Coffee And Counsel - Part I

Posted on Thu Apr 3rd, 2025 @ 9:48pm by Lieutenant JG Gianna De Luca & Captain Robert Burke

1,112 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: EPISODE 1: SHAKEDOWN
Location: Archanis Orbit, USS Hecate Briefing Room
Timeline: MD030 0800 hours

::ON::

Standing near the room's large windows, Burke stared down at the planet below. Archanis spun turbulently below them, cloud cover coiling and roiling in the atmosphere. He had hoped to see the Federation's comms relay on the surface below, but had quickly realised it would be impossible. The man had also hoped that the sight headache relating to the night before would have abated, but that seemed unlikely too.

He turned as the service door opened, and a yeoman stepped through with a coffee service. An elegant silver cafetiere and delicate china mugs with the Hecate's insignia and number embossed. Alongside there was a plate of pastries and some cold cuts, European style to help with the recovery from Salvatore's welcome party from the night before. Burke was given the opportunity to check over the breakfast and give his whole-hearted approval.

As the yeoman left, satisfied the job was done, Burke turned back to the window, and looked out once more. The convoy would be ready in a few hours, and they could leave for the Klingon border. Another step, another challenge, he reflected. The fact the windows were only energy fields that kept the atmosphere in always disconcerted him. One power failure and they'd be looking for a replacement.

He looked up as the main door to the room chimed.

To Gia, it was still too early and she was struggling to wake up. The party the XO had thrown the previous night had gone on a little too long and she was tired to the point she'd forgotten about coffee. It was on autopilot that she'd gotten ready and fixed her hair into a side plait before she'd chimed the door.

Giving it a moment of waiting for the door to open, Gia walked in to find the Captain standing and looking pensive about something, so she gave him a warm and tired smile, "Good morning, Captain, how did you fare last night at the XO's party?" Trying to be subtle, Gia looked for the coffee and noticed the breakfast on the table, and it looked amazing.

Looking to the Counsellor he flashed a knowing smile, 'too much wine, and too little sleep, I fear.' Burke adjusted his spectacles and motioned to the Briefing Room table, 'take a seat please, and help yourself to whatever you want.' He took his own place in his usual seat at the head of the table. 'Coffee, Counsellor?' he asked as he picked up the large cafetiere.

"Coffee sounds amazing right now," Gia acknowledged as her eyes betrayed her and lit up at the sight of it in his hand. Taking an offered seat, it was moments like this she was grateful such a thing as coffee existed. She looked between him and the food, "What time did you end up leaving last night?"

'A while before the finish, I think,' Burke replied as he poured her a generous measure of coffee. 'Milk or creamer? Sugar?' he asked as he pushed the mug towards her. 'It's best to duck out early from these things as Captain. I find it helps people to relax more if I'm not always around, you know what I mean?'

Gia nodded her understanding. "Just a small amount of milk and one sugar, please. Sugar first thing in the morning and then black for the rest of the day." It was a weird way to have her coffee but she didn't care what other people thought. "I understand that logic though. Captaincy comes with a lot of expectations and to have the CO partying until the early hours of the morning can shape people's opinions of you the wrong way, right?"

Following her instructions fastidious, Burke poured the milk and added the sugar. Then he poured his own as he liked it, black. 'There, I hope it's to your liking,' he said with a smile, filing away her coffee preference for later. He spun the platter around so the pastries were facing her.

'First pick, as I invited you. And to answer your question, it's partly that as well. People are going to form an opinion of me whatever I do. But they also need space to socialise without me looking to be breathing down their necks.' Burke looked at her and smiled a little sadly. 'Commanding a vessel can be a lonely job with the decisions you have to make.'

She accepted the coffee and savoured the first sip of the day with a happy smile and closed eyes, "This is perfect, thank you." Then she picked a chocolate-filled croissant and tore off a small piece of it while she listened to him talk, "I guess that's why you have Commander Salvatore as your right hand man so that it's not just you making all the decisions. I've seen an effective CO and XO combination before that were in perfect harmony and it caused a positive ripple effect throughout the ship."

Taking another sip of the coffee and the opportunity to eat more of the amazing pastry in front of her, she added, "How long have you and the Commander been working together for anyway?"

Helping himself to a vanilla crown, some meat and some cheese, Burke shrugged and chuckled. 'A little less than twenty-four hours at this point. He arrived with an urgent message from Starfleet Intelligence that my previous First Officer was to be whisked away, and he would be her replacement.' His smile faded again, and he looked out the window a moment. 'I was allowed to hand-pick my crew for this. Why Command chose to pull that on me, I don't quite know yet.'

He looked back towards Gia, catching the plait she was wearing, and was impressed at the artfulness of it. 'It'll take time to see whether we work together effectively, but he was quite adept during our fight with the Orions.'

She noticed that he'd been looking at the braid in her hair as she was playing with it and simply smiled, "Given the history he revealed last night, I would expect him to be adept at what he does," Gia admitted as she finished off her pastry and pointed to it, "I'll admit he's got some good taste, the bruschetta last night made me miss my ma's though. Hers was always a chefs kiss moment and I still don't know what she did to make it taste so good, she wouldn't tell me."

[To be continued ...]

::OFF::

Captain Robert Burke
Commanding Officer
USS Hecate

Lieutenant Gianna De Luca
Chief Counsellor
USS Hecate

 

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