Soil Solution

Posted on Sat Jul 13th, 2019 @ 4:28pm by Captain Rueben Gregnol & Dodian Carli

Mission: Mission 9 - Daucina
Location: Daucina
Timeline: MD02 12:00
1321 words - 2.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Dodian had taken on a role on another civilian vessel, the SS Mary Rose. She thought the name was sweet and that was part of why she chose it. That and the fact they needed a counsellor and she liked to move every so often to where people needed her. The ship was an old Starfleet vessel and she smiled a little knowing how old it was, and it reminded her that you're never too young to find purpose. At 125 she was still learning, still stumbling and finding her feet since her Orion capture, El Auria exodus and all the things that have made her who she is.

For now, she was looking for her Captain, a Rueben Gregnol. She didn't know much about him, not yet, as she liked to meet a person first before looking into their past. Dodian spotted him and began to walk towards him.

Gregnol sat in the beachside cafe drinking the huge coffee he had ordered looking around taking in the fresh air and the ocean air that he hadn't realised until now he missed so much. It was becoming more and more apparent that he needed someone to talk to that wasn't involved in the Alternative Universe that they had encountered but that that crew were still struggling with it. He saw the woman coming towards him and rose automatically to greet her. "Dodian?" He wondered holding out his hand.

Slightly taken aback Dodian took a step to the rear of her. Men standing up, using her name and greeting her had been a negative experience for her in the past but she put a smile on her face and hid her feelings of anxiety. Extending her hand, albeit a bit shakily. "Captain Gregnol?" she asked, hoping to the Gods it was him and not some random person who knew her from her past.

"You can call me Reuben or Gregnol." The man said taking her hand shaking it lightly before he sat back down. What was it with his ship attracting scared females. Was Jeassaho putting it in adverts to save people? "Something to drink?" He said moving to indicate to a passing waitress.

"I'll just have water, thank you," Dodian replied as she became a little more sure of the situation. She just didn't like going into a situation without knowing a way out, or who she was dealing with. However, she got a good sense from the man through their touch, that was one of her El-Aurian 'gifts'. Others had extra perception skills, a better sense of time where she had the more physical side of species benefits. "It's nice to meet you, Reuben," she added getting a pang of sadness from him and the flash in her mind of a child. Her poker face was good though, years of slavery had taught her that much.

The woman who had been heading towards them nodded as she heard what the woman wanted. "Thank you." He called after the woman as he pulled back his hand, sitting down. He wasn't one to stand on ceremony or other points of decorum he used to as a Starfleet Executive Officer. "You as well." He assured.

Dodians water was brought quite quickly and she thanked the server for her quick return. "So, tell me a bit about you?" She half asked. "The former Starfleet Commander turned civilian who commands a former Starfleet ship turned civilian also."

"And exactly how did you come by that information?" The man found himself asking with a small smile.

"I'm El-Aurian for one, people tell me things they don't necessarily tell others so that makes my job as a counsellor a lot easier. They don't call us a race of Listeners for nothing." She mused as she took a sip and looked in the other direction. "There's that and I'm over 100 years old so I've been around a bit and hear things, remember things that others may not. But to put your mind at ease, no-ones 'spilling the beans' as Humans say. You were Chief Security Officer on the Victory when I chose to retire from the fleet."

"That was a long time ago." The man said solidly thinking it had to be five years if not longer since he was Chief of Security on the Victory. It felt like a completely different life to him now, the Uniform still meant something to him but he was pretty sure he no longer had the guts to put it on.

"For others is it only yesterday, Rueben." She said with a smile, she ran her finger around the rim of her glass of water. "When you leave Starfleet it is either with a heavy heart or not. For me it was just a part of my life, an experience to try and see if I liked. What do you think of Starfleet?" She asked.

The man shrugged. He really had really no strong emotions on Starfleet. They had left him out in the cold for there own purpose and now he was refusing to play the games that Intelligence wanted. "Nothing really." He admitted with another shrug.

Dodian smiled as she looked into her water. "Fair enough," she replied not wanting to press the question. He could speak to her if he wanted once she was settled on board. "Still kind of funny you end up commanding an old Starfleet vessel." She began to run her finger around the rim, a small hum began to emanate but nothing too loud to annoy others.

"I wasn't meant to be commanding her." The man said his mind going back to the day Barton asked him to be Executive Officer and then the next day when the ship became his by the twist of fate where Barton had been arrested. It was a little known fact unless you have been on the ship since the beginning.

"I see." She began, "Still, here you sit with the proverbial pips of command. You seem quite confident in how you hold yourself and you don't give much away. I suppose you need that in your line of work?" She half asked.

"Of course I would." The man said. For all his faults and coolness he had been a good officer, he hadn't meant to go down this rabbit hole, it had happened and he was trying his best. "I and my proverbial pips survive the best we can."

"Well life can take many different turns, and it can be strange how it can shape your path." She said as the noises of the cafe filled the air. "One day your life can be quite plain sailing until your boat overturns and you find yourself adrift in a sea of uncertainty. "

Gregnol looked at the woman and nodded. It certainly summed up his unique situation and what was truly his thoughts on it. "You are telling me. It was fine one moment and now it really is a sea of uncertainty at the moment." He had never looked at it like that before and it unnerved him. He didn't like sailing into the unknown.

"Well you've hired me for a reason, Reuben, I know you need to air a sense of strength being in command but I am here for you as well. If there is one thing I understand personally it is 'choppy waters'. My past has shaped me in more negative ways than I admit too so know I'm not one of these psychologists that tells people 'it gets easier' if I don't mean it." Dodian replied. She knew her previous reply had made the man think a little and if anything that was a positive first step. Of course, this wasn't an official counselling session but really aren't most conversations a form of such?

OFF::

Dodian Carli M.D. Psy.D
Counsellor
SS Mary Rose

Rueben Gregnol
Captain
SS Mary Rose