A Fascinating Patient?

Posted on Thursday August 15th, 2019 @ 2:45am by Commander Kanaka Shakura & Lieutenant Commander Freya Mannerheim

1,118 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Departure and Trial Run
Location: Officers' Lounge, Deck 3, USS Poseidon
Timeline: Pre-Departure, Pre-Officer's Meeting
Tags: Pre-Departure, Pre-Officer's Meeting

Freya was tense. The impending trial run was wracking her nerves as she studied the ship's literature as hard as she could, and tried to stick to a routine in order to keep herself grounded. She had, as every day, done some fencing on the holodeck, before having a shower and, finally, she had made her way to the mess, hoping to avoid any of Commodore Paladin's more "experimental" cooking. Luckily, she spotted him on the far side of the mess, engaged in conversation with a couple of crew-members - far enough away for her not to be noticed. Ever since their conversation, she had been extremely wary of the man.

After some pondering, she finally approached the replicator. "Buffalo-style chicken wings, heat seven, poutine, and a ginger beer, cold. Oh, and some garlic bread." Days like this required comfort food, she thought to herself as she took her tray and turned to find a table - but the only free one would have put her in uncomfortable proximity to Commodore Paladin. She considered her best option as she spotted her reflection in a mirror decorating the side of the galley. With her hair all over the place, her uniform unzipped, and her glasses akimbo, she looked anything but professional. Yes, best to avoid the Commodore looking like this. She quickly balanced her tray in one hand and straightened her glasses with the other. Better, she nodded to herself, as she looked around, and spotted someone she had been wanting to meet, sitting on her own at a table in the corner.

Gingerly, she walked over, and cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Lieutenant Commander, ahm, Shakura, is it not? Would you mind if I join you?"

Kana, who had ventured into the Officers' Lounge to meet some of her junior officers and then took a moment to observe the initial meet and greets to notice initial bonds between the crew, turned her head to see the shy young woman who had approached her. She looked like she was in a bit of a sorry state, the stress in her eyes evident as they darted over to look at the Commodore every so often. "Something is up." Was the immediate thought that crossed Kana's mind.

Smiling, she gestured for the young Lieutenant to sit with her. "By all means. Lieutenant Svanirsdottir, correct?"

Freya placed down her tray and took a seat. "Thank you. And it is, in fact, simply Freya. Svanir is the name of my father, so Svanirsdottir is a patronymic. The culture I come from does not use surnames." She took a sip from her drink. "You are the ship's counsellor, are you not?"

"Of course, my mistake." She smiled somewhat sheepishly. It was, in fact, a deliberate one: something that allowed them to break the ice. "I am indeed the Chief Counsellor. You are the Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer, no? How are you feeling about our departure?"

Freya giggled. "Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer. Fancy way of saying that apparently I am the only person on this ship who seems to have an inkling how to fly her." She sighed. "A little nervous, if I am honest, sir. I am not too experienced with piloting a ship like this. My experience is with merchant ships."

Kana noticed the slump in the young officers' posture as doubt clearly began to set in. "She is something quite different, isn't she?" She said, referring to the ship. "Have you had a look outside? You can see that view a million times, but it never ceases to amaze."

"That much is true," Freya responded, picking up one of the chicken wings and taking a bite, before continuing. "It is astonishing, don't you think? How wherever you are, there are always the stars in the sky. They are always there, unchanging." She paused for a moment. "It's somewhat comforting to know that no matter everything around you changes, the stars stay the same."

"I believe they change too, Lieutenant. It's just something we can't observe with the naked eye." Kana said reflectively. "Life changes around us constantly. Sometimes that is through the choices we make; sometimes, it completely catches us by surprise, for good or ill. When that happens we have to be able to adapt and overcome, and it's not always that easy." She alluded to what she sensed were the feelings of the Lieutenant.

"You can't even imagine, sir." Freya shook her head slowly. "It is not easy at all." She reached into her pocket and held on to an object she always carried with her. "But no matter how much around us changes, we need something to hold on to, to not forget who we are. Right?"

Kana noticed Freya's hand reach into her pocket, and could sense the tenderness of how the young woman was feeling in that moment. Kana could in fact imagine it, having been there before at almost the same age - there was a ten year age gap between Freya and her - but that wasn't of consequence here, though her empathy was certainly useful in this instance. Whatever the young Lieutenant was holding in her pocket, it clearly had significance to her. "Signs of a traumatic event?"

"So long as it doesn't hold us back." The Chief Counsellor commented as she looked across at all the other officer's in the room. "Everyone here has their origin story. While we can't change the past, we each move away from it ever so slowly. This is a time to grow; seize the opportunity."

She let her words hang still in the air for a moment before turning to look at Freya once again. "It's like you said: you've flown merchants ships before, and clearly whatever has brought you here tells me you're meant to fly the Poseidon."

Freya nodded slowly. "Yes. Maybe. We will see." By now, she had finished her meal. "Well, Lieutenant Commander, it was certainly interesting to meet you. However, I do need to get some rest. You wouldn't want an exhausted novice moving this ship out of dock, would you?"

Kana chuckled softly. "That's a sensible request, Lieutenant. I'll allow it." She grinned, "Let's talk again sometime. Perhaps an official appointment? I think we have a good bit more to discuss."

Freya nodded. "Of course, sir. I hope I prove to be a fascinating patient."

Shaking hands, the young Lieutenant parted, while the Chief Counsellor watched her leave and then turned her attention back to the room. She noted how the rest of the room seemed to gravitate easily around the Commodore, while very intentionally Freya had steered clear. "A fascinating patient, indeed..."

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