Meeting the New Counselor

Posted on Fri Nov 11th, 2011 @ 9:57am by Commander Raven Adams & Commander Krang Darkmoon

1,532 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Winds of Change
Location: Oriental Tea Room, Typhon

ON

Samantha was enjoying a quiet afternoon on Typhon while Damon checked out the Marine Detachment on the starbase. She decided it was the perfect opportunity to check out a small tea room she found on a previous trip.

Sam was pleased to walk in and find the same little Asian woman in charge. "Hello," Sam said, smiling politely. "I would like some tea, please."

"You not bring nice Captain man, this time." Aeshia said, with a slightly odd look on her face. "And you get Captain's pips of your own! Is good! Is good! You want traditional tea again?"

Sam was confused for a moment. Then her expression cleared. "Actually, I'm not the same person. But I would like a traditional tea."

"You same person. She look exactly like you. I get you tea, anyways. Maybe I get you Doctor, too? Are you okay?" Aeshia asked.

"I'm fine, thank you." It was no use arguing. The tea lady wouldn't accept anything Sam said unless her twin showed up. "I think a cup of your excellent tea will do the trick." Sam wasn't sure how she'd explain herself to a doctor. Or if she even wanted to try.

"Okay. Tea it is." Aeshia said, as she wandered off, to get Sam's tea.

Sam found a quiet table where she could people watch and waited for her tea. She wondered how many other people would confuse her with the other Sam. At least the Calypso would be leaving the starbase in a day or two.

Sophia had the computer locate Captain York. It told her that the captain was in a shop in Typhon. A map in hand and using the accompanying voice prompts, she found the shop.

She stowed the PADD in her shoulder bag and walked inside. "Excuse me." she said softly, tapping the captain on the shoulder.

Sam looked up and smiled. "Hi. Can I help you?"

"Are you Captain York?" she asked politely. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

Oh, good. Someone who was actually looking for her. "Yes, I am. Have a seat. Would you like to join me for some tea?"

"Tea would be lovely. It's been ages since I have been able to find a decent blend." Sophia said, taking the offered seat. "I am Lieutenant Sophia. I've been assigned to the Calypso as your new Counsellor. I wanted to make introductions and if it's not too terribly forward, maybe ask a small favor."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should have known, but it's been ... a little hectic lately." She hadn't checked her messages recently, which was never a good thing. "Please, feel free to ask."

"Well, ma'am, it's my husband. He has applied to be the lounge manager on the Calypso, but he got his paperwork in kind of late and we were hoping to get it sorted before the ship launched from Typhon."

Sam pulled out a PADD. "Of course. What's his name?" Sam didn't like leaving spouses behind if she could help it. Pushing through paperwork wsn't much of a problem, generally.

"Percy ma'am, Percy Johnson. He's here on Typhon if you'd like to meet him." she answered, maybe a bit too enthusiastically.

Her enthusiasm made Sam grin. "I'll get on this as soon as I get back to the Calypso. In the meantime, tell me something about yourself."

"Well, aside from the obvious, which normally weirds people out, I'm a pretty simple girl. My parents, well that is my adopted parents, were artists and had some rather strange ideas about how the world worked. They thought it would be "fun" to name me after a goddess of Terran origins." Sophia said solemnly. "I became a counsellor because I seemed to have a way of listening that causes people, strangers often, to just open up to me."

"That's interesting. What sort of artists were they?"

Sophia laughed. "Well, that's a complicated answer. Mom liked to think she was a painter, but it was very, very impressionist. Dad was a sculptor in metals, but again, very hard to define."

"I must admit, I've never been a fan of impressionistic art -- although I recognize it has a place. Do you have an artistic bent as well?"

Aeshia set the tea cups down, on the tables. She bowed, and nodded to the two, and left them to chat, without interrupting.

"No. I can barely draw a straight line. My talent is talking to people." Sophia said a bit reluctantly.

"That is a very important talent. Especially on the Calypso. We just lost the Chief of Security and some of her staff is taking it hard. So you'll find your hands full when you get to the ship."

Sophia nodded, "Good to know. I can think of few things harder than losing a co-worker."

Sam nodded in agreement. "She was dating Ensign Stran. I'm not sure how he's taking all this. He was taken ill on our last mission."

"I'll put his name on the top of my list."

"Good. Although he's likely to tell you he's fine. Stran is Vulcan." Sam chuckled and took a sip of her tea. "But you'll have plenty of time to get to know the crew. We'll be at Typhon for another day or two. Take the time to get settled in. You can go to the Quartermaster and request family quarters. I'm sure your husband will be joining us before we leave."

"Quite right. Vulcans are a special breed, especially for counsellors. Thank you for all your help ma'am."

"Any time. So, what sorts of things do you like to do in your spare time?"

Sophia thought for a moment before she answered. "I love to read, I have a passion for music, and I love to beat Percy at chess. He is just so sure that he'll win 'next time' that he always comes back for more."

Sam laughed at the thought. "You two sound like a delightful couple. I think you'll both be an asset to the Calypso."

Sophia smiled, "Thank you, and I hope that's true. That is the ultimate goal after all."

"It is indeed. Have some tea and cakes. I'm not sure if the proprietress would appreciate me taking that large a doggy bag back to the ship with me."

"Thank you." the Klingon woman replied, taking a pastry and pouring another cup of tea.

"The lounge on the Calypso is Davey Jones Locker. It has a nautical theme that fits the name of the ship. But there's some leeway for him to put his own stamp on the place."

"I'm sure he'll find a way to work within the parameters in place. He very adaptive. He is married to a Klingon therapist after all."

"True." Sam tried one of the tiny lemon tarts and smiled. "These are really good."

"Never really took a liking to lemon myself." Sophia admitted.

"You are going to make me take these back to the ship in a doggy bag, aren't you?"

"I am not making you do anything. Your choices are your own. I merely added a new set of variables to your decision making process." Sophia added in her 'professional' tone.

Sam laughed again at that. "Very true. I'll probably buy more of these and have them sent to the ship. I think Damon will like them."

"Interesting. First you try to get me to eat them to prevent taking them aboard, then you decide to order more. Do you frequently oscillate between choices?"

"I'm not oscillating. I'm expanding my options. I'm not sure how it would look if I asked for a large doggy bag to take the cakes and tarts back to the Calypso. This is a very different matter from ordering some to be delivered to the ship so I can share them later. I will probably end up buying more whether I get a doggy bag or not, so the original premise still stands. To oscillate, I would need to be vacillating between two choices, and I'm not." Sam was finding the conversation quite interesting. It gave her a lot of insight into the counselor's personality.

Sophia laughed softly. "Well played. I guess that's why you're the boss and I'm just a shrink." she said with a wink.

"It comes from being a scientist," Sam countered. She gave the counselor a friendly grin. "And I wouldn't want you to lose respect for me before you even get on board."

"Trust me, it would take much more before that happened."

Sam finished her tea and noticed that Sophia was also finished. She collected the remaining tarts, scones and biscuits to take with her. "Good. I'll settle the bill. It was nice meeting you, Sophia."

"The pleasure was all mine Captain York. I look forward to working with you."

"I'll see you and your husband on the Calypso." Sam paid the bill and arranged for an order of lemon tarts and assorted pastries to be sent to her quarters and headed off to do more shopping.

OFF

Captain Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso

Lieutenant Sophia
Chief Counselor
USS Calypso

Aeshia Dew
Owner
Oriental Tea Room
Starbase Typhon

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