A Challenge Defined

Posted on Tue 2nd Jun, 2020 @ 2:38am by Elizabeth Anderson M.D. & Li Kainon

1,173 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Brown Sector
Timeline: MD 3, 1240

Previously, Li tells Elizabeth, exactly how it is in the Brown Sector ...

"But there are other people here who will look at you and your nice words and start figuring how much they can get from you. There are people who will lie to your face, be your best friend and stick a knife in your back when it suits them. This place can be violent, and scary, and sometimes you’re on quicksand and you have no idea how you got there. People disappear, like they never existed. Are you prepared for that? Because if you’re just here to give people cookies and feel better about your place in the world, you can get right back on that tram and go home. We don’t need any new problems.”

And now ... will worlds collide, or will they meet in the middle?

Dr. Anderson looked, really looked, at the man in front of her. "Are you trying to frighten me?" she asked. "Because I have to tell you, I don't frighten easily. I'm not just a pretty face. I have skills that sort of person would never see until it's too late. Unless it's necessary, you'll never see them, either. I don't want to cause you any trouble, any more than you want me to."

She leaned toward him. "Look, I'm hoping to do some good here, if I can. I can't force anyone to come here, but I'm pretty good at discerning true need from calculating greed. I'll help those who want help ... I've already started that. I won't take threats, even subtle ones, from anyone. I think you have some influence in the community, and I hope you'll use it in my favor, because that will be using it in your people's favor. But if you can't, or don't choose to," she shrugged, "I'm alright with that."

He didn't seem taken aback at her attitude, so she went on, more gently. "I'm not your responsibility, so don't take that on. I expect I may run into the trouble you describe sooner or later. Almost everyone tells me I will," she gave a half smile. "They who bring the trouble don't know me. I don't run, and I'm not easily frightened. We'll see how those people - the takers - decide to play things. I'm going to help those who want help. Trust me, it will work out."

Kainon sat back at that, and grabbed another cookie. He took a frustrated bite and thought it over for a minute, crunching in irritation. It was hard to figure out if she was being naive or had reason to be as confident as she came off. Whoever she was, she was difficult to get a read off of. “I can’t trust that. I’ve known too many good people who thought they could handle things, too. It doesn’t matter how good you are or how smart you are or tough you are. Because down here you have to be ready all the time. You let your guard down once, you trust the wrong person once, and it’s done. And if something happens to somebody like you, we all have trouble. I’ve seen it before.“

He cut off the thought before it got going. It was clear she wasn’t going to be scared away, and it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about, besides. Kainon didn’t like having to be some sort of strong arm to somebody trying to be decent. “Look, I’m not the guy you need to worry about. I don’t hurt people if I don’t have to.” He turned his left hand against his leg, subconsciously rubbing the scars on his knuckles. “But if you’re here, I have to take responsibility. Okay? I don’t have the luxury not to. I just want you to know what you’re dealing with. I’m sure you were with the fleet and fought cyborg squid people or whatever weird crap you guys get up to and you handled it. But this isn’t that. That’s all I’m trying to say.”

In her best counselor's manner, Anderson replied, "I hear you telling me that there could be trouble, and it could be dangerous. I hear your concern for me, and I appreciate it. I will do my best not to cause any problems for you or your people here." For a moment she thought about telling him who ... or what ... she was, but then decided nothing would be gained. He would just worry about something else.

"Feel free to check on me any time, but as long as you don't have any cyborg squid people to offer me," she grinned, "I don't think there's a thing I can't handle. Nevertheless, I will not take your warnings lightly, and I will keep a sharp eye out. I have pretty good security in position here, but even so, there's nothing that can't be replaced if it has to be. Do whatever you have to that brings you peace of mind. I'm just curious, though. Have you give this same talk to Dr. s'Siedhri?"

“Oh, he’s my next stop,” Kainon replied. It was clear she wasn’t planning to go anywhere, and it was clear she didn’t scare or worry easily. Still, he didn’t get the sense that she was here to do anybody any harm. Whether or not she’d actually help, that remained to be seen. Trying to get her to rethink this course of action was going to get him about as far as trying to bang a new window in the bulkhead with his skull, though. “You know each other?”

"I wouldn't say know exactly," Elizabeth said thoughtfully. She reached into the tin for a cookie, noting that her guest seemed to like them, too. "We've met. We're aware of each other. I know his daughter Makila, better, but still not well. Our offices upstairs aren't far from each other, and everything I've heard of both of them has been good. They engender trust in their clients, and I'm told that the doctor, at least, is quite a gardener."

She laughed, "I don't suppose any of that is anything that helps you, though. You can have fun comparing his reaction to your warning with mine. He's a Romulan, you know, and I suspect he's lived through hard times himself. Because of that, he may even relate better to people down here than you might imagine."

“I’ll keep your endorsement in mind,” Kainon said, standing up. As he did, he grabbed a few more cookies. “Thanks for the cookies, doc. If you need something down here, I’m easy enough to reach.” He told her a number. “That’s officially a dead code in the comm system, but it goes to my office. I’ll be along soon enough. Bring more of these.” He waved the cookies at her.

 

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