Commander Lia Rouiancet: Families!

[Tony Colella]

(( Captain's Ready Room, Deck 1 Saucer, USS Octavia E. Butler ))

Lia's interview with Zarah Johnson was going well, she thought, and she wasn't opposed to Zarah's request to remain on the OEB if she was accepted to the Academy on principle -- there would certainly be benefits to the field experience that classrooms just couldn't provide -- but she was reluctant to give her okay without knowing that Sasha Johnson had agreed to the plan.

Rouiancet: (with a small smile) I believe it. (beat) I'd want to talk to you and your mother together before I make a final decision, of course.

Zarah's hesitation spoke eloquently into the brief silence that followed.

Zarah: Not that I’m trying to deceive my mom, but…is there a reason why?

That provoked a very Vulcan raised brow from Lia. She chose her next words carefully.

Rouiancet: You're requesting to stay aboard the ship where your mother also serves. It seems (beat) prudent to involve her in the decision.

Zarah's reaction made Lia very glad she asked. Her reluctance could simply be a normal reaction of a young adult trying to distance herself from a parent (Lia understood that intimately, having done the same herself many years ago), but if there was a deeper rift between the two, now was the time to know.

Zarah: I mean, I’m not a kid anymore, and I’m at the point where I can make my own decisions without my mom.

Rouiancet: That's true. You are legally an adult, and can make your own decisions. (beat) But I expect one factor in the Academy admissions board agreeing to your presence aboard the Butler is maintaining your family unit. Not that you would need to work with your mother all the time, but (another beat) certainly involving her in the decision from the start would be good.

Whether Zarah agreed, or she just realized that she wasn't likely to win the argument, she seemed to back down after that.

Zarah: All right. Shall I ask her to schedule a meeting with you?

Rouiancet: (with a small smile) Yes, please.

However, Lia wasn't entirely satisfied with that resolution. She didn't think there was a rift between Sasha and Zarah, but she also recognized that she simply couldn't know much at the "family dynamics" scale of her crew. Josh wouldn't report anything about Sasha's consistently excellent service, for example, and Karen and Nesre would never violate confidentiality to tell Lia about any problems they learned about while counseling either Johnson.

Rouiancet: But I'd also like to know more about your reluctance. Is there a reason you haven't told your mother yet?

Lia didn't want to act as another parent to Zarah, especially since -- as she herself had noted only minutes before -- Zarah was now an adult. But, again, if their relationship was strained, it didn't bode well for Zarah remaining aboard rather than seeking some distance from Sasha.

Zarah: Response

Rouiancet: I see. (beat) And you have no concerns about continuing to serve with your mother? You would, let's say, follow her order immediately if you were on duty?

Cadets weren't generally expected to outnumber officers and crew -- at every Academy campus, it was very much the other way around -- but if Zarah remained on the OEB, it would be reversed, and she'd be outranked by everyone.

Zarah: Response

Rouiancet: (a slight smile) I'm sure. Well, let's speak with Sasha, and if you're still interested in the idea after she learns of the plan, I would welcome your continued presence here.

Zarah: Response

Tags! and TBC!

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Commander Lia Rouiancet

Commanding Officer

USS Octavia E. Butler

V238208LV0

she/her/hers (this character)