A Friendly Visit

Posted on 27 Oct 2014 @ 1:31am by Lieutenant Elas Vonti & Lieutenant JG Giada Lindert & Civilian Capim Jothy
Edited on on 05 Nov 2014 @ 3:47am

2,571 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: M12: For Duty or Honor
Location: Chief Counselors office/ Poisoned Arrow
Timeline: Back Post - Prior to 'For Duty' Posts

-ON-

Elas was recovering from his recent telepathic short circuit by reviewing the new personnel trying to familiarize himself with everyone. The easy reading was calming, allowing himself to be immersed in other peoples lives and histories gave him distance from his own troubles. His reputation was still in the gutter, some saw his actions as wanton rape whether he had intended them or not. His dreams had turned into actual fantasies to two of the telepathic women he had taken notice of so far. The Doctor had firmly stated otherwise but two women had in fact been assaulted by him. The measures to suppress his telepathy had so far proven to work and after three days leave he wanted to come back to duty, it was time.

He saw a pattern of stress and behavior in one of the new transfers. When he ran his program originally designed to "flag" officers was still useful as a diagnostic aid. Giada Lindert met many indicators to show for Critical Incident Stress, Paranoia, Depression... Elas felt she would benefit from a friendly talk. He hesitated for a moment, a single thought dominated all others... if he was alone with a woman, even if she was Tactical...it would not look good. The Poisoned Arrow would suffice, he could ask for a pleasant and noisy tableau for privacy and comfort.

=/\= "Counselor Vonti to Giada Lindert"

=/\= This is Lindert, go ahead sir. =/\=

She had a good idea why he was calling. The counselor from Temporal Affairs had cleared her for re-entry into Starfleet, but a lot had happened in the 3 years since.

=/\= Greetings, I know we haven't met yet but as a new crewmember I was hoping you would be able to meet me sometime this evening at the Poisoned Arrow? Nothing formal, but I would like to see you for just a moment if you aren't busy?"

=/\=I get off work at 17:00. We can meet at 17:30 barring any last minute events that require my attention.=/\=

This would give her an opportunity to check out the ship's lounge and hopefully convince Starfleet she was capable of performing her duties.

=/\= Wonderful I will be there. Vonti out.

Elas felt apprehensive about getting back into the saddle so soon after his empathic encounter. He had only recently discovered that Imzadi betazoid telepathy was a stimulant for Ullian brain activity in dormant regions of the prefrontal cortex. The suppressors kept the whole area dark but fortunately Elas had standard training and advanced techniques as well. He hoped he could help her, and in doing so allow him to reclaim some of what he had lost.

Capim tossed off a slute to Elas as he walked in. Capim had been vital in the discovery which had partially redeemed Elas, the two had made friends during the encounter. Capim mixed the Tuesday Special, Aldeberan Sunrise and had a waiter take it to his usual spot, an enclave booth with a stellar view of the port side observation windows. He had opted for the Fires of Ga'lga'thon part of his Romulan programming to prepare crew for the oncoming mission. They all sat in a bar impossibly suspended over an active caldera of volcanoes and deadly flows.

Elas took his seat and a sip of his drink, after alerting Capim that he was waiting for a new crew to arrive, Lt Lindert. Somehow Capim nodded as if he had already known her name before he finished speaking. He was busy with other patrons and Arran was cooking a dozen meals so Elas left him to his business. The stars at warp blazed past him giving him a peaceful calm, a deep breath stilled him and he was in a restful trance. Of course the Aldebaran whiskey helped...

After a quick shower, Giada donned a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt emblazoned with the MACO insignia. Pulling her hair into a loose ponytail she topped off the outfit with a ball cap from the Nansen.

Entering the lounge, she took a minute to take in the layout before making her way to the bar in order to place her order. Once the security officer received her plate of Denobulan sausage and mug of chilled Raktajino, she made her way to where she'd been told the Counselor was seated. Unsure of which introduction to use, she settled on the one that seemed most appropriate for the locale.

"Mind if I join you?"

Elas had been lost in thought so he was a little startled with her sudden appearance. He reminded himself that Whiskey on his part was wholly unprofessional for this. He pressed on with aplomb.

"Of course, I was expecting you." He let her settle in and get situated before he spoke again. "I just like to meet the new crew, get a personal relationship developed that sort of thing. You may call me Elas, is it okay if I call you Giada?"

"Sure, lounges are almost always a place where rank is left at the door."

Giada glanced out the window before returning her focus to the conversation at hand.
"You know I never seem to quite get used to the stars at warp speed."

Elas replied in a hushed tone, "For me it unsettles me to realize how fragile and tiny we are to such grand forces. Then I remember that this is just one more point along a timeline for our species. Then I feel proud to be part of it. What does it make you think of?

"I don't know if it reminds me of anything specific. Not being a boomer I don't have much experience with warp travel. As a MACO starships were mainly a form of transportation to and from the battlefield."

the security chief took a bite of her sausage while waiting for a response.

Elas took her in with a moments glance and tried to get a read for her, but his senses were dulled by the medicines so he had to rely on visual clues. She was giving him none, and he felt that he was wasting both of their times. He rallied behind his training however, going to age old method of questioning for information.

"Ahhh, yes I see from your record that you have seen extensive battles, and some... temporal displacement... I just want to make sure you know that you can talk to me about anything that is bothering you. I am not singling you out, I have reached out to more than half of the crew in a similar manner, it is simply my job to care. You also should know that there is direct scientific data to show how even a simple listening can improve ones mental being. I will listen if you will talk... Why do you feel Starfleet assigned you to the relief effort?"

She should have known expect the question, but it still caught her by surprise. Likely because she had been asking herself the same question almost every day since receiving the assignment. She had an answer for Starfleet's involvement, but not her own role. Despite it being an obvious delaying tactic, she parroted the question before formulating an answer.

"Why did Starfleet assign me to the relief effort? Why do they make any number of personnel assignments? Manpower requirements I suppose."

She absentmindly toyed with her West Point ring while talking.

"Perhaps my name was part of a larger pool of recent graduates salted for the relief effort. "

She paused for a drink of coffee.
"I spent half my career wanting to step foot on Romulan soil and cause all sorts of mayhem. From my perspective I arrive four years later to find they did it to themselves. I guess we..."

Giada stopped mid sentence. Considering her position and the current political climate it seemed smart to stop badmouthing the Romulans.

Elas understood she was from a different time, he saw he catch herself for fear of offending or injuring herself and others.

"Giada, you may speak free, nobody is listening and there are no recordings I assure you. It is no secret the Romulans often put progress ahead of common interest, in your days much more so, but the end result lay before us... What do you feel you might bring to this situation, or maybe this is to help acclimatize you?"

She shook her head.
"I don't think it will help the situation. I may be the Security Chief, but any intel I have on the Romulans is antiquated. We beat them once and they virtually ignored us for the next 200 years. Perhaps if they had been a bit less xenophobic, they wouldn't require our protection.

Elas heard the tones and inflections of guilt in her, he wanted to pursue that as it had happened at the same time as she was wondering about her contribution to the mission.

"Antiquated, hardly. For many the Romulans are space terrors that are legends of the space-ways and so on. For you they are living memory, it gives us a decided advantage to have that experience on hand. Though it clearly cost you a great bit. Have you been able to contact family or descendants of loved ones?"

"I have. Once Starfleet was done with their debriefings I had some time before starting at Starfleet Academy. It was nice to find out what happened to family members, but other than that it was a bit awkward considering the generational gap. I stay in contact with a few of them, but I think those of us from the Nansen are closer."

While she doubted the counselor would pull her from duty, she still hoped she was portraying a positive attitude.

Elas reassured her by gently smiling and taking a moment to drink a bit. The spectacular ambiance of the lounge never failed to impress, silence was just as effective as speech in relaying a point. Elas was digging to see if there were any stresses she was undergoing. He saw her anxiety over her temporally misplaced bias, knew she was concerned about conveying a healthy persona for fear of stigma.

"I see, so you have more kinship to your crewmates really, from the Nansen I mean. It's not likely they posted you together, have you been able to keep up? It helps to have someone to talk to who understands I'm sure."

The thought of a ship crewed primarily of those from the Nansen made the security chief chuckle.
"No, they didn't place us all together. We'd probably cause too much trouble for the Brass if that were the case. There's Petty Officer Ribeiro in engineering, but until I arrived here we never really communicated. Nothing against his department, but us security types didn't hang out too much with the grease monkeys. A group of us do keep in touch on a regular basis, this subspace network that's in place sure makes it easier."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. They must feel the strain of it occasionally just as you do. If you don't mind indulging a curiosity... Which timeline do you prefer?"

He asked with the intent of probing her feelings on where she landed. Other Temporal displacement cases had demonstrated a tendency for disillusionment with how timelines had progressed, or lapsed into a boredom at how similar it all was. Sometimes it could be the opposite and a person felt numb to their surroundings due to the shock of displacement.

"Which timeline? I spent almost 30 years in the old one, so I'm more at home there. Or I was, I guess is the appropriate term. Four years later, and I'm still getting used to living in the future, er present. Surprisingly I think this era is more tumultuous than the one I left. After we defeated the Romulans, I think many other powers saw the Coalition turned Federation as a force to be reckoned with. Sure there were the various border skirmishes that come with expansion, but no full blown wars. Really the only ones we had to worry about were the Klingons and Nausicans with the occasional Orion. We kept a wary eye on the Romulans, but they decided to take their expansion elsewhere. Now, the Romulans have self-destructed, but the Klingons are still a potential threat. Plus we have to worry about the Borg, Dominion, possibly the Cardassians and who knows what else. On the flip side, the Federation is larger and we have more allies to deal with these threats."

Elas heard a peculiar change in tone as she mentioned Klingons, Old animosities for her it seemed had not yet died hard.

"Well Giada, I will just come right out and ask you directly, "Do you feel you are ready for this post, all the attendant problems we are aware of not withstanding? Can we depend on you in the heat of battle, as well as the minutiae of duty in this day and age?

"I feel my record speaks for itself sir. I proved myself in combat against the Romulans several times over. When it comes down to it, combat is combat. The trick is to be flexible enough to adapt to different combatants. I understand times have changed, but as stated in my original oath of enlistment; I will obey the orders of the officers appointed over me."

Giada just hoped she didn't have to be put in a situation where her dependability would be questioned.

Capim had come over himself to top off their drinks, the lounge had gotten busy over the last ten minutes, The stars at warp were just gorgeous so he let himself eavesdrop on their conversation while getting an eyeful of the stars in motion.

Elas clapped his hands together in delight, "Thank you Giada, you forthright answer is appreciated. I want you to know that I am here for you if you need anything. Please consider me a new friend if you wish for one."

Elas waved to Capim. "Hello, another for me, Giada anything you would like? I understand if you have other matters to attend to, I have taken enough of your... time." He cringed at the last bit, but finished anyway someone who had lost everything to a mishap was not going to appreciate puns. She was here rebuilding a life and that alone was impressive, adding temporal displacement had to have made it so much more of an ordeal.

"I'm good, thanks Doc. See you around the ship."

Elas felt the shiver of a telepathic outreach from him to Giada and restrained it. He was in control, and Giada would not appreciate the violation. However Elas was stuck with the mental impressions she had left on him. She was a soldier bound to duty alright, he didn't have to worry about her. He hoped he never had to see her from her professional side, though with his reputation and current problem, he felt the moment was inevitable."

"Yes, I will see you around, good evening." He suddenly wished she would stay, but a woman like that didn't idle for long. Elas found himself infatuated at the thought of pursuing her at that moment but wisdom prevailed in that he remained silent as she took her leave. Elas knew he had a problem, and Giada would be the one to likely face him over it one day,

-End-
Elas Vonti
CCO

Giada Lindert
Chief of Security/Tactical

 

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