Milton Ford had worked at Farpoint station for the last two years as one of the Deputy Chief Counselors, and he’d settled into a rhythm.  He’d been assigned a group of patients, and the life was suiting him.  That had been 24 hours ago.  Now, he was standing in one of the many transporter rooms with his belongings packed and stacked in the cue for the cargo transporters.  His old, worn leather doctor’s bag held restlessly in one hand; he wondered what had brought him to be assigned to the USS Olympic as their Chief Counselor.  He was generally easy to get along with and couldn’t recall upsetting anyone lately.  Was this the universe moving him to his next destination?  The Lost Fleet and Frontier Day events had given him plenty of work with crew, officers, and civilians on the station.  The reward of someone finding their way in treatment had been powering his heart and soul.

He hadn’t served on a ship in years.  Would he remember the protocols?  Would they accept this old dog?  He kept coming back to the ‘why’ of his assignment.  He’d been ordered to report to a Deputy Chief – the captain and the XO were occupied with additional passengers.  He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he suspected it wasn’t good.  Whoever required the attention of the two most highly ranked officers must be unique.

“Dr. Ford?”  The ensign at the controls gestured him forward.  “They’re ready for you.”

Jordan Reid stood in front of the transporter pad on the Olympic, her hands clasped nervously behind her back.  She’d been woken up that morning with a unique assignment – the new chief counselor was coming aboard, and they needed someone to meet him.  Dread and Crawford were unavailable, so it had fallen to her.  She wasn’t sure how to feel.  It had only been a month since she stepped back aboard a Federation starship as a Starfleet officer.  The death of her boyfriend was still there, and its impact hadn’t faded.

“Lieutenant, transport underway.”

Reid stood to attention.  The officer in question outranked her, and his service jacket was fascinating. He’d served in many different roles and had settled on counseling.  She had many questions but wasn’t sure if she would ask any of them.  Sometimes, people preferred to let their legacy speak for themselves.  The bright lights and the harmonic sound filled the room as an older, regal-looking man appeared, his worn eyes searching the space before him.

“Good afternoon, Lieutenant…?”  He jumped down the small stairs, a spry surprise to Jordan.

“Lieutenant Reid, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Surgery and Critical Care.  Welcome aboard Olympic, Lieutenant Commander Ford.”  She extended her hand, and he grasped it, a smile filling his face.

“It’s good to be back.  And it’s Dr. Ford, Dr. Reid.”

Jordan remembered he had served on the Olympic years before, “You were Chief Operations?”  She led him out into the corridor.

A shrug, “It was for six months…and a long time ago.  I thought I’d be an operations officer for the rest of my life.  I thought I’d reached the top of the mountain…but it wasn’t for me.  She looks better than she did all those years ago.  Read about the refits.  She looks good for her age.”

Reid took them around a corner and into a turbolift, “The Oly, as we call her, has a storied history.  It’s been good getting to know it over the last month.”  She inclined her head upwards, “Olympic class is a special class.”

Ford nodded approvingly, “I’ve been on most of the classes the fleet offers.  I’ve done my time on heavy cruisers and frigates…feels like it’s time to cruise through the stars on a slower pace.”

Reid checked her PADD as they arrived, “You’ve been assigned a crew of five counselors with the option of 5 additional who would be activated from our medical and science teams.  She stopped outside the counseling office, ”Here is your staff information and notes from our previous counselor.”

The older of the two accepted the PADD and gave her a quiet nod, “We do need to talk…in a professional setting, Dr. Reid.  Your file was marked a priority.  You’ve been ducking your sessions.”  She felt her face redden.  She had wondered how long that would last.  He continued, “The mandatory nature of your meetings and what you experienced…I’m not one to wait around for you to come to me.  I’ll send you a list of available times by the end of the day.”  He stood at attention and swept into his new office, leaving Reid feeling like she wanted to run away. 

She took a breath and whispered, “But that is not what Deputy Chiefs do, is it Jordan?”  She set her feet in motion of her office.  Her time was now…and she needed to own it.