Captain Addison MacKenzie - Excitable Jellyfish
Addison MacKenzie
(( Captain’s Ready Room – Deck 1, USS Artemis-A ))
The commanding officer of the Artemis sat in her newly-redesigned
ready room awaiting one of the newer members of her crew. The Galadoran science
officer hadn’t been aboard during the attempted assimilation of Starfleet, but
had instead been assigned to assist on the Kitty Hawk… While all of Starfleet
suffered terrible losses, there were varying levels of trauma experienced at
the hands of the Borg. Unfortunately, those on Kitty Hawk went through a
particularly harrowing experience.
While Addison felt a tinge of guilt about it, there was nothing she could do
about it. None of them could have foreseen what the Borg planned, nor could she
have ensured they would be spared similar trauma had they been on the Artemis.
So now, all that she could do was to check in on the officers and make
sure they were processing and recovering from their experiences.
When the chime rang, she pressed the button on the desktop to open the doors,
and Gnai passed through.
MacKenzie: Lieutenant, thank you for coming. How is your leave so
far?
Gnai: It’s been… fine? Just adjusting to the new rank, sir.
Addison gestured to one of the chairs on the opposite side of the desk. She
tossed her PADD down and was met with a high-pitched clink.
MacKenzie: Commander Salkath did a great job with your suit. Does it
meet your needs?
Gnai: ::bobbing in its tank:: Yes, it does. It’s not ::pause:: perfect,
but it’s good enough for now. ::longer pause:: What did you want to see this
for?
MacKenzie: We didn’t have a chance to speak much after the party. I
wanted to check in and see how you were after Frontier Day…
There seemed to be a moment of confusion as the Galadoran tried to make sense
of what she was saying.
Gnai: Thank you, sir.
MacKenzie: I’ve read the reports about what happened on the Kitty
Hawk. I’ve been keeping track to make sure that every member of the crew
are making their regularly scheduled counseling sessions, but I wanted to see
how you were doing in light of everything that I know happened while you were
over there…
Gnai: This is fine! It was… stressful, but this has a new suit
now so… it’s fine.
Addison blinked several times, slowly and deliberately. It wasn’t like the
scientist to be so easily excitable. Either the question had touched a nerve or
the Galadoran was having difficulty processing the events that transpired on
the Galaxy-class ship. Perhaps both. She wasn’t one to rub salt in a wound – at
least, that wasn’t the intention behind her inquiry – but she did feel
compelled to dig deeper to ascertain its current state of being.
She nodded empathetically.
MacKenzie: I’m sure it was stressful… Did they manage to find your old suit?
Gnai: The old suit? It was found on… Deck 4 of the Kitty Hawk this
recalls? It wasn’t salvageable, too damaged from the fight on the bridge before
the crash… and the fight with the Amity crewmembers who discovered and disabled
it.
Addison had read the reports of the Kitty Hawk’s crash on Luna. She was
curious, sure that there had been much left out of the report, but she didn’t
feel like excising it like a tumor with this officer was the best course of
action. She tried to skirt around it.
MacKenzie: The crash? You were on the bridge?
Gnai: Yes… The crash. This was on the bridge for that. ::pause::
But there was nothing that could have been done!
Addison’s eyes narrowed and her head cocked slightly to the side.
MacKenzie: Lieutenant, no one is accusing you of anything…
Gnai: Response
The commanding officer sat back in her chair, her posture as straight as the
chair would allow. Her arms fell naturally on the armrests.
MacKenzie: Lieutenant, do you think I would have promoted you if I thought
you had anything to do with the destruction of the Kitty Hawk, or could
have prevented it from happening?
Gnai: Response
Her eyes narrowed again, her head rocking to the opposite side this time. She
couldn’t figure out what had prompted the scientist’s excitement. Did it feel
as though it was under inquiry? Was it having difficulty adjusting to its new
suit? Or was it struggling to cope with the events that happened?
MacKenzie: Lieutenant, why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind.
Since when had she become a counselor?
Gnai: Response
Tag, and TBC!
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Captain Addison MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A
Captains Council Member at Large
V239601AM0