New Body, Old Soul

Posted on Sat Jul 20th, 2019 @ 5:17pm by Ensign Lunara Hol

Mission: Episode 1: Hell is a four letter word
Location: Earth
Timeline: waiting period
1564 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Desti Neeze walked up to Lunara Hol's quarters at Starfleet Academy, carrying a colourfully wrapped gift box. She rang the doorbell, hoping the freshly-baked counselor was home.

Lunara looked up from the box she was packing. Who could that be? A friend from OCS saying goodbye? "Hold on a second, I'll be right there!" She looked around her room - half her stuff was in crates already. She walked over to the door, straightening her uniform. As it opened, she saw a human woman on the other side, probably twice her age or so. She smiled warmly. "Hello there, how can I help you?"

"Good afternoon", Desti said to the shorter woman. "I'm Desti Neeze, one of the engineering instructors here at the Academy." They'd never met because there was no way to engineer a fix to a broken mind, and thus classes never overlapped. "I saw you're heading out to join the crew of the Elysium, and was wondering if you could deliver a gift for me?" Better come straight out with the objective, she figured.

Lunara nodded. "Of course I can." She glanced back into her quarters. "Would you like to come in?" That wasn't fraternization now that she wasn't a candidate anymore, was it?

Desti stepped inside and placed the box on the table, freeing her hands to allow her to extend one in proper greeting. "Thank you. I'd love to give it to my daughter myself, but the Elysium's been delayed and I have to ship out tomorrow morning for a training cruise with this year's freshmen." She was obviously none too happy about it, but at least this way it would arrive with more than a notice telling Anya she had something to pick up at the airlock.

Lunara smiled and shook the woman's hand. Like all Trill, hers was cool to the touch. "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Neeze. Don't worry, I'll get it to your daughter." She paused. "Oh yes, what's her name?"

"Anya", she said. "She's a petty officer in the security department. A real fighter, that one. Makes her mother proud, even if she decided against becoming an engineer herself."

She grinned. "What a shame, engineering is a great field. But it's reassuring to know we'll be protected by someone capable like her."

"You must be excited to get posted to a ship like the Elysium", Desti said. "I mean, she's not much to look at on the outside. No trace left of those elegant design lines of the past, the nacelles look like they're bent out of shape under some intense heat and there's this huge gaping hole in the middle... nobody in their right mind would ever design that. But that's modern art, I suppose. Form over function. But regardless, a capable ship, and pleasant on the inside."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." She chuckled. "I can barely recognize starships these days. Plus they're so much bigger than I'm used to."

"If anyone ever tells you size doesn't matter... it does", Desti grinned. "There's only so much power you can put into a small package, without it breaking apart early and leaving everyone... unsatisfied."

She laughed. "Oh, come on now, small ships can't possibly be that bad." Lunara wondered what the other woman's idea of small was. "Besides, it's all in how you use it, isn't it?"

"I'll spend the next three weeks stuck on a Miranda class with about five dozen teenagers and only eight showers between them", Desti said. "There's no way to use that and have it not be uncomfortable. But that is the idea, I suppose."

"Mirandas aren't too bad... except for the part where the cadets have to share showers, that sounds terrible."

"I suppose they're the polar opposite of the Elysium", Desti smirked. "Beautiful on the outside, not as nice working on them."

"I'll have to see for myself. It's been..." She paused, trying to remember how many years it had been. "...A while since I was last aboard a Federation starship."

"Back when the Miranda was top of the line, I take it?" Desti guessed. "Must feel great to be inside a young and fit body again, too."

She smiled. "Oh, you can't even imagine." She did a quick twirl. "I'm youthful and spry, I love it!" She looked around the room. "Now that I'm back in Starfleet, everything is so much bigger! In... more ways than one, that's the only downside."

Desti chuckled. Yes, she was certainly on the short side. "You'll find a few things at eye level that others might be reprimanded for staring at, though."

Lunara chuckled with her. "Oh, I'm sure some people would love that." She shook her head. "It's just so disconcerting. I've had this body my whole life-" She blinked. "Well, part of me has, and the other part still thinks I'm 12 centimeters taller. It gets a little disorienting sometimes."

"How long have you been joined?" Desti asked. She figured this might turn into a longer conversation, so she decided to sit down on the sofa by the window, never minding she hadn't actually been invited to do so. "I imagine it's more difficult adjusting while here, among aliens, where few of the training programmes designed for that will work, yes?"

"It's a bit difficult here, but it's not impossible." She sat across from the woman. "My first host, Jalen, adjusted in much the same way. I... he was an engineer too, actually. A warp drive specialist. I can't even begin to imagine how things have changed since he left."

"Good thing you went into counseling, then", Desi said. "You can go around the ship and pick everyone's minds on what's going on. Was that the whole plan to begin with?"

She grinned mischievously "You've found me out. I was thinking of setting up a counselor's intelligence agency to rival the boys in Starfleet Intelligence."

"Why don't you set yourself a real challenge?" Desti asked drily. She didn't exactly have a high opinion of military intelligence.

Lunara smirked. "Still no love lost with them, I see?"

"I doubt that's going to change any time soon", Desti smirked. "But it's worse for the people out on the frontier. Better hope that whatever you'll have to do on the Elysium won't depend on someone's interpretation of shady sources."

"I've met exactly one operative I liked... and she was assigned to our ship as a punishment." She smiled. "We pulled through despite them before, I'm sure that we can do it again."

"I don't think anyone gets assigned to a flagship position as punishment", Desti said. "I know my daughter worked hard to get there. Almost cost her an arm and a leg. Ended up paying just the leg, lucky her."

Lunara nodded slowly. She didn't need counselor training to know to avoid prying. "She's all right now, I hope?"

"Oh, no, she isn't", Desti said. "She got a new one. But she was mostly right for a few months."

Lunara snorted. "I'm glad to hear she wasn't left out in the cold." She paused. "Wow, that was a terrible pun, I'm sorry you had to hear it."

"As counselor, maybe you can go check on her to make sure she's still feeling well enough after all that?" Desti asked. A mother was always concerned for her children, after all, and Anya was Desti's only child.

She nodded, sobering up. "Of course, I'd be happy to. How long ago did it happen?"

"Four years ago, on the Joyeuse", Desti said. "She had a lousy counselor who wouldn't leave her alone about her combat stress, and I'm not sure she got the help she needed when she needed it."

"Why do you say that? I hate to pry like this, but the more I know, the better I can do my job. I know from experience how tight lipped crew can be with counselors."

"Because she's still not suitably careful", Desti said. That was her most important concern. When would Anya wise up and take a bit better care of herself?

"Are there any particular incidents that come to mind?" She was beginning to form a mental image of Anya - a hard charging security officer, maybe with something to prove, who didn't take the loss of a leg as a sign she needed to slow down.

Desti shook her head. "No, nothing specific. Just keep an eye on her. In the professional sense, I mean."

Lunara nodded. "Of course, I'll do just that." She smiled. "Don't worry, she's in good hands. I've heard the counseling staff aboard the Elysium is among the best in the fleet."

"I haven't talked with any of them", Desti said. "Well, I just came here because I saw you were going there, but conversations develop, don't they?" She stood. "Well, I don't want to keep you any longer, I'm sure you've got your packing and good-byes to go through."

"It's no worry." She stood as well, smiling and stretching out her hand. "Thank you for coming, Ms. Neeze. I'll make sure this gets to your daughter."

Desti reached into her purse and pulled a bottle of cognac out, handing it over to Lunara. "And this is for your troubles. Some of the best Earth has to offer."

Lunara smiled, taking it gratefully. "Well thank you! I'm looking forward to trying it out!"