Posted by Lieutenant Alexis Bonner (Scientist, Medical Researcher) in Control What You Can

Posted by Commander Dira Myqian (Executive Officer) in Control What You Can

Posted by Lieutenant Alexis Bonner (Scientist, Medical Researcher) in Control What You Can
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Dira could read a situation, and if Bonner wanted a more straightforward conversation, then she was happy to oblige. But her training was too deep and she knew too much to just assume that Alexis was in a good enough place to just jump right into business, as it were. Many people just shut down if you pushed them in a the wrong direction and if she was treading carefully, it was she knew all too well that in the immediate aftermath of something difficult, certain things could and often were brushed off only to come hitting hard later. Whether that was the situation here with Bonner or not, she didn’t know, but she was moving carefully, regardless.

“Tell me what happened. I’ve had one side of it, but I haven’t heard yours. What happened the night before and tell me also about the previous time he approached you, and how,” Myqian said simply.

Commander Myqian, XO

Alexis worked rapidly through several documents before answering, determine how to approach the question. In the end she decided on a chronological account. “I left the lab with Frigga at 180 and went back to my quarters. I fed Frigga and then I took a shower. When I came out, Frigga was gone and the lights were off. I tried to turn them back on but the computer didn’t respond” she spoke over that quickly but there was tension, a forced factual tone to it. “He was behind me.” She stopped the data on the PaDD pulling her attention and then she wrote something with the stylus and flipped to something else. “He…he always approaches that way. From behind me, I can feel is breath before he speaks he gets so close. He’s very quiet.” Another several swipes, scans, notes, “Reminded me he wasn’t finished with me yet. Told me if I went with him he’d give me all the work my mind could handle. I told him to leave.” Frigga moved then, carefully maneuvering Alexis to sit on her stool, and then pressing heavily against her legs. “That must be when I fell. I don’t…don’t remember anything else.” There were other details, but she either didn’t find them relevant or found them too personal to share. And of course once she fell all there was, was panic and terror and darkness. Then a shrug, “Which previous time do you want Cmdr? The Hathaway, on the starbase, or during my sabbatical?”

Lt Bonner

Watching and feeling what Alexis was letting through her carefully constructed guard, Dira kept her posture relaxed and open, and her gaze curious, though she was definitely a bit concerned. Well more than a bit but she wasn’t about to put that on Bonner. “Whatever you think is relevant to the situation we find ourselves right now. Events don’t usually spring out of nowhere. If the full sequence of events helps add needed context to what we’re dealing with, then by all means give me the whole thing. But I’m going to trust you to decide what is and isn’t relevant. If I’m confused or feeling like I’m missing something, I’ll ask more questions.”

Commander Myqian, XO

Alexis wasn’t really sure what was relevant for the commander. She supposed anything that was connected with the Ogawa. “While we were assigned to the star base he approached me, told me he was being assigned to serve on the Ogawa. Had the transfer orders and everything. Approached me on the edge of the promenade the same way, while I was sitting and reading. That’s why I took the sabbatical, to get away from him I agreed to work on Ever’s project.” She knew it was cowardly, she’d run, but she wasn’t strong and so she’d done what she needed to, to protect herself, and they’d tricked her. “But he wasn’t assigned to the Ogawa, he was the head of her project.”
Lt Bonner

“Ever’s project?” Dira asked, looking for clarification. If so, somehow Dira wasn’t surprised. That woman excelled at everything but being straight-forward. “Tell me how she’s involved in all this.”

Commander Myqian, XO

Frigga made a low rumbling sound and Alexis reached down and stroked her ears. She sighed, “From what I was able to piece together they thought Ever would have a easier time convincing me after…after what had happened before. She tried to convince me that he’d used her the way he used me, but I’m not that oblivious. I refused so he came.” She sighed and put the PaDD down. “He recruited her, when I’m not sure, maybe they were always in it together. That seems plausible. She approached me about helping with the project. It had hit a snag and they couldn’t figure it out. I’m not allowed to give you more details. They wanted me to figure it out, fix it. But I told her no. She tried to be my friend, she tried to ‘make it right’, then she did what she always does. She’s a hateful, vengeful person Cmdr. I don’t know how she has been allowed to care for others’ mental health. She’s very good at making them ill though.” There was obviously a lot of history there, and it upset her a great deal.
Lt Bonner

Whew! Okay, there were things they could accomplish right now and delving into the mire that clearly surrounded Ever was definitely not one of them. And yet there were things that Dira could offer that others in her position might not have. “I have, obviously, no idea about the history between all of you and it is up to you whether you want to share it or not, though I’m starting to get a better idea of what’s been going on.”

Myqian blew out a breath and looked off to the side for a moment before shifting her gaze back to Bonner. “Alexis, unlike some other first officers, I’m in a particularly useful position. You know I’m a trained psychiatrist and I was doing that for a long time before I switched recently to command. But what people might not realize is that I still maintain my license and I will for the foreseeable future. Which means one very important thing for you: you can invoke doctor-patient confidentiality. I’m not asking you to tell me classified stuff I don’t have the right to know, but it does mean that whatever you tell me stays between us. The only exceptions are the standard ones I’m legally bound by involving harm to yourself or to others. And because I’m the first officer, I have to be mindful of the potential for harm to this crew, and that includes you. But it means that I’m bound only to inform the captain about a security situation and give only the details that are pertinent to ensure everyone’s safety. The rest?”-she mimicked zipping her lips-“My lips are sealed.”

Commander Myqian, XO