“Lieutenant Jinean.”, said Saffyia with a tired smile as the Counsellor entered her office. The woman had asked for a few minutes to speak, and while Saffy wasn’t entirely happy to grant them, she saw the wisdom in not declining it. The Lieutenant was a petite woman in her mid to late thirties with an inviting smile and warm brown eyes, which made the Captain feel less put on the spot, and more like she was actually in good hands.

“Captain.”, said the Counsellor, paused, and then corrected her. “It’s actually Lieutenant Seta. Bajoran names are different from that of Humans.”

“Oh.”

So much for a good start. But Lieutenant Jinean – who was actually Lieutenant Seta, smiled.

“Believe me, it happens a lot. Thank you for making the time to speak. I am sorry we didn’t get to it before all of this happened, and I promise I won’t take much of your time at all.”

“No, it’s my fault, really.”, Saffiya said, sounding a little defeated. “I avoid counsellors.”

“That, too, happens a lot.”, Seta reassured her, and it actually made her feel a little better, and a little less like a jerk. “But do you feel comfortable talking to me now? It’s a stressful situation to be in, and you have made a few brave decisions. So all I am really doing right now is checking in on you.”

“I think there is a fine line between brave and stupid.”, sighed Saffy. “And then there are things I did that were just plain stupid.”

“It’s your first Command, isn’t it?”, asked Seta patiently.

“It is.”, the Captain confirmed. “And definitely not how I imagined it.”

“How did you imagine it?”

Saffy had to think about that for a moment. Despite having chosen the career path that eventually led her here, it had just kind of happened. She had friends, colleagues and mentors that had pushed her into a certain direction because they felt she was good at it – oh how very wrong they had apparently been…

“I don’t know. I guess when I got my assignment here, I imagined a normal ship with a normal computer. I imagined a crew that would miss their former Captain and perhaps be a little apprehensive of me at first, but I didn’t expect to get stonewalled like I did.”

“That’s valid.”, Seta replied. “Sometimes we have a certain idea in our head, even if we are not entirely aware of it. It has something to do with how we see ourselves, and how we believe others see us. When these expectations aren’t met, we have to re-evaluate. Maybe even redefine ourselves. And that can be difficult. Can you tell me a little about the Saint Raphael?”

The Saint Raphael was Saffy’s last ship, where she had learned the ropes of being a First Officer.

“It was very different.”, she admitted. “I had friends on board, and the senior staff synergised well. With a medical and scientific focus and ample capacities in both departments, there was rarely a situation where resources were scarce, so what is happening here is new for me.”

“Do you miss it?”

“… Yes. I do.”

Seta reclined in her chair, considering this for a moment.

“When you transferred from the Kongo to the Saint Raphael, what was that like?”

“Oh, it took a while to get used to it. I was serving as Chief Engineer before, and while I had some experience in workings of a First Officer, it certainly was a new situation.”

“I am wondering if you can tell me what the difference is between coming here from the Saint Raphael, and transferring from the Kongo to the Saint Raphael.”

Saffy sighed. “I guess the expectations?”

“Yours?”

She shook her head. “No, that of the crew. I had a very supporting Captain, and I had several people who gave me feedback when I made mistakes. Here its… all on me, really. I don’t even have an XO, or at least none who actually wants the job or is any more in the know than I am. I’m… always a little afraid of failing them.”
Which she, in her opinion, already had by getting them injured and stuck in some void.

“You have people here, too.”, Seta reminded gently. “It would have been great to connect to them in the usual way, but that doesn’t mean you’re on your own. We all have a common goal – getting out of here. And we all have qualifications and flaws. Your job right now is to make sure people get to do what they are good at, and sort the rest later.”  

Saffiya nodded slowly. “So what are people good at?”
“Well, Doctor Trova is grouchy and not always the most friendly person, but she runs sickbay like no one else. That’s her strength – actually doing something, and seeing tangible progress. She also cares a lot about people, which I suppose can be counted as weakness. Ricarda Keller is her best friend, so the fact that she got injured as severely as she did must be quite taxing for her, and she can be emotional if she can’t offset that with work. Sydin is a shark and I think no one really likes her, but she can step into the command role very easily. Pereira only looks at the science of things and gets disappointed when others don’t get his viewpoints, but doesn’t mind sharing credit. Vargas is a good Engineer and runs engineering in a way that makes people want to pick up extra shifts. At the same time, she can get quite attached to inanimate objects.”  

“That’s… useful information.”  
“What are you good at?” 

The Captain considered. “I am a good Engineer. And I was a good First Officer. I was good at organising people.”  

“And what do you think are your weaknesses?”  

“People.”, Saffiya grimaced. “I need a while to warm up to them. And they usually need time to warm up to me.”  


“So how about you acknowledge the people-matter for the time being. You probably won’t make any friends in the next few hours, but you won’t make any enemies either. What you can do is make people feel appreciated and put them where they feel they matter and can contribute.”  

“I will … try.”, Saffiya nodded. Then she looked at the Counsellor. “You are good at talking people through things.”  

Seta grinned. “I know. I’m an awful cook though.”