[Raiser, Briefing Room]
Cathy looked up as the doors opened, revealing Dutch, it might have been the light but it looked like his forehead was a little more red than usual. That being said, she didn't know the physiology of Ktarians very well, perhaps their lobes went red naturally under certain circumstances. She did not smile as he entered but did return the greeting,
"Doctor Dey'Utchendeyorbren"
The words made her feel nostalgic, remembering the times, after work she had sat with the ship's computer checking her pronunciation of the name. It was true she did not know everyone's name on board, yet, since he was a senior officer, she felt it was important to not only know his role, but his name as well. It had taken ages for her to get it right, but there had been such pride on the officer's face when she managed to say it correctly. It was the only word she knew in his language, the rest of it was way too foreign for her slightly pronounced Martian accent. Her eyes followed him briefly as he got his favourite drink, a vile bottle of Bolian tonic water - nutritional or not, the water had never grown on her, never appealed to her.
As he was getting settled, the doors slid open again, and Williamson walked in. A pang of guilt rippled through her mind - the poor Ensign would never know the Victoria under her command. She nodded in response and replied,
"Ensign Williamson."
"Can I get you anything while we wait for the others?" he smiled and asked.
Cathy paused, it had been a while since one of her staff had offered to get her a beverage or food. It was not that they had been rude, it was just they were used to the routine and, most of the time, she already had her coffee with her by the time they were in the room. She managed to return the smile and reply,
"No thank you, Ensign, I have my coffee right here."
"I understand. Just offering to help." he replied
'Help?' the word seemed almost odd, out of place. Why would he want to help her, past just being an upstanding officer worthy of his position. It took her a moment to realize that the young officer was acutely aware of her 'disablity' and was offering to save her a trip of getting up. There were many times she forgot that she didn't have the mobility she once had, and many other times when she could not go a moment without thinking about it. It was a touchy gesture, one that made her have to suppress a shake of her head as she picked up her coffee to take a sip.
Korleon entered shortly after, he gave them a nod followed by a sarcastic smirk, "Seems the Victoria can't survive without us."
"Seems not." she replied, again trying a smile, but the burden was weighing her down. The whole process reminded her of when she had had to tell her close colleague and friend, J'het, that Cate Branson had been killed. She had spent a good hour sitting in front of the blank monitor, trying to think of the best way to tell her that their friend had been ripped to shreds by an unknown assailant.
She had her usual stoic face for the task ahead but, unfortunate for her, her senior staff knew her, perhaps a little too well. Members of the staff, such as Dutch, Korleon and Solon, would tell that something was on her mind. No matter how good she was at keeping her emotions in check, even she had tell tale signs that could be picked up. Small things like sitting down and rubbing her right leg, to having her coffee right next to her hand, instead of in front of her. All betrayed the fact that she had something to tell them and they probably would not like it.
"We'll wait a few more minutes before starting." she spoke, taking yet another sip of her coffee.
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OOC: I'll wait a day or two more for Josh and AJ before continuing
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Capt. Catherine Raiser, USS Victoria (ret.)
Cathy Knights
