Popular Post + Vitor S. Silveira Posted January 22, 2024 Popular Post Posted January 22, 2024 There are too many reason for this to be appreciated. From @Addison MacKenzie description, to @Gila Sadar reaction it really is a great reading. But honestly it is the opportunity to tease @Gila Sadar who secretly aspired to be in the Harry Kim Club (or Ensigns Forever Group) and again tell you: Hit the Sickbay Doc You ain't an Ensign no more, no more, no more Quote ((The Fifth Chalice - Oxeania Commercial District, Tharazad, Betazed)) MacKenzie: I’m glad to have you all here with us. Mr. Dakora introduced me to this bar a few days ago, and I’ve been thinking about it as a place to host a little awards celebration. As many of you know by now, Commander Yalu has needed to step away from his duties for the time being, and Commander Dakora has graciously accepted my offer to become our new First Officer. Would you please congratulate – and properly harass – him? The small planetside bar erupted into an applause teetered between excited and polite, as the crew of the Artemis - gathered on Betazed for the culmination of their Shore Leave - formally greeted their new XO. Gila also participated in the applause, though in a restrained manner, as she tried to mentally provide herself the ability to fuse with the architecture. Why the brass had decided to leave the familiar confines of Elysium was a mystery to her, but it wasn’t like she could question them openly about this decision, nor could she very well refuse to attend the ceremony… Wait, could she? She made a mental note to discuss that option with someone. Dakora: Response The applause settled down as the Captain moved on. MacKenzie: I hope you have all found time to rest, recharge, and take advantage of the hospitality offered by this beautiful world. There were a lot of traumas from our last mission – physical and emotional scars that no doubt run deep after being betrayed by, well, ourselves. But, I’m as proud now as I’ve ever been by how you continue to perform your duties in ways that no doubt make you among the best officers in Starfleet. (beat) Which is why we’re here tonight! Gila had the decency to turn slightly magenta as she lowered her head. Suddenly, she vividly recalled the Triple Order she’d gotten from both the Captain, Lt. Jones and Commander Yalu on their last shoreleave. She hadn’t been following that one this shoreleave at all. She only hoped the Captain would find it in her heart to ignore the number of double shifts Gila had pulled this shoreleave… Unlikely, but Gila was still green enough that the maintenance of some semblance of naïvete could be forgiven, surely. MacKenzie: It’s not often you face your counterparts… From another place, from another time… To be faced with the very real possibility of how you might have turned out differently if you’d faced a different set of circumstances… For your encounter with the Desdemona and their crew, I hereby award you the Quantum Reality Service Medal. Gila did a clumsy bow to the First Officer as he passed throughout the crowded bar, handing over the service medal to every crewmember assembled. These ribbons were her favorite by far - the ones where you didn’t have to move a step, and no one paid you any special attention, since everyone and their mother got one. Ah, the beauty of anonymity. MacKenzie: I’d like to continue by calling Ensigns Z’Vahme, Kel, and Chevalier to the front, please. Gila looked upon her fellow Ensigns with slight sympathy, as they were called upon to do the obligatory ‘greeting to the crew’. It didn’t matter that it was sugar coated with a ribbon - it was just one way that the senior crew devised to get you used to all the attention being forced upon you… Paranoid? Maybe. Guiltily, Gila receded back to her space at the wall, trying to seem as small as possible. She wasn’t expecting any recognition herself - she’d accomplished very little of note during their encounter with the Desdemona, after all - so she was looking forward to a nice and calm award ceremony where she could stand in silence for seven minutes before hurrying back up to the Artemis. MacKenzie: I haven’t had a formal opportunity to introduce the three newest officers to the rest of the senior staff. Ensign Z’Vahme will be joining us as our new helmsman, Ensign Chevalier in the operations department, and Ensign Kel as our newest security officer. Also, it is my great pleasure as your commanding officer to formally award you with the Starfleet Academy Graduate Ribbon. Would you please welcome our newest officers? Z’Vahme/Kel/Chevalier: Response Polite clapping. Gila wondered how Ensign Kader was doing. He seemed a good, if impulsive man, and while a reprimand was well deserved for the chaos he caused, she knew that he deserved her pity. Anyone served a reprimand and suspension of duty by Captain MacKenzie deserved sympathy. She didn’t know much of his replacement - this Ensign Z’Vahme - but she knew from the medical logs forward from Starfleet Academy that both him and Ensign Solas were Vulcans. And then there was the curious Eltharian - a subspecies of Humans, whose culture was as foreign as could be. MacKenzie: Mr. Chevalier, if you’d remain a moment… And if I could ask Commander Dakora, Lieutenant Yellir, and Ensign Savel to join him… The First Officer, Lt. Yellir (who Gila recognized from the drill she’d so recently undertaken) and Ensign Savel moved to the Captain’s position, as she procured another box. It was quite fortuitous that replicators were commonplace in Starfleet, or award boxes would surely cause a huge deforestation crisis. MacKenzie: You each faced particularly perilous circumstances on our last mission. ::looking at Savel:: The catastrophe in Sickbay… ::looking at Yellir:: Facing off with alt-Dakora in Engineering… ::looking at Chevalier and Dakora:: Trying to make sense of which me was the real me, and facing off against… whatever that cybernetic being of theirs was… oO Likely an advanced version of an Eltharian, forced by circumstances of war, a lack of resources and an increasing detachment from the idea of a humanity ill-fit to combat the growing threat of the Sh- Oo MacKenzie: For the way each of you has handled your respective situations, I’m proud to award each of you the Good Conduct Ribbon. Yellir/Savel/Chevalier/Dakora: Responses Applause picked up again, every crewmember assembled paying the proper respects to those of their colleagues who had faced down threats with the honor and integrity befitting of a Starfleet Officer. MacKenzie: Lieutenant Jovenan… Gila perked up. It could be construed as silly that she was invested in the idea of Lieutenant Jovenan receiving recognition - after all, they had only barely managed to cross the threshold into personal acquaintances at this point - but she had been under the Edo Lieutenant’s leadership enough times for her to know that Lieutenant Jovenan was well-deserving of accolades, and it pleased her to know that the Captain shared that opinion. MacKenzie: Lieutenant, without your scientific intuition and incredible work ethic, I’m not sure that we would have been able to figure out how the prismagons worked… and if we wouldn’t have been able to sort that out, I’m not sure we would have been able to send the Desdemona crew back to their universe. For your work, I hereby award you the Innovation Ribbon. The Lieutenant and Gila had both received that very same ribbon for their work on the anti-knockout gas during the Suliban boarding, and Gila couldn’t help but clap a bit more enthusiastically than perhaps was proper. As a researcher, she dared say that no other ribbon was quite as prestigious, or indicative of one’s dedication to the advancement of knowledge. A fitting reward for the Lieutenant’s work. Lieutenant Jovenan seemed about ready to run away from the stage at that moment - and Gila more than sympathized - so when the Captain stopped her with but a gesture, Gila startled as well. MacKenzie: Not so fast… Gila tip-toed slightly, trying to see past the significant amount of people between her and what was occurring at the front, and thanks to her height, it did actually help a great deal. Another box was positioned before the Lieutenant, and the expression on the blonde female’s face told of the significance of the moment before the Captain even started talking. MacKenzie: Lieutenant JG Jovenan, you have continued to act in accordance with the best traditions of Starfleet. You have displayed good leadership qualities, mindfulness and empathy toward others, and you continue to serve as an example to be followed by everyone on this ship. It is both my duty and my privilege to promote you to the rank of full Lieutenant. The applause resumed, this one far more cacophonous than the one before. Ribbons were markings of good conduct in a single instance, of a feat of excellence contained in a moment. Well worth celebrating, but nowhere near as much as an actual promotion. However, the Captain was not yet done. MacKenzie: I also continue to be impressed with your creativity and your scientific ingenuity. On countless occasions, I think about how your contributions to our work have in some instances been singularly responsible for getting us out of tricky situations. And that’s why I can think of no better person to serve as our Chief Science Officer, effective immediately. oO “I’m… I’m not good at this. This whole leading thing.” Oo Gila’s palms were starting to sting from the amount of clapping she was doing today, but it was hardly a concern. Jovenan: Th-thank you, sir! Gila almost forgave the existence of award ceremonies for moments like that. The genuine celebration of capable officers who proved that Starfleet existed to do great things, both in terms of diplomacy, science and exploration. MacKenzie: There’s just one other matter. …Doctor Sadar? But just almost... Every bit of joy Gila had previously felt for the celebration of the Lieutenant was sapped out of her tall body in an instant, as she clumsily stumbled her way through the crowd towards the Captain. The horrible consequence of mainaintaing a peripheral position at events such as these became apparent when one’s superiors deemed fit to call you to the opposite end of the event. The sheer mass of people she had to pass through prolonged this excruciating situation far beyond what was well, and by the time she’d reached the Captain’s side, standing taller than the imposing Human woman even as she hunched over in an attempt to fold herself into a pocket of space-time unavailable to ordinary mortals, her anxiety band was twisting regularly on her finger. MacKenzie: Doctor Sadar, you are… weird. Gila turned the deepest of magentas at this comment, and she almost wanted to croak out a ‘sorry’, even as she felt friction burns on her finger. MacKenzie: When you came aboard the Artemis, you were timid, and skittish, and I’m pretty sure you were on the verge of wetting yourself every time I walked in the room. oO Was reprimands always on the itinerary of award ceremonies? Was it announced on the intercom? Did I miss the internal message about it? Oo Before Gila had the chance to faint from panic at the very idea that she’d somehow missed a vital message about an incoming reprimand, and that she should prepare to be ceremonially airlocked from the Artemis upon their return, the Captain continued. MacKenzie: But you are also an exceptional physician. I have watched the way you have interacted with your patients and the way you have started to form friendships with your colleagues. I have also seen the way you stand up for what you believe in, even if that means offering a dissenting opinion. Despite whatever insecurities you may have, I hope I no longer cause you any anxiety, as I believe you have the makings of an exceptional officer. One that has certainly earned my respect and the respect of everyone gathered here. It is my privilege as your commanding officer to promote you to the rank of Lieutenant JG. Gila’s dark eyes grew to the size of plates the longer the Captain continued. Not just because the Captain - THE Addison MacKenzie - was offering Gila (ostensibly) genuine compliments, but also for the contents of those compliments. An excellent physician? The makings of an exceptional officer!? If it wasn’t because A) her father wouldn’t care enough to do so and the Captain was far too respectable a person to accept such a thing, Gila would’ve suspected bribery. Attempting to stand as straight as possible to allow for the addition of the hollow pip, while also continuously trying to sneak a glance to ensure that she wasn’t actually having a horrible nightmare, and trying to ignore the applause occurring within the bar in order to avoid the guilt that would surely set in in a moment, Gila awaited blissful release from this most awkward of positions. Sadar: ::barely intelligible mumblings:: Gila moved back to stumble back into the throng of people, avoiding the gazes of anyone who attempted to offer congratulations, as the Captain continued behind her. Somehow, words rang hollow in her mind, the incredulous vacuum not quite translating their meaning until much later. MacKenzie: Alright, that’s it! Food should be out shortly – congratulations to all of you! oO I want to go home Oo Jovenan: Doctor Sadar! oO SEVEN MINUTES! Oo Jovenan: ::reaching her, smiles:: Congratulations, Lieutenant! You’re the one of us who deserved that honour the most! Gila’s mouth ran dry at the Lieutenant’s congratulatory smile as she wrung her hands in front of her. Sadar: Th-Thank you, Sir... The Edo’s bright eyes turned analytical, and Gila almost shirked away in shame, but her legs had somehow turned into stubborn marble and refused to be coerced. Jovenan: How are you feeling? Did you not expect for a promotion? Gila cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable with the subject topic. Sadar: A-Absolutely not… That is, uh… I mean, there’s many excellent officers on this vessel far senior to me that I now outrank! ::shudders:: It… ::pauses as she searches for a way to explain:: T-To speak plainly, it’s, uhh, well, we could call it culture shock, I suppose… Jovenan: Response Sadar: I come from a culture where anciennity is the most key consideration for career advancement… So, it’s uhh… It’s hard to shake the feeling that I’ve done something wrong. ::pause:: B-But, that’s not to say I’m not grateful, of course! Jovenan: Response Gila breathed out slightly at this, nodding as the twisting of her anxiety band gradually slowed down. Sadar: Yes Sir… I’ll try. ::shows a more earnest expression:: Congratulations to you as well, Sir. I’m happy your, uhh… Well, congratulations. Jovenan: Response TAG/TBC LtJG Gila Sadar Medical Officer USS Artemis-A A240006GS1 6 3 1
Gogigobo Fairhug Posted January 23, 2024 Posted January 23, 2024 Wonderful sim. Congrats @Gila Sadar, I’m so proud! 🥹😆 2 1
+ Gila Sadar Posted January 23, 2024 Posted January 23, 2024 Don’t get used to it, ‘cause I’m never getting promoted again 😑 3
+ Vitor S. Silveira Posted January 23, 2024 Author Posted January 23, 2024 8 hours ago, Gila Sadar said: Don’t get used to it, ‘cause I’m never getting promoted again 😑 Keeping this saved for the next time... Lieutenant 2
LCDR Aine O. Sherlock Posted January 23, 2024 Posted January 23, 2024 12 hours ago, Gila Sadar said: Don’t get used to it, ‘cause I’m never getting promoted again 😑 Rrrriiiigggghhhttt......Commander. 1 1 1
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