Reviewing the Situation

Posted on Sun 13th Jan, 2019 @ 5:11pm by Commander Mikaela Locke & Commander Paul Graves PsyD

1,126 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Oblivion
Location: Deck 83 - Chief Counselor's Office
Timeline: MD 19, 1800

ON:

For some reason that she had yet to fully establish, Mikaela Locke usually paused at the door of the station's senior counselor, Lieutenant Commander Paul Graves, before she reached out to push the chime. She had no idea why she had gotten into this habit, nor what purpose it served. However today, without thinking, she didn't pause. She had messaged earlier in the day, confirming the time of his last appointment, so, in theory, he should no longer be with a patient, and so she walked the final few steps up to Graves' office door and immediately pressed the chime.

Paul's office door opened, and Mikaela could hear the sound of him typing, which he'd told her he did for the sheer pleasure of it, that just dictating notes was no fun, as far as he was concerned. Paul also did it because he didn't want to be in the habit of relating his assessments aloud, to a computer or to anyone.

He glanced up at the hiss of the door, smiled at Mikaela, and swiftly finished his current sentence before locking his screen and coming around his desk to meet her. "I've been looking forward to seeing you all day," he said and slid his arms around her. "Interested in some dinner?"

Mikaela returned the hug slightly less enthusiastically, although she wasn't quite sure why. "I am hungry," she replied, taking a step back from him and hoping that he hadn't noticed. "Where were you thinking?"

"I wanted to see if you were hungry first, before thinking about any kind of restaurant," Paul said. "That way, we could pick something together, if we wanted. Are you all right?" Apparently, I came on too strong, he thought and lowered his arms so she could have space. "I'm easy to please, as long as it's not Klingon food. Doesn't even have to be a restaurant; there are all sorts of food carts with different kinds of interesting food down in Tivoli Gardens. We could eat while enjoying a walk."

"Sure," Mikaela said with a smile, while still internally trying to process where her hesitation at Graves' embrace had come from. Whatever its source, perhaps a stroll through a public place, where other officers and crew would almost certainly see them, would ensure that there would be no other awkward moments and that they could simply enjoy each other's company.

"Did anything exciting happen during your shift today?" Paul asked. Usually, he didn't bother asking that because he was pretty much as well-informed as she. But on the days when he did Counseling instead of Second Officer work, he usually found himself curious about how she'd spent her day.

"Actually, there's been another pirate attack," Mikaela said softly, as the two of them headed towards the door. "The Falcon this time. The captain scrambled the fighter squadron to back her up and escort her in."

"How bad?" Paul asked as he walked beside her. "Did they just steal cargo, or did they harm the crew, too?" His tone had lost its former lightheartedness, and he was entirely serious now.

"We're not sure yet," she responded, "We picked up their distress call, but we've not been able to make any other contact. I'm guessing their communications relay was damaged. We might not know the full extent of the situation until we get them back here."

Paul nodded. "Comm system damage seems likely to me, too. At least they got the distress beacon off." He shot her a momentary smile. "The hardest part is waiting. How soon until they arrive?"

"Depends how bad the damage is." Mikaela paused in front of the turbo-lift and hit the call button. "If she's got impulse, then, based on her last known position, Eberstark reckons about twelve hours. If we have to send a larger ship out to tractor her, it could take longer." The doors to the turbo-lift slid open and she stepped inside.

Paul stepped in after her, and the doors hissed closed. "This pirate issue is pretty widespread. It seems to me that this must be either one very well-organized group of pirates or a lot of little, independent groups. If it's the latter, they will be a lot more difficult to control."

Mikaela considered this for a second. "Perhaps we've been going about this the wrong way," she suggested. "Whether they are one organised group or several splinter groups, there must be someone somewhere who knows more than we do. Perhaps it's time to get the intel department to dig in a different direction."

"They've got a suspect that they're developing--if they can get her to talk," Paul said. "From what I've heard, it's been like pulling teeth, so far."

“Yes,” Mikaela nodded, slightly absentmindedly. “I’ll follow that up with Perry in the morning.”

The turbolift came to a halt and the doors slid open revealing the river walk on 1554, right at the heart of Tivoli Gardens. Suddenly, Mikaela’s mind turned back to the hug in Paul’s office. Her lack of commitment had hurt him, but, since she didn’t know why she had reacted as she had, there was no reason not to try and make it up to him. She made a mental note to speak to Lieutenant Perry at a convenient time, and tried, once again, to be more present with Paul.

“It’s not my usual haunt,” she said, stepping out of the lift, “But how about a walk along the river and then dinner at ‘The Slug and Grub’?

Paul shot her an amused look. "You do like to walk on the wild side. All right, I'm game. I'll try just about anything once. But I still draw the line at gagh. Have you ever eaten there before?" It was difficult to not give in to the temptation to read what Mikaela was feeling, Paul thought. He'd been taught long ago that there were manners about psionics. Reading her when she couldn't read him in return would be grossly unfair and rude. But now he would have to work harder to figure out what she wanted in their... was it a relationship? He wasn't as sure now. Maybe he ought to have to work hard for it. Mikaela was worth working hard for--if she wanted his attentions.

“Nope, never,” Mikaela replied with a slightly mischievous smile, “Although I have tried Ferengi food before. To be honest, you’re wise to stay clear of the gagh.”

Paul laughed. "Wisdom has nothing to do with it; more like self-preservation."

Mikaela smiled back knowingly, then they turned and headed along the river walk... neither speaking for quite some time.

OFF:

 

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