What Makes a Baroness

Posted on Thu Jan 17th, 2019 @ 2:11pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Baroness 2nd Class Schwein von Alcott

Mission: Section 31-B
Location: Baroness Von Alcott's quarters
Timeline: 2396, en route to Earth for Shore leave

Walking briskly down the corridors of the U.S.S. Hera, Lieutenant Mnhei'sahe Dox had a work PaDD in her hand and a lot on her mind. Beyond her responsibilities as the Chief Flight Control Officer of the mighty Nebula-class Starship, she had recently been named a Baroness of the Artan family.

Back when she had been growing up as a smuggler, she had had plenty of interactions with the intergalactic family of Pirates and Privateers over the years. Her mother sold them quite a bit of Romulan Ale, among other things. But now Dox knew that her Captain, Enalia Telvan, was the Princess and heir of that family. And that Dox would be playing a part in ensuring that Captain Telvan's upcoming Tribunal to try and wrest control of the family from her own Mother.

All of this was somewhat overwhelming for the Redheaded Romulan pilot and she had asked if her friend and fellow Baroness, Schwein Von Alcott, could help her understand what all of this really meant. Dox didn't want to be in the dark when it really mattered.

On her PaDD was a downloaded file of rules and information, but Dox hoped for some help wrapping her head around it all and hoped she wasn't just annoying Schwein as she pressed the chime outside her door.

Schwein was sitting in her spartan quarters seemingly alone as usual, a glass of something in her hand. "Come in," called the silver haired augmented human, looking up to see who it was. "Ah, Baroness Dox. Please, come in and make yourself at home. What brings you here today?"

With a slightly awkward half smile on her face, the anxious young pilot stepped in. "That, I guess. I'm sorry if I'm bothering you." She hemmed and hawed for a brief moment.

"Nonsense. You'd never bother me. Now come in, have a seat, and tell me what's on your mind." Schwein smiled as best she could.

Taking a seat across from Schwein, Dox couldn't help but feel she was still bothering her somehow, but chalked it up to her own self-destructive anxieties.

"It's the whole 'Baroness Dox' thing. I'm still kind of wrapping my head around the idea, especially since Captain Magnus called to talk to me and confirm it. I've got the paperwork and I've read the rules and..."

Stopping herself from rambling further, Dox summerized her feelings as best as is possible. "I guess I'm feeling a little... overwhelmed by it all, if that makes any sense."

"Ah yeah... One day you're a nervous potato just trying to get by in this galaxy and the next you're a central figure in pirate politics..." Taking a drink from her glass, Schwein seemed to reminisce for a few moments before continuing. "It is a lot to take in, but the rules aren't that hard to understand if you notice the pattern to them. As long as you're not Captain of the Fleet or the Royal family, that is..."

Stifling a slight chuckle at what felt like perhaps the most apt description of herself she had ever heard, Dox tried to focus on what was troubling her. "I guess maybe I'm just not seeing the pattern. I'm kind of used to Starfleet Protocol. And before that with my Mother, it was still a somewhat stringent military structure I was raised with."

Looking at her PaDD, Dox felt like a child out of her element. "I get that with this ship that Captain Magnus will be sending, I'll be serving under another Baroness and ultimately under Captain Magnus and Captain Telvan. I guess I get all the technical stuff, but it feels like there's got to be more in the margins."

"She put her faith in me with this. You both have, and even Captain Magnus is doing the same. I just... I'm afraid I'll say or don't he wrong thing and prove that faith wrong." She hung her head slightly as she spoke. "I'm sorry. I'm just..."

Trailing off, Dox found herself lost in her own self doubts.

Schwein had to chuckle softly, remembering her own indoctrination. "Ok, so there are two things you have to remember first and foremost. First is that as a Baroness fifth class you're a bottom ranked Baroness. On top of that, you have zero seniority. In other words, every other Baroness outranks you in every way so show respect at all times like you would a senior officer. Some demand more respect than others... But that's generally the rule. Any pirate not part of your crew, you need permission to order them around."

"Second off, everyone is there for freedom. Freedom for themselves and freedom of others. You do the same and be confident about it and no one will question you. For everything else, at the very end there's a chart for challenges if you want to challenge someone. It'll tell you if you can or not and how. As for what Baroness you've been assigned to, you're officially under Baroness second class Schwein von Alcott."

"As for the majority of that rulebook... Other than the parts pertaining to the royal family, it's nonsensical drunken gibberish that just governs how we duel, like we can't use swordfish because that would be silly. An arbiter has to be present because... Well, why wouldn't you want a witness to a duel? No pantaloons on your head while dueling with a mustachioed... Yeah lots of gibberish..."

The less than serious tone Schwein was using had it's likely desired effect of forcing Dox's nervous anxiety up and out with a deep laugh. After a second, Dox collected herself feeling a bit less stressed. Respectful protocol she could do and knowing she was directly to answer to Schwein instead of a total stranger released a good degree more stress.

With a smile, she followed up. "So, no swordfish dueling. I think I can..." Then she stopped in her tracks and let out a curse in her native Rihan. "Imirrhlhhse!! Dueling. I'm guessing I won't be able to answer every possible challenge with piloting skill. Hnave."

"No, certainly not. We'll have to teach you how to fight with melee weapons, plasma sabers, unarmed..." Schwein stared off for a few moments towards the couch before chuckling softly to herself. "Yeah, we'll have to teach you a lot about fighting while trying not to kill you in the process. I won't go easy on you though."

The idea of rigorous training was something that Dox understood from early childhood and was comfortable with as the idea actually put her at easy in a strange way. "I wouldn't expect it. I wouldn't be any use to you or the Captain otherwise. Besides, when I learned Llaekh-ae'rl, my teacher never went easy on me, and that was my own Mother." She smiled slightly recalling her training in the particularly vicious Romulan martial arts she still practiced daily before her attention shifted.

"Baroness... um... Schwein. I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry, but are you okay? I know you're still recovering and I didn't mean to put my stress on you. I can come back later if you'd prefer." Dox couldn't help notice her fellow Baroness' occasional distraction.

Initially, Dox had assumed she was simply annoying the silver haired warrior with her questions and anxiety. But as she had begun to relax more was instead picking up on intense anxiety from the normally cool pirate.

Schwein smiled over at Dox, once again slightly distracted. "Hmm? Oh, no, please stay. It's just that..." Sighing softly, she decided she'd have to come clean eventually and she trusted Dox with her life so who better to tell. "Since the incident... I'm not sure what you heard... But Asa and I met a woman that introduced herself as Death. Literally Death. Since I nearly died in that ceremony, she's been my constant companion that only I can see apparently. That probably makes me crazy, sitting here thinking I'm talking with Death all day." Schwein paused a moment before continuing. "Well, as soon as you can prove to someone you exist without killing them..."

Without hesitation, Dox's eyes moved over to the seemingly empty couch that had seemed to be where Schwein had kept looking. Looking back at her friend, her face was unusually stern for the generally nervous young Romulan pilot. While listening, she felt a moment of shock but the sincerity and legitimate concern she read on the generally unflappable Schwein told her all she needed to know.

"I may just be the Chief Fight Control Officer on the ship, but I read every section report and watch every noted security video. I watched Commander Paris scream in an agony I didn't know possible on the transporter pad beaming back on board. And I read Asa's reports of what happened on that station... with both of you. And with what Asa and the ships EMH reported when they operated on you."

Then she sat forward slightly towards her friend. "When I was... attacked her on the ship last month. When Anansi went into my head and did what he did and almost killed me, I vanished. I read about it in Commander Paris' reports. For approximately 30 minutes, the ship couldn't find me. I watched video of the corridors I was chased down and saw turbolift doors open and close when I knew It was me coming out, but the ship couldn't see me. No one could see me and I couldn't see anyone else until I got to the EMH. He could see me and he saw who was with you." She went into the painful details of her own attack, hoping it would help emphasis that she had no doubts about what Schwein was saying.

"You're not crazy. I know it. What's she saying?"

The golden eyed pirate shrugged. "She normally talks about other people's lives, tries to cheer me up... Today she's talking about you since you're here... ... She says she's sorry you had to go through that with Anansi and if it's any consolation, you were never on her list during that. Yeah, being Death she knows when people are going to die. She also knew that those elfin people were puppets rather than living people." A brief flash of annoyance crossed Schwein's face. "No she doesn't want to know. No one would."

Confused for about half a second, Dox's face went wide when it occurred to her what Schwein's statement most likely meant. "Uh... Yeah. If that means what I think it means, I absolutely don't want to know." She let out a slight, nervous chuckle at the macabre thought.

She responded to both Schwein and the room in general. "I've seen enough therapists in my life to know that delusional voices generally don't try to cheer people up, Schwein."

Then a thought occurred to the young Officer. She believed her friend, but knew that Schwein was still doubting her own sanity. But maybe, Dox thought, there was a way to prove that there really was someone there that Dox simply couldn't percieve. "So... she's talking about me?"

"What's she... what's she saying about me?" Then a slight chill went down Dox's spine as she turned away from her friend to ask another question to whatever else was in there with them. One that might just confirm for the both of them that what Schwein was experiencing was, in fact, real.

"What... what do you know about me... my own. Death aside... That Schwein couldn't." Dox was speaking now to the room. To the being she believed was there but was still afraid to believe was actually Death. But she pushed past that fear hoping to help her friend.

The Baroness shook her head and sighed, listening for a few moments before repeating what she'd heard. "She says that you're not ok with how you left things with your human grandparents, Shawn and Juliet Dox, back on Earth and you think it's too late to make it up to them because they passed on a few years ago. She says there's still time to do right by them if you just know where to look. Also, they've always been proud of you and they're very happy you've found your way and have good friends you can rely on."

The conflicted half-Romulan young woman's eyes went wide and welled up with tears as she felt her stomach drop. She had believed in her friend, but now she believed for herself as the quoted words hit deep.

But the moment wasn't about her, so Dox took a deep breath to center herself and closed her eyes for a second to clam herself back down for Schwein. "Okay..." She leaned forward and put her hands on Schwein's. "Schwein. You're NOT crazy and im not going anywhere. So, now what do we do? Has she said why she's here? Why is she with you?"

Then Dox had a thought and spoke to the room. "Uh... Sorry. I guess I'm asking you all that really, too."

"When she was released from the worldship and I was dying... Things happened in that ceremony and she says now we're bonded and our fates are intertwined." Schwein shrugged and finished off her drink, setting her glass aside and returning her now free hand to Dox's. "Encouragement from beyond the grave aside... She still recommends I get counseling for the situation. I'm beginning to agree. ... Yes you're right about a lot of things. Annoyingly so..."

A slight smile crept on Dox's face. Whatever else Death was, she seemed to be trying to help too. "Intertwined isn't always a bad thing. When I came on this ship I pretty much hated everything and myself. Now I have the first real friends I've ever had and TWO families. We're intwined now too." Dox held up her PaDD with the Artan family files on them. "I've got paperwork and everything."

"That's true," Schwein said, attempting a smile

"And she is right. Im a mess, and messes can always smell our own. But I'm getting help for it. Rita's helped me. Sonak's helped me. YOU'VE helped me. And Asa might just be as great of a Councilor as they are a Doctor. And if all else fails, you have the ear of the Princess in the big chair." Dox tried to keep her tone light and reassuring. She knew all about falling into that abyss of depression and wanted to keep her friend out of it as best as she could.

"You're here for us, we're here for you. That's how it works." Then Dox looked up to the room in general. "Right?"

Schwein hung her head in defeat. "Ok, the big strong pirate lady relents. You took away my German accent, talked me out of wearing my eye patch... Now I'm going to start talking about my feelings... What's next? Baking cookies? ... I've never cooked a thing in my life and you know it. ... No, booze doesn't count..."

Squeezing Dox's hands slightly, Schwein sighed softly again. "Sorry Mnhei'sahe. It's been rough."

Bringing her tone to aore serious one, Dox squeezed back. "I can understand, no need to apologize. It's going to keep being rough. It might not ever not be rough. But... with time and help... It gets easier to navigate. It really does."

Then Dox brought her tone back up, hoping to be reassuring. "So, you teach me how to kick ass, I'll teach you how to feel shit, and Asa can help you process those feelings. We'll leave the cookies to the replicators. We're both better with booze, anyway. Sound like a plan?"

That's when Schwein finally grinned like her old self. "Yes we are. On that note, we need to have a drinking contest as a sort of official welcome to the family party. You'll never have a better chance of beating me than now, you know."

"That is very true, and...wait, you took away her accent? I'm almost jealous. It took me three years to practice mine away." Dox smirked to the room, listening to herself speak. "Well, awayISH."

Smiling in spite of the unusualness of the situation, Dox nodded to Schwein. "Drinking contest, hangover, Asa?"

"More specifically, she gave me her accent... Yes, it's a very nice accent." Standing with a grunt of pain, Schwein headed over to the one piece of customization in the room - a stack of smaller shipping crates along the wall. Cracking one of the topmost ones open, she reached in and grabbed out three bottles of assorted brands of Kali-fal and brought them back to the table. She then grabbed three glasses off of the dining table and added them to the coffee table before sitting back down.

"Shall we get started?"

Looking down at the three glasses, Dox was reminded that her inability to see Schwein's new companion didn't mean she wasn't there. A concept that was still new to the young Romulan officer, still she was curious.

"Okay. I will admit to being completely ignorant to how this works, but I'm guessing I'm going to lose doubly hard." The mood was lifting to be more relaxed, though Dox was still keeping an eye on Schwein's behavior and hoping she was feeling at least a little better in the moment.

Schwein chuckled softly as she cracked open the first bottle and poured three glasses. Lifting her own glass, she grinned. "One way to find out, right?" Downing the ale in one go, by the time she set down her glass, Death's glass was empty as well.

With her glass in her hand, Dox's eyebrow arced up at the empty glass and smiled. 'Okay, Death likes to drink.' Dox though to herself as she downed the first glass with ease, as she was no stranger to Kali-Fal herself. She was still a little scared at the prospect of sitting next to the literal embodiment of Death, but everything indicated there wasn't any reason to be. Even Asa vouched for her in the lunch briefing, and there was no better judge Dox knew in the universe of someone's goodness than Asa Dael, so she got over herself as best as she could.

Then she pointed with her now empty glass in hand towards where she presumed Death must be based on the placement of her glass and joked. "But if I start seeing you because of this, I'm conceding the contest."

The Baroness scoffed as she refilled all three glasses. "If you had a tricorder, you could probably see her. Also, she says that you're fine as she has no intentions of touching you and you have a very long life to live yet. ... No she doesn't need to know how long." Rolling her eyes, Schwein savored the smell of the ale as she asked a question on behalf of Death. "She wants to know if you'd like to know the name of your future great grandkids. All eight of them. See what I have to put up with?" With that, Schwein downed the contents of her glass.

The problem solver in Dox got stuck for just a moment on Schwein's comment about the tricorder and turned towards where she still presumed Death to be. "If that's the case, this ship has holo-emitters all over, including in crew quarters. It shouldn't be much to come up with a program to tie them to the ships sensors and create a projection for you if you like."

"That said, nope. No future knowledge to me. I paid attention in that class at the academy, thank you very much." Dox smiled as she answered. "However, I would like to know if you have a name beyond just 'Death'?"

Dox smiled, genuinely curious now.

Listening for a moment and nodding, a mischievous look came over Schwein's face as she turned back to Dox. "You asked for her name. She says that if she declares herself before you, you'll probably be able to see her pretty clearly and depending on how you perceive dying... It might not be pleasant. Still up for it?"

Taking the briefest of moments to think, Dox looked back at Schwein with a reserved and calm look. She was a little scared still, but she didn't want her fellow Baroness to feel alone in what she had been dealing with, and she was more afraid of living with herself if she succumbed to that fear instead of standing by Schwein now.

"Most of my life, I've been more afraid of living than I have been of dying. And I won't lie to you, I am scared of what I'll see because... of what that would say about me inside." Dox held her empty glass down in front of Schwein. "But I would like to know who I'm talking to."

"You heard the woman..." Schwein said, looking expectantly to the open area on the couch.

The room seemed to darken a bit and the air suddenly felt heavier as a voice cut through it. "Azrael Abbadon Thanatos, Angel of Light and Dark, Rider of the Pale Horse, Ferry Master of the River Styx." As she spoke, she faded into view. Covered head to toe in long black clothing, pale as could be.

The hairs on the back of Dox's neck stood on edge for the slightest of moments as she looked at the woman who had materialized before her. Her features were that of a Romulan woman, older but with striking features that Dox couldn't help but find beautiful. There was a familiarity to the woman as Dox felt as if she had seen the face somewhere before but couldn't place it. But she wasn't afraid.

Still, her voice felt locked in her throat with no small degree of awe at the concept of who and what she was meeting. "So... what does it say about me that I think you're quite... beautiful?" Her voice was cracked and sheepish.

"It says we have quite the relationship," Death said, picking up her glass and tossing it back with a knowing grin. "Beyond that, I think I'll keep my own counsel."

Taking a drink of her freshly refilled glass, Dox nodded slightly. "That's more than fair. Thank you." She knew better than to press the question any further.

Schwein chuckled softly. "While I'd love to know how you see her..."

"Everyone sees me differently based on their views and relationship with dying," explained the pale one.

"I guess my relationship must be... comfortable then." Dox said softly and she looked over towards Death. "Would you object if I answered her? I don't want to be rude."

"Please, feel free. I consider it to be healthy." Grinning, Death looked forward to hearing it as well.

Taking another drink, Dox looked at Death then back to Schwein as she spoke. "What I see is a Romulan woman. Long black hair and pale skin. Older but beautiful in a serene way." Dox found she couldn't quite help but smile as she described her.

Pouring another round, Schwein grinned at the description. "That sounds kind of nice. For me she's about my age, a friend I've known my whole life, and just... Kind of average looking. Long black haired human though."

"Your holographic Doctor saw me earlier... I wonder what he saw..." Death shrugged it off right before tossing back her next drink.

Moving to keep up with the embodiment of Death and the augmented super-pirate, the young pilot hoped her freshly renewed Romulan physiology would keep her in the game as she threw back another glass. "That, is a very metaphysical question, uh... That was a lot of names. Is there one in particular you prefer?"

The Kali-Fal was starting to kick in a little as Dox felt herself relaxing more and talking more comfortably.

As Schwein poured the next trio of glasses, Death considered the question. "Well, I've always enjoyed horses, so Rider of the Pale Horse, probably."

"You know, I've never seen a real horse." Schwein tossed back her drink and waited for the other two to toss back theirs as she opened the next bottle.

Doing her level best to keep up, Dox was glad for her restored metabolism as she was only feeling a little tipsy. "Rider of the Pale Horse it is, then." Then she looked at her presented her freshly empty glass to Schwein.

"There was a stable at the Academy, but it wasn't a requirement so I never went there." Dox frowned slightly at the memory of a lost opportunity but was just tipsy enough to not linger on it.

"So, how are your injuries healing?" Dox asked, though she caught Schwein's grunt earlier.

The gold eye'd pirate grunted as she refilled their glasses again. "They're technically healed... But the leftovers won't be recovered for another few weeks at least. Especially aggravating them on our little adventure with the Princess. It was a good reminder that I'm mortal and not some Norse Valkyrie of legend..."

"I can confirm that..." Death replied with a chuckle just before downing more Romulan ale. "You're definitely mortal."

It was definitely the Kali-Fal kicking in, but Dox snorted at the comment from the decidedly less-than-grim reaper in a way a sober Dox certainly would not have. "Sorry. That's not funny." She said it but she was still chucking slightly. "Sorry. You're definitely going to win here. Which is not to say I'm not enjoying the inevitable defeat, nor that I am out of the game."

Dox presented her empty glass for more. She was feeling the ale for sure, but was still clear headed. She still had a million questions about just what had happened to link the two women she was drinking with. She was concerned over how deep that link might go with Schwein's accent being overwriten by Death's own. And she wanted to know if anything could be done to help further.

But in the moment, Schwein was smiling and Dox just wanted to keep her friend from spiraling back into depression again, if only for the night.

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