Work Text:
Captain Pike looked up as the door to his ready room opened to reveal Joann Owosekun. She looked round the room with interest.
“Like the new decor?” he asked, gesturing at the conference table and his own desk, which now had a chair on either side. It was a relief to be able to sit down. He had no idea how Lorca had put up with it the way it had been.
“I’ve never been in here before, sir,” she said. “But it’s nice.”
Pike knew Lorca hadn’t been the most approachable of captains, but for members of the bridge crew never to have entered his ready room seemed ridiculous.
“Take a seat, Lieutenant.” He waited until she was settled before continuing. “Owosekun. Am I saying that right? I wanted to make sure but didn’t want to make a big deal about it on the bridge.”
She smiled. “I appreciate you asking, sir. And you can call me Owo if it’ll be easier.”
He frowned. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t think Captain Lorca even knew my name, let alone wanted to make sure he could pronounce it correctly. It’s fine, sir. And it’ll be quicker to say if things get exciting out there.”
“Well, thank you, Owo. I’ll take you up on that.” He continued. “I also wanted to say what a good job you did on the away mission. You’ve proven yourself under pressure and unfamiliar circumstances, both of which are qualities I value highly in a bridge officer.”
“Thank you, sir. I enjoyed the challenge and would welcome other opportunities to serve on away missions. That’s another thing Captain Lorca would never have let me do.”
“Well, Lieutenant, I think it’s time you all forgot about Lorca. He’s gone, and things are going to be very different with me in command.”
Owosekun grinned at him. “They already are, sir. And we’re all loving it, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
“I’m glad to hear it. And you can get used to it, because I’m not going anywhere. Dismissed.”
Pike smiled to himself after she’d gone. Things were getting off to a good start with this crew. Though the bar had been set very low. He would just have to make sure he kept exceeding their expectations and proving to them that they could trust him to have their backs. They’d had a rough deal with Lorca and they deserved much better. Pike hope he could live up to the challenge.
*****
Post S01E03:
Tilly entered the Discovery bridge and strode across to the door of the Captain’s Ready Room. Memories of the last time she’d been on the bridge flooded her mind and she froze. Even though she knew May was gone, she half expected to see her appear or hear her voice. Tilly couldn’t force her hand to press the button that would let Captain Pike know she was outside. She heard someone clearing their throat behind her and turned to see Michael staring pointedly at her. Tilly stared back, uncertainty drawing her brows together. Michael gave her a reassuring smile and nodded firmly towards the ready room. Tilly squared her shoulders, turned back to the door and pressed the button. It was now or never.
“Come in!”
When the door opened, Captain Pike was sitting behind his desk. He looked up and smiled, which just made Tilly feel even worse. She didn’t deserve his kindness. She walked up to the desk and stood with her hands clasped behind her back. Captain Pike opened his mouth to speak but Tilly overrode him.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me, sir. I wanted to apologise for my behaviour on the bridge before. It was completely unacceptable and I totally understand if you want to dismiss me from the crew altogether and kick me off the ship at the next starbase. The circumstances were admittedly a bit difficult, but I can’t believe I spoke to you like that and it was absolutely right for me to quit the command program as I’m clearly not cut out for it at all-”
“Ensign Tilly!” The words were sharp but not angry. Tilly focused on Captain Pike and saw amusement in his eyes. He gestured at the chair opposite him. “Sit down. Please.”
Tilly stared at him for a long moment, then hurriedly did as she was told. “Um, yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
She sat on the edge of the seat, ramrod straight, wondering what was going to happen next. Pike steepled his fingers and regarded her over the top of them.
“I didn’t call you here for an apology, Ensign. Or for you to self-immolate from embarrassment.” Pike smiled, laughter lines forming at the edges of his eyes. “I should tell you that both Saru and Burnham have been in here, advocating on your behalf and telling me I should reinstate you to the command program.”
“Oh, that’s really nice of them. But you shouldn’t do that just because they asked you to. After what I did…”
“I’m not going to reinstate you on their say-so,” Pike told her.
Tilly’s gaze dropped to her hands in her lap. “Oh, I see. Of course not. I understand…”
“Tilly.” His tone was soft and she raised her head to meet his gaze again. “I’m going to reinstate you because your behaviour on the bridge was not of your making. The endorsements from Saru and Burnham just tell me what I already knew. That you’re an excellent candidate for command and that you have a lot to contribute to this crew.”
Tilly stared at him, wide-eyed, and felt her mouth drop open. “Oh!”
“Assuming you want to continue with the command program, of course…”
“Oh, yes! Yes, sir! Thank you, sir! I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t.” Pike made a shoo-ing motion. “Now get back to work, Ensign.”
Tilly bounced up out of the chair and headed back out onto the bridge, beaming. She received an answering smile from Michael as she took up position at the next station. The bridge held no fear for her now.
THE END