Sal Taybrim Posted September 25, 2020 Posted September 25, 2020 A really lovely conversation that shows both characters beautifully ❤️ ((Starbase 118 Ops - Karen Stendhal’s Office)) Alora stood outside the doors that led to the office of one of the base’s counselors. She had requested an appointment and been assigned Karen Stendhal. She inhaled three times, small steps. Small steps. Then she let go. As much as Alora appreciated counseling, and knew it was useful and helpful, it was still hard to go. She encouraged others, but she also understood their hesitation. With Raymond, she had a great rapport. They were friends. Talking to him was easy. However, he suggested she get established with a counselor on her station. Raymond was available when he could be, and he would continue to do so, but he said it was good to establish with someone who could be present in person. So...Alora was going to take his advice. At least this was someone with whom she was passingly familiar. Karen Stendhal had been one of the women she’d met at the tea shoppe, so at least she wasn’t a complete stranger. Finally, Alora stepped forward and the doors parted. Stepping into the office, Alora smiled at the woman she hadn’t seen much of since their little tea party. Karen was just finishing to get the things done in her new office. She chose a new area after she took over Malko, the previous counselor of the Station, cos she thought that a fresh start would be better and also cos the crew was used to him and probably everybody was still missing him or waiting for his return. The office now was looking more like her one aboard of USS Columbia, or at least in her mind it was. A large sofa next to a smaller one with a tea table, few chairs, a big holographic painting representing the pink lake of Mitzawal with the forest cherry of happiness in flower. Piles of pad was on her new desk, loads of files still waiting for her. She still didn’t had time to finish, also because the previous mission. DeVeau: Hi Karen. Stendhal: Hi Alora. It's nice to see you again. Said Karen with a gentle handshake with both of her hands. A deep look in her eyes for an empathic preview of the reasons of her visit, but without any ‘intrusions’ of her thoughts... DeVeau: Yeah. I uh...thought I’d come in, get established with a counselor. You know, that sort of thing. Stendhal: Yeah, you know that I’m quite new here? I’m certainly still establishing here as a counselor! Do you like a cuppa tea and a chat? She smiled blinking her eyes as she noticed that she feelt a bit uneasy to go to for counseling, so she tried to drop it to a simply chat with a friend. DeVeau: Tea would be great. And appropriate considering how they met. Besides, tea always made a situation better. DeVeau:. I prefer herbal, though, if that's okay. Stendhal: Well, no worries! Do you know that probably you are the first one coming here? What an honor! She jokes, showing up a posh box with a large choice of herbal tea bags. Alora chuckled softly as she sat down on the smaller sofa in lieu of one of the chairs. DeVeau: Being new doesn't make you any less capable. You were the one listed with an open appointment at the time I requested, so it worked out well. Stendhal: Well, I’m glad that I was free, so hopefully I’ll be able to help you. Karen slowly walked to the large sofa sitting down on the side closer as possible to Alora. She had a thought back about her first experience on board of the Columbia, with Luna and her pink hairs. She smiled as the dark hairs of Alora was certainly an improvement. The kettle was ready on the small table so she poured the tea in two cups. An Herbal tea and a decaf tea with a shot of milk for herself. Alora accepted the warm cup of tea and sipped at it. It was a light and fruity concoction, right up her alley. She detected hints of some citrus fruit, possibly Bajoran in origin along with some sort of spice that was similar to cinnamon, but with a little cooler pallette. DeVeau: Thank you. Stendhal: You’re very welcome! Don’t forget to pick up a cookie with your tea! You have to accept a cookie in order to interact with me. On the small table there was also a selection of various kinds of biscuits..There was also a cuddling relaxing music in the background. Alora examined them a moment before picking up a chocolate chip cookie. Chocolate always improved things. DeVeau:. We'll, I'm not sure where to start. I'll admit to feeling awkward. Karen joined her hands together but touching the end of her fingers only. Stendhal: From the beginning? Or whatever place you feel more comfortable with? We can even just talk about your experiences and how you feel now that you’re back aboard the Station? Anything… Anything. It was such an open ended invitation, it really didn’t help, though Alora knew the counselor was trying to prevent limiting her. DeVeau: Ah, back aboard the station. It’s good to be back home. It always is, especially after a mission. Especially after a mission that involved the Borg! Even if it was a rogue collective, they still gave her the heebie jeebies. DeVeau: I know you were on that mission too. I have to admit, I’m glad it’s over. Stendhal: Yes I was on the mission too and I’m very glad it is over too. Karen had a sip of tea. DeVeau: The Borg frighten me - and that’s putting it mildly. I would say getting assimilated is one of my worst nightmares. One of them, but not the top one. She had others that overshadowed even that. Unfortunately, they weren’t of what could be, but what had already come to pass. Stendhal: Sorry Alora, are you here to talk about our fear of the Borg? Karen had another sip of her tea looking for her reactions in a kind way, always smiling. At the first look Alora DeVeau was a strong one, with a very stable personality, and a beautiful woman. Karen looked directly in her eyes, there was something deeper, something not in her record. Alora hesitated. Not really, no, though that was certainly something they could talk about and work on processing, but there were other reasons why she had come. The problem was, trying to open up. Getting started was the worst part. Once she got started, sometimes it was easier. Sometimes. Karen moved even closer, risking to fall on the floor because she was sitting now in a tiny tiny space on the edge of the sofa. She took one of her PADD abandoned on the tea table and she tapped something, then she put it on her lap. Stendhal: mm… She just said, like an almost silent affirmation. DeVeau: I suppose that might be good to discuss. It was true, but it also wasn’t the main reason why she was coming. The main reason was difficult. Extremely difficult. Alora wasn’t sure she could talk about that - even if the woman was nice and approachable. Raymond had been there when everything had happened. He’d come to visit her in Sickbay. This was a bit of a different scenario - even if Alora knew it was necessary. DeVeau: It was...interesting, facing that fear, I guess. Okay, not interesting. Terrifying. Karen's left eyebrow moved up a bit, Alora was holding something very deeply. Under the surface and behind those green eyes. Anyway, she wouldn't force her too much. oO She will open up when it will be the right time! Oo She thought. Stendhal: Yes terrifying, I don't like the Borg, well who likes them? Have you met them in person? DeVeau: I haven’t, but I suppose there’s going to be a first time. The Borg don’t seem to be going away. Stendhal: I agree, I'm afraid that they won't give up easily…For sure I won't suggest anymore to use nanities as a shortcut to solve a problem! I did that when we were researching about the deadly fog. Bad idea!!! DeVeau: Oh? Now Alora was curious. She nibbled on her cookie, then took a sip of the tea before asking. DeVeau: Why do you say that? Stendhal: Cos there was really a risk to lose control of the nanites, little or big now we know what’s happened to the USS Nimitz. DeVeau: But if there's an effective way to fight an enemy, particularly using technology that they use, shouldn’t that be done? Stendhal: We find a safer way using different technologies, with little robots to get rid of the poisonous gas. Much better than playing God with nanites…There’s also some theories about the species 001, at the beginning they were like us… Then to reach the perfection they started to include the ‘synthetic’ and the nano tech. We know how it finished... DeVeau: Why do you think it was playing God? Stendhal: Uh ? Err isn't It some kind of unnatural manipulation of things? Like… what's happened, you know, the eugenics like Khan and brothers? DeVeau: What about those who currently have nanites? Those who need them to survive? What about those who don’t currently have nanites, but whose lives were saved because of them? What if there were a way to safely control them and be sure they wouldn’t pose a threat? Karen paused for a moment, for Alora that topic was something of? Personal? Stendhal: Well everybody thinks to be able to control them, but then we finish in a Nimitz situation… Everything screwed up, with a bunch of drones with pseudolatin nicknames killing and assimilating everything and everybody... DeVeau: Right, but the nanites we’re dealing with are not of our creation, they aren’t of our technology. What’s to say, though, that we can’t learn from that? What’s to say we can’t find way to improve and make that technology Stendhal: Maybe one day we'll do, but for now isn't it like with the eugenics? If used well it may improve our life, but is illegal, because the improved humans become dangerous at one point. Anyway… Do you have any experience with nanites? Karen tapped something else on her pad.. DeVeau: Some, though this is the first time I’ve dealt with the Borg themselves. Though Alora did have to admit, her experience with them was minimal and had only been in the context of missions. She was a Botanist and a Zoologist, so that was where her specialties lay, though that hadn’t stopped captains from assigning her to deal with scientific concepts outside of those specialties. She’d learned from the beginning that all officers had to be flexible and adaptable. DeVeau: Do you? Stendhal: Nope not really, not before last mission. Anyway I didn't mean the Borg, but the nanites in general and the one builded in labs for medical research …It seems that for you is really an important matter… DeVeau: Really? I was about to say it sounds like an important matter to you. Alora’s lips curled up in a small smile. DeVeau: You certainly seem to have strong feelings about them. Have you had previous experiences, not necessarily with the nanites themselves, but with bad consequences related to the Borg or other nanites? Stendhal: No, not really... DeVeau: I’m curious, then, why you seem to have such a strong stance against them. Stendhal: This must be a misunderstanding of some kind here. Karen nervously had another sip of tea, who was counseling who now? DeVeau: Yes, you mentioned eugenics, and that is illegal, but is manipulating the genetic cold of a preborn person the same as using nanites? If so, how? Why is there no difference between them? Stendhal: I don’t know, honestly is just an opinion in front of a cup of tea. Well, it seems like you had raised up your ‘shields’ instead of opening and relaxing, my dear … Now what do you like to do? DeVeau: Actually, no, I'm quite relaxed. I found the conversation interesting. It seemed to matter to you as well. Alora sipped at her own tea, her smile hidden only briefly. DeVeau:. It's a topic that requires discussion and contemplation, and certainly not one with easy answers. However, by talking about it, it helps us wrestle with the hard questions while, at the same time, allows us to learn more about others as well as ourselves. ::She paused for a moment to allow herself to finish her cup before continuing.:: Is there anything you would like to discuss? Stendhal: Well, you are not an easy client, did you know that? DeVeau: I am? Stendhal: Alora, the fact that you come here means that probably you have something to talk about you... Statistically and in my experience is about family issues about the choice of starfleet or similar, but it can also be about love, work or some issues related to workmates. I don't think you are in this categories.You seem strong and in good health conditions too. She smiled at Alora. So did that mean Karen didn’t think she needed counseling? Raymond might have something to say about that, but Alora wasn’t going to argue. She liked Karen, but she just wasn’t feeling the comfort she needed to feel to open up to the woman. DeVeau: ::With a giggle and a grin.:: Does that mean I get a clean bill of health? Stendhal: Ehm not really, my dear. You won a weekly appointment with me. It will take what it takes, one hour, one month or one forever! Do you prefer Tuesday or Thursday? She smiled. DeVeau: Tuesday, after my shift is over. Which could change, depending on what was needed and when, but Alora was pretty sure the counselors knew that. DeVeau: Will that work for you? Stendhal: Yes of course. That will be perfect! DeVeau: Great, I’ll see you then. Stendhal: See you and thanks for the nice conversation. Can't wait for our next one. She smiled again. Alora rose and nodded, returning the smile. As she left, however, she was unsatisfied. Karen was extremely nice. So sweet. But...Alora just didn’t feel like she had clicked. Of course, that could also simply be because she hadn’t given her enough time. She supposed only time would tell. ******* Liutenant JG Karen Trisha Stendhal Counselor Starbase 118 Ops ID: C239604KS0 & Lt. Cmdr. Alora DeVeau Science Officer Starbase 118 Ops M239008AD0 1 Quote
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