Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Civilian, Former CO) in Mess Hall - Nakuto Looks for a Friendly Face
Snip

Posted by Lieutenant Ta’lahali Akera Beveres (Counsellor) in Mess Hall - Nakuto Looks for a Friendly Face

Posted by Civilian Kara Nakuto (Civilian, Former CO) in Mess Hall - Nakuto Looks for a Friendly Face

Would she have done the same? Yes, of course. But was she in the right mind in telling Kara of that truth? She could not lie to the woman before her, knowing the trust bestowed on each side of their relationship. She had never lied ..intentionally.. no reason to lie, not to someone she knew she could have placed her full trust into. There seemed to logical reason to break that trust, should such a simple thing be able to in these precarious times. “Yes,” Tal submitted, finding that admitting with such a mundane answer was harder than it seemed. Would she be advocating for Kara returning to somewhere that would likely kill her? She didn’t wish to see Kara leave again, but she knew how selfish that was. Sighing, inwardly, she pushed it away.

“You were their Captain, you have every right to feel the need to go after them, to feel the drive to do the same. It is admirable of you, Kara.. and I don’t claim to begin to understand what you’re going through, right now.” Tal was clueless, as was the next person, trying to help where she was as ignorant as anyone else. She wished, oh how did, that there was a way to remove this pain from Kara’s shoulders, that there was a path that could be solidified to help her and those people lost with her.

Kara was right before her, yes. However, Tal felt as if she was not fully there. As if a part of her was still trapped in that void with the people she was hellbent upon saving. Their rescue seemed her top priority, and Tal did not have the heart to blame her, not the hypocrisy in her veins to be so stupid as to. It was understandable, it truly was. But at what cost would Kara be able to help these people? At what cost would they be saved?

“As long as you’re going to return with others, to assist you, then I suppose there’s no reason to nag you about it.” Tal managed a smile, “But until then, try to relax some, all right? You’ll only be risking your mind and your body even further by going in as drained as you are now. It anything at all, promise me you’ll take some time for yourself. Whether that is resting or doing something you love.”

Lt. Beveres
CNS

Bump, to keep on boards!
Trin

Kara nodded. “I will try to relax, I promise,” she pledged, before adding, “although it is not a natural state for anyone on this ship to feel relaxed.”

“As a counselor, I wish the crew would be more apt to relaxing and taking time for themselves.” She paused, a faint smirk curling her dark lips. “As an officer on the Viking, I know that is impossible.”

In truth, the half-Klingon could not recall the last time she had been at peace, engaged in simple but enjoyable pleasures, her mind uncluttered by work and problems and the various demands of continuous duty. Had she ever been dedicated to a hobby? Had she ever identified that singular pursuit that she could indulge in for no grander reason than enjoyment of the thing itself?

“I am not one for idle passtimes,” her shrug punctuated with the bark of brief laughter. “I always found my mind to be best occupied by tinkering and fixing. But engineering onboard this vessel brings only frustration. Where a success is gained it is quickly swallowed by a swarm of new defects, always.”

“Idle passtimes are for the feeble mind, eh?” It was a proverb her father had always told her, when she was but a child. She wasn’t certain where he had got it, never able to find it anywhere else. Thus, she assumed he made it up, in order to force her to go outside. Regardless of its authenticity, she found that it could be true. “That is part of the amusement.. You are never bored here.”

As if to prove her point, a cluster of overhead lights at the top right corner of the bar gave out, the area immediately consumed by a heavy and impenetrable darkness.

Nakuto laughed once more at the irony of their lot, before leaning forward and presenting Tal with a mischevious grin.
“How are the holodecks faring these days? Perhaps you might suggest a program for me. Something to distract me from all of…this. Perhaps,” she added, her smile now reaching almost to her forehead, “you might even join me?”

Kara Nakuto

Chuckling, glancing up as if cursing the Viking for being so apt to proving the Captain’s point, she shook her head. “It seems the ship would have to agree with your insult of terms,” Tal wore a grin that met her dark eyes, turning them into a smile, themselves.

“The Holodecks? Oh.. Just as defective and sentient as they always have been.” For a second, there was a pause in her voice. “Although, I’m sure there are a few suggestions I could offer you.”

A small smirk warped her smile, “For old time’s sake,” She hummed, regarding the memory of the time they had spent together, all that time before.

Tal
The Reminiscent

Kara rose to her feet, draining the final drops of her raktajino as she did so.
“Then, my dearest friend, let us throw our customary caution to the wind and take a chance with the holodeck,” she proposed with an eager grin. “The programme can be any of your choosing, training or recreational, wherever your desire leads. And I…I will be honoured to share in the adventures of Ta’lahali Akera Beveres,” she concluded with a wink.

“Oh, I do believe there is something that could be of usefulness to both of us.” She smiled, grinning at the woman’s ability to pronounce her name in all of its exotic peculiarities. It often amused her, how many people found it increasingly difficult to ever bother speaking her name. A curse bestowed upon her by parents who wanted nothing more than to hold tradition. With a smile, she was almost grateful Kara did not share such a complex structure of name. “Shall we, Kara?”

In truth it was exactly the kind of distraction that the former captain needed. Released from the demands of duty and responsibilities of leadership, it presented an exceedingly rare opportunity for Nakuto to step outside of her increasingly bleak existence and remember how it felt to enjoy life, to value the simple, life-affirming act of breathing in and out. Deep in her gut there was a small kernel of guilt at taking so much time from one so busy and essential as the ship’s Head Counselor, but silencing the notion, for the most part, was the suspicion that Tal could benefit from the distraction as much as she.

Kara Nakuto

As a woman ever so focused upon the psyche, Tal wondered just how long it had been, since Kara had truly relaxed. She pondered dates and frames of time, but not even she could come to any accurate conclusion. The Viking was not the ship one would join, if they were searching for simplicity and the ability to rest with every passing day. Alas, people who believed it were, happened to be quickly rid of, after they realize the truth of this ‘haunted’ vessel.

Kara was very rarely wrong when it came to Tal, and this was no different. A counselor learned to silence their own needs, in favor of the others. It was one of the few traits they shared with Captains and XOs alike. Of course, all three shared the damnation of such qualities, often times coming to a point where they required their own guidance (or counsel) just as equally as their officers (or comrades) did.

Tal’s day never stopped, so it made minimal difference whether she was with Kara or locked up in that prison of an office. Heading from the mess hall, once the remnants of food and their carriers were taken care off, she made her way down the hall, heading directly for the holodeck. In all the time it took them to arrive, Tal spoke very few words. It was a trait she possessed, her silence. One that happened to be useful and happened to be damning.

Standing before the deck, she typed in a command, pausing for a second, before completing it. Silently, she motioned for Kara to step inside and see what would behold them both.

Tal
CNS