“Oh certainly the good kind,” Catriona replied to her friend’s question as she followed her to the ready room. As soon as the doors to the office closed behind them, she was quick to offer the heavy tote bag on her arm over to her new CO. “I come bearing gifts,” she declared with a grin. “I’ve improved the recipes a little since last time so I hope you enjoy.”

“You haven’t changed that much since the first time we met,” she declared as she sat down and made herself comfortable, crossing her ankles and tucking her long legs beneath her seat as she rested her hands on her lap in a ladylike fashion. “On the other hand, I never really imagined that my next assignment would truly put me here in my very first executive command role after all this time. Funny considering how my career started.”

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you.” Olivia peeked into the bag and bit back a moan at the scent of the heavenly treats within. “I’ll have to keep them in here or Rhys and Aaron will steal them all. They’re bloody gannets for cakes. Rhys the most.” Even as she said it, she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep these from them. 

Putting the bag aside, she looked across her desk at Catriona. “How are you feeling now that you’re here? Ready for the challenges of being an executive officer?”

Catriona chuckled and leaned forward slightly as she spoke in a faux conspiratorial manner. “That’s why I made sure the containers were airtight. The lack of the smell might buy you a bit more time.”

To anyone who knew her well, if they were looking at her now, seeing how her smile shifted ever so subtly at Olivia’s last question, they’d know that her mind was in a pretty devious place at that very moment. “Absolutely,” she said confidently. “I had plenty of time to stretch my legs as a red shirt on the Cherbourg, so to speak. Lovely people. They had some troublesome members of the bunch but in time, I was able to help them change their ways for the better.”

While she was thrilled at being headhunted specifically for this job and the opportunity of a new adventure in her life, Cat still couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to her new assignment than the fact she was available and that Olivia knew her well and how she tended to resolve situations in her own creative ways.

Some might say even a little… dangerous.

“Are you expecting a similar situation to when we met for the first time?” She asked with a sly smile. “Or do you need me to take care of something in particular? I’m happy and eager to handle anything you send my way.”

Olivia leaned back slightly in her chair. “No, nothing in particular and nothing like the situation when we met,” she confirmed. “This is more like uncharted territory. To bring you up to speed quickly. I was asked to take command of the Canterbury Division because they somehow managed to lose their division CO, Captain Murphy.”

She caught the expression on Cat’s face. “Yeah, that Murphy. Needless to say, Admiral Murphy has been blowing my comms up with demands for updates on the search for his son. Which is interesting to say the least.”

“Oh dear,” Cat murmured thoughtfully as she tapped her chin with her finger in contemplation. “I may not be familiar with the esteemed Captain Murphy but even I’ve heard of his imposing father. I do not envy your position right now. I would gladly volunteer to field his calls if you’d like, however… I imagine the Admiral would insist upon speaking with you instead.”

Olivia sighed. “He does. Rhys tried to field his calls the other day, you can imagine how that went.”

She shook her head. “That poor man. Your husband is quite well used to dodging incoming fire but I imagine not quite the degree of a full broadside from an agitated member of the Admiralty. Is he doing well?”

A softer smile spread over Olivia’s face before she could stop it. “Yeah, he is, thank you. Or,” the smallest frown creased her brow. “He will be when he starts getting on with Aaron. At the moment the two of them are circling each other like wet hens.”

It was the second time that Catriona heard the name Aaron and this time she couldn’t help but voice out her curiosity. “Aaron…” she said with a chuckle. “Did you by chance happen to get married since our last encounter?”

“I did!” Olivia shook her head. “Sorry, I didn’t think… Aaron joined us six months ago. He’s an engineer. You might catch him still on the bridge when we go back out.” 

Her eyes went wide and she had the biggest smile. “Oh, that’s wonderful! Congratulations, Olivia. Had I known I would have insisted on sending you the cake for your wedding.” At the mention of him being on the bridge, Cat couldn’t help but glance back towards the doors behind them, even though she couldn’t see through the bulkheads. “Really? He was there? I would love to meet him, and Rhys as well when he’s not busy. I take it he’s currently keeping the Masters-At-Arms below decks on their toes?”

Olivia chuckled. “You know Rhys, he’ll be all over them like a bad rash until things are running his way.” And since things running his way was the way she preferred the security department onboard to run, she wasn’t going to stop him. “Stop by for dinner later and I’ll introduce you to Aaron. I’m sure he’d love to meet you as well. I warn you though, he’s a charmer. Just ignore that part.”

“I’d be delighted,” she said with a grin. “I’ll bring something we can all enjoy later. Though a charmer, huh? Seems like you’ve managed to have quite an interesting married life for yourself with your husbands. Though speaking of charmers, I ran into Captain Mason who was there to welcome my travel companion; his new XO. There was also another gentleman there, a Captain Reese-Riggs.”

Olivia managed to restrain the eye-roll. Just. 

“Yeah, he’s a character. I had to smack him on the nose to get him to behave. But, once you get past the slick playboy, there’s definitely something there. That’s a case of not judging the book by it’s cover for sure. What did you make of Mason?”

“The very embodiment of still waters running deep,” she related. “I was only aware he was a Llanarian because his file was one of those I read while waiting at the starport concourse before my flight. He’s very evidently a warrior, someone who’s been through the worst and come out alive, but even if I’d only met him for the first time, I could discern the kind of competence in his manner that could only come from someone who’s been in a leadership role for most of their life.” Then she smiled and winked. “Quite like yourself in certain ways and certainly not in terms of size either. He’s quite a big gentleman, though his XO couldn’t be called small either. I always imagined Llanarians aren’t that common in Starfleet but then here we are with both the Captain and the XO sharing the same heritage. Interesting.”

Olivia frowned, then reached forward to drag a padd toward herself. Quickly she tapped into the personnel records. “No, Commander Andrews isn’t Llanarian. He’s human,” she said, looking up. “We have three Llanarians over the division. Mason, and two Bennetts… one on each ship. Both engineers. That’s interesting, I hadn’t realised that.” She’d have to dig into that a little deeper. Or dispatch Aaron to find out, since he was the epitome of gossip sometimes. 

“Why did you think Andrews was llanarian?”

Catriona was genuinely surprised. “Oh really? Well, he was quite… big,” she said with a bit of a smirk. “And next to Captain Mason, hearing them speak of a shared history, I thought he was a Llanarian as well.” Then she related how she met Andrews for the first time, from the odd uniform he wore to the signs of him being recently on a battlefield, and even sharing with him her extra boxes of sweets she’d made too much of and didn’t know what to do with. “It seems I’ve made a false assumption then,” she chortled.

“Yeah, I can certainly see why. He really stripped off right there in the shuttle?” 

She laughed and nodded. “His mind must have been somewhere else but, he really did. Despite all his scars he clearly takes good care of his physique. He was a little concerned about offending my sensibilities but then most people seem to think I’m a proper gentle lady,” she said with a wink. “I gave him plenty of things to remember me by. I wonder how long before he runs out and I have an excuse to deliver more…”

Olivia hid her smile. “So I take it, if I need someone to liaise directly with the Resolute command team, you’d be amenable to transporting over?”

Catriona smiled like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. “Well I’m your Executive Officer. My job is to take on anything you need me to do to make life easier for you,” she declared, but then leaned a bit closer and spoke conspiratorially. “But if you’re planning to add that to my duties, I certainly wouldn’t feel inclined to protest.”

“Excellent.” She stood, gathering her padds. “Now, we have a meeting with the senior staff to bring everyone up to speed. Shall we?”

“Aye aye, Captain.”