Because Starfleet cares 1: Sweet introductions

Posted on 30 Jan 2014 @ 3:30am by Federation Ambassador Ayren Kelan & Lieutenant Elas Vonti
Edited on on 30 Jan 2014 @ 10:59pm

1,843 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: M11: Feet to the fire
Location: Chief Counselor's Office
Timeline: Early mission: Earth orbit

Before:
Once in the turbolift he tapped his badge, "Elas Vonti to Ayren Kelan, I would like to request a meeting with you at your next convenience." It was about time for him to meet his department; though it had yet to be assembled Ayren was a good fit. She had given up a career for love, and was well respected amongst the crew, all he needed was a Medic to cross train with and the three of them would get the people on this whistling while they worked.

Now:
When she left Dan'al's ready room, Ayren didn't go straight to the counsellor. She went to her and Dan'al's quarters first. A few people who knew her congratulated her on the way, which she gracefully accepted though she was determined to spend time alone first. As a counsellor she took her own spiritual, mental and emotional very seriously. She might have delayed dealing with her strong emotions, but the memories and feelings were still very fresh and she knew that even if she did feel quite elated now, she needed to face the root cause of her reactions.

When the door closed behind her and she was in the privacy of their quarters, Ayren slid slowly to the floor, allowing the feelings of betrayal from Starfleet, the humiliation she suffered twice wash over her. For a while she just sat there, tears running down her cheeks, washing and cleansing her soul. Once she had allowed that process, she lifted her chin. It was time to address what she had felt about Starfleet and how she had been treated. She frowned slightly, wondering if her feelings had been to Starfleet as a whole, or actually a few people or maybe one person... It was as if light bulb went on: "Admiral Suran" she pronounced his name.

Admiral Suran was the Chief of Starfleet Diplomatic Corps and was the one who recruited her and offered her the CDO at the very busy DS 5. When she was replaced as CDO on the Achilles, she felt betrayed by him, knowing that he gave that order, without explanation. She had completed very sensitive missions for him, had a good relationship with him and he had trained her and mentored her personally. Then that happened. That was the root of how she felt. Suran had no obligation towards her and Dan'al was right: no single person in Starfleet was important. Suran was completely unaware of how she felt, and would not give it a second thought. He most probably had a perfectly good and reasonable reason for what he did. That she knew and understood, but that didn't make her feel any better.

She breathed in deeply. "Ok.... Admiral Suran, you have no obligation to me, I know, and you are Vulcan, so how I feel is of no consequence to you, but I will not allow you to control how I feel. I feel betrayed by you and I feel humiliated...so, I forgive you... I let it go...". There, she said it out loud, no one heard it, only she did. And it was enough. He never needed to know, it had nothing to do with him, it had to do with her. She did not forgive him for his sake, but for her own sake.

It was as if a weight dropped of her shoulders. It would take a little while to heal, but she felt lighter and more at peace. Now she was ready to shower, fix her hair and face and actually enjoy putting on the uniform with the additional pip.....

It was about an hour later that Ayren left Dan'al and her quarters and made her way to the new chief counsellor. A few of the other crew who knew her congratulated her on the way and other smiled at seeing her in uniform for the first time. "Purple looks good on you Commander," said Yarvin, her previous Aide, when she passed her old office.

"I will see you just now..." she said with a little wave.

Once at Elas' office she stepped into the reception area where Laria was sitting. "I am so sorry to hear...." she started but then saw the changes. "Well, you have your old job back," she said happily and stood up to give Ayren a hug, "Commander," she ended with a grin.

"Yes, I am quite pleased... things did turn out for the better... but we wil talk later, I am here to see your new boss..." she said smiling. "Are you going to stay?"

Laria shrugged, "I am not sure, depends on my boss," she answered. "He is waiting for you, you can go through..."

Ayren nodded and crossed the carpeted floor to press the announciator at the Chief Counselor's door, pulling her new Purple jacket straight.

Elas had enjoyed himself immensely so far, setting up an office and meeting his staff had been a deeply satisfying experience as he had well imagined. His first Chief Counselor posting aboard a deep Space Explorer, not a transport or lightship but a dyed in the wool hard plated explorer. He hadn't realized the implications of his assignment and the effect of displacing the current counselor aboard, but the department on Achilles was understaffed and resourced, a fact he was determined to change. He felt the various emotions from Yarvin who was in process of transferring data into a new computer matrix that was installed, nobody outright resented him but they all felt he wasn't welcome. He had upset the balance and camaraderie, but he knew what he had in mind would change everything.


Elas could feel the counselor approaching, her betazoid empathy preceding her. She had a remarkable calm to her presence, and he knew she was upset, but had apparently come to internal resolution on it as he felt no anxiety from her. He did his best to reign in his senses but Betazoid provoked Ullian telepathy slightly and it made her exciting to him. Then firmly reminding himself this was a mad Klingons bondmate he regained his objectivity in a flash. He made his way to his office, a lavish lounge for relaxation and isolation. Passing Yaria on his way he stopped and told her that Areyn would be in momentarily and to have her come right inside. As he sat down he remembered the emotional bribe he had gotten on Earth for his colleague.


He carefully arranged Terran truffles, Andevian stuffed chocolates, and Vulcan Haspera honied wafers in a small display resting on a small table between his two office chairs. He heard the lobby doors swish open and calmed himself, reigning in his senses for a face to face with a Betazoid, Elas put on a winning smile. When the doors parted and he saw her he felt the excitement rise, but it was the same old song as before, just Betazoid telepathy invigorating his mental processes. Holding onto his senses with a an iron grasp he stood and bowed slightly.


"Counselor, a pleasure to finally meet you." He gestured towards a very comfortable dark blue and velvet Red lined Chair as he walked around the desk and took an identical seat at an angle to the proferred one. He wanted her to see he wasn't trying to "be superior" or impose authority, he just wanted to talk with a colleague. "I have so many ideas I'd like to share and get your input on, as well as hear your ideas and wisdom. Please take a seat and enjoy a snack, I have heard Betazoids enjoy sweet treats and I admit, " he picked up a honeyed wafer, very small no larger than a commbadge really but it was layers of dried honey pressed into a thin wafer and cooked under low heat to caramelize. When they hardened they became crunchy sweet flakes that melted on the tongue and were by far his favorite snack... "I do too."


It was strange for Ayren to be in the presence of an Ullian It was her first time and her senses didn't quite know what to do with the information she received. She had not build a framework of reference yet, so she couldn't be sure exactly what she felt. Her instincts told her that the man seemed to be restraining himself from feeling something, which was a normal reaction for most people meeting someone new. He also seemed to reign in his own telepathic and empathetic abilities. There was no underlying hostility that she could detect, but again, she had nothing to compare what she sensed to. She made a mental note that he ended his part of the conversation with a statement of common ground.


Smiling, Ayren reciprocated and took one of the wavers, they did look delicious. She placed in in her mouth, extracting all the sensation and flavour she could from it. If she did this, she would have less inclination to eat more than she should. "These are really good," she confirmed and then leaned slightly back, indicating that she was ready to get down to business. "I would like to congratulate you on your appointment here, and of course, I welcome information sharing," Ayren said. "I am sure that you have noticed, I have just been moved back to my previous position as CDO, which I held before I became the chief counsellor," she said. She didn't mention her promotion, as that was quite clear anyway, even if it was the really only reason she didn't turn the reassignment when Dan'al informed her, right when Dan'al informed her.


"Let me address the most obvious issue before we continue" she said. For the most part, Ayren knew how to be subtle and indirect, which was required often in her line of work, but she could also be straight and direct. "I was very angry and when I heard you were appointed. Even though I had been holding the position of Chief Counsellor for a while, I wasn't offered a transfer, explanation or anything. Next moment, you were here. I was not amused, as this exactly what happened when I was simply moved from being CDO to counsellor. Part of my anger was directed at you, and I am working through the process. I can't say that I am completely there yet, but I don't hold hostility towards you," she said with brutal honesty.


Elas felt the civil fury of a truly enlightened person. Areyn was a special one, her nature beyond pure and he felt the same excitement from earlier. He also felt other similarities to Danal, such as the compromised feeling towards Starfleet. She was worried about him too, and also worried about her oath… Elas restrained himself again, it was all too easy to follow the path his senses laid out for him but privacy was valued in all species. Focusing on the matter at hand he listened as she explained in a plain logical manner the facts he had also come to learn over the last few days.

TBC

 

RSS Feed