Been a While

Posted on Sun Oct 29th, 2023 @ 9:26pm by Lieutenant Rowena "Rena" Campbell & Fleet Captain Maxwell Culver

2,203 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: First Contact
Location: USS Intrepid: Counseling Suite
Timeline: MD2: 1100 hours

Max stepped into the waiting room and found Rena’s receptionist, Turner, eagerly awaiting his arrival. “I’m here to see Counselor Campbell,” Max said to the man. He wasn’t sure how many days off that he owed the man, but it had to be almost two.

Rena heard Max's voice through the door. "I'll get it, Turner," she said from her desk. She stood up and opened the door. "Hey! Come in," she said. It had been a while, but she understood. A new launch, plus the newfound ship, he couldn't be blamed.

Max entered Rena’s office. It was one of the few operational spaces that had a light wooden flooring. A blue couch and a trio of blue and tan chairs sat near the couch. A small, metallic table base with a glass top and some knickknacks completed the look. It was very smart and simple. “Rena!” He exclaimed, crossing to the door and giving her a hug. “How are you today?”

She smiled at his hug. "I am well. How are YOU?" She indicated the couch. He always took her chair, but she always gestured anyway. "How's Dani settling in? I see Lorut later today. We're settled enough..." She sighed. She was still unsure about her skills in dealing with such a tough nut to crack. "A lot has happened. Has it only been a week? Seems like a month."

Just to keep Rena off guard, Max settled onto the plush blue couch and crossed his ankle over his knee. “I’m actually excited. Yesterday was a bit of a cluster fuck, with the unexpected Helivans and being stabbed by an old lady.”

Max shook his head. “I must be losing my knack for detecting threats…or maybe I’m ageist? She seemed too old for stabbing?” He laughed, which in turn aggravated the site now covered with a silver bandage.

Rena shook her head, but settled into her own chair. "No one is too old for stabbing if one is scared," she said. "But no one picked it up. I didn't..." she said. "And I was on." He knew what that meant. "It happens. You're ok, she's ok. I think it will work out," the counselor said. "They really just threw us in here, didn't they? A mostly-unexplored region of the BQ, a bunch of new folks arriving, and now-diplomacy. How are YOU holding up?" She asked.

“Me?!” Max asked with a chuckle. “At first, I was apprehensive about commanding a starship, but now that’s all gone. The jitters, the existential dread. I’m having a good time, stabbing be damned. Though, I don’t think Doctor Greene loves the danger I seem to step in…”

Rena laughed. "I don't think he was ready, that's true," she said. "He wasn't with us that long at the Base. But I am glad to hear you're enjoying it. I remember you were a little hesitant. As we all were. But we're...we're doing ok," she said. "How is Dani settling in? I haven't had much time to check in with him, only to say hello in passing," she said.

“If I’m excited, he’s ecstatic!” Max chuckled. “The little shit dropped dinner plans for my birthday in order to get a shot on the bridge and a look at their shuttle…a shame it’s too wide to bring aboard, but looking at specs of the Helivan’s shuttle will have to do for now,” Max explained.

Rena smiled. "Dinner wasn't his idea totally, anyway, so don't be too upset," she said. "He had something else planned but...Commander Ripley and I are...persuasive," she admitted, with a shrug.

"The situation with the Helivans and then also trying to thwart Lorut's drinking in public has been a lot. She did come by for a short session yesterday, which is good! It's encouraging. I think she's really....she WANTS to change. She's just scared." Rena wasn't usually so blunt about other patients, but Vila was a special case.

“Strange that Starfleet puts a special case,” Max paused and indicated himself as he ruffled his leather jacket in a way that would have popped the collar, before smoothing his hair like they did in ancient Earth movies. “In charge of another special case.” He smirked but refused to laugh.

“But, in all seriousness, “I’ve warned her, you’re counseling her and the best we can do is maybe meet at some stepping stone of sobriety first. After that, I think that getting her to face herself is gonna be a hell of a nut to crack.”


Rena nodded. "Absolutely. As to why they put her here? It's a three fold thing-her own issues with the Fleet, plus...who better to solve a problem like Maxwell Culver than a problem like Lorut Vila?" She asked, rhetorically. "You both have issues-different ones, of course-but if I can get you two to get along for thirty seconds, I think you two have more in common than you might think. And, of course, the combined experience you both have is valuable. Plus, I think the Commander is close to retiring and since Albion has it out for YOU...well. You got the short end of the stick," she said. "But yes, it will be difficult for her. TRY to give her some grace. I know it's difficult, because she can't see what we do yet, but in time...she will. And it'll be messy. But I think that my skills are good enough to help us ALL." Rena stopped speaking then.
Now with a full, devilish smirk, Max said, “Speaking of nuts, how is yours doing? S’tera has been pretty busy since we discovered the distress call.

"I haven't had much time to spend with S'tera but hopefully as soon as this dinner thing is over, we can catch up," she said. "Tell me..."

“I think we’ll slow down for a short time. Our next mission is to catalogue a nearby star system. There’s no sentient life, but there is an M class world. Maybe a day or two of shore leave after the tension of this First Contact.”

“Vila told me that Admiral Albion has admonished us for entertaining the Helivans as a First Contact situation,” Max crossed his arms over his chest, a sigh that he was resolute in his decision. “They gave us a ship and told us to explore en entire new region, I’ll be damned if we’re NOT engaging in First Contact missions. I’ll tell it right to his cybernetic, dead eye.”

Rena shook her head. "The Fleet loves to do that, don't they? Say one thing and do the other," she remarked. "I know that we aren't the favorite ship, but...I know that you and even Lorut will choose what is right versus what you're told. Commander Lorut isn't the type of woman to do as she's asked, anyway..." that was an obvious thing. "I wouldn't tell that cybernetic cat a single THING," she said. She was annoyed with him, as well, but for an entirely different reason-some internal changes to the Counseling/Mental Wellness departments that Rena found draconian. "You've never made a decision that put us in harm," she said. "I am not saying they were always *good* decisions, but we've managed." She smiled.

"Are we slowly headed to New El Auria for a reason?" She inquired, then sipped her tea. "You're not the only mind-reader aboard this ship, remember," she said.

Max gasped and made a show of it. “You mean you’ve invaded my thoughts? How very unlike you!” He paused before laughing out loud.

Rena smiled, but shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't need to," she said. "I am the Counselor. I know things." She said.

“We’re on a slow round about so as not to give away that we’re on a direct course,” Max answered Rena’s serious question. “The planet is fine on supplies for at least another month, so we’re due to quietly show up just ahead of their next delivery and track down whomever has been stealing their supply deliveries.”

Rena nodded. "Alright. I'll buy that," she said. "Now. For the real work. Have you considered what you're going to do if you come face to face with someone you or your family knows? Have you told Dani yet?" she asked.

“El-Aurians have an odd sense in regards to relationships before marriage. They are, at best, considered a concubine. At worst, they are not recognized at all. I’ve presented both possibilities to Dani, but we won’t really know until we get to Kaitos. I expect my mother to ignore him, in the sense that we have no relationship and I, sadly, expect my father will follow her lead. I’ve also explained this to Dani.”

“I don’t know…I guess Dani has a relatively good outlook on it either way. By the time I’m one hundred and ready for marriage, he’ll be seventy years old. As long as he’s well looked after at that age, he’ll be fine,” Max said, with a bit of a melancholy shrug.

Rena chuckled a little. "I understand. It's sad that some of us are still so far behind," she said. "My oldest brother wasn't exactly excited when I told my family about S'Tera. My mother was surprisingly nonchalant about it," she said. "I was expecting disownment. She's calmed down in her old age," she shared. "I say this because maybe...in time, things will work out. I know that by then, Dani will be...probably dead, but at least you'll have changed some minds, right?" She sighed. It was unlikely. "I try to remember that some of the races-yours in particular-face a population problem. I am not sure that shunning people is the best way to address that, but I DO sort of understand from a scientific point." She shrugged.

"He does seem to be settling in here. I have no doubt that we'll all take care of him," she said. "If he'd let me in a bit, I could help," she said. This was the biggest hurdle she faced at the moment-how to endear herself to Dani. It mattered to her.

“I wasn’t aware that you wanted to help him,” Max said as he leaned forward, opening his posture and body language. “As a counselor? As a friend?” Max was curious now. Of course Dani would need friends on the ship and Rena would make the most sense of any of them.

"As a friend. I am only a Counselor when people want me to be," she said. "And for some of us, when the Fleet forces us. Dani is a Civilian. You're my Captain, but also my friend. Of course I'd want to help," she said. "Besides, a girl needs a gay best friend to help with the fashion choices."

Max smiled and shook his head. “Such a stereotype…” he said as he considered the rest of her comments. “Maybe we should have a double date. In all honesty, I can say the same of S’tera. I don’t know her as anything more than her captain. Of course, I think our dinners will be occupied with the Helivans for a while now.”

Rena nodded. "I'll suggest it," she said. "S'Tera is usually game for much more than I am, as you know." She said. She still had her reservations and such that she'd grown up with niggling in her head. She changed subjects now, after making a note to discuss a double date dinner with her girlfriend for after the Helivan people were resettled.

"How are you cooperating with Vila?" She asked, straight out with it. "I think she sometimes butt heads with you and the crew," she said.

Max shrugged and threw up his hands. “Depends on the day and her mood, but yeah, she’s a pain in the ass sometimes. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I knew what I was getting into when I offered her the position. The good currently outweighs bad.”

Rena nodded. "With everyone," she said. "Even me." She smiled.

"We can end here, or we can chat some more. I don't have anyone else to see until after lunch," she said.

“Oh, I think I’ve taken up enough time today.” Max stood up and beamed a smile. He turned and headed out the door, snatching the triple chocolate cupcake off Turner’s desk.

“Hey!” That was my breakfast. I made that at home last night,” Turner griped.

“Well, it’s damn good, but it’ll go straight to your arteries. Me? I can eat these and never worry about arteriosclerosis! The benefits of an old aging species!”

Max walked down the hall, eating his muffin. He could sense Rena behind him. “How does he do that? How can he be a jerk and I just don’t care?”

Rena sighed, and shook her head. Some things never changed. "Sorry, Turner," she said, as she went back into her office to make treatment notes.

@you - last tag

 

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