By Ensign Vol Tryst and Captain Zanh
80322.23
The day after the Mardi Gras party aboard the Sera
-=Utopia Planetia=-
80322.23
The day after the Mardi Gras party aboard the Sera
-=Utopia Planetia=-
Vol tapped the data PADD against his hand once again, he was becoming impatient. He exhaled deeply as he fastened his eyes upon the words on the screen once more.
All morning he had assigned himself the task of going over the brief psychological profiles of all the senior officers on board the USS Serendipity, in order to get a feel for those who served beneath his target patient, the ship's Captain.
This captain was said to be a Bajoran woman of thirty six years of age according to the file, and her name was Zanh Liis.
At first he was enjoying himself, reading up on how the Chief of Engineering was described as "lucid" and "fit for a career in Starfleet," and how the Second Officer was a "bulldog commander." Then he delved more deeply into Zanh's own history- and that was when he began to get uneasy.
As the time for his pick up was nearing, Vol found it difficult to concentrate. Here he was, at the beginning of his career really as a full fledged counselor after years of training and medical internships and the like- and he'd drawn the short straw among his peers; singled out to be the one to give Starfleet his opinion as to whether or not Zanh Liis was handling her new assignment well.
"Ensign Tryst?" The voice came from in front of him. Vol looked straight ahead, a Starfleet officer stood before him. The Betazoid quickly stood straight and tall, ripping his eyes away from his data PADD.
"Yes sir." He said firmly.The red-headed human female nodded to him, to signal that he may relax.
"I am Ensign Pamona, Security, USS Serendipity. I have been assigned to escort and accompany you onto our vessel. If you would please follow me." The woman looked him in the eye and waited for his response.
*Built like a fortress this one is.*
"Thank you, of course." Vol bent down to retrieve his carry-on from where he had rested it on the floor. He quickly stowed his PADD into one of the compartments before standing straight up, nodding to the Ensign, and following her with swift, strong strides to the transportation coordinates.
Vol found himself regretting not getting into uniform, he felt quite under dressed suddenly in his black body suit. The garment was tight fitting save from the knee down, and had a slit that went from the bottom of his neck to part way down his torso.
When the two had reached the designated coordinates his guide halted and looked to Vol to do the same. When he did, she tapped her comm badge.
"Pamona to Serendipity, prepare to transport two."
[We have your coordinates, standby.]
"Acknowledged." said Pamona, almost spitefully. Vol couldn't help but feel like she was going to bite someone's head clean-off soon.
"Is everything alright Ensign?" Vol inquired. The woman glared at him, but then immediately chuckled, as if to herself.
"I'm sorry, I am a bit worked up. Most of the ship's crew is on shore leave, unfortunately I had a family emergency a few months ago. I spent all my days of shore leave then and so I'm on duty now while everyone else takes a break." The woman laughed again before exclaiming. "Look at me, spilling out to you as if you were Ship's Counselor."
Vol chuckled as well, sensing her mild embarrassment. Apparently Command's wish to keep his true purpose aboard the Sera a secret until his arrival had been entirely successful- even his security escort had no idea that not only was he actually a psychiatrist, but he was there to analyze the fitness of her Commanding Officer.
"I doubt you'll be the first." Vol said looking away whilst wearing a small grin on his face.
[Serendipity to Pamona, reporting ready for transport.]
Tapping her comm badge, the ensign replied. "Acknowledged. Energize when ready."
The officers each set aside their questions about the other for now as they readied themselves for transport.
-=USS Serendipity=-
Moments ago he had been nervous coming here when he saw no reason to be, perhaps the feeling had been an omen of this happening.
He had been warned by those that knew her at Command that the Captain would not be happy to see him- and had hoped she would be on duty at least so he wouldn't have to interrupt her day off. . .
As the security officer showed him to his temporary quarters so he could change into uniform and get cleaned up, he had one final request to make of her.
"If you could just tell me where I might look for the Captain in a bit. . ."
"The Captain is off for the afternoon and is not to be disturbed." Pamona replied. "You can talk to Commander Salvek, our XO. You'll probably find him on the bridge, just call security when you're ready and we'll escort you."
*Great. The Vulcan with the classified profile.*
"Thank you," Vol said weakly, not wanting to say that he had no choice, he had to find the Captain, and do it soon to accomplish his task. He was not to tell any one more than was absolutely necessary as to why he was aboard the Sera to begin with- so he wondered if he could get around it without telling this Commander Salvek anything.
The doors closed behind him.
"So it is her day off, probably deliberate. It wouldn't surprise me to discover that the Captain somehow found out I was coming here and is intentionally dodging this mandatory check-up of hers." Vol sighed and began to pace the length of his quarters. He often spoke aloud to himself instead of thinking to himself; it was a Betazoid trait.
"Still... what's the worst that could happen? Well, what if the Captain is not happy to see me, and refuses to cooperate, and I can't do what I was sent to do, and then I have to figure out how to tell Admiral Vox that I didn't complete my assignment and they never give me such a sensitive assignment again and I'm stuck giving Rorschach tests to maladjusted Academy Cadets for the rest of my career. . . or what if they decide I can't hack it and take my commission altogether and send me back home and packing? What if... STOP!"
Vol rolled his eyes at himself as he massaged his temples. Anxiety was getting the best of him, and typically; he began doubting himself. He laughed audibly as he cocked his hip to the side, crossed his arms and let his head fall back as he took in deep breaths.
"Computer, shoot me."
The computer made a series of noises, as if trying to process the request.
^Unable to comply, Please restate request.^
"Glad to see you've got my best interest at heart." Vol's gaze fell back down onto the black and blue uniform that waited to be adorned by him. He sighed once more, releasing his concerns and worries. He was going to get through this, despite the fact that given the information he'd seen on Zanh, she was not going to throw a parade to welcome him when she discovered that her superiors were already wanting her fitness to be verified by an objective source.
The Betazoid stripped off his civilian clothes and stepped into the sonic shower. An opportune moment to clear his mind and come to terms with the situation. Again, what was the worst that could happen. . .
[Commander Salvek to Ensign Tryst, please report to the bridge immediately.]
Just then the sonic shower began.
*Why me?*
Ensign Vol Tryst
Starfleet Command, Medical Division
Currently aboard the USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Captain Zanh
"Target Patient"
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Starfleet Command, Medical Division
Currently aboard the USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Captain Zanh
"Target Patient"
USS Serendipity NCC-2012