Coping with a New Reality

Posted on Thu Oct 22nd, 2020 @ 10:35pm by Lieutenant Victor Barclay de Tolly & Lara Barclay de Tolly & Lieutenant Commander Alicia Kelea-Salik

Mission: SEASON 4: Episode 1: Know Thy Self!
Location: Counselor's Office
Timeline: MD 7 - After Barclay's Physical
1741 words - 3.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Victor Barclay de Tolly walked into Counselor Alicia Kelea-Salik's office. Lara was taking a nap on a counselor's couch. Seeing the Counselor, he introduced himself. "Counselor, I am Lara's father Victor. My friends call me Vick. How did it go with Lara?"

Alicia had just finished feeding and winding baby Connor when Victor arrived, placing Connor down in his Moses basket she smiled warmly. “It’s nice to meet you Victor. Lara has expressed a wish to find out if her mother is alive here, I told her that was something you’d need to approve given her age.”

"I have been told Tonya is," Victor shrugged a bit, "In fact she is on the base we are going to at the moment. My suggestion we contact her sister Captain Mira King of the USS Izar so we can explain to her what has happened. This could place Tonya in shock plus she might be married. What do you advise?"

“That’s difficult to say.” Alicia motioned for Victor to take a seat. “It might be best to contact her sister and see where you stand first. If she is married it could cause complications to just turn up to see her.”

"Agreed," Victor said as he sat. "Tonya in this reality does not know me from Adam. As you can tell, this has not hit me yet what has happened as well as Lara. I never had a problem with separation anxiety but Lara might. I see people on this ship I have met before but they do not know me but I do hope they will know me." Victor seats comfortably. "Lara might have told you she does like to babysit. She is a very smart girl. Her last tests tested her at college level."

“That’s quite an achievement!” Alicia looked at the sleeping girl then back at her father. “She spoke as though she knew me, although I explained that we’d never met before.”

"That is because her Aunt Mira had you see her when she was having dreams of her mother," Victor said. "I met you only once in the other Reality. So I see the ship has lost a lot of personnel. Hopefully there wil be an opening here."

Alicia nodded. “We lost a lot of good people. I’m sure the Captain could arrange for you to remain onboard if Starfleet agrees.” She motioned to Lara. “Does she dream of her mother often?”

"Six months ago, her AI program named VIOLA found a film of her mother and showed her," Victor says looking at Lara sleeping. VIOLA is in her IPADD at the moment. I see it came over as well." Victor thought for a moment. "I am going to have to let the Captain or XO borrow it. In our reality, it is documented how we defeated the Borg."

“That could be very important information but I’d be careful taking it away from Lara, especially if she’s attached to it. Perhaps let our engineering department copy off the information then Lara needn’t be deprived of it for too long.”

"Agreed," says Victor exhaling a bit. "Right now my life is centered around her happiness. There is a void in my heart but it is big enough to have her in it. So any thoughts about when I contact my mother. I was informed she has been teaching all these years athe Academy. Professor Lara Barclay de Tolly is her name. She teaches Engineering. My father who came from the future knocked her up, so she spent most of her life in my reality serving on the USS Enterprise. She and Commander Geordi LaForge taught me Engineering."

Alicia paused. “It’s going to be tricky, I suggest you just be honest and give your mother the time she needs to adjust. All this alternate reality stuff is hell for us all, this baby ...” She motioned to Connor. “I just brought him back with me, his mother was me from the mirrorverse. She gave him up so he could have a better life with me.” She offered a smile.

He returned the smile. "You are in the right professions as Counselor and Mother. You do possess a sincere level of empathy which is sincere and kind. Your husband is very blessed. As for me, I am blessed to have a daughter and I am going to have to roll with what happens next. Growing up not having my father around I learned to accept consequences. I hope for a lot of things but most of all, I have my health and my daughter. So what else you need to know about me?"

“Whatever you’re comfortable telling me.” Ariana relaxed back in her seat. “How did you come to be in our universe? Did you come from the mirror universe or somewhere else?”

"Just happened this morning," Victor responded. "From what I was told and I what I assume, I come from a reality that was erased. My father whoever he is, he was sent back to the past by Department of Temporal Investigations to stop someone from altering the timeline. During his short time in the past, he met my mother and badda bing, badda boom, he gets her pregnant. Somehow the timeline has been restored having myself, my daughter and my sister who all possessed Temporal Immunity to come in to this reality. I have a feeling I will know the whole story soon, so now the only ones who know me in this reality are my daughter, sister, few El Aurians I have met plus anyone I met who has Temporal Immunity."

Alicia nodded. “That’s some arrival. I just hope you both manage to settle here now. It sounds like you deserve to find some happiness here, and I think Lara will like it here too, she’s welcome to babysit Connor or my new little one when he or she is born in eight or nine months time!” Alicia grinned.

"Lara would like that," Victor says smiling, "She has done a few times before. Her intelligence and maturity have been growing exponentially but I want her to enjoy what childhood has to offer. Sometimes she talks to people like she is an adult and then turns around say something like a little girl would say. Problem is she is not afraid to talk to strangers because she thinks she can help herself because one time she and some others almost got kidnapped but she managed to break bones in their legs."

"Wow she's a strong child!" Alicia smiled. "Still we couldn't have her putting herself into danger whilst she's a member of the crew, the Captain wouldn't permit that."

"Member of the crew?" Victor said with a familiar brow. "So civilian children are considered as members of the crew? Ezri Dax and Mackenzie Calhoun they respected crew's children but they wanted out of site."

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to confuse” Alicia smiled. “I meant that if Lara is going to be living aboard ship with you, she will be the Captain’s responsibility as well as yours. The Captain of a ship is automatically responsible for all those onboard ship.”

"I understand now," Victor smiled grinned a bit. "More like she is more smart than strong. She has had some self-defense classes and she knows how to break a bone in a leg if she had to do it."

Lara woke up and she immediately went into little girl mode and came and sat on her father's lap. "She will be fully awake in about ten minutes. In a couple of years I am going to miss this."

Alicia smiled. “Just because she’s growing up it doesn’t mean she won’t still want to cuddle you, you’re her father and besides she’s still young.”

"One thing I have learnt in my life," Victor saying as comforts his daughter, "Enjoy things while you have it. This ship is a nice size ship. How many forward lounges, arboretums, observation decks, gyms and Holosuites do you have? Plus are there any other places to go like do you do plays?"

“Oh there’s plenty to do here, I’ll find you a copy of the deck plan and you’ll see for yourself. Either that or simply ask Avalon, the ship’s AI.” Alicia smiled warmly. “As for plays, theatres can be set up on the holodeck or use the crew lounge depending on how large a gathering there is. To be honest I’ve mostly used the holodeck.”

Lara perked up when she heard the word Holodeck. "Dad. Holodeck. When?"

"Once I am assigned," Victor says kissing her forehead, "But only on weekends. Okay."

She did a pretend pout. "Okay."

"Unless there are classes to teach you ballet, karate or kickboxing," Victor says sweetly.

"That would be great," Lara smiled.

"Do you have any more questions for Lara or I," Victor asks.

"Not right now, do you have quarters as yet? If not I can sort you some guest quarters until you're sorted out.

"No Quarters yet nor belongings except my daughter has her IPADD," Victor says, "I am going to have to do a lot of replicator shopping," Victor responds. "Is there a tailor on board, if not I am going to have to wait till we get to the Starbase for dome actual clothes made the old fashion way."

Lara added, "Replicators have a hard time making me shoes because of my instep. "

"Plus might need some latinum," Victor sighed. "Life is ever so humble, even for the most noble of us."

"Dad," Lara fusses at him, "Nana told you to not mention that to people."

"Yes Little Nana," he says teasing her a bit."

"Oh Dad," she says crossing her arms a bit.

Alicia grinned. "Well for now I can take you to some guest quarters, they'll be perfectly comfortable. As for clothes, you can replicate basic items to suit. As for a tailor I'm not sure, but we'll be heading back to civilisation soon for some relaxation anyway."

"Lead the way," Victor says as he stands with his daughter. Both of them gave Alicia a very kind smile as they appreciated the Counselor.

"Follow me" Alicia smiled warmly. "I'm sure we can find you some nice quarters."

"Thank you," Lara says as they went together.

End Post.