Posted by Lieutenant Commander Daggum Hammor (Chief Operations Officer) in Post Sim - Rest and Recuperation (Open to Anyone)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Post Sim - Rest and Recuperation (Open to Anyone)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Daggum Hammor (Chief Operations Officer) in Post Sim - Rest and Recuperation (Open to Anyone)
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Hammor had seen her do the deep hard therapy work with Viyara that was sometimes required. It was the kind that stretched and strained you because it was so full-on but for a short time and was out of the ordinary. Normally, a therapist needed time off after that kind of work, but that hadn’t been an option for Janna and she damn well knew it showed all over her face. “Take a wild guess,” she said dryly as she followed him through the airlock.

And then she froze, sucking in a breath. Wow, that was a weird sensation. It was like a tingle and shiver running over her body. Blowing out a breath, she closed her eyes. “Just give me a second.”

When she had gathered herself, Janna shook her head and gestured for him to lead the way. “Last time I was here, something happened that changed me, Daggum, and I’m still reconciling that. And that is on top of everything else. It’s been… a lot.”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Daggum put a friendly hand on her shoulder and said “I think it’s time you spent some time on my couch. Which in this particular instance is a bar. And it has the best Sytherian calamari this side of Romulan space. C’mon… let’s get some food that doesn’t come from… well… where ours comes from.” and he smiled and began walking, using the hand on her shoulder to half-guide her along.

“Funny how all the counsellors show up when one is flailing,” she teased as they made their way deeper into the station, his gentle touch reassuring, as if to steady her. Did she need it? Perhaps not, but she understood the benefit. They passed the corner where Kivon had abducted her and she had used the orb, somehow, to trap Kivon forever where he wouldn’t harm anyone.

They soon came to a small bar tucked back in the corner of one of the smaller shopping areas. It was a dimly lit place, but somehow didn’t feel dingy, just… comfortable. They sat down at a booth near the bar and a waiter came over. “Drinks today? And the special is a Terran dish: sesame tofu in garlic.”

Hammor

It was cozy and quiet, but that didn’t mean that Janna did’t take a quick and possibly paranoid glance around before they sat down. The server’s presence brought her back to the whole point of this outing: to have a bit of fun and relax. She considered the breadth of food offered and what might go nicely with a variety of things. “Hmm, Bajoran springwine or Antarian cider. Whatever you have that’s crisp, not too sweet.” Finally a chance to actually be away from everything!

~Janna Kingston, CNS (finally off duty)

The waiter nodded and looked at Hammor. “Orion rum with a beer, please.” The waiter moved away and Daggum looked at Janna. “So? How are you holding up? What can I do to help you?” he asked.

Daggum

Lacing her fingers together and resting her hands on the table, Janna sighed, ending in a chuckle. “I wish I knew. I mean, there’s nothing wrong, but at the same time there have been a lot of tiny things that are all compounding. I mean, for starters, what was suppose to be a vacation turned into a nightmare situation and while it had the best possible outcome compared to the Athena’s usual, I feel… robbed, Daggum.” She leaned forward, her grass green eyes taking in his deep emeralds. “I don’t think people quite knew what I was having issues with before all the drama. Did I ever tell you I used to have a phobia of the water, of being in it?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Daggum looked mildly surprised and said “No… no you didn’t. I take it going to an island was some kind of aversion therapy? Or have you managed to address that particular fear?” He looked at Janna as she looked at him. “You’ve been through a lot, Janna. Before I got here and since. And I am your friend… you can tell me anything. No judgement, no change in how I see you.” The waiter came over and set the drinks down. Daggum looked up just long enough to say “Can we get some fries and crab cakes, please? Thanks.” and the waiter nodded and left and Daggum locked eyes with Janna again. “What’s on your mind?”

Hammor, Ops

Janna sipped on her drink, fingers feeling the smoothness of the glass and she let that tangible sensation settle her mind a bit before she spoke. She had told Orvos this story not long after she came had been assigned to the Athena, but it lay the foundation for future things. “What’s on my mind begins with a story…”

“So, when I was nine, I decided that I was going to be a marine biologist. I told my mothers this and they just gave me a weird look and Eliza said, ‘Kallen, dear, I think that’s lovely, but you’re terrified of water. You… you do realize that marine biologists study life in the ocean, yes?’ I just looked at her and gave a nod.

“Now, I grew up on Alpha Eridani Two, and lived in Heliopolos, which was a port city, so there was plenty of water to be had. But here I was, terrified to even walk along the boardwalks. But what I hadn’t told my moms was that had seen some sort of educational video on Pacifica and was so enthralled that I decided I wanted to live there. Well, it’s a water world, and I knew that I’d have to be around water a lot, so was determined to figure out someway around it.

“Fast forward three months later and my moms had figured I’d forgotten or changed my mind. But in reality, I had taken my plan to heart and was in the midst of building what I thought was an ingenious solution to the problem. One day after school, I went for a walk, as I was allowed to do, and went down to a small park on the water, not to far from a boat launch. Tucked behind some bushes were sections of wood tied together. I hauled them out and tied them together and dragged it centimetre by difficult centimetre down to the boat launch, set it in the water and hopped on. I was still terrified, but I figured if I could not touch the water, then I could still study the creatures beneath it… or so my nine year old self was convinced.” Janna grinned and chuckled slightly. “The gist of the story is that I am a great problem solver at times, but a terrible engineer.

“My raft wasn’t exactly water tight, nor were my knots tight enough, so I started taking on water almost immediately. Fortunately, a nearby fisherman saw what I was doing and quickly came to the rescue, since I should add that I didn’t know how to swim. Afterwards, I avoided the shore for a good three months, but then decided that that was silly. I had clearly survived and there was no point in fearing something I’d tackled head first… literally. So, I started to just walk along the beach barefoot. A couple weeks later would wade up to my knees. But then a fairly strong wave knocked me in the water and I was sitting in it up to my chin. I got splashed in the face and sucked in a bit of bit water, but I felt no fear. After that I asked my mothers for swimming lessons and I learned to swim.”

Janna leaned in towards Daggum slightly. “I don’t fear water anymore, but instead I learned to be afraid of everything else. A bump, a fall, a cut. It would just depend on variable if it was a nuisance due to my aprahaemophilia, or life threatening. When they told us at that resort that we could have whatever our hearts desired, I knew without a doubt I wanted to do something that was considered risky for me and not have it be a terrible thing. To feel alive for the first time in a very long time. I deal with my fear and I don’t let it control me per say, but just one day of my life I wanted to throw caution to wind and not be afraid.” It hurt, that moment on the parasailing boat, when she realized that she had come so close and still not managed it. The holodeck would never be the same. She loved her life, the career she had built, the home she had found here on the Athena, but there still was always this one small thing missing and to have come so close and have it slip through her fingers had stung deeply.

~Janna Kingston, CNS