Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Songz’s Office- Calloway’s Appointment

Posted by Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in Songz’s Office- Calloway’s Appointment

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Counter-Intelligence Officer) in Songz’s Office- Calloway’s Appointment
She should be annoyed, but really Faye knew if anyone had the right to be irritated, it was the new counsellor. Faye had certainly put off an appointment with her long enough. It was true that she had been rather busy lately. But it was equally true that she had been in limbo, in flux, after yet another counsellor moved on. With nothing less than a long suffering sigh, she stepped into the anteroom that was weirdly vacant. She had gotten used to Zef’s assistant so it was weird for them not to be there. And also left with her with a dilemma. Did she just knock? Wait?

Fingers tapping on her right thigh, Faye stared at the door, realizing that she was nervous. And sad. And… something else? What else was she feeling right now. Oh. Yeah. Fear. Yet another person, yet another trip down memory lane to bring them up to speed. Faye sighed, reached up and knocked on the door. She could have used the chime, but it was weird since she was already through the first door.

~Faye Calloway, Counter-Intelligence

The door opened and there standing with a light smile was Sair Songz. Her lilac hair was pulled back slightly from her the sides of her face, twisted and pinned where they met together at the back of her head. The rest hung in gentle waves to her shoulders. Doing her best to look the part, she had her standard blue tunic and black trousers that mimicked a uniform. About half the time since she boarded she felt it was working. The rest, well, you couldn’t win every time.

When Sair had sent the overdue appointment notice, she had secretly played a game to see how long it would take the oft recalcitrant woman to reply. And then to see how long she’d prolong the interim time till they finally met. She was pleasantly surprised to find that Faye had responded that same day and suggested times over the next week. Thus they were meeting three days after her initial message. That boded well. Besides, as she understood it, she and Calloway would have little time together before the woman was transferring.

Given Calloway’s issues, that was awkward, but Songz saw her job right now to assess Faye’s current state and help her prepare for this major transition. The rest would be notes she’d forward to her next counsellor on the Athena. That, and of course, anything Faye herself brought to Sair’s attention. But she wasn’t going to force her to do anything more than face reality as she had clearly been doing a lot of in recent months.

Stepping back, she simply gestured. “Come on in Commander Calloway. I’m glad you made it.”

Faye studied the Kobliad for a moment before stepping in, her eyes immediately taking in her surroundings, her memory naturally forming a picture of the space, while her mind formed a better picture of its usual inhabitant.

Inside the office, a large area rug in muted blues, greys and greens spanned half of the therapy area in front of her desk and she had set a small round coffee table in front of a small sofa and two arm chairs, all in a blue-grey colour. Behind that was her desk with two basic chairs in front and a pale wooden shelving unit to the left by the replicator.

Next to the door was a stone sculpture that was half the height of the door. Carved out of white dolomite, it was a miniature replica of the giant tree that was in the lobby of he Assembly Complex in Kobliad’s capital. The tree had a wide trunk with the appearance of a thick bark and was easily deciduous with sweeping branches with teardrop shaped leaves. Carved around the trunk of the tree were arms with hands seeming to hold the tree and they wound themselves up the trunk.

Sair stepped back to allow Faye to enter, standing next to the sculpture, her fingers casually brushing the leaves on a branch.”Please, have a seat and let me know if I can get you anything. It seems to be an expectation people have around here,” she said with a light grin.

~Sair Songz, CNS

Faye’s stormy grey-green eyes studied the tree with curiosity and stepped closer to it. The counsellor’s gesture was almost a silent invocation, as much as it was perhaps a repetitive and ceremonial gesture. “A my-ka tree? Mee-ka?” Faye asked, not sure of the pronunciation. She, of course, had done a ton of research into the new counsellor and her new therapist. It was as much a natural part of her job as counter-intelligence as it was satisfying her personal curiosity and easing some of her anxieties. The more she knew about the incoming person, the easier it would be (hypothetically) to deal with a new therapist, even for the limited amount of time left. “May I?” she said, reaching out, her fingertips hovering over a leaf.

~Faye Calloway, Counter-Intelligence

“It’s pronounced mee-ka, yes,” Sair said. “And by all means you can touch it. It’s not fragile.” She was secretly impressed even as she had expected the intelligence officer to have done her research. Even without being involved in intelligence gathering, Faye was a sponge. Everything in her record told Sair about a person who needed info and felt off-kilter when she didn’t have it.

She left Faye to explore the mika tree statue as she took a seat in one of the chairs. “And when you’re ready, why don’t you come over and tell me who you managed to get away with it.”

Was she being intentionally provocative? Absolutely. But while a part of her was testing Faye, another knew that they were going to have to deal with difficult things in quick succession and she needed the woman focused.

~Sair Songz, CNS