Who Do You Think You Are [Hawke & Felicity]

[Felicity Ellis]

[Felicity Ellis - USS Gibson - Briefing Room]
[Time: Season 3 Episode 5 - Tainted Heart]

What most people don't usually realise while in the throes of excitement to participate in an Away Mission, is that there can be a lot of downtime. Getting from Point A to Point B can take a while; and if you planned on skipping over Point B to crash headlong into C, then you'd best pack an overnight bag. Or a suitcase. Being a newly minted civvie, Felicity was finding it necessary to make more space for clothes for the first time since her Academy days. Uniforms, though sometimes a bit dull and drab, did lessen the need to turn your replicator into a clothier.

Considerations such as these served as a distraction. The mission they were currently engaged in was a gruesome one, and she expected that their entire crew would be unduly impacted by what they'd seen and heard. She would hope for a speedy but firm resolution, and would do whatever she could to facilitate that, otherwise she suspected she'd have an extensive list of brand new patients.

She was looking at a PADD, though saw none of the words she'd typed. Observations on the new XO, questions she wanted to pose, ideas for completing this evaluation as quickly and as painlessly as possible - that's what her personal PADD contained. Felicity and her successor hadn't gotten off to the best of starts, and she was just a tad concerned as to how their little session would play out. Psychological evaluations were taken very seriously in the Commander's line of work, and she had a feeling he'd play ball to a degree. At least, initially.

Felicity was sitting on a chair that was angled sideways, her legs crossed and propped up on the seat next to hers. Beside the PADD on the table was a cup of very strong coffee. It was her customary preference, but it also served a purpose. It had been a long day of travel and discovery and Felicity really wanted nothing more than to make her coffee Irish and to go to bed with the new detective novel she'd been threatening to start for weeks. Alas, she had work to do. And blast, that work was Hawke. "Computer, time."

Earlier...

Keen to take care of this evaluation business and remove the threat of it from above both of their heads, Felicity took advantage of the Gibson's travel time, grabbed a little initiative and reached out.

"Ellis to Hawke. Let's get this evaluation done, shall we? I've booked the Briefing Room for 2000 hours. Let me know if that doesn't suit."

Felicity wasn't in any way like a Tholian. She likely wouldn't appreciate much by way of negotiation when it came to getting her work done. She knew how much Hawke had on his plate, all too well, and so she chose a time she hoped would minimise any disruption to his duties. With any luck, they could both get back to having very little to do with each other before the night was out.

[James A. Hawke]

[Ealier – U.S.S. Gibson – Main Engineering]

James continued his self guided tour of the Gibson, he wanted to get to know the Stations but most of all the people that would be working with regularly.   James as a former Engineer knew the ship engines and they were, in essence, the heart of the ship.  He understood that even though it would be a self-guided tour, his job was to observe and not to comment.

Hawke knew that each engineer and each engine runs a little different.  Some engineers like to spend their time tweaking power outputs, other engineers like more speed out of their engines and each one did things a little different.  James knew that it was not his place to get tweak the engines into his liking but to make sure she had the resources she needed to do her job correctly.

James approached a female who appeared to have Vulcan ancestry and she recognized him.  "Commander Hawke, it is agreeable to see you  Main Engineering,"  the Chief Engineer said.

James then took a deep breath and responded "At, ease, y'know I used to be a Chief Engineer too, so don't worry I won't intervene with your job, but I do have an engineer joke for you, so ...How many members of the U.S.S. Enterprise does it take to change a light bulb?

The Vulcan raised an eyebrow and responded: "The logical answer is one, one individual is more than sufficient for that menial task."

James smiled and responded "Nope the answer is Seven."

James then smiled and said "Let me explain,  Scotty will report to Captain Kirk that the light bulb in the Engineering Section is burnt out, to which Kirk will send Bones to pronounce the bulb dead. Scotty, after checking around, notices that they have no more new light bulbs, and complains that he can't see in the dark to tend to his engines. Kirk must make an emergency stop at the next uncharted planet, Alpha Regula IV, to procure a light bulb from the natives. Kirk, Spock, Bones, Sulu, and three security officers beam down. The three security officers are promptly killed by the natives, and the rest of the landing party is captured. Meanwhile, back in orbit, Scotty notices a Klingon ship approaching and must warp out of orbit to escape detection. Bones cures the native king who is suffering from the flu, and as a reward, the landing party is set free and given all of the light bulbs they can carry. Scotty cripples the Klingon ship and warps back to the planet just in time to beam up Kirk et. al. The new bulb is inserted, and the Enterprise continues with its five-year mission.

The Vulcan merely responded "I am not amused with that joke, Sir"

James shrugged his shoulder as he was about to apologize, for saying a bad joke.  He genially believed that the joke was funny as it was a stereotypical report from Captain Kirk.  As he wanted to start he heard a message

"Ellis to Hawke. Let's get this evaluation done, shall we? I've booked the Briefing Room for 2000 hours. Let me know if that doesn't suit."

God Damn it!  I hope she would have forgotten about the whole thing  James though

Consider they were stuck in warp for another half a day it would make almost impossible to evade her on a ship of this size.  James would not put it past of her Doctor to report him to the CO, which he did not want a complaint on his first day on the job.

Dr. Ellis, I'll be there at the briefing room in 2000 hour     James responded.

[Outside Main Briefing Room]

James was tempted to ditch Dr. Ellis and do something else.  There must be something to do on the ship and emergency to handle.  Saving a world, find a cat...anything but this.  Sadly, there were no excuses for anything to do other than show up and report.

I would give anything right now for a Red Alert  James thought.   He thought of going back to the bridge and call one just for sheer entertainment and calling it all a drill.  However, sadly, he fears that the CO and the crew would not find calling a red alert in their downtime amusing at all.

Before pressing the chime, James stood for a second in silence and wondered what questions she would ask.  He has kept this secret for years, and only one person was able to figure it out.  Frankly, that person already knew and used him on a larger plot.

James knew he was scared and rightfully so, he wanted both medical and psychological assessment for the reason that not everything will match up.  No matter how detailed he was and how careful he can be there are always cracks, and it would be hard to explain.  His journey was his own, and he chooses to do it alone.  Bringing anyone else would have been irresponsible.

He slowly pressed the chime to signal Dr. Ellis that he arrived.  He did arrive on time, but he was a little late.  As he pushed the button, he noticed his hand were shaking a little bit.

Nerves of steel, you need nerves of steel James though

As he pressed the entrance chime and quickly his nerves turned into a smile.  He would act that he was calm, collected, happy and playful right now.  No one would suspect that the person that smiles the most and laugh the most has a secret.  Hawke believed that everyone had a secret, but some affect other people the most.  He learned a lesson from his grandfather, "No one is exactly what they appear to be".

As the door opened, he noticed Dr. Ellis in the desk with a coffee at hand.  Truthfully, she would want anyone but her in his head, but he looked at the positive, at least she won't have to mind melt with him.
He walked in and quickly said.

"Ahh, Dr. Ellis pleasure seeing you this evening, I'm sorry it could not be under better circumstances, if it were up to me, I would bring you a bottle of Whiskey and just have a chat   James finished his statement with a smile.

He remained standing until she pointed out what chair he wanted to appear that he was calm and he had nothing to hide.

[Felicity Ellis]

[Outside Main Briefing Room]

As the door opened, he noticed Dr. Ellis in the desk with a coffee at hand.  Truthfully, she would want anyone but her in his head, but he looked at the positive, at least she won't have to mind melt with him.
He walked in and quickly said.

"Ahh, Dr. Ellis pleasure seeing you this evening, I'm sorry it could not be under better circumstances, if it were up to me, I would bring you a bottle of Whiskey and just have a chat   James finished his statement with a smile.

He remained standing until she pointed out what chair he wanted to appear that he was calm and he had nothing to hide.

[Felicity Ellis - USS Gibson - Briefing Room]

Felicity had considered the prospect that Hawke might give her the slip. That he'd possibly discover some sort of emergency that required only his attention. To be fair, that thought would have crossed her own mind had she been in his position. Like everyone else, Felicity had plenty of issues, too. Some she worked through, others she ignored, and a very small amount she was blissfully unaware of. There were parts of her life she didn't want to talk about, and if it were possible to avoid anything like that in both normal conversation and evaluations, then she would.

She didn't really foresee any major problems with Hawke's eval. The man didn't seem to be what she considered the Command type, but that didn't mean he couldn't do the job. She wasn't there to question his appointment though, just to make sure he was somewhat balanced. That usually didn't take long.

When he walked in and began talking, she just about suppressed a roll of her eyes. She pulled her feet from their resting place on a chair and sat up straight. She was a little surprised at the mention of whiskey, and it showed in her expression. She had no idea how he knew that was her preferred drink. He'd either been looking into her, or someone else had divulged.

"I try not to indulge my love for whiskey while I'm working, that usually comes afterward. But you should just treat this as a normal chat, really." Some people came in relaxed, ready for a pleasant and sometimes introspective exchange. Others came in automatically defensive. Remained stiff and intractable and not only made her job harder, but made their own day a hell of a lot worse. Felicity wondered which Hawke would be.

"It doesn't have to be overly formal if we don't want it to be." She waved at the chairs around the table. "Make yourself comfy. There's some coffee brewed too, if you'd like."

Once everything had settled down, she opened with something safe; brow raised and tone wry. "So. Quite the first day."

[James A. Hawke]

[Briefing Room]

James looked at Dr. Ellis as she politely declines his offer of a whiskey.  Truth be told, unlike their first meeting he had the time to look into her record. Hawke was nervous but at least he felt he was prepared.   Little did she know there was something else working in the background.

"I try not to indulge my love for whiskey while I'm working, that usually comes afterward. But you should just treat this as a normal chat, really."
"It doesn't have to be overly formal if we don't want it to be." She waved at the chairs around the table. "Make yourself comfy. There's some coffee brewed too, if you'd like."

Hawke was not a coffee drinker as he was more a Soda person.  He answered her statements by saying.  "I understand entirely about the drink.  Honestly, I rather have this as informal as possible, I wouldn't say I like it when people call me by my last name or rank.  When I hear a Mr. Hawke, somehow I think they are addressing my dad.  Hawke responded with a smile.

He declined the offer and merely said "I'm not a coffee drinker, I'm more a Soda person myself"

James proceeded to seat on the chair across from her.  He made sure his posture was open and not crossed arms and he did not want his nonverbals to indicate he was hiding something.

Once everything had settled down, she opened with something safe; brow raised and tone wry. "So. Quite the first day."

James nodded in agreement as he thought this would have been one hell of a first day.  "Yeah, you can say that again, but Starfleet is not exactly the most normal place to work.  When you work with the unknown, it can be pretty unusual.  So I would say it has been a long day but not entirely unexpected

James continued "True, preparation for the new job in the shuttle, meeting the Captain for the first time, seeing the admiral again, heading to Ops to deal with a crisis, boxing match, prepping the Gibson, dealing with a Tholian, finding a ship full of  individuals with missing organs and a psychological evaluation, seems like an eventful day.  But it could be worse, it's better than warping into a red alert on the first day."   James answered what he believed to be the first question.  If all the questions were easy like that one it would be a short interview.

[Felicity Ellis]

[Felicity Ellis - USS Gibson - Briefing Room]

Felicity was rather pleased that he seemed to want to keep things informal, though she let the comment about his last name and rank pass by. She could understand it, in fact, 99% of the people she'd worked and socialised with on the Columbus called her 'Flick', both on and off duty, but she'd only known Hawke a day. It wouldn't feel right calling her replacement; a man who she was supposed to be evaluating for the first time, by his first name.

But when he mentioned soda, she smiled a little. "What kind? I lived on the stuff back in my Academy days. There was this energy drink, highly caffeinated, of course, called 'Face Punch'. I was mad about it, though it tasted like some sort of home remedy cough syrup." She shook her head at the memory. "You'd think a medical student would know better." Face Punch was probably responsible for more anxiety attacks than the harshest of their lecturers, her mother included.

As she listened to his rundown of his first day, the corners of her mouth twitched with amusement. She arched a brow and added wryly, "Not forgetting going to yellow alert for an escaped ferret." If you couldn't laugh, you'd cry, right? It had been a troubling day, even if Hawke thought it not entirely unexpected, she'd found it lengthy. Keeping things light and not shutting humour out of the evaluation process was what Felicity thought they needed for this session.

That said, she did have to ask some official questions. "You mentioned working with the unknown, and you're right, it is a big part of what we do and it can be unusual." She had, of course, scoured his personnel file and due to her profession had a level of access that most commissioned officers would never see. But Felicity knew that the devil was in the details, and the database didn't always have the kinds of details she wanted. And in truth, there was no better warming up substitute than discussing something safe and factual, like service history. "There's a gap in your service record, as I'm sure you're aware. Presume much of your history is unknown to me. What I'd really like to hear about though, is the period that encompasses your last command, and the time that lapsed between that and your appointment to Columbus."

[James A. Hawke]

[Briefing Room]

James smiled as he listened to Dr. Ellis tale of her academy days.

[Felicity Ellis - USS Gibson - Briefing Room]
"What kind? I lived on the stuff back in my Academy days. There was this energy drink, highly caffeinated, of course, called 'Face Punch'. I was mad about it, though it tasted like some sort of home remedy cough syrup."
"You'd think a medical student would know better."

James smiled as she gave her story and gave a small laugh as he remembers his old academy days story.  Although he was a little wilder, he still had the same personality.   He remember his old prank that he did to his old academy friends.  They were found memories back on Earth, when he insisted on taking an Engineering and Command Track.

James kindly responded "It was an old earth soda, Coca-Cola.  Used to drink 3 or 4 cans a day, and when I had to do all-nighters to prepare for Engineering Test or Command Simulators, pff forget it, I just drank that stuff to keep me awake.  So I know first hand of eating and drinking very unhealthy on the academy, Dr. Ellis.  Now, Dr. Pepper always tasted to me like cough syrup"

James heard her continue and state her comments about his first day.

As she listened to the rundown of his first day, the corners of her mouth twitched with amusement. She arched a brow and added wryly, "Not forgetting going to yellow alert for an escaped ferret."

James could not help but give a laugh.  He remembered the incident all well.  It was very embarrassing to send the entire ship into a yellow alert.  His face turned slightly red and looked at Dr. Ellis and smiled.  "Yes, I did call a Yellow Alert and boy was that the cheery on the top.  I'm pretty sure that Tjuv feels like he owns the ship right now.  I might have overreacted a little bit, but you live and learn."

James waited as and kept silent and he heard her next question.

"There's a gap in your service record, as I'm sure you're aware. Presume much of your history is unknown to me. What I'd really like to hear about though, is the period that encompasses your last command, and the time that lapsed between that and your appointment to Columbus."

Ohh Crap James thought.

James kept his smiled as he thought how to answer the question.  The beginning portion was easy, but then it became complicated.  James was nervous it he would same something that would conflict his record at a certain portion.

James smiled and responded "Well, umm graduated Starfleet Academy, assigned to Shadow Fleet in Engineering, assigned to several vessels in the fleet, including a Sovereign Class and Inteprid rose my way around the ranks, to Chief Engineer"

Then he stood quiet for a moment.  As he thought how to address the topic of the war.

"I served in the last short conflict or war, and that's where my record becomes a little spotty.  Shortly after the war, I needed some time alone so I temporary left the fleet I rejoined shortly and continued as Chief Engineer, then became the XO and CO of the Shran, after the incident back on Earth I retired for some peace and quiet back to Risa.  I was recently recalled back into activity duty and requested to be here in the Columbus