Sympathy Visit

Posted on 19 Jun 2015 @ 7:01pm by Commander Norvi Stace

2,460 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Galileo, Grayson's Temporary Quarters
Timeline: MD 02, 1807 hours

ON:

Finally home - in Grayson's quarters, Tyrion let himself fall back onto the couch and closed his eyes. This had been quite a day to be sure and though he had amused himself for the most part the 'highlight' of the day had been his trip to sickbay and the subsequent lecture he'd received from Mott.

He watched his bandaged hand which, though healed still needed rest and that was one of the uses of a restrictive bandage: you wouldn't use your hand too much. He couldn't wait for Grayson to get home now, and tell him what had happened, and enquire after the chief engineer's day.

Stace stopped by the door, pressing it lightly as she stood with her hands behind her back. She'd heard of the accident and had decided to just stop by and see how the crewman was doing. The games had taken a toll on everyone and she was feeling the strain of pulling double shifts just to keep on top of the skeletal crew. But now that Captain Holliday had returned, her duties had returned to normal so she thought that she'd get back to what mattered to her most with her new assignment: her crew.

At the chime, Tyrion opened his eyes and stared at the door for a few seconds, wondering who was calling. "Come in," he called, then sat up as Stace walked in. "Commander," he exclaimed, "Grayson's not here if you need him for anything...he's not home yet."

"I'm well aware of that," Stace replied with a smile. "Technology these days," she then added with a knowing flash of her eyes. "I actually came down to see how you're doing after your surgery. Did they treat you well in sickbay?"

Tyrion nodded as he gestured for Stace to take a seat. "Apart from a lecture regarding my private life yes ma'am," he replied. "I'm not to over-use my hand for the next day or so, hence the bandage." He smiled at her for a moment. "You didn't have to come by just to check up on me, though it's appreciated ma'am."

"I know," Stace replied warmly. "But as I see it, the captain is in charge of the ship and I am in charge of her crew. And so this is part of my duty. Plus, I also think it's good to see how everyone is doing. Especially the injured."

"Aww..." Tyrion seemed a little embarrassed by the attention. "You know very well that I'm happy as it is ma'am, and I'm not really in any pain so I'm good. Though I'm not entirely certain on what exactly happened, all I remember is an explosion, and falling."

"Memory can do that you," Stace confirmed, placing a hand on Tyrion's. "When we fell through to the caves at Lyshan III and I suffered an open fracture, I still can't for the life of me remember how and when it happened. Your self sometimes tries to protect itself from such harm and such stark realisations. And that's not necessarily a bad thing." The Trill hesitated a little, remembering back to when Hanor, one of her previous hosts, fell to his death on the ice cliffs of Trill. She remembered the climb, and how clear the day was. Crisp and prickly on his skin. But then once atop the peak, nothing. Not the impact, or the surgery to remove the damaged Symbiont. Just the awakening in a new host a few months later.

"With the telemetry from the games now coming in, do you think your work will suffer in these few days? I can have a word with Lieutenant Murray if you need any extended time off."

"No, I doubt it'll have any impact," Tyrion reasoned, "I don't need two hands to operate my work station, I'll just be a little slower, maybe. What was your impression of these games?"

Stace opened her eyes a little wider at the question. Not because of who it had come from or the fact that she wasn't quite sure, but for the fact that she hadn't really considered it until now. They'd done their bit and were, to her mind, successful in the implementation of the new technology.

"I think it went rather well, actually. We all did our part, and the ship hers. I think that the best outcome prevailed and that's as best as we can expect. What about your thoughts on it?"

"I don't know," Tyrion confessed, "from the data gathered....I think we had our asses kicked to be honest. I do think we have a lot of information now on their power distributions when cloaked so that could be useful...but if it was worth the destruction of a few ships...I don't know. I'll have to confer with my department head of course to be certain. But other than that, I can't say anything useful, other than that a console exploded in my face where I'm sure there weren't supposed to be actual casualties."

"I'm looking into that myself," Stace added with an almost maternal tone. She scrunched up her nose in an sort of apology. "What I think actually happened was the fall-out from the power distribution patch fed more power into the systems than they could handle. And as such, certain blow outs occurred. But as soon as I know for sure, I'll keep you informed of it."

"I appreciate that ma'am, though of course I understand accidents can happen when nothing is intended. Still, the experience was very unpleasant." He frowned a little. "Maybe Gray- I mean Lieutenant Jones will be able to tell more?"

"Don't worry," Stace replied, ignoring the familiar slip-up as she answered. "I'll explore every avenue with the investigation. We can't have blow-outs on the ship when they're causing harm to any of the crew."

"Would you let me know what caused it ma'am? When you find out, I
mean. Maybe I can safeguard my console from future events."

"Once it is discovered; what caused it, I imagine that all consoles will be safeguarded. It may have been just a power discrepancy with the new deflector installed. But we'll know more when we get around to seeing what's what." She paused and then added, "And how are you within yourself?"

"Within?" Tyrion watched her curiously. "I'm not sure what you mean ma'am...I'm fine? Shouldn't I be?"

"Suffering such an incident can sometimes leave you rattled and unsure of your safety. Have you seen a counsellor, Tyrion?"

"No, I haven't yet. I feel a bit shaken yes, and a little upset after the lecture Mott gave me, but I don't feel unsafe ma'am. Are you ordering me to see one?"

"Not if you feel like you don't need one." Stace paused and then threw her eyes back at the sound of Mott's name. "Lecture?" she questioned with a cock of the head. "What would Doctor Mott be lecturing you about?"

"That I was no good for his brother and that Kot should've stayed away from me, because I've moved on." Tyrion shrugged. "What was I to do...wait for someone who I might never see again? Someone who doesn't even respond when I call him?" He smiled sadly. "You don't want to hear this ma'am...relationship stuff."

Stace then widened her eyes, the uncomfortable expression now bleeding across her face like a tidal wave. She sucked in air and held it in her lungs for a moment. "I try not to get involved, as you well know, in crewmembers' personal lives. But if the doctor has made you uncomfortable or you feel like this may affect your medical care on the ship, then it's something that we need to look into."

"I don't really know what to make of him ma'am. First he seemed to judge me and that really hurt, but just as he was done with my treatment he wished me a happy life with Gray. He's a good doctor ma'am...but I think I'd prefer treatment from Doctor Voutilainen from now on. If possible of course, and she doesn't make jibes towards my private life."

Stace remained stoic and flicked her eyes about uncomfortably for a moment. This was absolutely not her forte but, within a nanosecond, she reasoned that being First Officer, unfortunately, meant a wade into the personal affairs of those both she and Captain Holliday commanded. And possibly without the luxury of wellington boots. She paused and then sat back in her chair. "Tyrion," she prefaced, "I'm going to speak to you as though I wasn't your First Officer. Because it's easier for both of us that we keep rank and procedure out of this. So, please call me Norvi until I leave." She paused and then looked upon the man who, despite looking her age, seemed wildly naive and young compared to her seasoned years. "A private life is just that: Private. But I know more about your dalliances than I do about next week's duty roster. And that's my responsibility! When you live in such a microcosm of cultures and people, you're undoubtedly going to step on people's toes... and feelings. Yourself and Lieutenant Jones haven't exactly been discrete. Do you see where Mott may be coming from?"

"But we have been," Tyrion protested, "we've kept duty and off duty separate and we've not even seen each other since the wargames started. Not even for a single brief break and he doesn't even know yet about my visit to sickbay because I didn't want him to worry and mess up anything he's doing because of it." He licked his lips nervously. "Kot and I knew our brief romance wasn't likely to last, we knew what we got ourselves into, and we both understood. Doesn't mean that getting no response doesn't hurt.... and I can't help it that I quite probably found my soulmate in Grayson."

Tyrion paused, sighing deeply. "I understand some of how he feels, after all it concerned his brother. But he has no right to judge Kot or me. Because that's how it feels."

"The problem is that you don't need to obtain the right for judgement. You just do it." Stace paused and then shook her head. "'Soulmate'?" she parroted, narrowing her gaze onto him. "You're not a sixteen year old youth venturing out in this for the first time. Surely you must see how preposterous that sounds since you only just connected two days ago? Aren't you jumping the gun a little?"

"I'm Betazoid ma- Norvi, like Vulcans, we can bond to another. Ask Grayson...he'll tell you the same. He wouldn't allow me access here if
it wasn't the case, would he?"

"It's not the bonding I'm worried about. In fact, you must have spent more time with Mott's brother than you have with Lieutenant Jones. And on such a small ship, that's what worried me. You're not sixteen and the Lieutenant is a head of department. Do you see where I'm coming from?"

"He's in fact younger than I," Tyrion supplied, "but yes, I understand which is why I've been careful. But we're serious and it's not like we're about to break up soon. We still maintain our own quarters, and we have already discussed duty shifts and that our duties do come first. I hope that shows we're serious about this? It's not a fling Norvi, and we're both adults. We know what we're doing and I promise, our duties won't suffer for it."

"It's not your duties that I'm concerned about," Norvi qualified, knowing full well that Tyrion was older than Jones, "but what I'm trying to get across to you is that it's been two days... Two days. And you're already talking about being 'serious' and not 'breaking up soon'. In my wealth of experience as both male and female, with having relationships with both Trills and non-Trills, you're moving extremely fast and without due care. That's what I'm worried about. But I get the feeling that you're closed off to any reason I want to offer you. And I can't help that." She paused and then sighed. "I'm not trying to put a dampener on what you think you have. I'm trying to get you to look at the bigger picture. Two days in such a lifetime is nothing to make such a monumental decision on."

"Maybe not," Tyrion agreed, "but it's how we feel right now. And we feel... whole, where before each of us felt as if part of us was missing. I'm not sure how to explain." He paused, smiling at her. "I appreciate your concern and your advice, I really do...but this is something we have to figure out for ourselves. Only time will tell how this will pan out, right?"

"Absolutely. But what I'm trying to get at is Mott's own sentiment. You can't have it both ways." Norvi paused and then continued to clarify. "It is utterly none of my business, you realise, but you can't complain of a private life if half the ship is gossiping about your conduct and conversational content. If you're to talk openly about your relationship you can't then just shut the doors on it when people start to pass judgement. Especially on a ship so small and integrated as the Gally. People talk. I just don't want this to blow up in your face so publicly."

"It won't," Tyrion replied confidently. "I have every faith in this working out."

Stace's face then relaxed into one of defeat as she shook her head in exasperation. "And it's sentiments like that that make me worry, Tyrion. I can't repeat myself to you again about it only being two days new, but I want you to know that if anything does happen, for the worse, then you can come to talk to me any time." She paused, punctuated her sentence with a scrunch of her nose and then stood to leave, resigned in the fact that he words were falling on deaf, unwavering ears. "I hope that that's not the case, but I just want you to protect yourself. And those around you."

"I'll be alright," Tyrion reassured her, "but thank you. It's good to know who one can turn to and who one's friends are."

Stace expressed a small smile and nodded. "Don't forget to call on me if you need anything." She leant in and patted his hand lightly. "Any time."

And with that she left his quarters and ventured back on her rounds to see any other crewmen who had suffered any injuries.

OFF

Commander Norvi Stace
First Officer
USS Galileo

CPO Tyrion Faye
Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC T'Vanna]

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