? How are you finding being an engineer? Ever think about returning to tactical?
::Instead of an immediate reply, his brows shot up in amazement. He hadn’t considered that question either..::
Greyson: Not voluntarily. I discovered, over the course of my studies, that I’m more at home fixing things than I am shooting things.
Rahman: It doesn’t necessarily have to be one or the other, you know.
::Did he know it? In truth, she was probably right. He had made a choice to choose engineering over tactical when a console exploded on him. Carter’s decision was influenced by a terrible experience, and as a tactical officer he didn’t actually remember doing anything tactically oriented. To him, the two were mutually exclusive::
Greyson: Finding the balance between the two hasn’t been easy for me since the initial explosion. ::He paused and had another bite of pie. When he swallowed again, he continued.:: The opportunity presented by Commander Core for retraining in engineering was a life changer.
TBC
Capt. Roshanara Rahman
Commanding Officer, USS Veritas
I238705TZ0
&
Lieutenant JG Carter Greyson
Engineer, USS Veritas
O23902CS01