Posted by Lieutenant Dr. Solomon Kane (Medical Research & Development) in Kane’s Quarters- Confessions and Collaboration

Posted by Commander Dira Myqian (Executive Officer) in Kane’s Quarters- Confessions and Collaboration
As she moved through the ship after leaving the lab Alexis worked in, Dira had that strange sensation hit her again. Stopping abruptly and looking around her, there was nothing to match her sensory input. Sighing and brushing it off as heightened tension from her conversation with Bonner, she continued.

Arriving at Kane’s quarters, Dira steeled herself for the likely onslaught of insults he’d likely hurl at her. Most of the time people couldn’t dent her emotional wall that way- she was too well trained and experienced. And yet, this was also personal and that put Dira in a more vulnerable position. So when she hit the chime, there was uncertainty and wariness in her expression.

Commander Myqian, XO

The door slid open to reveal a room mostly devoid of anything not standard for a Junior Officer’s room. There were no personal effects, no momentos… nothing to give a visitor an idea of the person who lived there. Not surprising, considering the history of the room’s inhabitant. “Yeah. I’ll be out in a second.” came a familiar and terse voice from the other room.

One piece of personal clutter could be seen, though. On the wall by the doorway the voice came from was a piece of paper stuck to the wall. On it was a drawing, a woman’s face, her eyes cast down and a slight smile on her lips.

Bonner.

Surveying the room, Myqian felt she should have been more surprised at the one piece of distinct personalization. But their previous conversation had led her to know that he and Alexis were involved, but the delicateness of the drawing showed a deep care.

Kane stepped into the room pulling on his uniform jacket over the black shirt underneath. He looked at the XO and said “Yeah? Whats up?” flatly.

Kane, R&D

But Dira- for all that she was in her uniform, with her three solid pips and list of responsibilities and duties- was not standing there as a Starfleet commander. She was just Dira, but not the Dira people saw day in and day out. The natural confidence had faded and been replaced by a weariness borne of having to keep her guard up all the time. And definitely an uncertainty about how he would react. Maybe he would laugh at her, and dismiss the whole thing. She had no idea.

“I’ve been where she is… Alexis, I mean,” Dira said quietly. “Different context, different kind of person. But I know what it’s like to have a situation spin out of your control and to have someone use your own weaknesses against you with expert skill. In my case, the person was generally incompetent so I think that’s that threw me off and gave him control over the situation. I didn’t expect it of him. But then again narcissists are experts at twisting things to their own gain.”

She looked back at the drawing, her dark eyes fixed on it. “I told Alexis I couldn’t professionally just toss out a diagnosis, but gut-level instinct is that Soulis has anti-social personality disorder. He’s a sociopath. The pain and misery of others is what gives him pleasure. So you’re right that her being happy will take him down a notch, but the problem with people like Soulis is that they have no problem escalating a situation.” She returned her gaze back to Solomon. “I think we both know that your warning won’t be enough to deter him, even after his encounter with you. And the problem becomes that he’ll have no qualms about creating collateral damage to get what he wants. So I need your help to stop that, and you need my help to see Alexis through this. Because she’s starting to feel things about all of this. And long repressed emotions have a tendency to explode all over the place, in the worst kinds of ways, in the worst moments.”

Commander Myqian, XO