#futurecommand

“oh,  well that’s super nice of you,  lieutenant.  jim.  james.  should i call you jim,  or james?  i’ll just stick to lieutenant,”   the real panic here stems from the fact that she’s so caught off guard that there’s no way of saying how the question really makes her feel,  and that leads to immediate discomfort  —  and,  in turn,  a whole lot of rambling.   “i mean,  there are more than one-hundred people aboard disco,”   which,  when compared to the constitution class,  is really only….  well,  half the crew compliment,  but still a fairly significant number.  right?   “a — and not to assume anything about your sexuality or preferences,  but were you,  you know,  solely interested in women,  statistically that would be approximately half the crew.  now,  the number’s not quite even when you get down to reality rather than statistics,  but the point still stands.  and that’s to say nothing of how that number would jump if we went ahead and included the whole crew.  commanding officers aside,  of course,  because fraternization with commanding officers is frowned upon.  but that’d take us back up to more than a hundred people,  still,  and here you are talking to me.  which isn’t to say i’m not confident or anything,  i’m fine i just  —  oh my god i’m gonna stop talking now,  i’m so sorry,”

part of her hopes that the command training program eventually includes some sort of intensive seminar or in-depth learning experience on accepting compliments or praise,  or even just really nice comments,  with any sort of grace.  she’s sure it’s something that’s important in a commanding officer,  but right now?  all sylvia finds herself capable of is an awkward laugh that melts into a smile that she wishes she could force away  —  or at least tone down a little.   “oh.  uh.  well,  thank you.  thank you,  lieutenant kirk.  i appreciate that,”   is it an appropriate response?  she’s not sure,  but it’s all that comes out   (   and at least she’d managed to hold off on some unnecessary tangent about how her issues all likely stem from her mother  ---  so she’ll consider that a win   ).

“lieutenant kirk,”   she can’t help but be entirely incredulous,  something about his tone sending off alarms all throughout her brain,   “forgive me if i’m mistaken here,  but it almost sounds like you consider that an accomplishment,”

          ❝ —–oh i’ve BROKEN my nose a few times… i seem to take a liking to knocking my face first on my workstation and get myself an urgent appointment with a local doctor. ❞ sarcasm-coated words were much easier to say than the truth. though he always have been the lousy liar.❝ —–i would have a hard time BELIEVING someone who said they never had been in pain… PHYSICALLY or EMOTIONALLY. ❞