Meeting Mimi

Posted on 13 Sep 2016 @ 3:43pm by Lieutenant JG Jonas Flynn PsyD & Ensign Mimi

1,505 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 12 - Recluse
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Counselor's Office
Timeline: MD -04 1500 hrs

ON

With a full belly, Jonas returned to his office for his final appointment of the day. He had taken a late lunch in order to appreciate the fresh meals provided in the ship's mess hall, and he wasn't disappointed. A non-replicated, juicy, medium-rare cheeseburger and straight-from-the-fryer french fries? Heaven, pure heaven. He would need to make it a point to take late lunches, though he'd probably have to exercise more to allow for it. If that was the price, though, it would be worth every extra lap.

He leaned against his desk and snatched up the only remaining PaDD, giving it another quick once over before Ensign Mimi arrived. He didn't think he'd ever met a Nekomi before, but he recognized her photo as the officer who had beamed him over from Oceana. According to her records, she had been through a terrible tragedy but had acquitted herself admirably since the academy. She was young but had been through much and showed tremendous promise. Jonas looked forward to meeting her.

Slowly walking down the corridors Mimi headed towards the counsellors office, she was on duty soon but he'd requested she came to see him for an appointment before hand as even after being on the ship for nearly a month now she hadn't had her mental assessment, she'd seen a few counsellors in the years since her rescue and she didn't like them much.

Approaching the door she tapped the chime.

"Come in!" Jonas called, stepping forward so he could greet his visitor. "Ensign Mimi? Thanks for taking the time to meet with me. My name's Jonas." He extended his hand for a friendly shake.

"Nice to meet you Jonas." Mimi said using the high ranking officers first name as that was how he introduced himself. She took his hand and shook it.

The counselor gestured over his shoulder. "Please help yourself to the replicator if you'd like. I'd normally join you but I don't think I could even handle a sip of of water at this point." He patted his belly for emphasis. He began to walk over towards the comfortable sofa beneath the windows. "You've been on board for a little bit now, haven't you? How has it been?"

"Around a month now." Mimi replied, she headed for the replicator and ordered up a tarkelian tea, one of her favourites. "It's ok, I miss home even though it has only been a month and I did spend 4 years away from home at the academy."

Jonas nodded in understanding. "Homesickness can be quite common, even after the academy. When you are there, you're there. One fixed place, with an unchanging distance between you and home. Now you're flying from one system to the next, and thought its only been a month, the distance can seem much farther."

He leaned forward in his seat a bit. "Have you been writing your family? That can certainly help them feel closer."

Mimi nodded "I sent her a message a few days ago, not got one back yet, though the Charleston should be on the other side of federation space by now."

The counselor smiled. "I'm sure that helps, at least a bit. What about around here? Made any friends?"

"I would say yes." Mimi replied "The Chief medical officer and me are both very strange species unlike anyone else and she's a good person to chat to."

"She certainly is," Jonas agreed. "Good to chat with, I mean. I wouldn't consider either of you strange... that word can sometimes have a negative connotation. I think I prefer the word... unique. Regardless, Allyndra seems like a good friend to have." He allowed a small pause in the conversation before continuing. "So tell me, Mimi - may I call you Mimi?"

Mimi nodded "That is fine." She dropped down into onto the sofa beside Jonas

"Very good. So tell me, anything on your mind lately? Anything you might like to talk about, or just get off of your chest?"

Mimi assumed that Jonas had read her file thoroughly so she wouldn't have to once again tell the story of how she came to be adopted by a starfleet officer. "The Admiral offered the science departments help in trying to track down my homeworld."

"Wow." Jonas was truly impressed and touched by the Admiral's offer, but he did his best to keep his own feelings on the matter hidden. What was important was how Mimi felt about this opportunity, not him. "That's pretty big. How did you react?"

"I was amazed, it is a.....mammoth task." Mimi replied hoping she'd gotten the phrase right. "But with a ship that is built for looking at planets I think I stand a chance."

"I think you do," the counselor agreed. "Or perhaps I should say, we do. The Admiral made the offer but I hope you know that it's an offer the crew will stand behind. You won't have to conduct this search alone." Jonas of course barely new the entirety of the crew, but he knew the character and determination of Starfleet officers.

"I haven't been." Mimi said. "I went to Astro..metrics and Ensign Derani was there, I told her what the Admiral had said and she helped me work out a large area to start searching around."

Jonas nodded. "That would be a good place to start."

Mimi smiled "Then I told her about the pictures I have of the homeworld and she said to show them to science and have them take a look."

"Also a good idea. Did you ever have a chance to visit your homeworld when you were younger?" he asked gently.

Mimi shook her head. "My mother was pregnant with me when she left the homeworld to set up our first colony, all I've ever seen of the homeworld was the pictures she took with her."

"I'd love to see them sometime. One of my favorite things has always been seeing new places and meeting new people." The counselor stretched his neck to the side before continuing. "Ok, well that's certainly one thing that would be on your mind, and certainly in the forefront. How's everything else? The workflow in your department, for example - everything going well in Operations?"

Mimi nodded. "It is going well, we have had nothing bad happen since I have been onboard."

Jonas found himself nodding again. Mimi appeared to have a very positive attitude about things, which was completely fine. Not every trip to a counselor required emotional outpourings of deep, dark secrets or tales of interpersonal difficulties. He decided to change topics again, interested in developing a fuller picture of the ensign.

"Okay, work sounds solid - what do you do for fun?"

"I like to read." Mimi replied. "The translator does not translate my native language properly so I learned english, reading helps me expand my.... my... oh whats the word?"

"I think the word you're looking for is vocabulary," Jonas suggested. "Though you could also probably use the words lexicon or even language, if either of those make more sense." he leaned forward a bit and clasped his hands. "You know, I have a bit of talent with learning languages. I'd be happy to help you with any questions about English you have, but more importantly, I'd really like to learn yours. Would you be willing to teach me?"

Mimi cocked her head to the side slightly, she hadn't expected to hear that question. "It is a very hard language to understand which I think is why the translator does not like it. But I could probably teach you a few words."

"I love a challenge, but a few words would be a good place to start," he grinned. "Besides, when we find your homeworld, it will be nice to be able to say 'hello'." He picked up the PaDD with Mimi's file and made a few quick notations. "Very well, Ensign Mimi. Unless you have anything else you'd like to discuss, I'm happy to declare you mentally fit for duty."

"Thank you Lieutenant." Mimi said switching back to ranks as Jonas did.

Jonas was silently amused that she had switched to more formal language in response to his official pronouncement, but he did not comment. There was helping someone get the grasp of context and then there was the chance of making a new friend feel awkward or embarrassed. He was pretty sure he'd rather die than do that to anyone. He stood and unconsciously swept the front of his pants "You're welcome. Feel free to make an appointment if you ever feel the need, and I'll see about getting in touch to set up my first lesson. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a smooth shift."

Finishing the last dregs of her tea Mimi stood and headed for the door "Baik stvar Lieutenant."

OFF


Lieutenant JG Jonas Flynn PsyD
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo

Ensign Mimi
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

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