Blood and Thunder

Posted on 29 Jan 2020 @ 12:34am by Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Lieutenant Commander Tivan

2,272 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Sentience
Location: Deck 17 - Corridor
Timeline: MD 1 || 1000 Hours

"Commander," Joey called once she was clear of Engineering Lab Three. Her tone was neutral, giving no indication what her current frame of mind was. In reality, a storm raged within her like the turbulent waters of the ocean crashing against the hull of a ship. The waters wanted nothing more than to swallow the vessel and sink it to its icy depths where it would spend an eternity. "Would it be possible if I had a few moments of your time?"

Tivan turned around at the request and, noting the Intelligence Chief and wife of the Captain, immediately put on her professional face. Upright posture, even tone, cordial smile. "Of course, Commander. Will this need to be in private?"

There was a time when Joey would not have cared where she and Tivan spoke. The bridge, the mess hall, the rec room, but she was a different woman now. Motherhood changed her in ways she hadn't even thought possible, always thinking of her children and how her own choices would affect them in the long run. "I think private might be best," she answered, gesturing for the counselor to lead the way.

"Very well."

They weren't far from a Science Lab where Tivan had set up shop. It wasn't much -- just a few consoles, a holodisplay, and a conspicuously placed lounge pad next to a work table. A few chairs stood in a stack in the corner, unused and unwanted. The moment of silence that passed between them was unremarkable, which enticed Tivan to ponder what business the indubitably shrewd woman had with her. Something had changed in her demeanor during the briefing. It was rather exciting now to learn precisely what it was.

Walking into the middle of the space and turning around, Tivan faced Joey. She held her head tall and projected an even keel. "How can I help you, Commander Geisler?"

Once inside the Science Lab, Joey took a second to take in her surroundings. It wasn't often she came to this part of the ship, and had it not been for the briefing only moments before, it was unlikely she'd even be here now. And yet, here she was, committing everything to memory... just in case. One didn't make it through SAR training, or being a Close Protection Officer, without it.

After what she hoped were a few unsettling moments, the Intelligence Chief finally turned her attention to the counselor who opted to stand in the center of the room before moving over to the stack of chairs. The Intel Chief removed two of them, then brought them where Tivan stood, placing one directly next to the Vulcan woman while the other was situated a few feet across from it. "Have a seat," she offered, gesturing to the chair while opting to remain standing for the time being.

Tivan briefly considered the chair, then cracked a smile as she looked back to Joey. Rather than accept the proffered chair, she stepped backward to her lounge pad. She seated herself in a crossed leg position with her feet propped atop her knees. One might think she was preparing to meditate.

"I regret that I do not have another," the Vulcan said.

A simple shoulder shrug was all Tivan received in response. It didn't matter to her one way or another considering she didn't plan to sit down. "How long have you been aboard, Commander?" Joey found herself asking.

"Since the beginning of last month." Until the other woman made her intentions clear, Tivan resolved to remain as neutral and use as few words as possible.

If time permitted, Joey could gather this information herself, but it was much quicker getting it straight from the horse's mouth. "A few more questions, Commander, then I'll get to the point. How long have you been a counselor for Starfleet, and would you consider yourself any good at what you do?" the Intelligence Chief inquired.

Tivan looked at her askance. This was definitely taking an interesting turn. "After my years spent as a junior officer, I received tenure at the Psionic and Psychology division of Starfleet Medical as a researcher and manager of clinical studies. At the risk of boasting, one might say I am at the top of my field."

Joey couldn't help but smile inwardly, keeping her face completely expressionless. "Do you consider yourself to be better than those you work with, encounter or see as patients? I know you're probably thinking that these questions don't really serve a purpose," she declared, waving a hand dismissively. Without missing a beat, she moved around the chair to stand in front of it and close some of the distance between them by a few feet. "However, I can assure you, they do."

"Of course they do," Tivan said almost laughably as if it were obvious. "You're building a psychological profile on me, but your last question was a rather leading one though. The phraseology could skew my answer depending on how I wish you to view me. Or was that the point of this exercise?" She arched a challenging eyebrow. "Do you wish to learn how I desire to be seen by you?"

"You're wrong, Commander," the human woman spoke said, allowing a small smile to form on her lips. It only lasted a moment before it was gone again. "I'm not trying to build anything, or even skew whatever answer you were willing to give me. And, I can assure you I'm not here to learn anything about you that I haven't already picked up on during our short encounter before the briefing started." Joey paused for a moment to let that sink in before she continued. "Rather, I'm here to teach you something important about this ship and her crew."

Tivan canted her head slightly to one side and pursed her lips as if Joey had just told a joke. "You are are remarkable woman, Commander. Do go on with your lesson. I am here to learn whatever there is to learn."

"It's simple really. There's a difference between thinking you're coming off as confident, but during our brief encounter, you've come across as nothing but cocky and rather self absorbed. That's not going to work here. You see... this crew... we're a family. We've been through hell and back repeatedly together. We've lost together. We've mourned together. We've healed together, and will continue to do so," Joey explained, finally sitting down on the chair she brought over for herself. A rather large part of her knew she wouldn't get through to the Vulcan woman, but that certainly wasn't going to stop her from saying what she needed to say. "We trust each other, something I'm not so sure you're going to earn during your time here."

"I should hope not," Tivan said. "That would make my task exponentially more difficult."

It was Joey's turn to cant her head to one side slightly. "Are you kidding me? Your entire purpose here is to improve the mental health of the crew, to empower them, and you have to have their trust to do that," she stated. "My entire purpose for bringing you here in the beginning was to berate you for getting naked in front of my husband, but what would that have accomplished? Nothing. You would have probably done it again just to anger me further. Instead, I chose to channel my anger into something entirely different as a means to possibly help you while you're serving on this ship, but it doesn't seem you want it."

Tivan burst out laughing so hard it made her tongue protrude between her teeth. "Oh, I've missed working with you Intelligence types. Never in doubt, yet often wrong. My purpose on this ship is quite different from your understanding, which is much to the credit of your husband the captain." She furrowed her brow and adopted a sympathetic posture. "He's a good man, Joey. I can understand why you'd be jealous of him, but his goodness is precisely why you don't have to worry. He is biologically wired for coitus with you and you alone. All of the postpartum insecurities about your pregnant body and other insecurities that subconsciously crowd your headspace? He doesn't see those. They are psychosomatically deleted from his mind. That's why he didn't even see me when unclothed--he only saw you."

Clearing her throat, she resumed a more professional tone. "As for my role on this ship, I am mandated by the admiralty to monitor, document, and predict the long-term effects of the survivors of the Dolmoqour infestation on this ship against the survivors who transferred out and those who transferred in to replace them. Starfleet has not been this terrified since the Dominion War."

She fixed a stern gaze on Joey, trying to decide whether to bring her into confidence. "Have you considered the possibility that any survivors might have formed a dependency on their possessed state? Starfleet Medical's models state that the odds are not zero. What if you or any of the others in that briefing were such a one? The consequences could prove cataclysmic. And that is but one of many objectives within the clinical study I am tasked with conducting."

Briefly a surge of emotion glistened in Tivan's eye, but it was blinked away in short order. "Perhaps you can understand why I cannot afford to be overly attached to anyone here. I cannot afford to show favoritism. And, on a personal note, I will hardly take judgment from a woman who cannot be emotionally honest from the outset. I laud your self-restraint, but your judgment nonetheless remains unclear."

At last, she took a breath and dipped her head. "However, I do thank you for this lesson. It was most illuminating."

The fact that Tivan burst out laughing wasn't all too surprising to Joey, but what she said was still nice to hear even if she hadn't meant them to be that way. However, why would she be at all jealous when he married her? Had a family with her? Still, she trusted her husband with every fiber of her being, and hoped that some day she'd be able to trust their newest counselor as well. Right now, though, Joey couldn't focus on whether or not she'd ever trust her.

"I had one of the Dolmoqour inside my head, and haven't formed any kind of dependency on my possessed state. In fact, I live every single moment of my life trying to forget the role I played that day," she said quietly, clearing her throat when she felt her voice would crack. "But, it's as you said, the odds are not zero, and there may be others who are. Which brings my next question. Is there a way to know if someone is?" Joey considered what Tivan said last, and planned to dismiss it entirely, but didn't feel that was right. "And for the record, I wasn't trying to judge you. I was merely telling you how you came across to me. And if that bothered you in any way, you have my sincerest apologies."

Tivan smirked. "Would you be bothered by a criticism of your appearance from a blind man? No, you would disregard it as less than valid and hope the blind man would eventually accept without offense his lack of qualifications for rendering any verdict on the matter of appearances." Her smirk faded. "As for your query, I'm afraid you do not have the clearance for data pertaining to or derived from my study. I'm sure you understand."

"I do," Joey said simply, deciding there wasn't much point in trying any longer or run the risk of whiplash from how often Tivan switched from being slightly personable to nearly unbearable. She rose to her feet again and brought the chairs back to the stack she's gotten them from originally.

"Then we're agreed," Tivan said cheerfully. "I will continue my study as my professional standing sees fit without unsolicited advice from unqualified personnel, and you will let go of the repressed hostility you've carried for some weeks regarding your husband seeing another woman without clothes." Her smile beamed with joyful satisfaction. "I am so glad we had this talk."

Joey closed her eyes and counted to ten. Why was Tivan being so impossible when she'd been nothing but cordial? Not once had she raised her voice or gotten truly angry. After a few moments, she finally turned around to face the Vulcan woman. "You have no idea how hostile I'm feeling, counselor," she sneered, making the word sound like some kind of incurable disease. "But, you're sorely mistaken. It's got nothing to do with my husband seeing you naked, but has everything to do with you being an insufferable bitch who has no business being on the Black Hawk."

She moved away from the chairs and found herself standing in the center of the room. "How hard is it to wake up in the morning and look in the mirror to see such a miserable, haughty woman staring back at you? Does it make you proud?" Joey wondered out loud, though she wasn't going to wait for an answer. "Conduct your little study, give Starfleet the results, then do everyone else a favor and fuck off." With that, the Intel Chief offered the Vulcan woman a smile beamed with joyful satisfaction just before walking out.

For a long moment, Tivan just stood there staring after Joey well after she'd left. Slowly, a smirk crept over one side of her face. "Fascinating," she whispered to herself. "Quite fascinating."

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