Mind Games

Posted on Mon Jun 10th, 2024 @ 10:06pm by Lieutenant True Keading & Lieutenant JG Vanya Karolyi

Mission: A New Beginning
Location: Counseling
1543 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

It was part of the process of onboarding, but sometimes Vanya found it more a thing to be endured than something beneficial. It all depended on the counselor. She had to admit, though, at times, she quite enjoyed her psychological evaluation if the counselor was competent.

She preferred to be positive and so looked forward to meeting the counselor as she paused outside her office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," True called. She hadn't been expecting anyone but it wasn't all that unusual for someone to stop by if they needed some advice or had an issue to work through. She tidied up the pillows on the sofa and turned as the door opened.

A woman in an intel-colored jumpsuit walked in. She took a quick look around, assessing the counselor by the contents of her office before turning her focus back to the counselor. "Hi. I'm Vanya Karolyi and just arrived. Do you have time for an assessment?" If not, she'd be happy to come back later, but the other woman didn't seem to be waiting for anyone.

"I do. Please come in." True gestured to the furniture in her office. "This is kind of a strange occurrence as people don't generally volunteer for their evaluations. I usually have to track them down, tie them up and drag them back to my office." She joked, it made her think of Gavin however and she felt a pang of pain in her chest.

Fenora smiled at that. Answering a few questions wasn't as difficult as facing her parents had been. "I tend to get wrapped up in work and forget, so I like to get my coming aboard checkups done first. I'm Fenora and new to the forensic science department."

"True Keading, obviously you know my position. You're welcome to call me by my first name. I only object when I'm mad at someone." True gave a small smile. "Have a seat. Would you like some tea or coffee?"

"No, thank you. But a pomegranate lemonade would be appreciated." She smiled at the counselor before adding. "Sometimes I think it would be nice to have several names. At least three, but five would be better. Then if I lose my temper, I could make the other person use every one of them when addressing me. I probably wouldn't, but at times it can be fun to imagine."

"Change your name. Whatever pleases your mind in my opinion. People worry far too much about their image and reputation. But when it comes to peace of mind, I think anything is acceptable." True handed her the pomegranate lemonade. "Tell me a bit about yourself." True prompted.

"Thank you," Vanya said, taking a sip of her lemonade. "I grew up on a small colony named Romanov. Most of the colonists came from Russian roots, which is why I have an accent. It was destroyed during the Dominion War. My brother and I survived because we were away on a school trip. It was there that I grew to love music and literature, and learned to find information." She smiled. "That love of information is why I'm an archivist." She raised an eyebrow and asked a question of her own. "Why did you choose to become a counselor?"

"My parents died in an accident and my brothers and I were raised part of the year in Alaska and part of the year on Betazed by my Paternal aunt. My aunt was a very warm person and she was always trying to heal someone. I Suppose it probably rubbed off on me. That and I wanted to see the universe so I thought I could do both at the same time." True smiled but there was slight pain behind the smile as she thought of the last two assignments and how she was still healing from lost relationships on both of them.

True threw a question right back at her. "Why intelligence? Do you feel you are trying to prevent what happened to you from happening to others?"

Vanya chuckled. "I cannot prevent what happened, and if I could, I would not be the person I am, or be where I am." She shook her head. "No. I am in intelligence because I value knowledge and information. I am an archivist because I know that if we do not learn from our mistakes, we will repeat them. So, I gather and store information. Sometimes that information needs to be shared, and sometimes it needs to be kept from those who would abuse it. Intelligence is the best place for that." Then she smiled. "I am also inherently curious."

She looked at the counselor for a long moment, recognizing the pain in her eyes. "Loss is part of living. Love in spite of sorrow is what makes it worthwhile." She was rarely that honest with people she just met and so took another tack. "I use music as my therapy. Or a good turn of phrase."

"Sounds like a perfectly good reason to have entered that profession and I'm glad you found something that aids in healing. Where were you stationed before this?" True asked, being curious in her own way.

"My last posting was on the USS Gemini," Vanya said. "What about you? Where did you serve before this?" She always like learning about the people she worked with.

"I was on the Andromeda." True wasn't going to mention that it had not been a happy disembarking. The Captain had initiated a relationship with her and while it had been consensual, they had not left on good terms. "And before that the Yorktown before it was destroyed. I'm ready for a bit of a relaxing cruise, I'll be honest."

Vanya picked up the undertones of what she said, but didn't know the counselor well enough to comment on them. "What constitutes relaxing varies from person to person. Me, if it's too quiet I get fidgety. There is always information of one kind or another to be gathered. As long as I have something to work on, be it gathering, sorting or analyzing data, I'm happy most places. For your sake, I will hope for some time without emotional crises."

"That would be appreciated. Exciting doesn't have to be dangerous. Maybe the chickens will get loose and end up laying eggs in the Jeffries tubes. A little treasure hunt never hurt anyone and it would be something to laugh about for a long time to come." True couldn't believe it when she'd heard there were chickens in the arboretum. "What kind of hobbies do you enjoy?"

"I play the violin, viola and cello," Vanya replied, smiling. "I mostly play classical music, but I'm branching out into other genres. And I like puzzles." Which reminded her that she still needed to set up her Tetris system.

"You should do a concert sometime, it's been ages since I heard music in person." She responded to learning that Vanya played. "Interesting. What kind of puzzles? Riddles? murder mysteries? Or those little prices you fight together on a flat surface?" Those were just a few that True could think of in the moment.

"Puzzles where you put pieces together, riddles, Tri-D chess, games of skill where you fit geometric shapes together, word play." Vanya shrugged. "I like many kinds of games like that." She wouldn't mind a puzzle room, either. She'd done one or two and found them interesting. "For a concert, I prefer ones where a number of people perform. But I haven't had an opportunity to do that in a while."

"We could put the word out around the ship, see who else is interested if you'd like. As for puzzles. It's been a long time since I attempted anything of the sort. But if you'd like a partner let me know." True switched subjects. "I see nothing in your file that would warrant any extra attention Lieutenant. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss with me?"

"No. I mostly wanted to touch base with you." She smiled at the counselor. "For the rest, I'll see how things go. I'm sure I'll run into other musicians." She'd already met one. "We tend to gravitate to the same areas. And if not, I know where to look." She might just see if there was a place on the ship where musicians got together for impromptu jam sessions. "If you have nothing else, I'll take my leave and let you get back to your work."

"No, that was all. It was nice to meet you Lieutenant," True offered her hand. "Stop by again if you feel the need. Otherwise you can make an appointment with my assistant Nancy." True stood up to show her the door. Though it wasn't as if the other woman was going to get lost on the way there.

"I will." Vanya shook the counselor's hand. "It was nice meeting you as well." She followed True to the door and smiled again before heading back to intelligence. She enjoyed talking with the counselor, but now she wanted to spend some time on the computer.

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Lieutenant JG Vanya Karolyi
Data Archivist and Analyst
USS Majestic

Lieutenant True Keading
Chief Counselor
USS Majestic