Posted by Ensign Shon Baht (Medical Officer) in Ship’s Lounge - A lunchtime meeting

Posted by Ensign Kiama Naim (Scientist) in Ship’s Lounge - A lunchtime meeting

Posted by Ensign Shon Baht (Medical Officer) in Ship’s Lounge - A lunchtime meeting
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Shon nodded with a twinge of hesitation, as he could not help but wonder what had made Kiama change her demeanor momentarily and if he should change the subject. “As long as they don’t have the types of problems that usually plague pre-warp species we’ll be fine. If we drop into a war zone that’ll definitely complicate things,” Shon said bitterly with uncharacteristic cynicism.

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

“I sure hope so,” Kiama said with a soft sigh, “I have already had enough war zone experiences to last me a lifetime. So I could happily live without adding more to it.” Under her breath she added, “Especially now that I’m not a child anymore.” Shaking her head, she continued at normal volume, “Though I suspect that the Captain would have mentioned it right way if we were to entre a war zone. I mean, yes, I don’t know him well, but he doesn’t come across as someone who would hold that kind of information back. Not to mention that I would expect more tension and all from him and the rest of the senior staff if this mission would involve beaming down into a big conflict.”

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon blinked as Kiama mentioned her previous experiences with warfare. He hadn’t considered that she might have been exposed to something like the Dominion War directly. Shon had been a child himself during the conflict, but the Starfleet-led Bolian Operation had managed to hold the line and protect his homeworld from actual invasion. Shon remembered that Betazed had not been so fortunate.

With a pang of regret for bringing up the topic, Shon chose to simply nod in response to Kiama’s optimism. “Yes you’re probably right,” he sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sour our lunch. Which I have enjoyed very much, by the way.” He smiled genuinely.

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

Kiama instinctively reached out with her hand and placed it on Shon’s. “Don’t be,” she said sincerely, looking him straight into the eyes and returning his smile. “I try not to think about that time and it’s even rarer that I talk about it. Though I’ve been told by more than one counsellor that I should,” she continued and then paused again, her gaze becoming unfocused and distant. “I was just a child. And that was probably a good thing as my telepathic and empathic abilities hadn’t yet developed. So at least I couldn’t feel all the pain and fear of everyone around me … but hiding in the caves in the Loneel Mountains and seeing much younger children get sick or even die … and over hearing conversations between what was left of our government … I’m not sure I’ll ever forget any off that.” Shaking her head, she sighed softly. “But we won,” she finished with a small and proud, yet sad smile, as she looked once more straight at Shon.

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon couldn’t help but show hints of his emotions on his face as Kiama spoke. He felt sadness, horror, and sympathy for what she had experienced. Shon tried very hard not to let himself feel guilty for having been spared a similar experience. He swallowed hard.

Kiama intensified her mental shields as she felt Shon’s emotions wash over him. Not because she didn’t want to know what he was feeling, though, but simply not to lose herself in the combination of their emotions.

“Yes,” Shon said while mirroring her wary smile, “we did. That war… was terrible. I’m so sorry for what you had to endure, Kiama.” Shon placed his other hand on top of hers and pressed lightly. “It was stories like yours that motivated me to join Starfleet medical. Starfleet protected my homeworld and rescued yours… I’m proud to be able to give back in the form of service to others who are impacted by violence.”

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

Of course that was only part of the story how her homeworld got liberated, but she didn’t feel like going into more detail about what happened during the war; at least not right now. After all, this was supposed to be a nice, casual lunch and she really didn’t want to think much more about the Dominion War and everything it had cost her people and her family. So instead, she said, “That’s a good motivation to join. And I assume there are many officers in the fleet who joined - at least in part - because the Dominion War. In a way I have as well.”

Titling her head slightly to the side, Kiama pondered for a moment before asking, “What did you enjoy most while you were at the Academy? Also, where you at the Starfleet Academy in San Francisco?” She had more questions she wanted to ask, but made herself stop here as she didn’t want to bombard Shon with them. After all, she wanted to give him the chance to actually answer them.

~Ensign Naim, Scientist

Shon’s relief at the change of topic prompted another wave of guilt, which then shifted to embarrassment as he was very aware that Kiama could probably sense all of these internal feelings.

Pushing forward to leave the heavy subject behind, Shon tilted his head upward in thought as he retracted his hands and used his spoon to scrape up the remains of his clam chowder. “What did I like most about the Academy…? Well, your second question is easier so I’ll start there. I actually moved to Earth when I was fifteen to complete secondary education at a San Francisco public school that has a reputation for feeding graduates into the Academy. I had a wonderful host family that I still keep in touch with. And it obviously worked out for the best, because I got into the San Francisco Starfleet Academy, first try!” He beamed, obviously a bit proud of himself.

“This may sound sappy,” he continued, “but I guess honestly what I liked most about the Academy was the people. It was so amazing to be surrounded by such smart, talented individuals, and from such a variety of cultures as well! I was lucky to have a wonderful cohort. I made a lot of great friends there, but taking this position on the Manhattan means that I won’t be seeing any of them for a bit, considering they’re all back in the alpha and beta quadrants.”

Shon smiled warmly. “But that’s why it’s so exciting to meet new smart, talented people, like you!”

(Ensign Baht, Medical)

(bump)