Progression

Posted on Mon Oct 24th, 2022 @ 10:21am by Lieutenant JG Calanthe 'Cal' Diaz & Captain Bethsabée Leroux

Mission: Sojurn
Location: Communication Center
Timeline: Day 307 10:00
2485 words - 5 OF Standard Post Measure

Beth knew her decision made sense to her sanity and health but it did not mean that she liked it. Communications have been her department, her responsibility since before they had even got lost in space. Languages were her passion and that was not going to change but it needed to shift in her responsibilities.

It was not going to be an easy let go in the slightest she hoped the woman would accept and would be prepared for the fact that Beth was gonna be like a hawk over her shoulder for a little bit so she relaxed into loosening of responsibilities.

“Good Morning, Ensign.” Beth commented as she strode into the communication centre with two cups of herbal tea.

In the entire time she had been board, Calanthe had come to view any day that didn't involve making space for Leroux as rare and probably terrifying, since only the most dire of situations seemed to keep the woman away for any length of time. It wasn't the problem others often assumed. Cal, who could enjoy most people's company if she put her mind to it, had welcomed the opportunity to learn from a more seasoned officer and the Captain had been instrumental in establishing what the Communications role looked like this far away from their designated patrol. Most days, shifting over to let the older woman call the shots for a while had been an easy accommodation.

It was marginally less comfortable when you were still bleary-eyed from lack of quality sleep and highly adamant that a head full of foreign memories weren't enough to keep you from your post. Things had improved, mostly because Ben's insistence that she involve Medical had given her some tools to combat the worst of the sleep deprivation, but there was still that vague and lingering concern that the Captain wasn't about to tolerate mediocrity. Even if it was understandable. Cal thought she was back on track. She was at least pretty reasonable sure she was.

She side-eyed the other woman.

"Bonjour, Capitaine."

Beth smiled and held out the cup of tea to the woman. "I believe it is one of your favourites. Jake seemed to think it was when I asked for suggestions." She admitted when she had asked the chef got some suggestions. It was something she did often when at a loss on how to help the crew, tea and sympathy might be a British thing but it was an approach that she was taking to heart from Lexi's pushing.

For a moment, Calanthe just blinked. Tea, amongst so many other things, was one of her passions and it had been a stab to the heart to be forced to share her palate with lacklustre coffee in her initial futile efforts to remain alert and functional. Accepting the cup, the ensign immediately wrapped both hands around it as was her wont and she smiled, a genuine gratitude radiating amidst her surprise. "Thank you." Taking a tentative sip to test the temperature, she added, "Nearly tastes like home."

“It should be fresh. Crewman Jones prepared herbs this morning. It seems the kid has quite a knack for horticultural that even he did not realise.” Beth commented as she took her own sip of the mint and citrus flavour herb tea. She sat down in the chair furthest away from the console and just sat and stared into space for a few moments savouring the familiar sounds and the almost quietness of company.

Providing refreshments was a new angle, but everything else seemed normal enough that Cal spared her commanding officer a final glance and then turned back to the database work she'd been trying to meticulously pick over for inconsistencies and editing mistakes. On some days, writing updates to reflect the pioneering aspect of their travels this far from home was engaging enough to absorb her attention entirely; other times, like this, felt almost like being back in university again. She read over the line she'd previously typed and, in light of present company, thought better of the phrasing she'd chosen, more as a means to express her punctuation. Leaving one hand wrapped around her mug, Cal reached up and tapped the backspace to delete the sentence.

Beth listen to the familiar tap in on the console. It was not unusual for her to stay there but for her to be this quiet and almost contemplating life it was. Beth finally turned her chair from the console should be looking herself a look for the woman. ”Ensign I need you to do me a favour.” She finally declared breaking the silence and bringing what she’s gone there to achieve to fruition.

"Sounds ominous," Cal quipped, her eyes darting away from her screen for only a fraction of a second. Whilst she usually curbed her banter in deference for the other woman's responsibilities, the brunette had always been grateful that, at the very least, the Captain had a sense of humour.

“It was not meant to be ominous.” Beth shook her head and took a deep breath. “No, the favour I need from you is I need you to become the ship's communication chief. I cannot do it all any longer. I need to let go.” Beth said quickly, getting it all out there before she changed her mind.

Calanthe had grown accustomed to the sensation of her mind turning somersaults in an attempt to process the unexpected. Ever since figuring out the cause of her odd visions, there had been less trepidation about her attempts at navigating sudden, random flashes of recollection through the lens of another person's perspective, and more a general acceptance that sometimes she just zoned out for a few seconds whilst she tried to figure out what was her reality and what belonged elsewhere. The sensation now of freezing mid-sip and staring straight ahead at her monitor was exactly the same strategy she'd been using all week just to pave a pathway through the quagmire of tangled memories.

Communications...Chief...

Dark eyes flitted sideways to blink at the Captain.

"I..."

Cal faltered. There was no argument that Leroux probably needed to step back, much though it didn't seem like any of Calanthe's business either way. She could certainly sympathise with the struggle to swing back and forth between responsibilities, just as she could understand why relinquishing the post was a hard pill to swallow. With no complaint to be found in that arena, she switched promptly to a more obvious one.

"Why me?" Eyelashes fluttered and Cal rushed on to avoid making it sound like she was complaining. "I mean, isn't Lexi better at..." She squinted. "Everything."

“O’Connery and yourself are very similar. Both exceptional but in different ways but you have more flight time so to speak and more leadership experience.” Beth said sipping her tea watching the emotions flicker across the young woman’s face as she tried to make sense of her request.

If Calanthe had been forced to be honest, she had started out this journey with aspirations that probably fell outside the normal range of military and exploratory zeal. Those aspects had factored in; she was her father's daughter, after all, and had been raised to hold certain levels of respect for those in service. But it was her mother's creativity and sense of innovation that had influenced their daughter's young mind and very few who knew both would argue that Cal wasn't her mother all over again. Less flighty, perhaps, less prone to wild impulses of fervour that saw her pick up and put down inspiration at the drop of a hat, but a shared view of the cosmos and all its potential nonetheless. Cal hadn't minded how she got out amongst the stars, had followed her father's advice simply because it would have been silly not to, and had subsequently found that she was quite good at this whole military lifestyle caper.

She hadn't started out with a whole heap of ambition in regards to career advancement though, at least not in terms of the administration side of her role.

150 years and a headful of someone else's thoughts on the matter lead things down unexpected pathways. Whatever clicked into place inside her still possibly didn't resemble a personal objective but, as Cal watched her Captain struggle with the process of letting go, she experienced a familiar yearning to be useful that had less to do with accolades and promotions and more to do with mutual inter-dependence. For better or worse, the crew was the only family she had in any practical sense right now; Cal couldn't abide the thought of degenerating into dead weight.

"Okay." She exhaled, not having fully realised she was holding a breath. "If that's what you need..."

“Is it not what you need?” Beth could see the hesitation on the woman’s face and friend. Addition of each was good enough to take over the position or does she truly believe that Lexi was a better candidate. Lexi had good points but she was already finding a purpose after her accident and helping with the morale of the crew.

"Huh?" The question threw Cal for a moment before, forcing herself to actually study the other woman's expression instead of staring at everything but, she managed to focus on the one thing that needed her attention. "Oh, no. I mean, yes. Yes and no?" An apologetic grimace was followed by a huff of self-depreciating laughter. "I'm sorry, Captain, I didn't mean to make it sound like I wasn't willing. I just...didn't expect it." Somewhere buried beneath the surprise was a compliment, and sense of trust, that seemed almost too enormous to comprehend all at once. Turning her chair to face her Captain, Cal drew in a breath and released it slowly. "Doing whatever's needed is what I need. I can't stand being useless at the best of times, let alone stuck all the way out here."

“It was going to happen eventually, Calanthe. Eventually I would’ve crashed and burned out and it would still be coming to you. At least now I’m not quite crashing and burning quite as much and there is a chance to get a decent handover after your the last year of an apprenticeship with me anyway.” Beth was under no illusions that she needed to let go of things. She needed to trust the senior team that she had on the ship, they had proved themselves repeatedly yet Beth was still was reluctant thanks to people like Leyton and Davies dying on her watch.

"I guess I'll just have to cut back the hundred-questions-a-day to ten-or-less." Cal smiled warmly, both hands settling around her mug again. "Maybe twenty." For the time being, the promotion would just float in a space somewhere above reality, waiting for a decent moment to attempt to sink in. It was for the betterment of the conversation that Calanthe didn't attempt to compile a list of all the extra responsibilities that were about to land in her lap.

Beth made a face about the number of questions and shrugged who was she just at the woman she wants to learn. Beth sat back in the chair and let out a sigh of relaxation as she realised the last thing on the list was finally completed. Hopefully it would allow her more headspace to think on the wider ship and allow her to think a little bit more on herself and her own health.

Taking the other woman's silence as an indication that she wasn't quite addressing everything that needed to be said, Calanthe took a moment to peer down into her tea and watched as a gentle swirling motion unsettled the smattering of leaves that had escaped the brewing process. "Any parting words of wisdom?" Cal glanced up and offered a rueful smile. "A word of warning, maybe, about the usual rookie mistakes."

“Don’t think that you can do everything because you can’t, don’t be afraid to rely on other people and sure you get your rest hours in.” It was the first three things that she could think of as it all applied to her and how she had gotten into the state that she had but that was the point of experience, to learn.

Cal resisted the urge to roll her eyes, even playfully. Every man and his dog wanted her to sleep, which was honestly understandable given the week or so she'd spent not sleeping much at all, but it already felt like it was about this close to Lexi suggesting she take afternoon naps. A lesser woman would have boasted that an elevation in seniority would have put an end to those machinations but Cal suffered no delusion that her friend would stop, even if she made it all the way to Admiral one day. Their closeness also meant that the first two parts of the Captain's advice were relatively easy to follow.

"Well, is there anything you want us to prioritise first?" If Leroux was taking a step back, then it would be up to those left behind to keep the department up to her exacting standards.

“Get your uniform sorted first, Lieutenant Junior Grade, then carry on with what you are doing. You are already doing the priorities in data logging anything and everything we hear and making sure communication routines happen onboard.” Beth said tossing the small pip to the woman.

Calanthe nearly didn't catch it. Promotion, in her head, had just been about getting the job done. About attaching the word "Chief" to her job description and getting on with things. It was through no disingenuous humility that the once-Ensign hadn't realised that the Captain intended to elevate her rank to match, though any consideration given to the situation made it clear why Leroux though it best. There was still that sliver of guilt, however, now thoroughly compounded, that she hadn't earned it and was simply benefiting from a series of misfortunes that made her the only choice. Except for Lexi. She outranked Lexi.

Cal blinked at the pip.

"Right. Uniform."

Beth nodded and rose looking tired from her seat and nodded to the woman. That was all that she came to say and she thought it had gone a lot better than she had expected to if she was honest. “Suits you, Lieutenant.” She said affirming what she had been thinking earlier in the day about how things needed to progress.

"Thank you, Captain."

In a rare moment of almost-speechlessness, it was the only thing Calanthe could think to say. In hindsight, it wasn't the most impressive contribution from a Chief of Communications but nobody was perfect.