Irina Pavlova

OOC from Andrew (writer for Irina Pavlova): My only suggestion for improvement of these two posts is to the title. It just had to be "Dancing Among the Stars" This is part 2 of 2 (( Outside Holosuite 2, Embassy, Duronis II )) :: Aria knew the type well, from her own planet’s history. As much as she disliked her own family, she had never doubted her mother, father, and grandparents were heros of their own Occupation. :: Oddas: The women I come from are all fierce fighters, some by choice, and all in different ways. I would never underestimate anyone. Jorey: Always a wise position to take. Assume everyone can dance and fight better than you. It will not only prevent you from underestimating someone, but will propel you to want to do better. ::Brayden open his arms and took on a relaxed posture to signal they were ready to begin.:: Irina and I will make a fierce warrior woman of you. Oddas: :: [...]ing her head to the side :: Shouldn’t you assume I already am one? :: She tried to roughly match his stance. :: Jorey: I’ve seen you dance, Commander. ::He was just able to stop himself from giggling.:: We’re going to start there. Don’t worry about copying my movements. ::Brayden moved to stand beside her, not opposite her.:: Just focus on getting your feet and body to match where mine end up. We’re only going to cover three basic movements today. Oddas: oO Stepping forward, stepping to the side, and falling down. Oo ::Brayden demonstrated the three movements. One was sliding his foot back, one was a lean back and to the side, and the last was a half pivot by moving the back foot forward to become the lead foot. He repeated the movements many times with both the right and left foot starting forward. Once he saw that the movements seemed to become more natural for her, not particularly stage-ready but smooth in their own way, he started putting two movements together.Aria admitted to herself things were beginning to feel a slight bit more comfortable, of course, she was still having to think of each movement as she did it. She thought she probably looked like a fish flopping around on the land.:: Oddas: Admit it, you're enjoying this. Jorey: Of course. ::Brayden stopped and sat down on the smooth rock to stretch.:: But not for the sadistic reasons you’re implying Aria. It brings me a special kind of pleasure helping other to improve or succeed and that’s why I wanted to see you today. I’ve read the mission reports and have listened to many different officer’s logs. It seems like it was a pretty tense mission both from outside and from within. :: She took a deep breath, for all of the dancing around and awkwardness she had been feeling, it had been a distraction from the last couple of days, from the mission. A welcome distraction. Now, it came to the forefront again. She let out her breath through her mouth very noisily and sat on the edge of the platform, feet dangling over the side. :: Oddas: So, I imagine you’ve read all the logs about how I got in over my head and didn’t know what I was doing and how I should have never been in the Captain’s chair. :: She said it out loud, but she wasn’t sure she meant it, not really. Well, part of her did, but not enough she had meant to say it out loud and now she was having to talk about it again. She thought she was right, she had hoped she was right. She guessed she was about to find out. From Brayden’s perspective, Aria’s brief self-assessment summary couldn’t have been more wrong. Toni thought she was ready and as far as he and likely Starfleet was concerned Toni was right. :: Jorey: That’s not exactly how I think the review of the mission will go at Starfleet Command. You successfully brought the new ship into the expanse and back. You somehow managed to travel some ridiculous distance and end up in some other galaxy that I’m sure astrometrics will be spending the next little while figuring out where. You negotiated a ceasefire between two new First Contact species and then managed to turn a hostile ship into a taxi to get the Thor back home. Oddas: :::sharply:: And lost fifteen. :: pausing, looking over her shoulder at the Betazoid :: Sorry, Brayden …I’m just feeling like there are people who are seeing me as a failure no matter what. Jorey: The loss of life doesn’t mean failure, Aria. ::Brayden stopped stretching and stood back up.:: It means you’re likely doing something important. Nothing great in the Federation and Starfleet’s history came without a price. The truth is, as Captain, you’re responsible to the ship. The lives on it are the responsibility of the FO and your Security Chief. My guess is Parker was being a belligerent [...] because how I read things those lives were his to lose. There are many other options he could have tried. Flooding the area with sedatives, trying to move them into force-fielded areas, among others. It was his call how to carry out your order and he made his choice. Oddas: If you ask him, he’d tell you I could have made his job easier, I could have placed the lives of the crew higher on my priority list than I did. Nothing should have been more important. He’ll tell you he did the best I did with what I let him do. Jorey: And I would tell him that he’s right. However, even with the loss of life, I still think Major Parker probably made the best call. ::Brayden sighed to deliberately slow the conversation.:: There is a reason Starfleet and the Marines have very specific rituals and protocols when it comes to memorials and funerals - they happen. Often. Now, ::Brayden gestured for Aria to get up.:: let’s dance while we talk. It helps me think. Computer. One opponent, level 1, difficulty 0. Oddas: oO I should have lied and said I had time to get my nails done. Oo :: She pulled herself up from the platform just as the computer was chiming to indicate it heard Commander’s order. A faceless, red coloured humanoid appeared on the platform with them. It was sort of a strange looking, lifeless blob. Not exactly what Brayden had in mind, but for their purpose it would work just fine. It had arms and legs which is all they needed. .:: Jorey: I will direct you when needed. This is your very red unwanted dance partner. It will try to strike you using low kicks and hand strikes to your chest and head. The three moves we were just working on relate to each attack. ::In a reassuring tone.:: Don’t worry. It will start off moving painfully slow. It will seem all too easy. However, the goal of the exercise is not to avoid the attacks, but to move in synchronicity with them. Let them just barely make contact and then move at the same speed with them, keeping contact with their hand or foot to guide you. Questions? Oddas: And not fall down? ::She said it more as a statement than a question, her face set in confused concentration, but ready to attempt the strange movements. As the thing came at her she tried reciprocating with the moves she had been using before. Jorey was right, the partner was coming at her very slowly and she had no trouble moving at the speed, but coordinating which counter, a lean, a foot slide, a half pivot, was more challenging than it seemed. Aria could feel a bit of frustration building, especially as her left foot hit her right for the third time in a row. The plus side seemed to be she had maintained contact with the thing at least part of the time.:: Jorey: Relax. Tensing up will only make things worse. I know it seems like it should be easy, but remember you are literally trying to turn someone who is trying to harm you into someone who just wants to dance! It’s not easy, even slowly. ::Brayden watched as the engineer did her best to calm herself down and ease into her steps.:: As for command and someone like Parker, it’s the same story. It seems like it should be easy, but it’s not. As for Parker, he’s someone very hostile that you have to work with like an unwanted partner. Oddas: :: sliding her foot around :: With all due respect, I think he’d rather shoot me than dance with me. He thinks I didn’t open fire on the enemy vessel because I was afraid to. That I didn’t unleash :: searching for the word :: hell on both ships because I just held them in higher regard than my own crew. :: she grunted as she messed something up and took a blow to the shoulder :: He thinks I’m some sort of pacifist, or coward. Oddas: oO Nevermind I gave the order to stop the invasion and didn’t tell them how. I knew what that meant killing a bunch of them. Oo Jorey: What do you think he thinks of me, or Irina? It doesn’t matter what they think. The only opinion that matters is your own. Listen to your own conscious and continue to follow the path that got to command in the first place. Oddas: So my plan of just goading him into punching me and then throw him into the brig is probably not the best? Jorey: Probably not. ::Brayden laughed because it was an easy scenario to imagine.:: Just try to keep in mind that while he may be adversarial Major Parker is not your enemy. :: She wasn’t dense; she knew she didn’t understand people, but she also knew a metaphor when it was literally trying to punch her in the face. She pulled her shoulder back just as the faceless thing fighting her began to push against her, lightly and she could have sworn the thing tripped as it found no resistance. She allowed herself a small smile, maybe she would get the hang of it after all. Jorey stepped in and began guiding her movements, and the opponent seemed to be combining his attacks in ways that were different than they had been moments ago. They didn’t seem much fast, or possibly, Aria was getting the knack for what she was doing. She was paying attention, but she was also thinking of some of the Marines she knew. Starfleet Marines on the base like Eiris and Kingsley who had not only been major assets to her during the recent uprising, but had done so in a way that made her think of them in a different light than Major Parker. Until recently her experience with them, and Parker for that matter, had made it seem like they were on the same page, working for the same goal. Now, she wasn’t sure Major Parker wasn’t something entirely different from Lt. Eiris and the others. Maybe, a little too brutal. :: Jorey: Hannibal is definitely not your typical officer. He seems like some kind of Terran throwback to a much more violent area. Like from a time even before Irina. It seems like war is in his blood, heart and mind. Oddas: oO He is a telepath .. Oo Oddas: I’m thinking of some of the Marines I’ve worked with on the base since I’ve been here, the ones that helped me secure the Embassy. :: sighing :: It’s hard to put my finger on, I was just realizing I would be more comfortable sending some of them into a room of civilians than the Major … :: pausing :: Sir, you better not let my wife catch you with your hand there. :: She shrugged and smirked playfully. :: Jorey: ::Kissing his teeth as he forced Aria to open her hips. ::Focus. Besides, something tells me Irina is more confident in what you two share than that. As for Major Parker, Starfleet goes to war and Starfleet needs warriors. The difference is we’re the type that can be warriors when there’s no other choice. Hannibal is a warrior because it is his only choice. :: Aria thought about what the Commander said as she went through some of the more strung together move combinations. After a few moments she stopped, and pulled away from the opponent, letting it automatically go into a dormant mode, or at least something not attacking her. Brayden moved away and sat down cross-legged again as Aria collected her thoughts and then spoke, pacing like she did often when she was nervous. She could also feel herself rambling a bit. She didn’t know if it was helping her point or not. :: Oddas: Sir, I left Bajor to get away from people who didn’t know when to put away their weapons, who only knew how to pick them up and shoot people. It wasn’t just my family it was an entire circle of people. I could have stayed there and tried to convince large parts of the Militia to change, to try and move past the mentality they needed to shoot first and figure why they did it later, but Starfleet seemed the better option. I’m more than a little appalled to find some of that same attitude here. Jorey: You’re not alone, Aria. My people, mostly pacifists, had to become warriors. They had to become an army during the Dominion occupation and war. Warriors of necessity. Even though there are some that struggle to return to life as it was before, I feel it’s safe to say there are none like Hannibal on Betazed. Oddas: The same thing happened back home, and I know, :: she thought of the Ijos :: some who easily switched back to a normal life. :: her face bunched up :: But truthfully, I always got the impression they were pressed into service to begin with, and people I had more common ground with, people I could trust and who actually felt they could trust me. Jorey: Til’ahn’s time of war is coming to an end. There will be little room and even less patience for Barbarians. With the Typhon Expanse and the Thor, warriors will have to become explorers and adventurers. Somehow, Parker and those like him will have to change or be left behind. Oddas: Let me guess, it's up to us to help him with this. Do you really think an Engineer in a red shirt has a chance of pulling that off? :: She looked at him skeptically. Her own people issues aside, she didn't see Major Parlor being open listening to her about anything at the moment. Or any moment. Brayden knew he might as well as have been asking for Til’ahn’s two suns. But as much as Hannibal may have been an antagonist in his life, he cared for the man and his family. :: Jorey: A year ago, would you have thought a flamboyant, reader would have figured out some way to get through to Irina? ::He gestured for the pacing Bajoran to sit with him. He smiled trying to reassure:: I’m sure Hannibal will prove challenging, but yes, I think an Engineer in a red shirt can pull it off. :: Aria sat next to him on the rock face and gave it some thought as she leaned back onto her arms. :: Oddas: The Betazoid wasn't afraid of people sir. :: holding up her hand before he could react :: I'll try, if the Betazoid is willing to back me up. . Jorey: Of course I will. I’ll always have your back Aria. I think you will be able to reach Hannibal in a way I never could. You see, I’m great with people, but bad with machines. ::Brayden took his friend’s hand as he spoke looking deeply in her eyes with genuine kindness:: You are the yin to my yang in that way. In many ways, I think Hannibal is more like a machine than a man and who better to do a little reprogramming than an Engineer in a red shirt? :: She didn’t have a lot of faith in the effort, but she did have faith in Brayden. They were friends she realized with a start. She had few friends, she didn’t make them easily. She also didn’t lose them easily and wasn’t going to start by letting him down on this. :: Oddas: I’ll try Brayden, I’m not a miracle worker, but I’ll try. I owe you this. :: she thought about it for a moment :: I owe him this. Commander Brayden Jorey - Special Operations, Embassy of Duronis II / USS Thor - NCC-82607 Department of Veteran Affairs | Training Team Member Writer ID: T239002BJ0 and Lt. Commander Oddas Aria Executive Officer Duronis II Embassy / USS Thor, NCC-82607 ASDB Co-Facilitator - Training Team E239305OA0

OOC from Andrew (writer for Irina Pavlova): This is EXACTLY the kind of sim that makes me sad we no longer have a Top Sims competition. Incredible character development, not only of the two participants, but indirectly of the people who matter to them. This is part 1 of 2 ((OOC: Between the memorial service and the awards ceremony. )) ((Ops, Main Embassy - Duronis II)) ::Brayden sat quietly like a cadet reviewing their PADD before an exam. He had been looking over the mission reports and listening to officer logs for nearly an hour. He felt a slow burning fire of frustration building that he thought had been extinguished. He was beginning to suspect through the pages of the reports and subtle tones in the logs that the embers had remained hot and close to reigniting. They just needed something explosive for kindling and they had found it in the Typhon Expanse. The conditions were perfect for it. First, an officer with little combat experience thrust into the captain’s chair. Clearly, Admiral Turner believed Oddas was ready and after going over everything it was clear Toni’s instincts were spot on. Next, there was a rapid succession of difficult situations with equally difficult decisions to be made. Then you throw in a bull-headed, occasionally short-sighted and self-righteous, veteran marine who has managed to hang on to some throwback notion that the SFMC is a separate entity from Starfleet. The hidden danger was that Hannibal Parker, for all his bluster and ego, was a good man with good intentions - usually. It made him often come off as some sort of old warrior wiseman. Even when he was just lashing out at others because he didn’t have the coping skills to deal with his own emotions. Brayden had been down this road before. He suspected that countless others had too. In fact Oddas’ new wife had been part of what Brayden saw as ‘the problem’ when he was first assigned to the Embassy. Irina Pavlova, a Major back then, was as much of a problem to social cohesion as Major Parker. Her blatant displays of disrespect, passive-aggressive manipulations, and tactless sarcasm might have been even more divisive than Parker’s more predictable machismo targ dung. Brayden had decided long ago that he was going to change all that. He focused on being the kind of leader Irina, and others like her, needed him to be to help them want to change the social climate. The irony was that he was given the perfect opportunity by Tyr and Hannibal during their past mission that involved the USS Discovery. They had tried to confine the Betazoid’s Chief of Security to quarters. It was a move that left both Irina and Brayden furious. Even though Tyr carried the rank of Captain, as First Officer Brayden was the ranking officer. FO trumps all but the Commanding Officer. Chain of command was simple that way. CO, FO, then everyone else on the senior staff regardless of rank. Brayden had let it all go relatively unspoken, but the marines’ actions that day had left a bad feeling with him. He felt like they were hypocrites who only championed chain of command when it served themselves. Most of the time they had no problem insinuating that they and their marines were somehow superior to other departments. Brayden pounced on the situation and insisted that Irina get back to work and dared the others to question his authority. None did. It wasn’t entirely a game-changer but he was convinced that that moment set up a series of events that would ease the tensions with Irina. Looking at the reports he was as sure now as he was then that Oddas now needed a ‘moment’ with Parker. Moreover, if the divide between green and the rest were to be bridged, it was now Aria’s responsibility as the Embassy’s Executive Officer. They were her crew now. Brayden believed that if anyone could pull it off, it would be her. She had a way in that he and all those before him didn’t - Irina.:: (( Executive Officer’s Quarter’s, Main Embassy, Duronis II )) :: Aria was in her office, looking over the sensor data from the new sensor relay coming in all the way from the Typhon Expanse. Rather, she was trying to, if she was honest with herself. She had left from the memorial to come here where she was supposed to have a meeting with R’Trill, the closest thing they had to a Chief Engineer, but she was thinking mostly about the service and the men she had lost. Any other day the Engineering challenges of the Embassy with its three starships, the base, the new sensor grid, and now what was sure to be their point in the design and construction of Anchorage would have been enough to keep her engaged, distracted even. Today, she was thinking of one large set of problems looming over her she never considered having to need to deal with: Commanding people around her who she was realizing she had little in common with. Instead of diving into initial station design specifications, or marveling at the sensor network, or even reviewing repair estimates, she was rubbing her nose ridges and thinking about one man in particular. :: Jorey: =/\= Jorey to Commander Oddas. =/\= ::Despite the serious mood he was in Brayden’s tone was pleasant and downright chipper.:: =/\= I thought I could debrief you on your mission and offer a little stress relief at the same time. =/\= Oddas: :: sighing :: =/\= Sir, respectfully, as much as I would love to get my nails done or get a new dress, I don’t think I have the time this morning. =/\= ::Brayden laughed. The Bajoran had a pretty good read on the Betazoid and under most circumstances a spa day, shopping trip, or some form of extravagance and hedonism would be his go to offer. However, under the circumstances and with the subject matter he had other ideas.:: Jorey: =/\= Actually, I was thinking a holosuite. There’s a simple sparring program that I’d like to share with you. =/\= ::As Brayden often did, he made the ‘question’ sound more like an order.:: =/\= Dress in your gym best, Commander.=/\= :: She looked at the sensor data, and the time, and back at the sensor data. :: Oddas: oO Pretend to look at sensor data or go get my butt kicked? Oo :: In truth Aria liked Jorey, though most people assumed she wouldn’t. Like most Introverts Aria didn’t mind being around people who projected energy. As long as it wasn’t too many of them at once, and as long as they understood where boundaries were, and they could tell when she had enough of them, and they could draw some attention from her, and they didn’t mind her lack of social graces, and weren’t offended when she didn’t know what was supposed to happen next. No, didn’t mind at all, as long as all those conditions were met. Aria had wondered if it was telepathy or just personality that made him a natural at those things. In any event, maybe some time with him would be good now, before she was supposed to get up in front of everyone. She tapped out a message to R’Trill cancelling, then hastily added an apology. R’Trill wouldn’t be offended by her cancelling an appointment, but Aria needed to practice her social graces.:: Oddas: =/\= My gym best is my gym only sir. I’ll meet you there in … 10? =/\= Jorey: =/\= Just wear something comfortable. See you there. =/\= :: On her way out the door she realized she had just made an appointment to get beat up. :: (( Outside Holosuite 2, Embassy, Duronis II )) :: Aria stood next to Brayden and peered at the holosuite console, unsure what she was seeing. The truth was, even if she knew what she was looking at, she’d be nervous. She had been sparing with Irina on a regular basis, and she was better than she had been, but still felt inadequate against all but the most basic opponents.:: Oddas: :: skeptically:: Sir, respectfully, what is this? Jorey: It’s a multi-disciplinary combat training program based on some of the basic principles of Tassa A’kai. Oddas: It’s not just an excuse to knock me down some more? Jorey: Actually, the first lessons are all about how not to be knocked down. ::Brayden laughed as he set up his ‘work in progress’ program into the console outside of the suite..:: Also, in Tassa tradition we will not spar with each other, but will often cooperate together. We will spar with only holographic adversaries. So, no. ::He moved up and away from the exterior console and smiled at Aria.:: I’m not here to knock you down some more. Oddas: Generally, I would just avoid the other person and not get knocked down at all. ::Brayden stepped over in front of the door causing it to slowly open. Brayden led them into the holosuite and once they were both in the large door closed behind them. They stood in a small clearing, thick colourful jungle behind them and an oppressive verdant mountain ahead of them. There was a small leveled off area a few feet from the base of the mountain. From the platform there were a set of carved out stairs that wrapped around the rockface and led higher up the cliffs. Looking higher they could see other stairs and platforms that presumably went all the way up.:: :: Aria grimaced, she did not appreciate being outdoors. Whether he knew it or not the Commander had hit on one of her least favorite things: being surrounded by trees, forests, and imagining the bugs, animals, and other inconveniences that came along with them. She wasn’t afraid of them, just didn’t care to experience them if she didn’t have to. The rockface reminding her of another rockface on another world certainly did not help. :: Jorey: The very first principle of Tassa A’Kai is called Assaka, loosely translated it means the unwanted dance partner. ::Brayden very slowly started to strike Aria’s shoulder with his forearm. His movement was exaggerated and soft.:: See, I’m now your dance partner. Let me lead. ::Brayden’s arm made contact with Aria’s shoulder. It was clear she was still uncertain what he was asking of her so he put a little more force behind it and helped guide her movements with his free hand. Aria’s feet clumsily crossed over and stepped but she did move with his attacking arm rather than simply be struck by it. He took a step back and let his arms fall to his side relaxed.:: Jorey: The idea is that, if your opponent’s attacks become leading movements for a dance, they cannot strike you. Instead, they guide your movements into a spontaneous choreography. They become your unwanted dance partner. Oddas: The only time I’ve only been remotely good at dancing, sir, there has been large amounts of Alcohol involved, and frankly the other people involved may have been humoring me. :: Aria thought back to those people and was more sure of it than ever in this moment. As Brayden’s next movement pushed against her she pulled to her left, and took a step back, as if trying to avoid him. :: Jorey: ::Brayden cracked a devious grin.:: So, you are familiar with the unwanted dance partner then? ::A baritone laugh came from his chest.:: Come on. Take a series of three strike at me and I’ll demonstrate. Show me what Irina has been teaching you. Oddas: :: Tilting her head to the side :: something like that. :: She sized the man up and took a quick kick at his ankle with her left foot, then a slight jab to his chest with her left fist and finished with a hard right hook to the side of his head. At each step Jorey seemed to pull his body back and then counter-move in a way Aria hadn’t seen before. His movements looked like a somewhat strange, but graceful blend of kata and ballet. At each strike there was barely contact made before his body reacted and moved with her. His grandmother had described to him once as though they are punching the wind. They could feel the breeze against their skin, but there was no resistance and nothing to absorb their force. It was much easier for him than Oddas, after all Tassa A’kai was designed, developed, and perfected by telepaths over millennia. He had learned how to adapt much of it for non-telepaths when he and his Klingon Imzadi used to train together.:: :: Aria stared at the Commander with her fists in front of her face, ready to strike again, but feeling a combination of frustration and annoyance at the way the other officer had thwarted her attack. She had pulled a punch, slightly, but not enough he should be standing and looking … smug. The fact he had done it while dancing around her, doing something else she wasn’t good at did not help. :: Jorey: You see? ::He said smiling, unscathed.:: Like dancing. Oddas: Right, :: sarcastically, but trying to smile :: dancing. Jorey: Don’t worry, you don’t need to make it look so elegant. ::He shrugged his shoulders and started moving to the first platform on the mountain.:: If a Klingon with two left feet can get something out of it, I’m certain that you can too. Oddas: :: as she followed :: As long as you don’t expect it this morning … ::Brayden didn’t expect anything. Part of becoming a Tassa Mystic is taking on apprentices and teaching others to become masters. It took some longer than other to learn, but it was a slow and life-long learning for all. Brayden too continued to learn and improve over time. He reached up over his head and gripped the overhang of the platform. It took quite a bit of muscle strength to lift himself up and on the platform. He remembered being a boy and having to train just to be able to do a pull up well enough to be able to make that first level. Oddas made it to the next platform by reaching up and using mostly her prosthetic, a crutch she hated having to rely on in situations like this. Sparring with Irina on a normal basis she turned it to a weaker than normal setting, so as to rely on less strength than she had on a daily basis. Now she was hoping Jorey didn’t notice she essentially was embarrassing herself by dialing the strength up. He didn’t. He to focused on reliving the joy he’d felt as a boy the first time he’d made it up to view. He was already facing the Jalara Jungles with sentimental eyes. He was brought back into the present by the sound of Aria’s voice. :: Oddas: How long have you been at this s -- :: she caught herself, he had asked her to call him by name on multiple occasions :: Brayden? Jorey: I remember Koroth and I use to spar when we were very small, 5 or 6. Shortly after that my grandmother started training me in Tassa A’Kai. ::He tilted his head with a high brow.:: You wouldn’t know it to look at her, but Calodia Jorey is an extremely skilled Tassa Mystic. I know a story that has my grandmother taking on multiple opponents during the Dominion War and vanquishing them all on her own. She likes to exaggerate, but from all the different accounts of the story from relatives, authorities and friends the number is somewhere around 13 or 14 at one time. :: Aria knew the type well, from her own planet’s history. As much as she disliked her own family, she had never doubted her mother, father, and grandparents were heros of their own Occupation. :: Oddas: The women I come from are all fierce fighters, some by choice, and all in different ways. I would never underestimate anyone. Jorey: Always a wise position to take. Assume everyone can dance and fight better than you. It will not only prevent you from underestimating someone, but will propel you to want to do better. ::Brayden open his arms and took on a relaxed posture to signal they were ready to begin.:: Irina and I will make a fierce warrior woman of you. Lt. Commander Oddas AriaExecutive OfficerDuronis II Embassy / USS Thor, NCC-82607ASDB Co-Facilitator - Training TeamE239305OA0 and Commander Brayden Jorey - Special Operations, Embassy of Duronis II / USS Thor - NCC-82607 Department of Veteran Affairs | Training Team Member Writer ID: T239002BJ0

Hsina sat in the waiting room with the other cadets, though unlike the rest, she didn’t talk to her neighbors or look or feel nervous in any way. Of course, she was more than twice the age of most of them, and was here, perhaps, for different reasons. Even within her branch, science, she was something of a misfit as she was the only member of her year group with advanced degrees in archaeology and anthropology, with physics and warp theory far more popular majors. Lastly, she differed in that her academy itself was abbreviated, as she already had baccalaureate and doctorate degrees in her field, and as such skipped the first two years of the academy entirely, which mostly general education classes that Hsina had long since completed in her civilian education. Thats not to say that Hsina wasn’t a member of the class. For the last two years she had studied and worked alongside the other cadets in the waiting room. She had learned the fundamentals, like everyone, of military protocol, weapons, computers and everything else required for initial posting as a Starfleet officer. She had completed her branch training in sciences alongside the four other science cadets in the room, consisting of a basic science curriculum and a chosen major, in Hsina’s case Applied Mathematics. One of the other science cadets, a woman named Jill Engstrom, was also a prior university graduate, with a doctorate in quantum physics, though at 34-years-old, was a dozen years younger than Hsina. There was also young, as in VERY young Minoru Yamada, a prodigy who graduated from high school in Japan at the age of 10, from Tokyo University with a Master of Science in temporal physics at the age of 14 and now sat, waiting for his cadet cruise to begin, 3 weeks short of his 18th birthday. And those were just the humans, as this was a very diverse class. Still, Hsina felt quite apart. Of course, she had ALWAYS felt quite apart. Of course, any girl who hit 6 feet tall at age 12, and stood a full 6’4” as an adult would naturally feel apart, but to be tall, smart and perhaps most unusual of all, more than slightly crazy would be enough to set anyone outside of the norms of most societies, particularly the conservative muslim society of Iraq where she was raised. Rejecting religion at an early age and beating the tar out of the high school bully only reinforced her pariah status growing up. Now she sat here waiting for the cadet cruise briefing. She knew she was very smart, but then, so were all of her classmates. She knew that she had unique physical attributes (extreme height and freakish strength), but then, the Vulcan male sitting in the next row was slightly taller and slightly stronger as well. What she doubted (probably incorrectly) was that of everyone present, she was the only one hiding something. She hid it in every psych eval, answering the questions the way she knew they had to be answered to pass, rather than truthfully. She masked her thoughts at every counseling session. She masked her lies by masking the tells she could mask, and duplicating them when telling the truth for those she could not. The truth was, Hsina Amman was damaged goods. Her life, thus far, had been a mixture of great accomplishment and great loss, and every time, she felt herself slip just a bit farther away. So now she was here, for a new beginning. If she could keep her secrets hidden, hide the flaws, silence the voices that tormented her in the night. If, and only if, she could keep her demons at bay, then perhaps, just maybe, she could finally find peace out there, in the stars, where it all began. Andrew F. Cadet Hsina Amman Science Branch