Lieutenant JG Roy Bancroft - Huh. Take That, Mom.

[Carter Schimpff]

(( Elysium - Deck 6 - USS Artemis-A ))

Roy sat alone at a table, the rim of his sweating gin and tonic cradled loosely in the tips of his fingers. A shock of red hair flickered at the edge of his vision.

He didn’t look up.

Where was the fun in that?

MacKenzie? No – he wasn’t in trouble, and that was the only reason the Artemis’ CO would have voluntarily approached him.

Cole? Doubtful. The room hadn’t exploded.

Richards? He’d have heard her yapping two compartments away.

That left…

Bancroft: ::pleasantly:: Doctor Jaran! Join me, if you’re feeling brave.

Before long, Lt. K'Wara slid into another open seat with them as well.

K'Wara: So, what's the prescription for the evening, Doctors?

Jaran: I'll be honest, I'm still not completely clear on what we're doing here. Mission debriefing? No one really told me anything other than to be here. Should I get a drink or something? I'd hate to overindulge at a serious affair.

Roy smiled, sly and sympathetic. He remembered his first awards ceremony all too well – the awkward anticipation, the fear of saluting the wrong person, the creeping certainty that someone was going to mistake him for a waiter. 

Bancroft: You should definitely get a drink.

K'Wara: Oh, I have every intention of doing so, but preferably after Ava's finished her speeches. No reason to spark her ire while she’s got boxes of unclear content next to her.

Jaran: It's going to be one of those kinds of meetings. I see.

Roy took a sip of his gin and tonic to hide his grin.

Bancroft: Don’t worry doc, it’ll hurt you more than it’ll hurt them.

Before anyone could unpack that statement further, the Acting Captain stepped forward.

Munro: :: to the room :: Welcome :: clears her throat :: Erm … :: pause :: What can I say?

The corner of Roy’s mouth curled upward. In his admittedly limited experience with Commander Munro, she’d never been one to struggle with words.

Usually, she had something sharp to say. Typically at his expense.

But public speaking was a different animal. It never bothered him much – if you entered the arena expecting to look a fool, the only way to go was up. He didn’t begrudge anyone else their nerves, though.

Munro: I had a speech planned out. I'm not very good at these things: dress uniforms and formalities. It's not something I've ever really got accustomed to so I'll make this as quick and painless as possible. 

K’Wara: Hear hear!

Bergmen: Hear with your ears, listen with your heart.

Roy raised a brow and let a snort slip through his nose – soft, amused, involuntary. It never failed to amuse him how Bergmen, with his glittering eyes and youthful soul, was nearly twice Roy’s age and still sounded like someone who had just stepped out of a theatre troupe on Gideon.

Any: Response?

Munro: These are symbols of your steadfast adherence to duty, it wasn't easy. But you all behaved like exemplary Starfleet officers and on that note the entire crew have earned themselves the Starfleet Investigation Ribbon and the Peacekeeper Service Ribbon.

Aides filtered through the crowd, handing out small boxes to the officers who had participated in the recent mission – Roy included.

Any: Response

Munro: To start things off, I have a special ribbon for Lt Commander Jovenan.

Jovenan: Oh?

Roy’s smirk deepened into something gentler. He’d had the privilege of serving under Jovenan on two separate away teams now, and both times he’d seen the same rare trait: a leader who not only made decisions decisively, but who also truly listened to her subordinates. Who asked questions not to fill the silence, but to understand. Who led not through force of rank, but clarity of purpose.

Whatever was coming, it was richly deserved.

Munro: I had barely stepped onboard the Artemis before I was tasked by taking on temporary command, and the dubious chore of selecting a first officer. We were strangers then, extending the hand of trust to one another. I'm glad you accepted and I hope we've come away from this experience closer to being friends. I award you the Superior Support Ribbon, Commander Jovenan.

Jovenan: Thank you, sir. It has been a pleasure to get to know you as well, even if it was in these circumstances.

Roy clapped loud and hard, giving a ‘whoop’ as the rest of the room began to applaud as well. 

Any: Response

As the applause gradually faded, Commander Munro carried on.

Munro: Please step forward, Lt. K'Wara, Ensign Cole and Ensign Tho'Bi.

K'Wara: Ah. ::swigs:: Showtime.

Tho'Bi: Responses

Roy leaned back in his chair, watching as two of his closest friends aboard the ship stepped forward alongside Lieutenant K’Wara – whom Roy had only encountered once, really, in a game of Galaxyopoly so disastrous it didn’t bare further thought.

Munro: When we join the academy we're taught that Starfleet is more than our assigned duty posts and it seems we're supposed to be more than the sum of our parts :: looks to Tho'Bi and smiles :: It's a challenge, at times. But each of you showed me that you can rise to that challenge. In dealing with the Boraxian diplomat and :: to Cole and K'Wara :: Andoren :: beat :: you proved those academy professors right in their insistence to teach us all Diplomacy 101. Even if it did make me want to fall asleep.

K'Wara: Thank you, Commanders.

Cole: ::nodding slightly:: Thank you.

Tho'Bi: Response

Jovenan: Congratulations.

Any: Response

Roy clapped again, more contemplative this time. He still hadn’t gotten the full story from Cole or Tho’Bi about their time with the Boraxian dignitary – Ch… Chav… Chevrine, or something equally vowel-heavy.

Andoren, on the other hand, he was unfortunately all too familiar with.

Munro: Lt. K'Wara you stay where you are for now. Can Commander Jovenan, Doctor Morgan, Lt. Imril, Samantha Richards and Doctor Jaran join them.

Imril: Response

Any: Response

Roy’s eyes twinkled as he watched his boss – who was performing the galaxy’s least convincing impersonation of a willing participant – shuffle toward the front, flanked by Imril, Richards, and Jaran.

He didn’t know Jaran well yet. They were to be roommates now, replacing Imril in The Great Crew Rotation of 2402. But by all accounts – Sam’s, Imril’s, half the nurses’ – the new doctor had handled the mission with grace, competence, and an appropriate level of exasperation.

Munro: Your efforts to uncover the mystery surrounding the altered crystals and ultimately deliver a safe remedy to the effects it had on the Boraxian population has not gone unnoticed. Each of you is awarded the Scientific Discovery Ribbon.  With Doctors Morgan and Jaran along with Richards and Imril earning the Medical Science Ribbon as well.

Morgan: Thank you, Commander.

Jaran: Thank you, sir.

Richards: Much appreciated. Thank you.

Imril: Response

Bergmen: Hooray! Congratulation!

Bancroft: ::clapping:: Sam! Imril! Chief! Jaran!

Any: Response

Munro: Doctor Morgan and Lt Imril you are dismissed for now. I'm not quite finished with the rest of you yet.

Imril: Responses 

Any: Response

Munro: You have all earned the Innovation Ribbon as well.

Jaran: Umm Thank you. ::beat:: Again.

Richards: It’s not much. But it’s honest work.

Roy laughed aloud at that. Having only just given birth, in relative terms of course, Sam probably didn’t even know whether this was reality or just some sort of dream. 

Or waking nightmare, if you were Chief Morgan, he mused.

Munro: :: good humoured :: Now you can return.

K'Wara: ::winks:: A fair load heavier, Commander. Thank you.

Any: Response

More applause followed, then gradually died down once more as the assembled officers departed the front of the room.

Munro: Can Lt. Commander Silveira, Lt. Storm, Lt. Imril and Ensign Bancroft step forward.

Roy stood slowly, trying not to look as startled as he felt.

His mind ticked rapidly through his mission ‘highlights’:

Treated the injured? Check. Baseline medical responsibility.

Witnessed the structural integrity of an entire civilization collapse? Unfortunately, yes.

Threw his phaser at a spider the size of a shuttlecraft, then begged a madman not to incinerate himself in front of everyone?

… Well.

The others – Silveira, Alex – Lieutenant Storm, he corrected himself –, Imril – they were all precisely the sort of officers you expected to see called forward. Steady hands. Clear eyes. 

He half-wondered if he was being brought up as a cautionary tale. A walking “do not attempt.”

The others – Commander Silveira, Alex – Lieutenant Storm, he corrected himself – and Imril, he knew, were all extraordinarily deserving of whatever was to come.

He, on the other hand – well, perhaps he was being brought forward as an example to all the others. Of what not to be.

Silveira/Imril: Responses

Munro: Old Earth Humans had a popular saying to describe heroic feats, “running into a burning building”. Each of you did just that, you didn't know what you were going to find or discover within it. Or if you'd even come back out again. Yet, you still ran into a burning building. You've earned yourselves a Starfleet Medal of Commendation. Wear it proudly.

Roy blinked.

He hadn’t… quite thought of it that way.

It took him a moment to truly absorb what Munro had said. Not just hear it, but let it settle inside him – past the walls he’d built in the name of both humility and habit. Past the internal programming that insisted anything short of perfection was failure, and anything better than expected was probably a clerical error.

This time, he let it land.

Storm:  Thank you, Commander.

Bancroft: Thank you, Commander. ::nodding to his fellow officers:: I was fortunate to be teamed with some very capable officers.

Silveira/Imril: Responses

Any: Response

Dismissed, Roy returned to his seat, small box in his hand.

Munro: Doctor Morgan please step forward again and Lt. Bergmen and Ensign Cole can you join him please.

Roy glanced toward the front, eager to see what flavor of disdain Chief Morgan would wear this time.

Morgan: ::quietly:: Oh you've got-

Natasha offered Doctor Morgan a shrug.

Bergmen: No need to fret, doctor; it’s just a little sting.

Bergmen gave the doctor a wink as they approached the commanders.

Munro: For staying behind, administering aid to the Boraxian people and upholding Starfleet values you are awarded the Good Conduct Ribbon.

Morgan: ::nodding:: All in a day's work.

Cole: Just did what needed to be done.

Bergmen: And even in the hardest moments, we remained persistent, united in our fidelity and honor.

Any: Response

Munro: Ensign Cole please remain. Doctor Bancroft can you join her please.

Roy’s head snapped up like someone had yanked a string in his neck.

Again?

He stood, caught Bergmen’s eye in passing, and headed to the front, glancing sideways at Cole – quickly becoming his erstwhile partner-in-mischief.

Was this a good thing? Bad thing? Cole was the only other one up here, so that remained to be seen.

As he turned to face the crowd, Roy caught Lieutenant Storm’s – Alex’s – eye. There was a gleam there he couldn’t quite parse.

Joy?

Mischief?

Damned Betazoids. You could never get a read out of those onyx eyes.

Munro: I shall only be acting Captain for a short while more but I cannot express the pleasure it gives me to be the CO who gets to do this final honour.

Ava picked up one of the wooden boxes sitting in front of her and stepped closer to Cole.

Munro: Ensign Cole, you are hereby promoted from Ensign to Lt. JG :: smiles warmly :: You've earned that shiny new pip, Lieutenant. And try not to blow anything up when you celebrate.

Cole: No explosions ::beat:: I guess I can try that.

Jovenan: Congratulations, Lieutenant.

Richards: That’s my friend!

Roy’s eyes sparkled as he clapped Nat on the shoulder, genuinely proud of his friend.

Any: Response

Munro: Ensign Bancroft, you are hereby promoted to Lt. JG. This means you'll be expected to do five more kilometres. Well earned, Roy.

Youuuu arrreeee herebyyyyy… 

The words filtered through Roy’s brain in exaggerated slow motion.

Not only had he not expected this, he’d made peace with the idea that it wouldn’t happen for another six months, minimum.

Huh. 

Take that, mom.

Bancroft: ::snapping to attention:: Thank you, Ma’am. 

Jovenan: Congratulations, Lieutenant.

Richards: That’s also my friend!

Any: Response

Roy departed the podium with Cole as the applause died down, his collar feeling just that little bit heavier than it had before.

Munro: I have one final order of duty to perform. Lt. K’Wara can you step forward.

K’Wara: Sir?

Munro: I don’t have a new pip but you have a new assignment Lt. We are appointing you the new Chief of Operations for the Artemis. Well done. Lt. Vailani will be remaining onboard while she stops into a new role.

The ceremony wound to its conclusion, though it took Roy a moment to fully process the shift. A quick glance around the room showed Cole nearby, exchanging pleasantries with Doctor Jaran.

Good enough company for a post-ceremony debrief, he judged. Maybe even the best.

Cole: ::smiling:: Thank you Doctor Jaran, and pleasure to meet you.

Jaran: Lieutenant Bancroft. I wanted to offer my congratulations, doctor to doctor.

Roy smiled. He had a feeling deep in his gut that he was going to like this new doctor – both as a person and, he suspected strongly, a very competent colleague.

Bancroft: Thank you very much, Jaran. My congratulations to you as well – I’m told by, well… anyone who can speak, that you were a credit to our whole department on this mission.

Jaran: I look forward to working with you more, sir.

Bancroft: The feeling’s mutual, Ensign. Genuinely glad to have to aboard!

It was Cole’s turn next, who edged up towards him with a smoked old fashioned in hand.

Naturally. It wouldn’t be Nat without some form of smoke nearby.

Cole: Congratulations Lieutenant Crashcart. ::smiling as she sips her bourbon::

He elbowed Cole gently, careful not to cause her to spill her drink.

Bancroft: Congratulations yourself, Lieutenant Overload… hm, no. That’s not it. We’ll workshop that nickname.

At that moment, Lieutenant Bergmen – Ollie, Roy could officially call him now… that would take some getting used to – approached.

Bergmen: ::to Cole:: Leiutenant. :: to Bancroft:: Lieutenant. ::to Jaran:: Ensign.

Jaran, very obviously calculating an escape vector, raised their glass and melted quickly into the crowd.

(( OOC: Removing tags for Jaran from here onward since they’ve simmed themselves as having left the room by this point. ))

Bergmen: Congratulations, well deserved promotions, both of you. (beat) I am pleased to inform you that your new quarters connected to that promotion will be ready for you to move into within 24 hours... ::pause for a second:: But if you would like to say goodbye to your former roommates, don't worry; it will take at least three days, and possibly a little longer, before the the wheel of all-wise bureaucracy turns and we come for You to evict you from your old bunks.

Bancroft: Thank you, Lieut– er… Ollie. I’ve got a bit of packing up to do in my old quarters.

Cole: Response

Bergmen: So, how do you feel? Ready to step in and slip into the new shoes of hollow pip responsibilities? ::to Jaran:: And you, Ensign, happy to have Crasss…ehm, Lieutenant Bancroft as your attending?

Roy rolled his eyes good-naturedly and smiled.

Bancroft: You know, I really have grown fond of that nickname. I’ve been thinking of petitioning to officially amend my legal name. ::a beat:: Not that I haven’t been considering that for my entire life for… entirely unrelated reasons.

He cleared his throat theatrically.

Bancroft: Aaaaaanyway… tell me, Ollie, what exactly does it mean to wear that hollow pip? You certainly make it look… easy.

He elbowed Bergmen good-naturedly.

Cole/Bergmen: Response

TAG/TBC!

===

Lieutenant JG Roy Bancroft

Medical Officer

USS Artemis-A

A240205RB1