Meet and Greet

Posted on 12 Feb 2026 @ 3:11pm by Lieutenant JG Ryan Collingway & Lieutenant Nicholas Miller

1,006 words; about a 5 minute read

///Mess Hall///

Late unto his shift, Ryan helped himself to a generous helping of coffee. He was tired. He was sure all of the engineers were. Most of them were tearing the ship apart right now, a ship they used to trust. His job was making sure everything else stayed intact. So far it seemed to be working.

As he looked at his data pads, the door opened. Someone he had never seen before entered. Ryan gave a quick glance out of the sake of curiosity, before going back to his data padd.

With a heavy schedule for the next day Nick was reminded of Capt Corbin's friendly warning that he would indeed be found sooner rather than later. He chuckled at how painfully accurate she had been, tomorrow was scheduled from shift beginning to end. Feeling eyes on him he glanced to his left and nodded at the other Lieutenant, things were quiet so "Evening Lieutenant" was all he said. The other officer looked like they'd had a long day as well and he didn't want to interrupt too much. Luckily someone had already prepared what smelled like a strong coffee blend and he zeroed in on it, filling the travel mug he'd carried from his office. He preferred to use his own mug, it helped him keep an eye on it within the Medical offices.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who could use a bit of extra fuel." he commented over his shoulder as he poured before turning towards the other officer. "Engineering, right?"

Ryan looked up from his padd and gave the man another look. "Yeah," he said, and noted the blue uniform. "And you're...medical, working under Doctor Amberlyn, right? A doctor, or a nurse?" he guessed.

"You could say that...." Nick said as he found a seat, there were plenty of options so he chose one close enough for conversation but not too far where he'd have to be loud for the sake of understanding. " I have just joined the Arawyn as a Counselor. You could say I am "Medical" although I deal with the mental side of things as opposed to the physical. To be fair, both are involved with growth and healing. Much the same as repairing and maintaining our Ship I would imagine."

"Oh," Ryan said simply after he said the word 'Counselor'. His mental guard went up a notch. It wasn't personal. It just that he had no real desire to be mentally poked or prodded so late at night. "Another Counselor." He shook his head, realizing that the man was observing him. "What made you decide on the Arawyn?" he asked quickly.

After the day he'd had Nick almost laughed at the phrase 'another Counselor' and settled down with a smirk. "Well Fleet decided the Arawyn might benefit from my presence. I'd best prove them right or it's my ass." The espresso was well done and the first few sips gave him enough energy to continue. "I'm off duty by the way so don't think for a second that I'm playing some kind mental game. I'm just as worn out as you are probably."

"Sorry, it's nothing personal. I'm in mandated counselling," Ryan explained. "Under Doctor Emerson's care. She might tell you I'm a pain in the ass patient. In private, of course. And she would probably be right. I sometimes don't make things easy for her. Though we are working through things." He frowned a little. "Sounds like you didn't have much of a say, either."

"Not all the time, but what a terrible universe that would be." He smirked and started laying out a few PADDs, things to occupy his random nature when not focused in on duty-related things. "Me in charge of everything? Everyone would just stay in bed and avoiding getting a damn thing done. That's no way to operate a starship."

One of the PADDs contained the next day's appointments, just something to skim through and cement his patients' names in his mind. Faces would be added later during each session, in order to get to know the crew he'd also have to let them in and being on familiar terms name-wise was a good place to start. The other was a random list of ideas he'd had for his office, a fresh and clean space to make his own. That combined getting to task in a visibly organic way would, Miller hoped, get him started on solid footing. "Well I will say if you ever desire any non-mandated counseling I'm somewhere on this ship and in need of a good lager after work. I can't imagine some of the crap you have to deal with keeping something this big and complex running to everyone's satisfaction."

For the sake of everyone's sanity, Ryan did not mention that the ship was being ripped apart right now. Besides, he would probably hear about it from his patients. "I think I have my fill of counseling," he said, and hesitated. "But if I need a friend who has a sympathetic ear, I'll keep that in mind. The name's Ryan. Lieutenant Collomgway."

"Lieutenant Miller." Nick said, tipping his mug towards Ryan. "Of course there's a difference between office hours and just having a few moments to one's self." The caffeine in his coffee was sorely needed, there were so many variables coming to his new assignment that his detail oriented nature couldn't relax enough for rest. There was something he -should- be doing in order to improve things, his mind kept repeating, but knowing where to start was difficult. "Going to be a challenge convincing anyone that the teal uniform is an asset."

"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it," Ryan said. "It was nice to meet you, Lieutenant. I've got an early shift so I'm going to take care of a few things and then turn in."

They said their goodbyes, and Ryan left the mess hall.

Lieutenant (JG) Ryan Collingway
Engineering Officer
USA Arawyn

Lieutenant Nicolas Miller
Counsellor
USS Arawyn

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