Meeting with the XO

Posted on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @ 4:03am by Lieutenant Commander Halli Bann Dr (PhD) & Lieutenant Commander Monoc Drurio

1,127 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: A New Frontier
Location: XO's office
Timeline: Pre-Launch

Standing outside of Commander Halli Bann's office, Lieutenant Commander Monoc Drurio wondered how their meeting would go. Most people were fascinated by the fact that he was a Mizarian, first off, because they rarely were in Starfleet. Then, they'd be fascinated by knowing that he was here because that was what the Magistrate on his world ordered as a punishment for vandalizing the Monument of Surrender on his world. After that, invariably, they were always amazed to learn that he'd been the XO of a starship, on the verge of his own command, before throwing it all away because he'd attempted to attack the flagship of the Romulan Free State.

If he were in Commander Bann's shoes, he knew exactly how the conversation would go, and it would probably have led to Monoc quickly being drummed off the ship and sent back to the stockade. Well, that was if he was in command. The Captain didn't seem too bothered by everything, but many times the XO was the attack dog for the Captain. It was possible that the XO was going to be the one to kick him off the Vanguard.

Pressing the door chime, he supposed he'd learn soon.

Halli was at the desk, like she'd been all day. When she was a junior officer, being the XO seemed so glamorous. Now that she was older, and had been a department Chief for a bit before this gig, and she knew better. Still, she HADN'T counted on this many hours in a stuffy office. The Trill was grateful for the chime. It meant an interruption from the pre-Launch drudgery and that was a welcome break.

"Come in," she said, and spun around in her chair. She smiled when she saw the newcomer.

"Commander Durio," she said. "Welcome! Have a seat," she said. She was still new and maybe a little too casual but she figured there was time for the serious stuff later. "Nice to meet you," she said. Having been a Science officer herself, Halli was especially interested in the science department here. "So. I've read your file. I find it...intriguing. But we can discuss that later. Mostly, this is just a meet and greet while the Captain meets with the Admiral," she said. "I am Commander Halli Bann, Trill, formerly of the USS Discovery, where I was the Chief Science Officer. My specialty is Chemistry," she said. "How are you finding things so far?" She asked.

Taking the offered seat, the Mizarian processed all the things that she had said in the short span of time that he'd been with her. He remembered being like that once upon a time ago when he'd first become an XO. So much to do, so little time, so you talked fast because it was all that you had time to do, aside from being afraid you'd push the wrong button and blow up the ship while the Captain was away from the Bridge.

"Thank you," Monoc began before continuing on with the list, "and thank you for the chair. It's nice to meet you too, having read my file you know where I'm from so I won't bore you with it, Before I was Chief Science Officer I had an undeclared specialty, but had originally planned to be an Operations Officer before getting moved over to Sciences. Things are good so far, how are things for you?"

Halli nodded once. "Excellent," she said. "I am adjusting; it's a bit of a jump from Department chief to second in command, but I think we'll figure it out," she said. "All of us, together," she said. "What do you hope to gain from your time here?" She asked, getting down to business. Halli was a no-nonsense woman, though she did always try to use tact and warmth in her approaches.

"Commander, frankly, the Vanguard was my get out of jail free card," the Mizarian didn't hide the truth in his answer. "Having read my file you know my less than illustrious past and the fact that I was on the fast track for being assigned command of the very ship I was accused of using to attack the Romulan flagship during a peaceful transition mission. Starfleet really doesn't like to see such failings, so I spent a bit more time in the stockade than most people would've. If this hadn't been a 'critical mission' I'd probably still be there."

Halli nodded. "I understand," she said. "We've all...made mistakes," she said, softly. Her own was the one time she was a junior officer. They were beamed over for a search and rescue mission; they were ambushed and she had fired. Accidentally hit a crew mate. Starfleet had called it "bravado". She maintained it was friendly fire and had no intention to kill her own people. She'd managed to overcome that setback, but it had taken a while and she'd had to claw her way back-and rely on her ex-husbands connections and name to "fix it."

"Anyway. I don't foresee it being a problem, right?" She asked. Just in case.

"It isn't for me," he answered directly, getting right to the point. Despite that, he wondered if it would be a problem for some.

She nodded. "Good. Not for me, either," she said. "Listen. We've all had our..." she almost said "fuck ups" but reminded herself that she was the XO now so instead... "mistakes. As long as you've learned, and you're doing the work to make it right, then we're going to be fine." She looked straight at the man across from her. "If anyone has any issues with that, let me know and I can discuss it with them."

"I'll be sure to do that, Commander." He wanted to get things moving, shifting slightly in the chair, "Is there anything that I can work on to get ahead of the game for us on this mission? I'm afraid I don't know much about the mission ahead."

"Well. I can't say much, but you need to prep an away team. Expect a lot of blowback," she said.

"Anything in particular I should know about?" The Mizarian questioned, wondering what he should prepare for. He had some experience prepping away teams, but there were a variety of variables to consider.

Halli smiled lightly. "Just the usual Starfleet nonsense so far," she said. "Nothing of note, but we're waiting on further orders. We disembark tomorrow," she said.

"I, personally, look forward to it. If you don't mind though I'd like to head to my quarters and get some rest before then. Permission to be dismissed, Commander?" Monoc asked politely.

Halli nodded once. "Of course," she said. "See you on the Bridge. 0900 sharp," she said, and then smiled as he left.

 

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