Oh Captain , My Captain

Posted on Sun Jul 7th, 2019 @ 4:15pm by Captain Enalia Telvan & Ensign Varnok Jahal
Edited on on Mon Jul 22nd, 2019 @ 9:12am

Mission: Fractured Fairy Tales
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: 2396

After leaving Medical and his brief but insightful meeting with Lieutenant Clemens, the Cardassian Varnok was ready to meet the Captain of the Hera. Quickly making his way towards the bridge he was looking forward to this meeting. From what he could gather in his short time aboard Captain Enalia Telvan was well respected by her crew and this put the Ensigns mind at ease. Arriving at the door to the Captain’s ready room he pressed the chime to announce his presence.

Enalia had more PaDDs on her desk than she knew what to do with at the moment and most of them were civilian models from the fortress dealing with the family business. Looking up from them, she rubbed her eyes to try and look a bit more alert. "Come in."

Entering the room briefly glancing over the dark-haired woman, he had never met a Trill before but he read about the species and found the concept of joining with the symbiote intriguing. Coming to attention,” Ensign Varnok Jahal reporting for duty Captain" the stoic Cardassian stated.

Enalia just waved the formality aside. "At ease, Ensign. Unless you're in trouble I tend to ignore most formalities in private. For now, just help yourself to the replicator and have a seat. I'd normally offer a drink my wife made but I'm fresh out, unfortunately." Searching through the mess of PaDDs on her desk, it took Enalia a moment for her to find the one with his file on it. "Right. Ensign Varnok Jahal. Our newest Intel operative. It's rare that Rita finds someone like you before me, but she did. It's probably because I've been so distracted lately."

"Welcome aboard the Hera. How are you settling in so far? Wishing you could go back to your old assignment yet?" The hint of a piratical grin on the Trill Captain's face was sly at the very least.

Smiling slightly in return, “Thank you," Varnok replied. Heading over to the replicator he quickly ordered a ginger tea and sunk gracefully in a seat opposite his new Captain. "I am medically cleared and have reported into Lieutenant Clemens as required and have settled into my quarters briefly. I did quite enjoy my meeting with Commander Paris, I found our conversation enlightening. As I told her I was quite resolved to the fact that I could potentially have been on the Varyss my whole career." He thought for a moment , weighing his words, “If I may be blunt, I do not wish to ever return to the Varyss.” He looked down as if waiting for something... and then directly at the Trill.

"Then let's make sure you never have a reason to return there. From what I've heard that ship isn't the best place for anyone that isn't a member of a founding race of the Federation." Enalia looked over the PaDD for a moment more before dropping it back into the clutter on her desk. "Unlike them, we look for people that actually know their jobs and we value hard work and honesty. Anything that isn't a confirmed article violation that resulted in a court-martial... Which I believe is nothing... Has now been expunged from your record. You start here with a clean slate with nothing but your work history and training records."

"So... Since I refuse to believe anything your prior command says about you, how about you tell me a bit about yourself?" Enalia's piratical grin was in full bloom now. The man before her reminded her a bit of someone she once knew - she just hoped he could blossom like he had before he moved on.

Varnok hoped the surprise and gratitude did not show on his face, as he relaxed a bit in his seat. He thought for a moment…and began “ I thank you for your generosity." he smiled at the Captain, the first genuine smile he has shared in what seemed ages. “If it pleases you, I prefer Varnok, as I do not use my familiar name.” he continued “I found a way to communicate with a technological entity by discovering and learning it's language, leading to my being Valedictorian in my class at the Academy.” pausing for a moment “ These, however, are all in my records, I believe you are wanting to know more about my thoughts?” It was more of a question than a statement, no one ever asked him about himself.

"Pretty much. I can, and have, read your file. It's impressive, but then if it wasn't, you wouldn't be here." Enalia chuckled softly as she leaned back in her chair and eyed the man across from her for a moment. "And since I have no reliable performance reports or evals to go on... Tell me who you are, Varnok. Tell me what your hopes and dreams for the future are. Tell me what makes you get out of bed in the morning. Other than the need to use the refresher, that is..."

His smile widened, chuckling softly to himself. Varnok was beginning to think he was going to like this new post “I would like to think I am a good man, but I suppose everyone thinks of themselves that way,” Varnok cocked his head to one side as if contemplating a deep thought, he continued “My dream", he said softly, "Is to find my place in the universe. Where I belong. Where I can be useful." He smoothed his uniform absentmindedly “ When I was a young man adrift and alone, I joined Starfleet to make a difference. To feel a part of something bigger than myself.” Looking at the Captain directly again, he continued “Even though I have had hardships and loneliness, I have never given up hope that I could fulfill that dream.” He sat up a little straighter in his chair, “That is what gets me out of bed in the morning, Captain.”

Enalia grinned wider. She definitely liked this man. "That's an excellent reason to get out of bed and not far off of mine. I want to make the galaxy a better place and strive to give people the freedom from fear that they so richly deserve, even if what they fear is something they may never know about. Which brings me to my next question - what have you heard about our missions, such as they are?"

The Cardassian returning her smile spoke matter of fact “ I had heard rumors of some connection to piracy, which Commander Paris has all but confirmed.” Varnok continued “In my days aboard the Varyss whispers and stories were passed among the crew. Always contradictory though, never a firm lock on the truth.” the Ensign looked around the room taking it in, “It never failed to catch my attention that whenever something unusual happened in Starfleet tales of the Hera were not far behind.”

"Well, we've dealt with a lot of Demon and Deity class threats. As in literally Deities and Demons. There are two of them that make their home aboard the Hera and my Adjutant to the Artan family, whom I am now the reigning Queen of, is engaged to a third and seems to be gaining powers similar to his." Searching for the PaDD with his records on it again, Enalia pulled it out and tapped at it for a few moments before dropping it back in the pile.

"I've authorized you access to Hera's quarters if you'd like to visit her. She was the queen of the... Ah... I believe it was the Roman pantheon on Earth a couple of thousand years ago. Recently, there was a big kerfuffle with dead deities being summoned back into the galaxy and she was missummoned and took over a world that was a bit more advanced than us and knocked them back to the bronze age, oppressing them and ruling them with Amazons, Minotaurs, and some sort of sentient statue people. We're rehabilitating her and she's helping us out now and then." Enalia paused a moment, making sure she had Varnok's full attention as she continued. "We also apparently picked up the literal embodiment of Death as a VIP guest, if you can believe that."

The Cardassian Ensign grinned widely. "I can believe a lot of things, Captain." He chuckled slightly and continued. "In my experience, nothing is impossible. I am honored that you have granted me this level of access. Though I will wait until proper introductions can be made. One does not simply walk into a Goddesses quarters."

Thinking for a moment, Varnok continued with a slightly more serious tone. "Death, on the other hand, I would like to meet if at all possible, if they are the embodiment of the true Death." Memories of his parents flashed through his mind.

"That could pose an issue. She's invisible to almost everyone, including me." Enalia turned grim at the request to meet Cara. "She also supposedly looks different to whomever can see her. We have a picture of her via a cybernetic eye, but honestly... If someone that can see her... Or if she introduces herself to you? That's not something to take lightly."

"However, if you insist on it..." Enalia searched her desk for a moment for a PaDD but couldn't find it right off so gave up. "Ah... Lieutenant Dox, Doctor Dael, and Lieutenant Clemens are all able to perceive her. If you'd prefer a civilian attache, my Adjutant, Baroness Schwein von Alcott is available as well. I'll add clearance to visit her as well, but she might not be in... We have no real way of knowing..."

"This is an impressive amount of information, thank you for your confidence," Varnok replied with a genuine look of fascination on his face. He relished solving riddles and mysteries and this new assignment seemed to be packed with opportunities to flex those muscles. "Of course figuring how to manage impressive information is the core of intelligence work and it seems I have my work cut out for me."

The Trill Captain grinned knowingly. She too enjoyed her work in Intel Command. "Well then, do you have any questions for me? Any curiosities I might sate?"

"At this time, I believe I have ample information to begin processing in regards to the ship and its mission and crew. I am looking forward to reading through all the files that have been made available to me and determining the rest through the normal execution of my duties."Varnok grinned, enjoying the interactions with his new shipmates. The Captain seemed to be as enigmatic as Commander Paris, and a potential wealth of stories to be sure, that he looked forward to unraveling in its due time. As he reflected on the day, Varnok thought that the winds of change may have finally been smiling on him.

"Then let me know if there's ever anything I can do to help. Dismissed." With a smile and a nod, Enalia turned her attention back towards the sea of datapads on her desk and went back to trying to work her way through them.

“Thank you Captain” Ensign Varnok smiled , turned and walked out of the office. Waiting for the turbo lift the Cardassian smiled to himself and thought, he may have finally found a home.