Posted by Fleet Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Officer’s Mess- Dinner with the Captain

Posted by Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in Officer’s Mess- Dinner with the Captain

Posted by Fleet Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Officer’s Mess- Dinner with the Captain
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snips)

Sair nodded and picked up her fork again, sampling more of the unique dish. “I know it’s not just her issues at play. I have my own I’m trying to work through. The hard part about being a counsellor now is I’m all too aware of my own issues. So I know that I am struggling with intense guilt. I know that our collective guilt over the war with the Amrayans has shaped every facet of our society and not for the better, but it’s not easy to shrug it off. Even if I know deep down I’m making the right choice for Koro and I by being out here, it’s hard to not feeling like I’m also letting them down. It’s… a process.”

She broke into a smile and reached out to tap the padd resting on the table. “But you know what? You’ve offered us a solution that solves many issues. My parents had apparently planned that after my mother died that he would come out and spend time with Koro and I, and the thought of him being here so much sooner?” She couldn’t help the little thrill that swept through her. “Oh, I think you’ll really like him. He’s a sweet man. Thoughtful, gifted. I’ve never met a more soothing person in my life.”

~Sair Song, CNS

Alex smiled and said “Well, make sure you tell him that I expect to play with him while he is here. And if he brings schematics for Kobliad instruments, we can replicate them here and program them into the holodeck. Easier than moving a bunch of instrument cases. Trust me, I know that all too well!” and he laughed and picked up his fork. “I think I may have irritated every Quarter Master and Operations Officer between here and Earth when I came. Guitars, cello, violin, and my piano.” and he shrugged slightly and said “Perks of the rank.” He smiled and took a bite.

Cochrane

Sair laughed. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me about you. When you commit yourself you’re all in,” she said knowingly.

“I know Father will bring at least one prizar with him. He had many collectible ones he’ll leave behind. And I look forward to seeing you two play together, though I do hope I get to see you play before him. Seems only fair now that you’ve seen me play,” she said with a smirk.

~Sair Songz, CNS

Cochrane swallowed and took a drink. “Alright, that is fair. And in that case, every morning that I am able to, I play for an hour on the holodeck. You are welcome to join me when you are available. I try to get there at 0600. Third shift is still on duty and First shift is just waking up, so I do not tend to usurp time from the crew that way. If you see me there on the schedule, come by. How does that sound?” he asked and then took another bite.

Cochrane

“That sounds great,” she said with a smile. She would have to have Koro in care and… no, she wouldn’t. Not if her mother was still here. Her mind was having to shift and consider that how she had thought things were going to unfold in the next while were going to be rather different.

She ate her pasta a bit and then paused to gaze at him with curiosity. “That many instruments… I take it music isn’t just a passing hobby then?”

~Sair Songz, CNS

Alex shrugged slightly and looked down at his plate, toying a bit with his food by spinning his fork in it. “Youcould certainly say that. I started studying music when I was four. Of my own accord. I taught myself the guitar and bass; both upright and guitar. When I was fifteen, I was going to study music at the conservatory on Delta V. Had an acceptance letter. But then… well…” and he smiled a regretful smile and looked up at Sair. “That was when my family’s well-publicized drama happened. So rather than me studying music and my sister becoming a professional figure skater; we joined Star Fleet.” and he chuckled. “Because that makes sense, I’m sure.”

Cochrane

Sair had been through his file, so she knew what he was referring to, but it still made her deeply thoughtful as she ate. “You felt you had something to prove… I can understand that,” she said softly.

“Out of curiosity I did some reading recently on alternate realities and I find the exercise of mentally going through the crossroad events in our lives and imagining how our lives would change had the outcome been different of the event hadn’t happened at all rather fascinating. I think it’s a useful exercise but it allows you find perspective about your own path and how you got to where you are. So I’m curious if you’ve imagined what your life would be like now if you had gone on to study music.,” Sair said.

~Sair Songz, CNS

Cochrane smiled and said “Oh, regularly. But I find that the perspective I come away with is that, even if this isn’t the life I hoped for at the beginning, I would not trade it for anything. I don’t see it as having lost and opportunity, but instead being gifted with an amazing and extraordinary life.” he took a drink and looked at her over the rim of his glass. Setting it down he said “I wonder if your mother could benefit from that in some way.”

Cochrane

Sair reached for her own wine but her fingertips rested on the base of the glass. “Perhaps,” she said, deeply thoughtful again. “But see, the thing is that for a Kobliad her life is extraordinary.” Sair leaned forward, gazing intently at Alex. “She was born to a family who was well enough off to have more choices than most, and even though her mother died in childbirth along with her second child, she was loved and she had a great education. She didn’t have to worry about basic needs the way others o our world sometimes have to. She became a nurse, and health practitioners are revered on Kobliad, for obvious reasons. In her mind she has a privileged life and it was made more so by having a partner and then a child. She did everything right according to our society and she is honoured for it. She saw my life as extraordinary before I even joined the exchange program the first time. What none of us, including myself, saw coming was that seeing other places, meeting other people made me want more. And that is all but an unwritten crime back home. We’re still trying to get past the idea that one person wanting more means someone else goes with less. We’re used to our world, our resources, the experiences of our lives being limited, finite. Our years are finite, just like any mortal being, but for me, I no longer was satisfied with ‘just enough’. I wanted more. And that is the crux of the matter, the thing she has to accept in order to fully see me as I am now.”

~Sair Songz, CNS