Over dinner, hope?
Posted on Mon Sep 23rd, 2024 @ 10:49am by Lieutenant Njalia Sayffier & Commander Martin Sorenson
Mission:
Take My Hand
Location: Galley
Timeline: End of day that started with ?
3320 words - 6.6 OF Standard Post Measure
Njalia was feeling drained after a day doing one of the things she was not good at, dealing with people. A talk with Martin and a good meal would help her feel better.
She greeted a crew member on her way to the replicator and then, paused, suddenly unsure what to order.
Spotting her at the replicator, Martin came over, offering a smile. After the last couple days, when she'd comm'd about meeting for a meal, he'd jumped at the chance for a nice meal with someone who did not make him feel like he was subject to an inspection. "I decided on comfort food - tater tot hot dish."
"That sounds wise," said Njalia. "North Point fish and cheese tart, Kyan variant, Andorian The, Azjure Three, sweet and hot," she ordered. Taking the tray after it materialized.
"How have you been settling back in?" she asked. "I find it comforting to be back on the Vesta."
"We're getting there," he said, taking the seat opposite. "I am glad to be back on Vesta, especially after the Nelson, she feels ...homey. Which is odd considering I've served on her for only a handful of years, but I suppose it's appropriate for a ship named after a goddess of the hearth." He took a sip of his iced tea. "Thank you, by the way, for the dedication ceremony. That was a wonderful way to honor what I think we were all feeling coming back aboard."
Njalia's antennae curled in what would be the equivalent of a blush response in a human. "It seemed needed. While I am not overly superstitious, there does seem to be some sort of . . . sympathetic harmony between a ship and crew. I wanted to recognize and foster that. And I hope whoever ends up on the Nelson can manage the same."
She took a bite of tart. "I just hope we can get some of the new crew onto that wavelength as well."
He paused, fork partway to the hot dish, wondering if she meant the same crew that immediately sprang to his mind. Not wanting to make assumptions, especially since people, even supposedly dispassionate Vulcans, often behaved differently in medbay that around other departments, he limited his reply to lifting his brows and inquiring, "Have you had to deal with issues there?"
"Yes," said Njalai, taking a sip of The. "I have been working with people all day, which is not my strong suite. I was trying to avoid a department on department conflict but I feel that I was the only one putting in the effort. Now, I find that I do have some pettiness in my spirit and I want to . . . do something. But I will not, it is not in the best tradition of Starfleet." She paused. "Sorry, you do not need this dropped on you."
"No need to apologize," he assured. "Since I seem to have lost us another Counselor, listening is the least I can do." He paused to take a bite of cheesy tot. "Let me guess, our new Boatswain? I'm pretty sure one of nurses wanted to smack him."
Njalia laughed. "No, he was my early morning problem and I think it was sorted well enough. And I apologies, it was me who reminded him of his overdue medical checkup. No, it was a different Vulcan," she gave a wry smile and took a bite of tart.
Martin puffed a laugh. "Well, he would have come in anyway. At least this timing meant I was there to step in." He thought a moment as he scooped another bite onto his fork. "Another Vulcan, eh? Let me guess, one keen to get to work in security?"
"The very one. I think, hope, we have things worked out," said Njalia. "I would not want the Captain to have to start a new mission with a conflict between two department heads. If one wants to look on the positive side, it gave me a chance to have a good talk with Quartermaster Noj. I think we are packing snow for the same end now."
Martin smiled at the idiom - so very Andorian, and yet having grown up in Minnesota, he understood it completely. "I'm glad of that. Noj can be ...creative... about keeping us stocked, which is a skill set I'd be loathe to lose. That said, you may need to watch his back. T'Pexl knows medbay was missing some items from inventory and is investigating - as she should; it's her job - but it wouldn't surprise me if she has Noj high on the suspect list." He took a sip of tea, covering a frown. "She certainly seemed ready to investigate my staff. Which frankly may lead an entirely different conflict between departments."
"I asked two things of the Security Chief: One, that I should be informed of investigations into my department, which is protocol as long as I am not the one being investigated," said Njalia. "And two, to give me a chance to sort it out before continuing her investigation. I am not sure if either point sunk in. Luckily, Quartermaster Noj took my requests to heart, so I believe, and I think the matter will be sorted out by the end of the day. By the way, did you know that Latorian Habba root is an effective digestion aid for Bolians?"
That was quite the sudden change of topic. Martin blinked. "I did actually," he replied, giving a small grin. "Medical, ya know. But I'm not sure what that has to do with Security... But I'm fine with changing the topic. I'd sort of hoped to unwind over a nice meal," he said, taking another bite.
"Sorry, let us turn to brighter things," said Njalia. "It is exciting to be off on a new mission, yes? You have done second contact missions before, have you not? This is all new to me but such a classic Starfleet mission. Can you tell I am excited?" she added with a grin.
"Yes," he laughed, feeling his mood lightened at her enthusiasm. "In fact, yes to all of that. Meeting a new civilization that's just entering the galactic community is always exciting." He grinned back, his own love for learning about new cultures coming through. Despite their initial encounter, that extended to the Qoird, who were fascinating in both their alienness and their similarity in wanting to gather other species into their community. "This one should be even more interesting as it sounds as though there will be another second contact team there from a ...competing... galactic power."
"The Qoird Chorus, yes? They seem fascinating," said Njalia. "I look forward to meeting them in person. I am so very curious to get a close look at their technology."
Martin nodded as he finished chewing. "Yes." He paused for a sip of tea. "I'm not sure how much tech you'll get to see. We first encountered them about a year ago, but still don't know a great deal about them. Well, other than that they find our Prime Directive repugnant."
Njalia nodded. "A viewpoint I can understand even if we do not need to agree with it. It will be quite interesting to meet them and our potential new Federation members. Now that I am mostly caught up on my technical reading, I will dive into our briefing for the mission."
"I'm not entirely unsympathetic to their point of view on that myself," he admitted. He didn't know how doctors on pre-warp planet monitoring teams managed; he couldn't imagine watching a curable disease sweep through a community, especially if it had a high fatality rate, and do nothing. As it was, there was still a black mark in his Starfleet record for refusing to leave patients when an evac had been ordered. Still, the information about Shalia's unusually rapid warp development, particularly while their people were apparently still uncomfortable with the concept of other intelligent life, triggered a lot of unpleasant memories from Brax. "Though deliberately accelerating a society's technological progress is certainly ...problematic. And you'll see once you dig into those reports, that they may have hand in here."
Njalia finished her tart and nodded. "I will do my research, I wish to contribute to the Vesta as best I can and I can only do that if I understand what is going on." She sips her The. "I know I am the most junior of the senior staff but I want to help as I can."
"I understand." He really did - Martin had a lot of confidence in his abilities and worth as a doctor, but he was far less confident about what he contributed beyond that. "If it helps, from the perspective of this most junior member of the command staff, you already contribute a great deal. I'm not sure how we would have made it through the shakedown without you. Besides, you're not that junior - I got jumped to Commander mostly because the Admiral wanted to keep me and bureaucracy being what it is, his CMO had to be kept up in rank. But I've served in Starfleet less than a decade. Only a few more years than you, really, if you account for the time slip."
"I just feel that I could do more to help if I was kept better informed," says Njalia. "I do not want to sound arrogant but I feel I am good at my role. My department is solid, though still settling back in after all the upgrades, and ready to help as well." She toyed with her The cup. "Isi, I just worry about being locked into Ops without seeing the big picture because I am sure I can help there as well."
Two thoughts immediately occurred to him at that. First, that some of that sentiment was probably a result of the recent difficulty with the new head of security. Second, that if Jack's response to being asked to take XO for this mission was to run away screaming (for which he wouldn't blame him, since his own response to the need for a fill-in XO had been 'Not it!'), he was recommend Njalia. However, neither seemed the right thing to voice at the moment. At least not directly. "I'd think Ops generally has a more extensive view into what is happening in other departments than most others, but bigger picture... are you interested in moving to command?"
"Other department, perhaps, but the mission as a whole, perhaps not," said Njalia. "I . . . am unsure about command. I think I should at least try. It may be I am not cut out for it but . . . I will not know unless I try, no?"
Martin nodded. He'd felt the same at a certain point ...and after trying had concluded command track was not for him. However, that didn't mean the same would hold true for Njalia, and she struck him as someone who would be good at command if she wanted it. "Trying is the best way to find out. If you want to pursue it, I'll help anyway I can. As to mission as a whole, though, my overview of it comes because I'm 2XO, but if you want to be more involved, I'd suggest talking to Lt. Kita in Intel or Ms. Cerin. I think diplomacy in particular will have the lead on this one."
"Naturally," agreed Njalia. "I have not had a great deal of interaction with Miss Cerin and I should check in on Lieutenant Kita in any event. He did turn out to be unharmed., yes?"
"Ms. Cerin is a friend. I'm sure get along well with her, and her Aide is Andorian, so there will be at least one room in the diplomatic offices where the temperature will feel right. As to Lt. Kita, yes, he's unharmed and perhaps changed for the better," Martin said, smiling as he thought of the Asahi's new willingness to accept medical care, and to have a friendly drink with a doctor. "He's certainly ...less guarded."
"Good," said Njalia. "I will try to speak with them both in the near future. Except for training exercises, I am caught up on my work."
"You're ahead of me then," Martin remarked as he scooped more food onto his fork. "I need to sort out the discrepancies in my inventory, and also work on setting medbay up to showcase what we have to offer the Shalians."
"Let me know if Ops can help with that," said Njalia. "I have several team members who need some experience coordinating with medical."
He nodded with a smile. "I'd appreciate that. I'd like to be sure there's no bug in the inventory system before I talk to anyone about the smaller discrepancies. We've run all usual diagnostics on equipment after the upfit but having someone from Ops really go over it would be a good added measure."
"I will send some people tomorrow," said Njalia. She laughed softly. "No matter how hard we try, we end up talking about work. The curse of being in Starfleet, I imagine."
"Yes," Martin laughed, if a bit ruefully. "Probably also a sign Dr. Lewe that may have been right she told me I really need to get a life outside work."
"The problem is that we enjoy our work," said Njalia. "My cousin Astrja, she is assistant Chief Ops on the Athena, she does her job, and she is good at it, but when her shift is over, she has other priorities. For me, when my shift is over, I am digging into the latest tech journals, trying to get an idea on what I need to prepare for. Not because I feel it is demanded of me but because I enjoy learning and planning out what to do."
"Exactly!" The reply came partly in affirmation and partly in burst of relief that someone felt the same. "I treid to explain that to Counselors when I was injured - that immersing myself in medical journals wasn't a paranoid or obsessive response, but therapeutic." He puffed a small sigh, looking down at his personal-sized hot dish. "...Though I have to admit the point that it's probably been particularly helpful in forming personal relationships outside of work."
Njalia nods. "There is a reason that many people in Starfleet end up with spouses who are also in Starfleet, people who understand what the job is and its demands." She paused, obviously thinking about something.
Martin nodded. "The same goes in civilian medical circles, especially for people who work in hospitals or emergency services." A fleeting thought of Calley - the one here and the crossover - rose unbidden. He shook his head. "Of course, there rank isn't an additional complication. Maybe I should look into getting a dog." It was said jokingly, mostly. "I hope it's easier for you. You probably interact more with the people who most want things optimized so they can do the work they love. Whereas those are types who will most avoid downtime from coming into medical unless they're carried in on a cart."
Njalia listened. "That I cannot understand, Starfleet medicine is a secular miracle, why would one not take advantage of it?" She paused again, her earlier confidence evaporated. "Isi, may I ask you a personal question, Martin?"
With someone else that question might give him pause, but he knew Njalia well enough to feel comfortable with it. Besides, he'd just partially aired his frustrations over his personal life to her. "Certainly."
"Isi," Njalia began, "have you ever considered a relationship with someone of a different race?" As the words tumbled from her mouth she almost wished she could call them back.
There was a pause. She wasn't asking because... No. There'd never been any sense of anything but friendship here. Still, he answered with simple neutral honesty. "Yes, a few times actually."
Njalia nodded slowly. "While Andoria does its best, there are still not that many Andorian, in an absolute sense, in Starfleet. I wonder if I should think about . . . others. I would like some companionship . . . when not working," she added with a weak smile.
"I understand." He really did. "I think it's a good thing to open oneself to new possibilities. In Starfleet we've all learned to appreciate other races and cultures, but being involved with people outside my own race took it beyond that in learning to see things more through their eyes..." In a lot of ways, it had made him a better doctor because it had tempered assumptions and expanded his understanding of empathy. Not that it had always been easy. A Tellarite had been his best friend on Atlantis, but allowing Gorman to set him up with another Tellarite had definitely been a mistake. "There are challenges, of course, and obviously none of those relationships ultimately worked out. But usually for the same reasons my relationships with other humans have failed." His mouth twisted a little, and he took a drink. "But that's another thing about considering others - it's not like you're arranging a marriage, only exploring possibilities."
"I have a promise to Astrja that we will form part of a family unit, if at all possible," said Njalia. "But finding two Andorian males to complete the unit that is the problem. Andorian family dynamics are challenging."
"I can only imagine," Martin replied sympathetically. Finding a single lifemate was hard enough. "But as long as you're upfront about that commitment, I don't see any reason it should prevent you from ...enjoying companionship here."
"I know I want something more than I have but I do not know what," said Njalia. "I have been trying to meet more people. To built a network but it has been challenging, for reasons already discussed."
Martin's heart went out to her. In many ways they faced the same problems, a passion for their work that had led to more rapid than normal promotion to department head. But where he had had a professional career in civilian life beforehand, Starfleet was all she had known, which likely made handling the social aspects harder (not that he was handling them well anyway). "I suppose keep doing what you're doing in hosting get togethers and," he lifted a fork with a smile, "sharing meals with people. I've been thinking about getting back into music myself. I've always listened - I've got whole playlists for working out and for surgery - but I'd learned to play keyboard when I was younger and I'm trying to pick that up again, maybe see if there's a group of musicians onboard that I could join."
"That sounds nice," said Njalia. "I was just starting to learn more about music and dance when I was transferred to the Vesta. Then my free time, it melted like a snowflake in the sunlight."
"Yeah..." Martin sighed sympathetically, and a bit sadly - this is what came of the revolving door of Counselors. "It is incredibly easy to let free time evaporate, especially as a department head. All I can say is what the Counselor on Esquimalt kept telling me: Step back before you burn out." His mouth went a little sideways. "Not easy advice to take, I know, but after all alternates I saw in that space-time rift, I've been trying to make more of an effort."
Njalia smiled. "Well, let me know if you get your music group together, I will come and listen. And I will carve out some more time to myself, I promise," if she was promising herself or Martin was not entirely clear.
"I will," he said, smiling back. "And I'll hold you to that. And ask you to remind me to stick with taking some outside-medical time too."
"Agreed," said Njalia. "Together we will work towards being more balanced people . . . who still work too much."
