Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Nikki Brako (Chief of Operations) in Counselor - Check In

Posted by Lieutenant Akane Sakai (Counselor) in Counselor - Check In

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Nikki Brako (Chief of Operations) in Counselor - Check In
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<SNIP>
Nonplussed, Nikki took up the drink, using the sleeve of his uniform to wipe up what had sloshed, taking her rebuke in stride. A flash of annoyance crossed his features, but he held that under control and relaxed. ‘Yer not on a cruise ship, Nikki old boy,’ he thought to himself, but then considered that were she serving there she’d either be out the door, or over his knee. Leaning back in the chair, the cushions giving behind him, he took a sip. Not bad for replicated. “You are right. You can be feisty,” he said as she was taking her own seat. He liked that. There was a place for demure and submissive, but Nikki liked spirit. Spirit showed the true character.

“A rickety old scow called the Windermere,” he answered. “There seems to be a conspiracy to place me on old things and places.” He looked around to take in the room. It might be a ‘fleet’ room but it still showed some age, here and there smudges and shadows Iike liver marks on his old gran. His eyes went back to Akane. “I’m guessin because nobody else wanted this post.” He said this straight up. Direct. “I was back on me family ships on a sabbatical. I’m thinkin that they didn’t know what to do to me so left me there after the Lexington that I was on was decommissioned. Good call. Tough little ship but her best years were behind her. But then i get the message. Get thee to OP42.” He believed they were testing him again. Always testing. Never quite trusting. This place would be a Petrie dish for testing his resolve. He sipped again. Or was it that they wanted him out of the way? “Sometimes I think of places like this as either a reward or a punishment.” His gaze fell on Akane. “Which is it for you?”
- Nikki, Ops

Akane chuckled as she grabbed her box of cakes from the desk behind her. As she slid them across the desk to Nikki she replied, “actually I requested this posting, I needed a change of pace after my last assignment. So out of interest, if your family has ships, why did you choose to join star-fleet?” She asked curiously.

Lt Sakai (CNS)

OOC: Had to ponder that one!! <G>

Nikki took a long slow drink from the glass and set it down. He eyed the cakes and kept his eye on one of them before flickering back to Akane. “What was the pace like there?” he asked, not disregarding her question but wanting to pursue her reply too. “One could easily say ‘what’s a nice dame like you doing in a place like this?”

Akane was a bit surprised at the question, normally when she gave her usual rehearsed response of a change of pace people just nodded and left it at that. She opened her mouth to speak then thought again. “Honestly? Pace didn’t have much to do with it…” she admitted sheepishly. “I mean, I did want a more steady assignment but that’s not really why I left.” she continued as she sighed and took a swig of now luke warm coffee and made a face. Normally she wouldn’t talk about this with anyone but something about Nikki just made her feel at ease. She slowly continued, “I was involved with this guy but it uh…was complicated…” she continued as she walked over to the replicator and ordered a fresh cup of coffee. As she thought about the events that led her to the outpost, her breathing quickened and violent images started to flash in her head that she had long since blocked out. Refusing to allow them in, she quickly wiped a tear from her eye and returned to her seat with her steaming cup of coffee and forced a smile, hoping she had a good enough poker face to not let Nikki know anything had rattled her. “Sorry Lt, we were talking about you…why did you choose Starfleet?” she said hastily trying to bring the conversation back around to him.

Nikki watched her. The lass was losin it. Nikki didn’t usually have that affect on dames. Normally they wanted to toss drinks in his face. Quietly he chewed on the toothpick and took the occasional sip from the glass. If one was just quiet people filled in the silence. His eyes followed her as she moved to the replicator, an expression of curiosity on his features. When she continued, he leaned in, listening, the toothpick still between his teeth. A guy huh? He wasn’t going to ask if she was okay only to get lied to by her saying an obvious ‘yes’. Dames. Their hearts were like floodgates that had poor controls. Never knew when things would spill out. Her recovery was poor, but tit for tat. He would share a little of himself. Maybe it would settle her, but, inside, the Iotian was not feeling good about her beginning statement.

Taking up the piece of cake he was eyeing, he then looked again at her. “I didn’t choose Starfleet, lass. It was chosen for me. As a kind of penance mixed with spite mixed with wanting to keep your enemy closer. See it as a ‘Spite Stew’.” His tone was light but had an undercurrent of a darker emotion in it. “When I was released the powers that be decided I needed to work off some of the grief that I, in ‘their’ opinion, wrongfully caused them.” He took a bite of the cake, thinking. The lass is easy to talk to, but then he was a social creature too. Much of his ‘business’ was talk. “But aye, it is not a bad job, and I still work for the family.” It wasn’t like one just ‘quit’ working for the family when he had, just days before, been immersed in the business. Things needed to be done. Things that he was tasked with. Much of his family didn’t care about the business, but he did. Easily as much as any of the kids he went through the Academy with and held up Starfleet as the be all and end all. They needed to live. Get some perspective before putting the blinders on and led along by the leash. “Why not a private practice? You could even set up your shingle here and not be in the ‘fleet’”
- Nikki, Ops

As Nikki spoke, Akane nodded intently and smiled, taking in as much as she could but the thoughts that she had pushed aside kept resurfacing as she listened. Her breathing started to quicken again and her eyes began to fill with tears. She clenched her jaw to try and keep it under control but she knew she couldn’t hold on much longer. Akane nodded as she felt a tear trickle down her cheek. “You’re right I could…I’m so sorry, would you excuse me for a moment?” she asked as she ran out into the corridor, just barely keeping it together until the doors closed.

He was a talkin but she wasn’t gettin it. He didn’t think she caught a word he said. He wasn’t spinning a tragic tale that would bring her to tears, or being so funny that it would do the same. No, the heart gates were still leakin. “Lass?” he said as she got up then sped out. Something was eating her up. Something dark she’d rather forget, he imagined. Well, it had to do with that fella. His finger tapped at the arm of the chair as he thought and wondered and if this was being recorded. Oddly he was wondering who was counseling who, and where this was going. He liked the lass. Her features were .. agreeable to him even if quite different from any of his other wives. He let out a humored grin. Here was the lass cryin her eyes out over some fella and he was sizin her up. Oh Nikki, you’re hopeless, he thought to himself. Getting to his feet he ordered a drink which he set down in front of where she had sat.

She leant her head against the bulkhead as she hyperventilated and with her shaking hands she wiped the tears from her face. After a few seconds she managed to get her breathing under control and took a few deep breaths as her hands stopped shaking. Using her sleeve she wiped her face as sighed as she looked back at the door to her office. She couldn’t believe what had just happened and how she let it happen during a consultation of all places. She bit her lip nervously and wondered how she could go back in and face Nikki after her extremely unprofessional outburst. Taking a deep breath she knew she had to go back in so plucked up the courage and reentered the office, silently taking her seat.

Akane cleared her throat and picked up her padd to make some notes. It was clear she was still shaken, her eyes were bloodshot and her tunic was still peppered with damp tear drops. “I’m sorry Lt, that was most unprofessional of me, please do accept my apologies,” she said quietly, her voice crackling with emotion.

Lt Sakai (CNS)

He nodded and glanced at the glass. “Drink that down.” It was a shot glass with a dark caramel colored drink in it. His tone was not one that broached argument either. He leaned forward and took the Padd from her hands and set it on the table with a small click. Picking up the glass he put it in her hands. “Drink it.” Then he winked. “I’ll nae tell anyone if you don’t.” It was not real anyway, but the taste and bite was real enough.

Akane sat and stared at the drink for a few seconds, not really sure what to do. As Nikki placed the glass gently in her still trembling hands she gave him a weak smile and gratefully took a sip. She guessed it was synthahol but was somewhat past worrying about that and proceeded to finish the drink. She felt her muscles slowly unclench as the warming drink trickled down her throat. She set the glass back down, closed her eyes momentarily and let out a deep sigh.

He watched her, the toothpick making slow rises and falls as she chewed on it thoughtfully. Patience. It was hard to be patient when he felt he could guess what had happened

Then, leaning back, he said, “Tell me what’s eating you up.” If it was that fella, then that fella deserved a hit, and he wanted to know more. His tone was even but it spoke of a need to know. Why? That was something forming in his mind even then. He had his ‘family’ that was loyal to them, but the ‘fleet family’ had a draw too and he was a part of that. Nobody messes with Nikki’s family.
- Nikki, COO

Akane put her elbow on the desk and rested her chin on her hand as she looked back at Nikki. She briefly contemplated trying to brush it off but he had too good a read on her, he would know she was lying. She sighed again and shook her head, leaning back in her chair. “I’m so sorry Lt…Nikki…” she concluded they were probably outside of the realms of professional conduct now. She walked round to the front of the desk and perched on the edge opposite him. “I haven’t thought about my last posting for a long time…” she continued as she nervously bit her lip. She was about to reveal things to Nikki that she had never told anyone even though she had only known him a day. She didn’t know why she trusted him but the fact was for some reason she just did. She slowly continued as he listened.

At least she used his name. That was a start. This had to have been the strangest ‘counselor’ session he’d ever had. Usually they were looking to hang him from the thumbs or use him for a kind of career move after writing this or that paper on his life and psychology. His psychology was fine, at least to him. He knew exactly what he did and why and whether they deserved to know then he ‘might’ open up. Or tease them along. When she spoke again he focused in once more.

“The guy I mentioned…he was a brilliant man in many ways,” she started cautiously to try and keep her emotions in check. “But in other ways…” she continued as she blinked a tear away, shaking her head. She looked down at the floor, somehow it was easier to say. “I don’t even remember the first time he hit me…” she spoke, barely louder than a whisper, her voice crackling with a soft fragility. Akane closed her eyes for a few moments, hoping that it would take the memories away but it never did. Slowly she raised her head and looked at Nikki in silence. She didn’t know what to say or do and she had no idea how Nikki would react.

Lt Sakai (CNS)

Brilliant. That meant nothing. There was brilliance and there was wise to how things worked. How the world worked. He tensed in her softly spoken words. He had to lean in to catch them they were that soft. When she looked up she’d find his eyes on hers. They were brown and the tears added a depth to them like dark liquid pools. His gran had given him advice through his life until her death just two years ago. His da had done the same. ‘You treat dames like latinum,’ his da had said. He had said other things, which he remembered. That was it. He remembered everything.

Plucking out the toothpick he held it between his fingers on each hand, elbows resting on his knees as he leaned forward. “What’s his name?” he asked. His expression was gentle, but his eyes were hard. Inside his anger seethed and bubbled about with no target but the loser who had hurt this gal. Who wasn’t there. What did he care? Why should he care? He didn’t know the dame. For all he knew she had goaded him along. But even as he thought it he disregarded it. No, dames were never innocent, but they too often ended up on the short end of the stick. Nikki carried a stick too. But he knew where and when to use it.

Akane’s eyes were stinging with tears as she paused, almost afraid to speak his name out loud but she wanted to be done with that part of her life, to move past it, and she knew from her own training that the only way to do that was to confront it. Plucking up the courage from somewhere she replied softly. “…Jon…his name is Jon Greene…” she breathed a sigh of relief as though a great weight had been lifted off her. Her shoulders relaxed as she let her head drop and let out a deep sigh. Part of her almost felt a little guilty that she had given Nikki his name but she she pushed it aside. For too long she had made excuses and allowances for Jon, explained and justified his actions as the pressure of his work or blamed herself for making him angry but she didn’t want to feel like that any more.

Nikki watched her, hoping that she would say his name. That would make things more difficult if she didn’t but Nikki had contacts. Jon Greene. Good, the lass said it and she looked the better for it. A little more color was coming to her cheeks, quickly covered by her hair that flowed down like a curtain to cover her as her head dropped. he didn’t know yet what he was going to do but he would do something.

What should he do now? Married three times he knew something about dames. Enough to know they were all dynamite and each had their own fuse but a fella never knew what it was. Even the ‘fleet was different. They treated their people like twin pillars: Duty and Honor that never touched. Even in a counselor office there was a separation. A table. A rank. A mental distance. But she had just shattered that. Standing he closed the distance in a stride. Maybe he would be courts martialed or maybe she’d kick his ass. But Nikki was a person of action and not one to sit about. So in that moment he pulled her up and into a hug.
- Nikki

Akane gasped in shock briefly as Nikki swept her up but as she felt his strong arms wrap around her she couldn’t help but rest her head on his chest. As they embraced, she softly wept and gently wrapped her arms around his waist. She felt safe with him, comforted, and as dark as her thoughts were she felt liberated for breaking her long silence. She relaxed and buried her head into his chest, his heartbeat soothing her nerves then with a muffled voice said, “thank you Nikki…I’ve never told anyone that…” she whispered softly.

The embrace would be utterly brotherly; while her thoughts raced and otherwise processed his own was moving methodically. He was angry that someone had hurt the lass. “Sometimes its good to get a load off,” he replied. While her thoughts might be dark his own danced in the shadows of his own Iotian morality. While the ‘gangs’ had morphed and changed over time they were still there. While the ‘hits’ of the old days were flagrant, now they were much more subtle. And Nikki was good at it.

She didn’t want this moment to end, it had been a long time since she’d felt comforted like this. Her head still resting on his chest she said with a muffled voice, “I’ll warrant this is the weirdest appointment with a counsellor you’ve had?” She said with a little hint of a chuckle as she tried to lift the mood.

Lt Sakai (CNS)

“Aye, lass, it ranks up there,” he replied. His emotions lowered as her own did though still simmered under the surface. She might feel that in a tension in him. Gently he made motions to release her. Looking at her he took a finger and gently brushed away the tears hanging on her cheeks. “I know it’s nae a thing te say to a lady but yer a mess. Go and tidy up there lass. I’ll wait.” He winked to say that he wasn’t bothered by her looks.
- Nikki,

Akane laughed and nodded, feeling her nerves calm. “Yes, I suppose that is a fair assessment, I won’t be a minute…” she said as she headed for the bathroom. She paused for a moment and smiled warmly at him. “Thank you Nikki, you’ve got a kind heart,” she said as she tucked her damp hair behind her ears. “Help yourself to another drink…the whisky’s on me…” she added with a wink as she disappeared into the bathroom.

Chewing on the toothpick, Nikki watched her depart. “Don’t think ye quite got that right, lass,” he said quietly after the door had closed behind her. Moving to the replicator he said, “Irish coffee, loaded.” When it formed he picked it up and sat back down. The lass was a looker but he wasn’t looking for a fourth wife. As much as he didn’t want to admit it he had been affected by the lasses and they had changed his opinions on things, though not of his responsibilities. As he mused, sipping, he thought of the lass. She reminded him to some degree of Nora, his younger sister, who was herself a twin. There was an inner strength and an outside frailty. And she was a looker. No, Nikki could be kind. To this Jon Greene, no, he’d not. Would the lass then think he was kind? It didn’t matter

She studied herself in the mirror for a moment and sighed. “What a state you’ve got yourself in girl…” she muttered to herself as she dried her eyes and splashed some cold water on her face. She gave her hair a brush and tied it neatly up in a bun. Akane wasn’t normally one for makeup but plonked a bit of concealer on to lessen the bags under her eyes. Finally looking somewhat presentable again she gave herself a quick spritz of Risan Sunrise perfume and changed into a fresh tunic. She took a few moments to compose herself before returning to the office and taking her seat again. She threw Nikki a quick smile as she brought up his records again. “Perhaps we should try this again?” she suggested with a chuckle. “Your previous psychological reports certainly make for interesting reading…” she mused as she flicked through them. “Would you agree with their assessment of you?” she asked curiously.

Lt Sakai (CNS)

When she came out she had dolled herself up a lot. Hair up. Nikki wasn’t sure he liked that. She smelled good. Dames usually did, though. Beyond the smiles and the winks he felt she was going to compensate now for earlier and be all business. Interesting reading. “Not yer usual Starfleet reading,” he said with some amusement. His record was what it was. “Not somethin one reads before bed.” What they had assessed was what he had let them see of himself. His dealings with his family and the business was not something that was very visible. Nor was it meant to be. But his character and all that he had presumably done? That was up for conjecture and many people were on either side of the fence with their judgments. That too was fine with him. What put people off balance with him was fine. “I rather like the one that said ‘diabolical’. Had a nice ring to it. Keeps people guessin.”
- Nikki

Akane gave him a wry smile. “Indeed it does, but you didn’t answer my question…” she said, playing devil’s advocate a bit. “Do you feel that the records are a fair representation of you?” she asked again, taking a sip of coffee. She could see that she may have to break through his outer shell a little to get to some real feelings about his past.

Lt Sakai (CNS)

Persistent lass, Nikki thought. “About as much as someone writing a hundred words about a persons’ life is accurate. There are biographies that are a large tome that would break a toe if ye drop the book on it, and still don’t tell the whole tale. I believe they are a sayin what they wanted te see. Does old Nikki have a temper? Yes. Does he put family above all else? Yes. Had he three wives ?” He paused to smile around the toothpick. “Aye, at different times mind ye. Aye, they got some facts straight. “

Akane raised a quizzical eyebrow as she wondered which ones were correct. “True, it’s extremely difficult to condense the essence of a person into one paragraph and you a certainly a complex character Lt, I would imagine most counselors don’t get much past the surface level with you?” she mused, not entirely sure if she would get an answer to it.

He didn’t much care what the previous counselors wrote. Everything was twisted and history reimagined in their efforts to feed their own conclusions about him. Everyone had their opinions. “Lass, everyone who were counselors, reporters, politicians or anyone who watched the news heard their opinions. It wasn’t reportin. It was workin up a lynch mob against Nikki here. Puttin him up on the gallows as an example and feedin off any scraps of rumor that came their way and reportin it as gospel truth. And even when I was cleared it only appeared as a footnote in the papers. They don’t like te be proved wrong.” By his tone, neither did he. Looking at his irish coffee, he swirled it in the mug and then took a drink of it, glancing up at her. No, he didn’t like her hair up but he did like this head game.

Sakai watched Nikki as she noticed his change of tone. She decided to choose her next words carefully. “That upsets you doesn’t it? After such a public trial and condemnation, to be ushered out of the back door with barely an acknowledgement?” she could certainly understand why, anyone in the same situation would have taken issue with it but she had seen far too many a time the same situation, it was only news when it was a scandal, the second he was cleared it became old news to people. Even after millennia of human evolution, that basic need to see others fail was still lurking under the surface.

What he didn’t know was why was he here. A week ago he was at home with no warning of being called up. Then poof. A week on a rickety transport, his gear now officially found on Denobula. Nikki suspected a conspiracy there. Some reason to put him here. He definitely had to look around to see the place after. Do that walk with the lass. Hopefully she would dress in something better than the stifling uniform. Sure it showed off her curves as any dames outfit should but it was about as ladylike as a cocoon was for a butterfly. “And you? Is yours fair? I’ll bet that yours is good and tidy and wrapped up in a nice pink ribbon showing exemplary this wonderful that.” His tone was far from cynical; first impressions was her being pretty squeaky clean.
- Nikki, COO

Akane gulped and swallow a sip of coffee quickly. “Well, if you’d have asked me that an hour ago, I would have said yes, of course, completely fair and accurate…” she replied with a little grimace. “…but I think after the little window you’ve had into my psyche earlier, we both know that’s not exactly true!” she chuckled. Akane thought for a moment, not 100% sure which direction to take it in now. There were so many aspects of Nikki’s character that fascinated her and that she would love to know more about but she knew she needed to remain professional, especially after her outburst.

“How would you like to try and set the record straight?” she asked simply, not entirely sure whether he had just resigned himself to accepting what the media had said about him. She hoped that he still had a little fight left in him.

Lt Sakai (CNS)