Brewing Conflict

Posted on Tue Feb 25th, 2025 by Lieutenant Amelia Baird & Lieutenant JG Elle Hayashi

1,080 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: M01 - The Hooke
Location: Chief Medical Officer's Office, USS Hooke
Timeline: Present

Amelia hadn't met the ship's Chief Medical Officer before the senior staff meeting the day prior, however, she still wanted to take the time to go speak with her. The woman had seemed a bit nervous and after doing a slight bit of digging, Amelia learned that this was Elle's first starship and first time being a department head. Amelia was in that same situation as far as she was concerned.

She had requested the computer tell her where the Doctor was located before leaving her own office and making her way to sickbay, then from inside sickbay to the office where she spotted Elle sitting. "Got a moment?" Amelia asked.

Elle looked up from her work station to see the Chief Engineer standing there, "Is everything all right Lieutenant?" After the first twenty-four hours on board Elle was beginning to feel a lot more relaxed than she had yesterday. She'd already made the mental note that in the future she'd make a point to meet the senior staff before the meeting whenever reporting to a new ship or station.

Amelia shrugged, "For me yes," She answered. Amelia stepped inside the office the rest of the way so that nobody could just barge into their conversation. She found the chair across from the desk and sat down in it, "I'm making sure everything is all right with you Doctor."

Elle's first immediate thought was that the Lieutenant had spoken to the Counselor and that the Counselor sent the Chief Engineer to come talk to her. Even if that didn't make any sense to Elle, it seemed to be a sound conclusion to be drawing given how random this was. "Did the Counselor send you?"

Amelia was now officially lost in the plot, "The Counselor? No."

Elle could see the Chief Engineer was confused by the question, "Oh good," She answered. "Yeah I'm all right, yesterday was just a bit too much for me you know? This is my first ship and I didn't really know what to expect and all. I just need time to get to know everyone."

Amelia was glad to hear that part, "It's a bit nerve racking when you've been assigned to a ship for a whole five minutes then put on the spot. I get it," She said noting that Elle seemed rather uncomfortable during the staff meeting, " She shifted slightly in her chair, "Did something happen with the Counselor yesterday?"

Elle sighed and lowered her shoulders, perhaps it had been a mistake to mention Counselor Aval rather than just leaving that part alone. "I think it was nothing, but the Counselor sort of cornered me while I was eating yesterday evening and tried to psychologically analyze why I'd been so nervous yesterday. At least," Elle paused for a brief second, "At least that's what it felt like. I may have been a little aggressive in my tone with her."

"Oh now I'm curious," Amelia told Elle calmly, "What did you say to her?"

Elle wasn't really that embarrassed to repeat what she'd said, "I basically told her to shut up in about as a polite way as I possibly could. First she accused me of being standoffish, then tried telling me that there really wasn't a justification for being nervous. I don't know, I was trying to focus on what I was reading and I just lost my temper a little bit."

Amelia nodded her head slowly, "Well not to be cruel, but that is her job."

Elle leaned back with her arms crossed, "I know that's her job," She said as her heart rate started to steadily increase and she had to force herself to calm down a bit. She took a breath before losing her temper again, "But, it's not exactly her job to come across as smug either. I've never met a Vulcan who wasn't smug, and she's definitely that."

At that, Amelia frowned. "Smug?" She asked rhetorically then shook her head slowly. Amelia had known a small few Vulcans and they did come across as smug some of the time. "You don't like Vulcans do you?"

"Not really," Elle admitted. "I wasn't exactly thrilled when I learned she was the counselor for the entire ship. I think that was a mistake," She concluded. "I don't think a Vulcan would make a good counselor, they have no emotions or so that's what they tell us. And a logical approach to dealing with emotions and problems doesn't make it the correct approach either. Then there's the smugness," Elle allowed herself to fully calm down and she stopped talking.

Amelia understood where Elle was coming from, "Vulcans have emotions," She corrected, "They just train themselves to suppress them. And not all Vulcans are good at that either," She said softly. "I'm not saying that Aval is a good choice for counselor, but we don't really know her yet. I think you may be reading too much into this Doctor, I hope you understand where I'm coming from?"

Elle listened closely to what Amelia was saying, and perhaps she was letting her own beliefs get in the way of knowing the counselor. She'd been a bit harsh, but she still felt justified in that part, however, she took what the Chief Engineer was saying to heart. "I do," She relaxed her arms so that they were no longer crossed over her chest, "I still think her as a counselor is a mistake."

Amelia allowed a warm smile to appear over her face, "Just give her time and a chance," She said. "This is her first time being in her position as a ship's counselor and the only one on board too. She has to learn and grow just like you have to learn and grow."

Elle realized that Amelia had a point as the Engineer was speaking, "You should have been the counselor."

Amelia laughed nervously, "Oh I would have been a terrible choice," She replied. "Now then, let's go find something to eat I didn't eat much for breakfast."

Elle didn't argue the point, but stood up. "I think that's a great idea, let's go."

Amelia went toward the door and let the Doctor pass by her before following behind. The medical staff in sickbay could handle things while they were gone, and she hoped that eventually she could get Elle to willingly talk to Aval before the conflict got any worse. However, Amelia wasn't about to suggest that just yet.

 

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