“I’m not here to make friends.” Lieutenant Seraphina Pearce sat across the desk as Captain Wren Walton conducted her fifth-afternoon interview.  The loss of Kiazas Vol had left an emptiness in both duty rosters and hearts.  Pearce sat with her back ramrod straight, her eyes maintaining contact with Walton.  Her hair was tied back, but it was hard to ignore the artwork on her skull along the hairline.

Wren replied, “That isn’t what I asked you, Lieutenant Pearce.  I asked you where you see yourself fitting into the crew of the Mackenzie.”  She’d read the file on Serahina.  It was a shining example of a longstanding security officer who was exceptionally good at her job.  It also had hints, allegations, and several cases of JAG involvement around her inability to walk the line.  The Mackenzie was starting to resemble a place for misfits.  Walton found that mildly amusing in her head.  Captain Harris had remarked several times in his short commanding officer career about the ships he’d commanded being just that – an island for misfit toys.  She returned her attention to Pearce, “Your commitment to the position over the years has been strong.”

The Bajoran scoffed, “But that commitment has given me something of a reputation.”

Walton raised her eyebrows, “Not something of a reputation, Lieutenant.  A pretty clear one.  You’re here because I’m a former reputation fixer.  Someone in command thought you’d at least be worth a glance.”  She held the PADD with the file, “This interview is your glance.  I don’t have to accept you, and I don’t need you.  Ten officers are vying for the job, and you’re number five.”  She returned the PADD on the desk, “What I’m looking for is someone different.” With another scoff, Pearce gestured to her look to suggest the captain was blind.  Her eyes widened as Wren stood from her desk, “You haven’t earned the privilege to act this way towards me, Lieutenant Peace.  You might look the part and think yourself all that and some Raktajino on the side…but you’ve only proven you can piss off another captain.”  She slammed her fist on her desk, “I don’t know who this has ever worked for, Lieutenant Pearce, and it certainly hasn’t worked for me.  You are dismissed.”

Pearce wasn’t sure what to say.  The way her current CO had spoke, this job was already hers.  Sitting in the chair for five minutes suddenly changed at outlook.  She hesitantly stood, looked to try and apologize, and thought better of it.  She muttered, “Thank you, sir.” and left the ready room.

She walked sullenly to the turbolift and didn’t look up at who followed her in.  She feebly said the deck for the transporter room and leaned against the wall.  She’d managed to screw up another interview.

“You look like someone blew up your favorite starship and threw a Raven at you.”  

She glanced toward the voice and immediately stood at attention, “Commander Seoyeon.”  Pearce had done her homework on the staff.  “I kinda failed the interview.”

Park held up her PADD, “I had a feeling you might.  You went in there and swaggered a lot, didn’t you.”  She held up her other hand at the look of displeasure on the face of the lieutenant, “I’m not judging you.  I was the same way when I met Captain Walton.”

The doors opened, and both women stepped into the hallway.  Pearce remarked, “She worked with you before this?”  Seoyeon explained her experience and why Wren had been assigned to her in the first place.  She shared a few stories of her younger days and how quickly she learned that Wren Walton was not someone you tried to swagger your way around or through.

“She doesn’t suffer fools, and I was a fool.  It took me two months to realize what I had done…and what I was doing.  I tested that woman’s patience.”

Seraphina gawked, “And she still took you on as XO?”

Park grimaced, “More I was assigned to her as a last chance before somebody got wise and threw me out on my ass.”  She shook her head, “I’ve learned a lot from her…and I’m still a work in progress…but she keeps me accountable.”  The XO walked her to the transporter room, “You really want this position?”

Pearce stopped, “I want…I want to do something that matters.  I’ve been assigned to stations and small ships…and yes…I admit much of it….,” she felt the stare from Park grow strong, and she reframed, “…OK, most of it was my fault.”  Memories of her actions flashed in her mind as she considered the future ahead and her choices to get here.  “She expects a lot, doesn’t she?”

Park chuckled, “She spent most of her career remodeling idiots like me…she knows what potential is within us…and that we can rise to the occasion.  She expects a lot because she knows it’s possible.”  She walked on, and Pearce followed her to the door to the transporter room, where they stopped again.

Seraphina stared at the door.  Was she ready to give up something like this?  Ready to return to the doldrums of a station or a small ship?  She wasn’t sure.  She asked, “You think I could get another chance at that interview?”

The XO raised her eyebrows, “I can ask.”  She stepped away and left the Bajoran Security officer with her thoughts.  She remembered her parents fleeing the occupation and making it home to New York only to watch the events of the Dominion War play out across the universe.  Survivors’ guilt had plagued them enough that they returned to Bajor to help rebuild, and Seraphina had come along, desperate to find meaning in her life.  She’d found so much.

“Lieutenant Pearce.”  She snapped up and slammed to attention at the sight of Captain Wren Walton stepping into the transporter room.  Park stood behind her, amused.  “I’ll ask the question again.  Where do you see yourself fitting into the crew of the Mackenzie?”

Seraphina swallowed her fears of screwing up her second chance.  “I saw myself not fitting into the crew of the Mackenzie…at first.  After talking with Commander Seoyeon, I’m starting to understand that I’m not alone in my imperfections and rough edges.  Serving with a crew is more than just a duty or a shift to be completed…it’s a life to be lived and learned…together.  I may not be great at making friends…yet…but if I step outside myself a little…I might learn something, sir.”

Walton spun on her heels to Park, who feigned innocence but smiled widely, “I nudged, Captain.  Just…a gentle nudge.”

Wren rolled her eyes, “More like a shove, Commander.”  She turned back to her candidate, “You listen well, Lieutenant Pearce.  You even take advice, which is a quality I appreciate.  As for stepping outside of yourself, it’s not that you might learn something…it’s a promise that you will.”  She silently considered the Bajoran officer before holding out a hand filled with a PADD from Park, “Your application for Chief Security Officer is accepted, Lieutenant Pearce. It is probationary. The job will be yours after completing the new officer orientation with Park and a performance review with me three months from today.”

Pearce was dumbstruck.  “Uh…mmm…thank you, sir.”

Walton gave her a quiet nod, “Don’t screw it up, Lieutenant Pearce.”  She walked out of the room.

Park stood beside the new security chief, holding her hand out, “Welcome aboard.”