Counselor and Captain's Clash

Posted on Wed Apr 27th, 2022 @ 1:59pm by Captain Devin Hadenbeer & Lieutenant Commander R'elle

1,877 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Into The Void
Location: The Lion's Heart

Councilor r'elle was in her new quarters. The old ones had been ruined by the so called prankster. She was still upset as it almost killed her. Still she had an appointment to keep with the captain.

Devin found The Lion's Heart after hours to be a somewhat somber place, what with the wooden chairs mounted upside on tables and the darkened silence a bit oppressive. But she also found trying to write music in her quarters could be an issue as Marta often required a modicum of "play time", which mean jumping up on the piano or scattering PADDs left and right. So here she was, a pint on the table beside the piano, working through a particularly difficult piece of music. Her eye strayed to the stack of PADDs on the table and she grimaced; lately there seemed to be a lot of "difficult pieces"...

R'elle approached the Captain's quarters. She was a difficult patient, but R'elle would not give up. The captain had actually made time for her after hours. That was fine. She took her victories where she could find them. She rang the door buzzer. More than likely the captain would know it was her. Very few people would dare to bother the captain after hours without a very good reason.

There was no response at first. Then the door opened.

The captain's cat was sitting at the door, staring up at Rrelle. Then the counselor heard a faint chirp, it sounded like it came from down the hall. The cat cocked its head, there was another chirp. Then she dashed past Rrelle and headed toward the direction of the sound.

R'elle smiled at Marta's antics. A typical earth cat. However, as she looked into the quarters, it was empty. "Captain?"

There was no answer from the quarters, the lighting within was dim. And then the doors closed in Rrelle's face.

R'elle had a good guess where she would be but to be sure she asked the computer, "Computer, where is captain Hadenbeer?"

"Captain Hadenbeer is in The Lion's Heart," the computer replied.

R'elle smiled. That what she figured. Well then, it was off to the lion's heart! it only took a few minutes. She didn't need to ring the bell as it were for here. She just walked in. "Hello Captain. Good to see you again. "

Devin attempted to suppress a glare as she watched the counselor stride into the closed bar. She reached over and took hold of the pint and took a long pull. She had a feeling she was going to need it to get through this.

"Counselor," she noted as she replaced the tall glass, "What a singular pleasure seeing you again. What new mental torments have you in store for me this evening?"

R'elle smiled. She was used to the captain's quips. "Well, I thought we could talk about your family. Your niece in particular."

Devin had begun to turn back to the piano when Rrelle made her statement. The captain hesitated, then turned back to face the counselor.

"What," Hadenbeer said slowly, deliberately, "do you want to know?" There was something almost unnerving in the way she directed the entirety of her focus upon the caitian.

now this was interesting. The captain's response was more than she expected. It would seem r'elle had struck a nerve. "Well let's start with why she is onboard the Lionheart and not still in the academy? I am curious as to why you did that."

Devin grimaced and began sorting through her unfinished music to give herself time to think. There were no good answers to that particular question.

"Perhaps I simply wanted a cello instructor," she replied without looking up, "Perhaps I wanted to thumb my nose at my sister in-law. Perhaps a rare moment of gross sentimentality overwhelmed me."

She glanced up at Rrelle, "Why do you think Dare is here, Counselor?"

R'elle shook her head. "Oh no Captain! You know it doesn't work like that! No deflecting! You tell me why you brought her here." It was a nice try but R'elle knew better. The captain didn't want to answer the question which made r'elle want to know even more. Something told her it could be important.

Gods, Devin thought. The woman was like a...a cat with a mouse between it's jaws. And she was the mouse. She wasn't going to leave her alone until she had something to chew on, something to deliver to Janeway. With an exasperated sigh she replied, "I don't know, Counselor. Perhaps because some time ago I discovered how lonely it was to surround myself with strangers and I wanted a familiar face about. Sometimes the cat and the bartender aren't enough."

There, Devin thought. Let her think she had succumbed to sentimentality. It beat the alternative, which was to suspect otherwise...

"Well, that is true. It is nice to be surrounded by friends and family. I can see Dare really looks up to you and wants to please you. However I suspect you had another motive. I just can't believe you pulled her out of the academy just because you were lonely. That doesn't sound like you."

"Oh?" Devin replied with a sardonic smile, her glass half raised to her lips, "And you think you know me so well you-"

The pub's doors swooshed open and Marta the cat stood there, tail up. Devin stared past Rrelle in open astonishment. Then the cat was dashing down the corridor.

"Cat!" Devin rolled her eyes and stood suddenly, she moved forward and upset the stack of PADDs which went clattering at Rrelle's feet. Grimacing, Devin set down the glass and said, "Wait here, I will be back."

She stepped off the raised dias and rushed past the counselor to make for the door and her wayward feline...

R'elle had to laugh. Marta was very clever and seemingly playful. No telling how long she would prolong the chase. No doubt the captain would eventually catch her but Marta would have her fun before that for sure!

R'elle picks up the padds and tries to stack them neatly. She tries not to look as some of that may be classified and she may not be authorized to look at it.

R'elle did see some of the content as some of the PADDs were upended. It appeared to all be music. She saw a few of the titles; some were simple tags like "concerto 42B" or "Set For Stun var. 994". One in particular had an odd title: Mother/Daughter/Sister/Spouse.

She heard the pub doors swoosh open, Hadenbeer entered with the cat in her arms. If she took any notice of R'elle holding the PADDs she gave no notice as she set the cat on the floor.

"Stay," Hadenbeer told the cat, "St-"

The cat dashed off into a nearby corner, which caused the captain to sigh...

R'elle chuckled. "I know you know better Captain. There is a saying I learned in the academy. It stems from earth. "Dogs have owners, Cats have staff! Marta is going to do what she wants to do, not what you tell her to do. Telling her to stay is like telling the wind to stay. Now maybe bribery will work. That said she is giving you a great workout!"

"Hmmm," Devin said as she sat down at a table. She seemed more composed now. Smiling slightly, she said, "I understand you had some...difficulty yesterday. Some malfunction in your quarters?"

"Malfunction?" For the first time the captain would see a different side of R'elle. Her claws dug into the table. "That was no accident or malfunction. I am convinced that this so called practical Joker has gone too far! Raisng the temperature in my quarters to dangerous levels and then the holographic storm! I am still furious with this person for that! Thank K'tal that Alia came by and got em out of there!"

"Oh," Hadenbeer replied with a small frown, "So someone came into your life and disrupted it, and made you incredibly uncomfortable and angry, and for the moment you have no means to retaliate," she shook her head, "I do sympathize, counselor. I truly do."

"Thank you Captain! Yes I am angry because could have been seriously hurt. If not for Alia, I might not have survived. It is hard to say!" Replied the councilor.

Devin stood and scooped up the cat as it wandered by. As she stood, the cat resting on her shoulder, she said, "It seems you may be too...emotional to continue this counseling session. Perhaps we should reschedule at a time when you are more yourself?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps I need to process this some more to get past what could have been!" R'elle said

She turned and made for the exit, she called out, "As for the practical joker, I will tell Ull to give it the attention I feel it is due..."

R'elle exited after the captain and headed for the turbolift. She could have done without the captain mentioning the prankster incident. The captain could not understand what she had been through. At best it was an assault and at worst, it was attempted murder. She would need time to get over this. She would have to think on how best to handle this.

As R'elle reached the turbolift she heard her named called out. Hadenbeer rounded the corner and she had apparently dropped both the cat and her cane. She looked like she was a bit winded and it was obvious she had run full out to catch the counselor.

"Counselor!" the captain said as she composed herself. The turbolift doors had opened behind R'elle as Hadenbeer spoke, "I...perhaps I was too...flippant earlier. My family is a sensitive subject to me and I suppose I took umbrage."

The turbolift doors closed but before they did R'elle had sensed an...emptiness. The captain continued, "Please allow me to make it up to you. Perhaps...dinner with myself and my niece?"

If the captain had sensed anything wrong she hid it well.

She took a moment as the captain spoke. "Yes, you were flippant captain. What happened was not a mere inconvenience. Not to me. However I accept the invitation. I think a dinner with you and dare would be quite nice. Although I have my suspicions that a 4th member might want to join us..."

The Captain stiffened.

"...The four footed one." R'elle said with a smile. Somehow this made her feel better.

The Captain visibly relaxed and replied, "Yes, I am sure Marta will make her presence felt."

"Doesn't she always?" R'elle said with a smile. Marta was a wonderful companion and she had to admit, watching the captain chase after her was so much fun!

She stepped past R'elle and the turbolift doors opened, beyond was the turbolift. Hadenbeer said, "Well, Counselor. Good night. We will talk tomorrow about that dinner."

"Good night Captain." with that R'elle was off to bed in her new cabin.

Devin watched the Counselor disappeared behind the turbolift doors and took a deep sigh of relief. She rubbed her neck and winced as she felt her leg start to stiffen. Just one more distraction to worry about...

 

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