Out to Make a Good First Impression
Post of the Month - April 2006
by Jessica Santiago
ON:
Lieutenant Junior Grade Jessica Santiago stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the nearby handrail. She wrapped the towel around her wet body and started to dry herself off, as she looked up at her reflection in the fog filled mirror. Jessica had been on the Pacifica for close to an hour now and in that time she had managed to get all of her unpacking done. She had brought quite a few things with her from the Stardrifter and it felt good to have the hassle that often came with unpacking now behind her.
It had allowed Jessica to concentrate on her upcoming meeting with her new boss, the Pacifica's Chief Diplomatic Officer Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Horne as she was keen to make a good first impression. Jessica had read up quite a bit on her new boss over the past couple of days and she was very much looking forward to meeting him. He wasn't the usual officer that Jessica typically identified with being a Diplomatic Officer as most of the Diplomatic Officers that Jess knew specialised solely in the field of diplomacy. Lt. Cmdr Horne's specialities however were in the field of Engineering and Science, which to Jess made his posting as Chief Diplomatic Officer seem rather odd. She knew that he was a talented officer though, and she knew that working under him would help develop her own skills as a diplomat, which was why she was out to make a good first impression.
She ran her hand over the mirror wiping off the condensation that formed on it during her shower. Reaching across to the shelf on her left she picked up a hairbrush and started running it through her shoulder length brown hair. Jess stood in front of her mirror for close to 10 minutes removing the last knots form her hair. She sat the hairbrush back on the shelf and picked up her hairdryer and dried the last amounts of moisture from her hair. Walking over towards the closet in her sleeping quarters, Jess removed her duty uniform and hung it on the open door. She then bent down and opened the lower drawer and removed her underwear and threw it onto the undisturbed bed. Removing the towel from around her, Jess dried herself off and threw the towel back into her bathroom. Picking up her underwear she put it on and then slid into her duty uniform, retrieving her commbadge from her dressing table and clipped it on as she made her way towards the door.
Walking back across the room to her full-length mirror, she reached back and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She did not normally wear her hair up but as she was keen to impress today she thought that up was better. Securing the ponytail with a hair band she walked over to the door and exited her quarters into the Pacifica's corridors. She took a moment to gaze around her surroundings and familiarise herself with the area around her quarters. Jess began to make her way towards a nearby turbolift, when a terrified small child came running towards her. The child hid behind Jess' leg and she turned and knelt next to him.
Jess: What's up, Little one?
Distant Voice: ;;Panting;; Terry? Where did you go?
Terry: Don't let him get me, nice lady.
Jess was about to reply to the child, when a Starfleet officer in a teal uniform came staggering around the corner. She looked up towards the new face and noticed that he was slightly attractive with his sandy blonde hair. Jess stood and faced him.
Stranger: ;;breathing heavily;; Thanks for stopping him, Lt. He has led me on a merry chase.
Jess: That's ok.
George: ;;picking up the young child;; I�m Dr Panton, but you can call me George. This is Terry, he's a bit frightened of Hyposprays.
Terry: ;;hiding his face in George's shoulder;; I don't wanna have a Hypospray.
Jess: I'm Jessica Santiago, the new Assistant Chief Diplomatic Officer.
George: Thanks again for the help ma'am, I have to get him back to his mother now.
Jess: Nice to meet you Doctor I need to get going now as well.
Jess waved to George as he turned and disappeared back down the corridor with the child in his arms. Arriving outside the closed doors to the turbolift, Jess reached out and gently touched the button on the side of the door, calling the nearest lift to her location. She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and tapped her foot as she waited for the turbolift to arrive. She looked up as the doors whooshed open, revealing a slightly crowded cart. Stepping into the turbolift she turned and stated her destination to the computer. The doors slid shut and the cart began its ascension to the upper decks. The turbolift came to a halt on deck 8, Jess stepped out and made her way towards the diplomatic wing of the Pacifica following the route that she had memorised earlier in the day.
She walked up to the doors of the diplomatic wing, which slid open as she approached to reveal the main reception area. Jess stepped into the large room and was immediately greeted by a female crewman.
Crewman: Lieutenant Santiago?
Jess: ;;nods;; Yes that's me.
Lori: I'm Lori Mullen.
Jess: Oh your Lieutenant Commander Horne's aide?
Lori: That's right ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you.
Jess: Likewise crewman.
Jess paused and glanced across to the doors that she knew led into Lt. Commander Horne's office to find them closed. She glanced back at the young crewman and continued.
Jess: Is the Commander in?
Lori: ;;shakes her head;; He's in a meeting with Commodore Butterworth at the moment.
Jess: Oh I see. When are you expecting him back?
Lori: Not for a while Ma'am. But I would be happy to give you a tour of our facilities here while you wait.
Jess was disappointed that she wasn't going to be able to meet with her department head for at least another hour. At least she had a tour of the ship's diplomatic facilities to fall back on, which would help her pass the time to her meeting with the boss. She had already spent a considerable amount of time researching the deck schematics of the Pacifica, but she had yet to see much of the ship's facilities up close and that was something that she was keen to rectify.
Jess: Sounds good to me.
OFF: Here I am.
Lt. (jg) Jessica Santiago
Assistant Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS PACIFICA NCC-72545
