Behaviour Modifications

Posted on 11 Jul 2014 @ 1:42pm by Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D.

3,122 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 5, Holodeck 2
Timeline: MD 06 - 1605 hours

[ON]

In one moment, Andreus Kohl was standing in a passageway on deck five of USS Galileo. A tribble rolled passed him, looking like a tumbleweed caught in the wind. The lean Argelian was dressed appropriately for his position, wearing the standard black and grey Starfleet uniform, with all of its Science-teal highlights. His honey brown hair was side-swept and his beard was neatly trimmed. The beard had been something of a cry for help at first, and now, when he looked in a mirror, it looked the same as every other part of him. It belonged. Kohl wasn't terribly sure what that said about him, and he tried not to think about it for any longer than his reflection looked back at him from the glossy LCARS panel.

In the next moment, he was through the holodeck threshold, and Kohl was someplace else. He was striding along a corridor on the planet Earth. He breathed in, and the air tasted differently than it had done aboard Galileo. Salty, ocean-fog. The air smelled like San Francisco. After the first flutter of steps, something tightened in his chest. The sense-memory washed over him, and Kohl felt as if he were out of uniform. He wasn't dressed in the same cadet uniform as most of the other bodies marching around him.

The Academy. Starfleet Academy. Kohl breathed out a sigh between his teeth, and he said sardonically, "Oh, lovely."

The place itself was bursting with life as usual. Cadets pushed passed him with 'excuse me's and 'pardons', with the occasional indignant comment directed his way for having the audacity of being the corridor at the same time as them. The corridor led to the canteen and, as the doors opened, Kohl was hit with the smell of food and the sounds of what seemed like a thousand voices filling the air.

Amid the crowd was a man who stood out in no particular way to anyone watching. A tray sat in front of him but the food was untouched and he was sitting unnoticed by the three Humans at his table. The blond held a PADD in his hands and he was making notes between bouts of observing the room.

When Oren looked up again he noticed something strange. Teal. Scanning the room once again with his keep green eyes, he finally found the offender The cadets were watching him a bit warily as it wasn't usual for a man of his rank to be in the canteen at this time. With a sigh, Oren put the PADD down on the table and carefully walked up to the man, flanking him.

"Excuse me, officer, you're standing in my populace."

There was a mischievous glimmer behind Kohl's sapphire eyes as he looked Oren up and down. "That's Andreus," Kohl said. "I'm called officer Andreus..." The self-satisfied grin slipped away from Kohl's face and then his brows knit in a heartbeat of consideration. He asked, "I'm standing in your what now?"

"Populace," Oren repeated, making a hand gesture to point out the crowd around them as he continued to look up at the man, Andreus, who was half a foot taller than him.

"Am I intruding on your holodeck time? Has it been an hour already? If you'd like, you can stay, but the cadets are noticing you," Oren explained, looking around. The cadets who had noticed the new officer were wary, seeming to sit up straighter and eat more slowly now that he was around.

In starting to answer Oren's question, Kohl said, "No, I was looking for you.." He hadn't much noticed the students as anything other than holographic filler, but now he couldn't help but consider their behaviour around him. He also took notice of the concern Oren himself was expressing over the situation. Softening, Kohl asked, "How would you suggest I blend in better? Take off the uniform?"

"We're surrounded by teenagers and you're very attractive, I don't think that would fix anything," Oren said a bit seriously. "No matter," he decided with a shrug and then seemed to brush off the problem, giving Andreus a smile. "We can rewind the simulation and just put you into the program as a cadet," he decided, going over to the holodeck's control panel.

"Now, what can I do for you?" he asked the taller man happily.

"In fact," Kohl chimed in; "That's what I'm here to ask you." He followed Oren to the arch controls, more than prepared for a holographic makeover. "I'm the Assistant Chief of the science department aboard Galileo. I wanted to introduce myself. And to meet you."

"Oh, well that's very sweet of you." Oren smiled, typing in the new parameters for the program. "What's your field of specialty?" he asked curiously as the program around them reset and paused.

"I, uh, I wouldn't say I have a specialty," Kohl replied. His tone was uncertain, and he rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke. "I am a generalist in the Life Sciences. A Nurse Practitioner and sociologist-diplomat." At that point, Andreus Kohl became awash in an imperceptible shimmer, which left his uniform and rank pips camouflaged by the holographic image of a cadet's uniform.

Oren watched Kohl carefully, taking in his posture as he listened, keeping his eyes on the other man's. At his answer, Oren felt slightly confused. In his experience 'generalist' just meant he'd taken basic science courses at University, and the less he thought of sociology the better. The only part of Kohl's words that struck him as serious were in the middle of his sentence. That in itself influenced the next thing out of his mouth.

"Why is a Nurse Practitioner the Assistant Chief of Science?" Waiting for the man's answer, Oren resumed the simulation and, as the arc disappeared, he looked back at Kohl. The red uniform didn't really suit him, he noticed off-handedly, looking him up and down for the first time.

The noise and the bustle of the Academy canteen came back to life all at once, and Kohl took that as an opportunity. He looked away from Oren, turned his whole body away, seemingly to take in the sights of the student populace going about their day. In effect, it also allowed Kohl to turn away when the lines of a sour expression crossed his face. He was all smiles when he regarded Oren again, and he said, "I'm a career officer." The words came out far too defensively. He swiped a hand to gesture towards the table where Oren had been sitting, and even that simple movement turned into a slice through the air.

Kohl began to move to the table, and his legs felt even more leaden than usual. As was his wont, he used the truth to lie to Oren. "I've demonstrated my leadership ability in Sickbay," Kohl said. "This position is a stretch assignment to test my ability with a larger department of broader scope."

"Hmm." Oren just nodded, unsure of what to say to that. He could feel that Kohl wasn't being completely upfront about what he was saying. What was the point of leading a science department if you weren't a scientist? How could you truly appreciate and understand how the people under you worked if you hadn't gone through it yourself? If you didn't know that hunger for knowledge and the thrill of discovery, how could you hope to instill and motivate your team?

Not wanting to start a conflict over something he had no control over, Oren decided to simply shrug.

"Well, I guess Starfleet works a little differently. I'm sure you're very good at what you do," Oren told him, following Kohl to the table. He noticed the man's slightly awkward gait with a trained eye, but decided not to comment.

Instead, he smiled at Kohl sincerely, hoping to lighten the mood and move on from their previous subject. "So, I was doing a quick ethnography exercise. Would you like to work with me? I could use an extra pair of eyes."

Kohl smiled back at Oren, and it was starting to feel more sincere on his side too. Kohl cast his gaze around the canteen again, considering how an ethnography exercise really would make him feel like he was back at the Academy. He was already in uniform, mind; why not go the whole way? In reply, Kohl said, "I would be pleased to help." He settled himself into the seat beside Oren's. "Would you care to share your initial findings, or should I start from a fresh perspective?"

Oren looked down at his notes, scrolling through them. They were nothing groundbreaking, really. Of course, considering his subjects, there was nothing spectacular or groundbreaking to find. He finally looked up at Kohl. "How about you give me a fresh perspective," he asked, curious to see Kohl at work.

"My focus has been primarily on their behavioral modifications based on the year they're in," Oren explained, motioning to the room.

Taking ownership of a blank PADD on the table, Kohl began to document what he observed about the food choices and utensil usage of a group of cadets at the table to his left. As he did so, he asked Oren, "Cultural norms unique to the Academy itself?"

"Not just that. I've always found it interesting how people from different cultures modify their behavior in order to fit in," Oren explained, then motioned to a group three tables away.

"Look over there. Two humans, a Betazoid and a Bajoran. All first years. I've noticed that species that look alike flock together," Oren added. As if to make his point, a Human cadet sat down opposite them. With a quick hello, she looked down at a PADD, obviously not wanting to be disturbed.

Carrying on, Oren said,"And over there." He pointed to a lone Deltan sitting two tables away. "That's very uncharacteristic behavior for a Deltan. He's a third year, so he isn't new."

Consider the Deltan and the table of human look-a-likes, Kohl began to document their grooming habits and uniform modifications. Naturally, given the conversation, he was looking for similarities as well as differences. "Just this morning," Kohl said in good humour, "Lieutenant Stace made a joke that was in reference to a Human recorded play that she had never seen, and hardly even knew what it was about. Not a Trill cultural reference, but a Human one."

"I've always found that funny," Oren said with a smile, tapping a few new observations into his PADD. "Humans are interesting," he added as a matter-of-fact. "They make my field more interesting, that's for sure, especially in Federation space. A lot of concepts have taken on very human overtones among officers." Although he didn't look up from his PADD, the tone of Oren's voice showed he didn't quite approve of what he was saying.

Building on Oren's tone, Kohl used it as a springboard for a bitchsession. For thirty seconds, he forgot all about his PADD and his notes. "Or they act surprised when I don't behave by Human societal or cultural norms," Kohl said, as if he were both disapproving and highly amused. "And then doubly surprised to find out I'm not Human. And it's not even the Humans alone who make those assumptions."

With a small scoff of agreement, Oren nodded and continued on Andreus' comments. "And when you let them know you're not Human, they get offended, as if I'm at fault for them being complete jackasses in the conversation by not informing them of the circumstances surrounding my birth." He shook his head, taping his fingers against the table. "It's like one big evolutionary joke and the word 'human-like' is the punchline."

Kohl breathed out a heavy sigh, and he looked down at his PADD. When he turned his gaze over to Oren, he shook his head in disappointment, and he said, "Humans... They're the worst."

"They definitely have a way of getting under your skin," Oren agreed with a nod. "Bad experiences?" he asked, sensing there may be more to Kohl's words than he let on. He understood how bad it could be when someone immediately assumed you were something you weren't, especially when it was such a fundamental thing like your species. It was depressing and made you feel as if you were living wrong.

Shaking his head from side to side, Kohl smirked gently at Oren. "No especially bad experiences," he had to admit, and his smirk turned sheepish. "I tend to be filled to the brim with hyperbole," he said by way of explanation. "You'll have to watch out for that, as we get to know one another." Kohl had believed in what he said, but he didn't think Humans were literally the worst. In Kohl's personal experiences, the Klingons and the Borg certainly had more to answer for.

Oren smiled back, shaking his head slightly at Kohl. Although he still had his doubts about how well Kohl worked as a leader for a science team, Oren decided there was probably more to the man than he could see. "I can live with that," he told him, continuing to look around at the group they were in before putting down a few more observations.

Kohl did the same, his fingertips lightly striking across the face of his PADD. He documented some of the vernacular choices of a group of cadets within listening distance. They were discussing an exam, and were all using similar descriptive words in reference to their experience in the exam. He noted the similarities and the vocabulary differences.

Opposite him, Oren scrolled through what he'd found. The exercise he'd started was a waste of time. There was only so much you could learn from simple observation, after all. Without proper participation, interviews and surveys, a lot of it was guess work. But guess work was what Oren enjoyed. He liked putting his accumulated knowledge to the test by trying to notice the discrepancies between what he knew to be "normal" behavior for a member of a species and how they behaved when they put on a cadet uniform.

'Ah, the smell of indoctrination,' he thought.

"Here," Kohl said, as he spun his PADD in the opposite direction. He slid it over to rest beside the PADD Oren was using. "I should be getting to Sickbay in a bit," Kohl said. "You compile add my observations with yours."

"Excellent!" Oren took Kohl's notes and eagerly began to read them. As he slowly moved from one 'observation' to the next, his eyebrows moved closer and closer to his eyes until, finally a frowned formed. The notes were....well, mediocre was putting it lightly. Kindly, even.

"Well....I guess these are okay, considering you have no anthropology training," he commented, not wanting to judge him too harshly.

When Oren's assessment came, Kohl had pushed his chair away from the table and stood up to his full height. He was moving to step away from the table, and call for the arch, when Oren's assessment came. Kohl cleared his throat loudly, and then he sat back down in his chair. Sliding in close to the table, his chair squealed as the feet dragged across the floor.

"In fact," Kohl said, "I do have anthropology training." He made every effort to deliver his words in a monotone, but they came out with a strident edge all the same. "An anthropology paper I wrote in third year at the Academy was published. I won the Palamas Award, in fact."

"Well," Oren began, "Your skills seem to have diminished exponentially since then." He didn't look up from the noted, scrolling through them once again. They were too basic for someone with actual training. They were filled with observations that a novice would notice, with no depth or application of previous knowledge. And Kohl had completely ignored the fact that Oren was observing modifications of behavior. "I mean, the good thing about them is that they're very well organised," Oren noted, not wanting his comments to be all negative. "But for someone of your training and recognition?

"These are bad." He finally looked up to meet Kohl's eyes. He didn't mean to be harsh but this was his profession, the field he'd poured fifty years of his life into. "Your notes are very basic and filled with uncertainty, like you're playing a guessing game while trying to be objective. You can't be objective. That's why raw notes need to be analysed. You can't observe and analyse at the same time."

"You're not my supervisor," Kohl replied. His voice continued to lean towards the strident side of monotone. He raised his index finger to count off his responses, and he raised two more in succession. "You're not my instructor. You're not my mother." He dropped two of his fingers. "If you don't like my work, just delete it. I really don't care."

Oren just raised an eyebrow at Kohl's reaction. "I know I'm not any of those things," he said obviously, his own tone of voice calm and collected. He was tempted to say that if he were Kohl's instructor, he would've retained more knowledge than this, but he figured that would just be like adding oil to a fire.

"This is just a simple exercise. All notes are being deleted," he pointed out after a moment of silence before proceeding to do just that.

"I do hope," Kohl said, "this simple exercise was enlightening." His delivery of the words had swung back into the vicinity of pleasant, even if he couldn't quite manage genuine. If his tone hadn't betrayed it, the fact he was already on his feet gave away his frame of mind.

"In more ways than one, Officer," Oren returned, his own tone leaving no room for pleasantries and instead taking on a cool, professional air that he seldom used. But if Kohl was going to be a child about a little criticism (well-founded, at that), and then pretend he was perfectly fine with it, Oren wasn't going to play along.

"Do let me know if your laboratory facilities fail to meet your expectations," said Kohl. He allowed another moment of silence to pass between them, and then he called for the exit, and turned away from the table.

"If they do, you'll be the first person to know," Oren replied, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet up on the table.


[OFF]

Lieutenant Andreus Kohl
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

&

Oren Idris, Ph.D.
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

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