Lt. JG Alix Harford - Reporting In
Meri
((First Officer’s Office, Deck 1, USS Khitomer))
Alix stood just inside the office as the door swooshed closed behind her. She stood with her shoulders high in confidence and her arms neatly clasped behind her back. Respectful of this moment, her eyes flitted through the room taking in small details of the orderly office. The room was quiet; not inactive or empty. Instead it held the soft reverence of a place of command. The energy of the room sent her into a brief moment of reflection as she took in the gravity of the situation.
This was Alix’s third time reporting in to a First Officer at a new duty station, but this time felt different. Maybe because she’d come so far in the past year and was more sure of herself. She wasn’t the nervous Cadet who’d reported into Denali. Nor was she running from her fears as when she’d arrived aboard the Astraeus. This time she wasn’t trying to prove she belonged in Starfleet. She knew she belonged. She’d chosen this life for a second time, returning from her Leave of Absence with a new sense of purpose. As she spoke her voice was level and clear; self assured.
Harford: Doctor Alix Harford, reporting as ordered.
She held her posture, bracing for the weight of this moment as she knew the importance of first impressions - even second first impressions - in shaping a relationship with superior Officers. The thought pulled a memory to the surface of her mind as she thought of her first First Officer, Tomas Falt, and the day she’d stood her ground to him and defied his order so early in her career. The tension she carried for weeks after that interaction, waiting at any moment to be called in for a formal reprimand, had instead been replaced by utter shock as she’d been recognized in front of her peers instead.
That moment had shaped her, not only because she’d received a Captain's Commendation for her boldness, but also because it had taught her that true leadership looked not only to uphold the rules of the fleet, but also to stand by those who acted in honor even when it meant defying those rules.
As the memory faded, she locked eyes with the familiar face in front of her, waiting patiently for his response.
Hobart: Response
Harford: It’s good to see you well, ::smirk:: Tee-Oh.
Nolen Hobart hadn’t been a Lieutenant Commander yet when she’d met him at the Academy, but he’d been a sturdy and comforting presence as Alix had completed her final practical as a Cadet. That mission, and more so the crew that she’d joined on the holodeck that day, had been- interesting was putting it mildly.
Hobart: Response
Harford: Yes Sir, I was on Leave for just over two months to take care of my- ::hesitation:: step-mother. Her health was failing. When I was ready to return, the powers that be must have decided a trauma specialist was needed ::splaying her hands out to her sides:: out here in the Alpha Isles.
Hobart: Response