Executive officers office.

[wsavo]

She followed him out holding his hand. "I was young and had much affection for my Sehlat. Besides your name for your pet shall we say was unique?"

[Lt Colonel Andrew Shackleford]

Never said I wasn't creative. He smiled And by the name you can also see I was born a Marine.

(Continued in General Wesleynes Office)

[LtCol Kiele Christienne]

To: LtCol Andrew Shackleford, XO U.S.S. Pegasus

From: Major Kiele Christienne. XO U.S.S. Aryes

Andy,

Mea culpa. I ought to have stayed in contact with you since the beginning, but I've been working so hard at my new job that correspondence and personal contacts are always put to the side until "later".

Forgive the lapse please and if you have the time, I would very much like to talk with you. Rather than smoothing out, it seems the longer I'm here, the more difficult things become.

Best Regards,

Kiele

{Repost from Aryes}

[Lt Colonel Andrew Shackleford]

Andy looked at the message and a small grin came to his face. He had heard about Kiele's promotion so knew the hectic schedule.

Kiele,

You are never a stranger, and need not apologize for having a career. We have been just as busy and keeping ourselves in more trouble than we have gotten out of. I heard about the promotion and position change. I give you both my congratulations and condolences. I told Charlie and he is jealous though he won't admit it. Anyway if you have something on your mind then I've got the time and could use the distraction.

Andy.

[LtCol Kiele Christienne]

{Repost from Aryes}

Andy,

Thank you, my friend.
When Captain Shran offered me the position of XO, I never really gave it any thought. It was presented in a logical manner and seemed logical to accept but I really don't know why I chose to. Neither then nor now have I made a conscious decision to seek command. Command is the arena of the Captain. The XO's job is to see that those commands are carried out. It sounds simple enough, doesn't it?

Somewhere, something changed. I'm not sure if it was I that changed when I took the position or having taken the position it's begun to change me. My relationships with the crew have become strained and in circumstances where I used to be certain of my actions, I now find myself questioning them.

You remember that old adage about whom counsels the counselor? Your experience on Pegasus has been similar. I had hoped you might be able to shed some light on my predicament.

Kiele

[LtCol Kiele Christienne]

{Repost from Aryes}

{Kiele,

I would have to disagree with one thing you wrote. As an Executive Officer you must always have command in mind. You are as the saying goes 'one heartbeat' from Command. As far as changing you, Absolutely it will change you. Captains tend to look at the larger scope of things which leaves everything else up to you, and thats a lot.

The relationship changed because the dynamic changed. You can balance it, but its always going to be there. As a Counselor your job was to ask :"How can I help this crew member'. As an Operation Officer you asked: What can be done to make the ship work better. As an Executive Officer you have to ask more questions than I can list. In other words, your job got more complicated. You are not responsible for one thing but many. If you have to repremand or punish someone you have to remember part of your job is to make them better officers. I balance it by saying that a true friend is one that is willing to tell you the things you don't want to hear. I don't know if that was what you were looking for, but if you have any other questions or problems I'm here.

Your friend,
Andy }

*************************************************

Andy,

I'm not sure myself, what I'm looking for. It could be that these are simply the growing pains I should expect to experience. I suppose I'll have to adopt a wait and see approach. If my performance is truly substandard, I expect too, that the Captain would bring it to my attention.

As for discipline, I'm learning that there are degrees involved and determining what should be applied where and in what amount, will take practice. As you said, the crew is now not just my friends, but my responsibility.

I appreciate the advice and your continued friendship.

Kiele

[Lt Colonel Andrew Shackleford]

Kiele,

Just because you are moving up in the fleet doesn't mean you still don't owe me. You left before we could spar. Besides, I owe you a drink. You know I never miss a chance at a congratulatory toast. I figured tomato juice. What do you think?

Andy

[LtCol Kiele Christienne]

{Repost from Aryes}

Andy,

Tomato juice?! What "have" they done to you over there? At your convenience, tea and sparring will do just fine.
En garde!

Kiele

[LtCol Kiele Christienne]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S......

Did I mention that was tea in one hand, epee in the other?
First one who spills (tea not blood), loses!

Kiele

(Repost from Aryes)

[Lt Colonel Andrew Shackleford]

Kiele,

There you go trying to stack the deck again. I would prefer a two handed weapon such as a katana or bo staff. If we are usng single hand weapons I'd have to resort to my field knife and maybe a canteen.

Andy