Commander Ava Munro - Gonna Be Golden
Ava Munro
((Ready Room - Deck 1 - USS Artemis-A))
Munro: If I may, sir? I'd like to state, for the record, that both officers earned that extra pip and the error was entirely mine and I'm willing to accept any punishment you deem fit. I petition, on their behalf, that they keep those extra pips. Both of them have shown amazing potential to be fine officers and I am proud to serve with them. They saved lives, many of them.
Ava thought of the two officers, and how they had served so well and earned their pips. It was her fault, she had wrongly assumed that MacKenzie would have been notified while she was on her super secret mission… had she overstepped?
Addison's brow furrowed as she looked around the room as though Munro might have surely been talking to someone else and not to her.
This was not going well for her.
MacKenzie: I don't recall asking you for your opinion. You just got here. Do you think you know my officers better than I do? Do you think I didn't read the reports? ::pointing:: I certainly saw the report of their promotions after the fact. (beat) I've got just the thing in mind for you.
Ava hasn't had a dressing down like this for some years, in fact, these were a rare thing at Starfleet Operations on Earth. But a Starfleet Officer never forgets how to take a CO reprimand. Straight back, head held high and grovel…
Munro: As you wish, Captain.
Ava’s eye flicked to the desk as MacKenzie’s hand dropped down and pulled a box out from underneath the desk and slid it across the table.
MacKenzie: ::flatly:: Open it.
Ava hesitated slightly.
Did the Captain expert her to personally retrieve the extra pips from Cole and Bancroft?!
Munro: Captain … I … ?
Then she remembered you don't question a Captain of a Starship without just cause. So, reluctantly, she picked up the box and flipped it around in her hands with slight hesitation she opened it, expecting it to be empty. A cruel display from the Fleet Captain and a valuable lesson for her.
Instead, it contained a solid gold pip. Ava looked up to MacKenzie with a confused look. The expression on the redhead's face had softened considerably.
MacKenzie: I did read the report. Starfleet and I both decided you've earned that.
Ava took several more seconds as the reality of the situation began to dawn on her.
Munro: For me?
MacKenzie: ::in mock ignorance:: Oh, sorry, I must've forgotten to run it by you before I submitted it.
Hesitantly she smiled, and looked down at the pip. A small, golden orb encased within a wooden box. But it was much more than that. It was years of service. A symbol of endurance and dedication that she'd spent her life trying to achieve. Ava was never the most ambitious, she hadn't joined Starfleet with dreams of a captaincy but seeing this pip.
Commander. That's what it meant.
Munro: Tha :: voice breaks slightly :: Thanks, Captain.
MacKenzie: ::pointing:: You're out of uniform.
Ava let out a small laugh before she removed the pip and replaced the existing half pip with the new one.
Munro: :: jokes :: It feels heavier already. I assume this means I have more work to do?
MacKenzie: Response
Munro: Captain, I know we haven't known each other that long but I want you to know I appreciate everything that you do, and all of your help. Don't worry I won't get too soppy, I just wanted you to know that. It doesn't go unnoticed how much you do.
MacKenzie: Response
Munro: You've set a good example for me.
MacKenzie: Response
Tag, and TBC!
(OOC: Thank you so much, Cap! And to everyone else for your help during the commander practical!)
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First Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240004LL2