Lieutenant Laria Herren - Around Here, Ma’am is a Four Letter Word
Laria Herren
((Turbolift - Decks 9 - 12?, USS Constitution-B))
What did she want to achieve? The question kept her quiet for a long moment as she thought through her answer and tried to find the most eloquent way to describe all of her goals.
Herren: Firstly, what most officers want, to advance in my career and expand my skill set. But I would also like to prove that I’m able to be a mission specialist, an officer, a leader. Most of my career has either been spent serving as a junior diplomat at the bottom of the experience ladder or in a very small, sometimes one-woman department. Most postings outside the Federation Diplomatic Corps don’t exactly have a diplomatic department on par with the likes of science, security, or another “main” department.
Rajel: ::Nodding:: I will try to help you with that, if there is anything you need or that I can do better for that please let me know. We did have a small diplomatic group before because we moved into this new region, though by now we mostly have Counselors work with the diplomacy part of missions and their preparation. Of course as Mission Specialist you are cross department and have access to what you need.
Herren: On the Hood I spent most of my time in my little cupboard of an office going over communiques and handling routine things. I only got called to the bridge a handful of times when there was some conflict that needed solving. And the same thing would have happened in the starbase’s JAG office if I didn’t have at least one judge advocate so we could sit in our office alone together. I obviously didn’t get into diplomacy to not deal with people. I want to be more of a leader.
After all, she was a senior officer in the command division. It was part of her role to advise and support the CO and the crew as a whole in whatever their mission was. She didn’t want an assignment like most of her job on the Hood, sitting in her office and only occasionally dealing with the captain and a few other officers who actually knew who she was and that she existed at all.
Rajel: ::smiling:: Well I can assure you that as a Mission Specialist on the Conny you have a spot on the bridge. I am sure we can also offer you an office, if you would like to have one, you can furnish it the way you need. ::She leaned forward:: And what about personal goals?
On the personal level, there was one particular aspiration she had, and the commodore would actually have a unique perspective on that one: symbiosis. Laria was curious about a joined Trill’s perspective.
Herren: Outside of career stuff, I might also need some leave in the next several months. I’m an initiate and all but in the final stretch for selection. Well ::She employed one of her favorite Human inventions, air quotes.:: “selection.” As final as that is.
Rajel: ::smiles widely:: Oh really? How long have you been at it?
Herren: Five years. Dr. Daul gave me the unofficial word that I’m over the last procedural hurdles. Soon I’ll be ready for field assessment and finding a field docent. Any advice on that front?
The Symbiosis Commission had lots of resources on the field docent program and counseling on the field assessment program. But all of that was how the commission’s bureaucracy wanted to portray their system. Commodore Rajel had actually gone through the program in the role she would be going through it in. She might have some tips on how to navigate the system.
Rajel: Oh the nervwrecking part, I see. ::She grinned:: Well from my experiences, getting through this assessment and evaluation is stressful, you want someone as your docent who is on your side but not afraid to tell you if you mess up. You want to trust them. It helped me to have someone who made me feel at ease, otherwise it just adds more stress. Mine was my Counselor on the Apollo, we still are in contact to check in here and there.
At least it was good to know that she wasn’t the only one to find being so close to the finish line one of the most stressful times in the whole process.
Herren: Except for Dr. Daul and some other Commission workers, I don’t really know any joined Trills who I really know that well or have an existing relationship with.
Rajel: I'd be happy to help you, but I also am aware that we only just met. ::grinning:: The commission also has a file of field docents and you can request a list of suitable ones if you should not know someone to be your docent. I did that in two of my past lives and it wasn't too bad being surprised.
Herren: I’m honored, ma’am. I would love to take you up on the offer, but I am not sure if that would be better or improper. What exactly makes for the ideal field docent?
She understood what a field docent would do and how to find one from all of the Symbiosis Commission’s materials. But she didn’t know about the specifics of what would make a good field docent from the docent’s side of things or if someone’s CO benign a field docent would be improper.
Rajel: Well I can also advise you to not try and impress your field docent with all kinds of tricks or by hiding your mistakes or bad days. They know. They are aware that you have bad times, that you have bad feelings, or get mad or sad or whatever. They also will know if you try to show them something you are not. I remember trying to be super impressive and they almost declined me because I did not show them my real life back then... long time ago, not this lifetime. The docent, commission and you all have one goal, to get you ready and be the best host for a symbiont. Perfection is not what is needed. A real experience is the goal.
Laria thought about that for a second. A commanding officer wanted to help officers give their duties their all and evolve into good, experienced officers. But, being in command also meant being tough when someone needed it or didn’t measure up. Unlike a lot of other relationships, it was pre-built into a good relationship between a CO and their officers that the CO could make decisions or say no without jeopardizing that relationship. Any personal fondness aside, the captain had to be free to make important decisions and not have those questioned or taken personally. A captain who couldn’t do that would have a lot of trouble not promoting anyone that asked or authorizing whatever anyone wanted to do. Maybe it wouldn’t be as much of a conflict of interest as she thought.
Herren: Then perhaps you would make an ideal field docent for me. Monitoring performance and making sure officers are being the best they can be is already a part of command.
Rajel: ::smiling:: Of course. You can ask anytime. I may not know everything but I'll help with what I know.
It was a very nice offer, and she would probably take her up on that when the time came. Finding a field docent really had been a lot easier than she thought it would be.
Herren: I appreciate that, ma’am. When the times come I might reach out.
Rajel: Response
Now, she just needed to get used to not calling Jalana ma’am or commodore of madam commodore Rajel. She was not a casual person. Calling someone in a position of authority by their given name took a conscious effort to avoid using more respectful forms of address.
Herren: My apologies, m- Jalana. ::Beat:: No, that doesn’t feel right. You’ll have to grant me a bit of time to work on that. Between years of etiquette practice and being raised to always speak and act properly by my mother, it will take some time to get used to it. I ask your forgiveness preventatively on that matter.
Forgiveness she was definitely going to need until she had retrained herself.
Rajel: Response
Herren: I shall endeavor to do better. Adaptability to the needs of the ship is the core of being a mission specialist. You could say that extends beyond the ship’s missions and in to other aspects as well. I will try to embody the spirit of the Conny.
Addressing the ship so casually did not feel natural in the slightest, but she tried to say the ship’s nickname as casually as she could.
Rajel: Response
There was a low hum in the background for the last thirty seconds, which Laria’s ears finally picked up. Then the hum picked up in pitch and volume for a second before it stopped and the turbolift lights flickered back on. They grew in luminance and the controls began to light back up. The power was back on, and the voice of the engineer from before returned over their combadges.
Flores: =/\= Good news, the diagnostic cycle has been overridden. Power should be restored now. =/\=
Laria looked back to the status display. All of the lights and indicators were back on, and everything looked green across the board.
Herren: =/\= Affirmative, thank you, engineering. =/\=
Rajel: Response (If Any)
Once she was sure that the turbolift was active again, she closed the self-diagnostic program she had been running and replaced the cover over the control panel. Laria looked back at the commodore and smiled in relief.
Herren: Well, not how I planned to meet you, ma’am. But it was an enjoyable conversation. I hope that I am not keeping you from anything too important.
Rajel: Response
Herren: I finished redecorating my predecessor, Doctor Foster’s, mission specialist office and was headed to the holodeck. Since I’ll be on the bridge, I want to get some training with each of the Galaxy-class bridge consoles. On the off chance I need to run one of them.
Rajel: Response
Lieutenant Laria Herren
Mission Specialist
USS Constitution-B
A239402AG0