Captain Addison MacKenzie - Just Shy of an Inquisition
Addison MacKenzie
(( Captain’s Ready Room – Deck 1, USS Artemis-A ))
Addison sat perched across from the Galadoran scientist. She’d tried to impart on it what the weight its service in Starfleet could possibly represent to its people – how its service was itself the result of another Galadoran’s exploration of the galaxy – but after determining that the officer was growing uncomfortable with the line of questioning, she decided to reverse thrusters and pivot to something else.
…not something she did often.
However, being that she really didn’t know much about this officer’s people or its culture, it behooved her to cease the line of questioning before making herself look like an ass.
MacKenzie: So, how are you enjoying your time on the Artemis?
Gnai: ::pause:: The ship is wonderful, the quarters are good
as well. ::raising and lowering its suit arms, in a manner akin to someone
attempting to shrug after only having read about what the gesture looked like::
There is nothing to complain about.
Addison sat stoned-faced, only blinking several times before her face finally
moved and she spoke.
MacKenzie: I’m familiar with the physical structure of
the ship, Ensign… Not quite what I was getting at… Perhaps something about your
experience so far? The last mission?
She couldn’t quite tell from its posture if it
felt it was on the defensive again. On this line of questioning, however,
Addison was certain of her footing.
Gnai: The mission... ::pause, thinking:: Hearing
that missions like that are the norm does not inspire great confidence. Sir.
She nodded slowly, locking…eyes?…with the jellyfish-like officer, and started
to tap her index finger lightly on the surface of the desk.
MacKenzie: Uh…huh… I’m sorry to hear that you feel our choice
of mission is unsatisfactory.
Gnai: As you said, sir. Being imprisoned in a
Betazoid penal colony isn't very welcoming. Nor scientifically interesting.
Being imprisoned inside, there was no chance to even look at the stars.
::pause:: They probably thought that was too much information for prisoners.
It seemed to be unaware that it was digging itself into a hole. The CO of the Artemis
watched on, dutifully assimilating its responses while simultaneously resisting
the urge to assist in its digging… Again, she nodded and spoke slowly.
MacKenzie: Mm… hmm. No, you’re right, Ensign - I would
also have to assume that they were unconcerned about whether prisoners could
see the stars. What would you prefer our next mission to be?
Gnai: Hopefully the next mission is to some very
interesting pulsar. Or neutron star. And there are no hostiles. Or senators to
assassinate.
Addison continued to nod slowly. In the seconds that passed, she couldn’t help
but think about the variety of things she’d seen and experienced because of her
service – both good and bad… The reality was that not every mission had positive outcomes or revolved around exploration and scientific discovery: sometimes it was a matter of survival.
Yours, and the galaxy’s.
That was simply a reality of the job.
MacKenzie: Mmm hmmmm… Well, I can’t make any promises about what assignment
Starfleet will give us next, or what we might encounter along the way…
Gnai: Response
Addison shrugged her shoulders slightly.
MacKenzie: What I can tell you is that I believe you are a curious,
inquisitive being, and I think those are good attributes for a scientist to
have.
Gnai: Response
MacKenzie: Do you have any plans for your time in this part of the
quadrant? I’m sure there are lots of intriguing things that have caught your interest…
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