A Long Overdue Reward
Posted on Tue Mar 6th, 2018 @ 11:53pm by Captain Liarra Von & Commander Talia Varen
Mission:
A Day in the Life
Location: Chief Medical Officer's Office
Von's hand instinctively reached for her pocket, making sure that the precious cargo that she was carrying was still there. Her trip through the station was nearing her destination, the medical ward. Or as it seemed to be for Starfleet captains, the one place they never wanted to go. But this time she was not getting called down for a physical, nor was she sick. It was business, and one of the better parts of her job.
Liarra stepped into the reception area and up to the yeoman manning the desk. The yeoman greeted her with a smile. "Good afternoon, Captain. What can I do for you?"
"Good afternoon, Yeoman. I'm actually hoping to speak with Doctor Varen. I don't have an appointment though. Can you tell me if she is available?"
"I believe she is in her office, the open door on the right. She had an awful lot of reports to get through after she was in quarantine sir. " The bright smile from the curly haired yeoman seemed to warm the room- which is probably why she was assigned to such an assignment.
"Thanks for the warning. I'll try not to keep her too long." Liarra walked away from the reception desk and made her way over to Varen's office.
The dark circles under Talia's eyes had only just begun to fade, after a full 24 hours of sleep and the simple physical contact with Leo that she so desperately needed. She had never bothered to realize just how much their bonding would affect her when it was missing, and that was yet another thing she had to figure out how to balance in her life.
Von stepped into the open door and gave the bulkhead a a quick knock. Liarra tried to give her a smile to let Talia know that she wasn't in trouble. "How are you holding up, Doctor?"
"Better now that I had 24 hours sleep. Vulcan heritage or not, I'd prefer to not have to remain up for 7 days without rest."
"Well, hopefully we can avoid that in the future. I won't keep you long since I'm sure you're anxious to get through your reports and get some more sleep." Liarra stepped into the room and took a seat across from Talia's desk. "I just wanted to make sure I made it down here to check in on you personally, and to let you know that your good work has not gone unnoticed."
"I'm honored Captain." she rested her hand over where humans had their hearts in a gesture of appreciation she would recognize.
"In fact, I've been in contact with Cestus to let them know, and to request approval to give you this." Liarra pulled a small box from her pocket and handed it to Varen. Inside were three solid pips. "It is my honor to inform you that you are hereby promoted to the rank of full Commander. Congratulations."
The box fell from nerveless fingers to the desk and Talia stared at it in utter bewilderment. Her eyes welled up suddenly and she covered her lips with the hand that was by her side. "I..I...don't know what to say. Captain...Thank you."
"I should be thanking you, Doctor," Liarra replied with a smile. "This is much deserved, and a long time coming." Von gestured towards the reports on the desk. "Surely those can wait until the morning. You've already been through a lot lately, and I'm sure there's someone who would love to celebrate with you tonight."
Talia's cheeks darkened at the thought of celebrating with Leo tonight. Though she did wonder just how much the captain knew about their budding relationship. "I've gotten through enough of them that I suppose I can leave them."
"Good. Get out of here. Relax. You've been through a lot lately, Commander. If anyone could use a break, I think it's you."
"You going to give him a break too then?" she teased her captain as her eyes danced. She rubbed her cheek, in an effort to not scratch the flesh which still bore some spots from the virus.
Liarra grinned. "I'm not heartless. I think I can cover Ops for tonight. Besides, I have a few reports of my own to work on. If I'm going to be in my office anyway, I might as well give Leo a break."
"In that case- I'll ambush him. Don't tell him aye?" she asked with a conspiratorial look at Liarra.
Liarra mimed zipping her lips closed. "I won't say a word."
Her smile was like sun breaking through the clouds, and she dropped her eyes to the box. Briefly she wondered as she put them on in place of her old rank, how long it would take her Leo to notice.
Captain Liarra Von
Commanding Officer
Starbase 332
Commander Talia Varen
Chief Medical Officer
Starbase 332
