STF

CNS Office - On-boarding Review

Posted March 31, 2019, 10:18 p.m. by Ensign Kin Va'Ser-la (Security Officer) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Lieutenant Laraan (Counsellor) in CNS Office - On-boarding Review

Posted by Ensign Kin Va’Ser-la (Security Officer) in CNS Office - On-boarding Review

Posted by Lieutenant Laraan (Counsellor) in CNS Office - On-boarding Review
Kin made her way to the Counselor’s office and pressed her knuckles against the chime. She felt no trepidation, as this was not only protocol (which still made her more comfortable than she cared to admit), but she had had to deal with a good many Counselors over her past few years. Being the only one of her species in Star Fleet meant countless reviews, interviews, panel discussions, cultural information exchanges, and on and on and on ad nauseum. And the vast majority of these had been either been attended, if not conducted, by Star Fleet Counselors. So the task was not unwelcome to her, it was simply a repetition of a pattern she had grown accustomed to.

Va’Ser-la, Security

The door swished back upon her touch, revealing a large oval room with a reception desk and a little waiting area with a few chairs where two other crewmembers were chatting. There were five doors on the opposite side, all had different colours.

Behind the reception desk sat an extraordinarily beautiful Risan woman with long blond hair like an angel. She looked at Kin and beamed a smile.

“Hi there, please come on in. I’m Cherry. You must be Kin Va’Seh…sehla? Sorry if I’m not pronouncing your name correctly.” she said.

  • Cherry Blossom, PA

“Va SER-la.” Kin sounded out for her. “No apologies necessary. It is a new dialect for most. Yes, I am Ensign Va’Ser-la. Reporting for my on-boarding assessment, Ma’am.”

Va’Ser-la, Security

Cherry nodded. “Yes, let me see…” she checked a PADD. “Yes you’re with the head counselor Laraan, that’s the blue door over there. She’s expecting you.” Cherry said and beamed a dazzling smile at Kin.

  • Cherry Blossom, PA

Kin nodded once and said “Thank you, Ma’am.” and moved to the blue door. Pressing the chime, she clasped her hands behind her back and squared her shoulders.

Va’Ser-la, Security

The door swished back revealing the view to a spacious counselor suite dominated by a comfy looking coffee table with two arm chairs and a sofa standing around it. Behind it were several potted plants and to the far right corner a standard desk with a chair.

The counselor was a tiny bald woman. She didn’t look bald though, because every inch of her skin, except for her face, was covered in red filigree tattoo-like designs, swirls and cirlces that adorned her scalp in such an intricate way that it looked as if she had red curly hair.

When she heard the door she looked up from a padd she had been reading in one of the arm chairs and stood up, smiling at him. Her eyes were slightly larger than human eyes and had a very light grey colour, almost white with a dark grey fine line around the iris.

If that wasn’t enough, her voice was very different as well, it was a singing voice and her words were pronounced a bit like a song, a very beautiful song at that.

“Hello Kin. I’m Laraan, please have a seat.” she sang.

Laraan, CNS

Kin bit back the immediate response to correct the Counselor with regards to using her first name before they had both spoken, as that was not a protocol followed by many outside her native culture, and said simply “Yes, Ma’am.” and took a seat- back straight and eyes forward. She used her peripheral vision to look at the office. It wasn’t like any other part of the ship she had seen so far. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Ma’am.” she added as an indication that she was ready to begin.

Va’Ser-la, Security

Laraan sat down as well in one fluffy corner of the sofa, facing Kin. “Same here. Please call me Laraan like everyone else here. How was your trip here, have you already had a chance to settle in?” she asked in her beautiful, multi-layered voice.

  • Laraan

Kin shook her head slightly and said “No, Ma- um, Laraan. I have not had a chance yet. Protocol and regulations were very specific that all check in examinations and reporting must be done as soon as possible. I only saw my quarters long enough to drop my bag on the floor, actually. But my check-in’s will be done before this evening.”

Va’Ser-la, Security

Laraan kept her smile and nodded. Reciting protocol to a Lieutenant was never a good start of a conversation, so she changed her approach a little.

“Tell me about yourself Kin, I’d like to get to know you a bit better.” she said.

  • Laraan, CNS

Kin took a deep breath and began reciting what she had had to say for the past few years to all of the officers she had to explain herself to. “I am Kin Va’Ser-la. I am Kreetassan, and as far as I know I am the only one of my species in Star Fleet at this time. I am the only child of Mashi Va and Ditri Ser, respected and notable personages in their own right on my home world, as they tend the Alvera Tress in front of Diplomacy Hall. I was one of two Kreetassan accepted into the Academy, but my friend Toklan could not make the adjustment to living without courtesy and protocol… at least as my people understand it… and he left after a year. I have been very fortunate to have a good deal of mentor-ship both in my time at the Acdemy and prior to my departure from Kreetassa, and I while I do have difficulty sometimes, I think I am learning to curtail that same need Toklan longed for.” and she paused and reflected a moment. “I think a good deal of that learning came from my direct mentor Lieutenant Commander Gron’lik. As a Tellarite, he showed me that what is considered ‘polite and courteous’ by one may not be seen the same by another. That helped a great deal, and also led me to my training specialization.”

Va’Ser-la, Security

Laraan nodded silently and watched Kin while she was talking.

  • Laraan, CNS

OOC: That’s an invitation to describe how she looks, as it would help in my roleplay to have a mental image of her in my mind :-)

Kin’s features were indeed unique. Reddish-brown skin that was lighter over the numerous facial ridges, nostrils that were flared out, and cranial and facial ridges that covered her facial bone structure made her expression seem rigid, although her voice was not. Iridescent purple scales drew the attention to the center of her brow and forehead, accentuated by matching scales in a diamond shape on her chin. Her eyes were brown irises surrounded by a pale green conjunctiva, and the dark brown hair that began on the back of her head was put into thick braids that hung down her back to between her shoulder blades. These were tied off with silver charms and rings of varying types. Her build was that of one who regularly partook in exercise and was no stranger to exerting themselves.

As she finished, she looked at the Counselor and said “I’m not sure what else you would like to know…”

Va’Ser-la, Security

“Well we have something in common Kin. We’re both the only Starfleet Officers of our respective species. I know better than most how difficult it can be to live among a large ship full of different alien species, none of them completely familiar with yours. There are Heleen customs, cultural habits, special festive days and all of that, which only have a meaning for me and nobody else on the ship.
That can sometimes lead to a feeling of loneliness or loss of identity. You can be open with me about it, have you experienced those feelings?” she asked in her musical voice.

  • Laraan, CNS

Kin looked at the Counselor for a long moment and then said “No. I haven’t. Actually, it’s kind of the opposite. I see new species and social dynamics almost every day. And what I feel is…” and she paused, a look on her face like she was trying to put thought into words. After a few moments, she said “I feel bad for my people. They are so regimented that they keep other species at a distance. That prevents them from learning so much. And that makes me sad. I know that I already know more about other cultures than ninety-nine percent of my entire species. And I’ve only been off my planet for four standard years.” and she looked down at the floor slightly. “It’s kind of heart-breaking knowing that I won’t even really be able to talk to my family and friends about what I have seen. There isn’t really a social protocol for that outside of lectures.”

Va’Ser-la, Security

“I know how you feel, believe me.” she said insistently. “Imagine I was you and you were one of your parents for a moment. Say I’ve come to take you on a trip in my shuttle to Earth and maybe Vulcan and Betazed, just to show you a bit of the wonderful universe we live in. Forget for a moment your society’s rules about it. What would you say to me if you were your mother or your father?” she asked.

  • Laraan, CNS

Kin laughed a bit. Not dismissively, but in a manner indicating the absurdity of the thought. “Laraan, I wish you could know the level of restrictions and rules that govern my people. In an ideal situation? My parents would nod and listen and still, even in this scenario, they would be tallying up every single breach of protocol in their minds. Not out of hostility, mind you. But simply because it is part of their very being. Protocol. Courtesy. Ceremony. These things define a Kreetassan. The better you are it, the better an individual you are. At least, that’s the way my people see it. And here is the kicker. It’s not actually about being nice or kind. It simply knowing and following protocol. I know individuals who are more unsavory than a Naussican pirate; but they are held in the highest esteem because they know the rules backwards and forwards. So they are excused for their motivations because their public action is in perfect line with the protocols. And I never saw that until I started studying for the Academy exchange program.” and she smiled and looked off a bit, remembering. “Perspective is a powerful thing, Ma’am.” she added, forgetting the use of the familiar term for the Counselor.

Va’Ser-la, Security

Laraan nodded, listening intently. Her large light-grey eyes were full of sympathy. “Doesn’t this perspective also separate you from your people? It will be hard, if not impossible for you to re-integrate into a socienty that you’ve learned to see with very different eyes.” she said in her melodic voice.

  • Laraan, CNS

Kin shrugged slightly. “I don’t know. I still know the rules and protocols of my people. And while I may realize that other cultures are not as regimented as ours, it is still our way. It doesn’t make it wrong… just different than most. Right?” she asked at the end, honestly wondering if that was a correct response or not.

Kin, Security

“Oh I’m sure you could still act like the old Kin that you were before you joined Starfleet.” Laraan said with a smile. “But be prepared that you won’t be able to connect to your family and friends at home in the same way anymore if you return to visit, because up here....” and she pointed to her head “..and also here..” and she pointed to her hearts “you yourself will be different, seeing all of it through very different eyes, from a perspective nobody else has.”

she gave a sigh, her smile turning a little bit sad. “Believe me, you will only know how much your horizon has changed once you do return. I know for myself I could not go back to my life on my home planet now. I can act like a good Heleen, but knowing what I know now, it won’t give me joy anymore. For example, one of my childhood friends is convinced that there is nothing outside of our solar system. Ancient Heleen mythology teaches such crap. If I return home now and see him, I couldn’t even tell him where I have been, he would believe me a liar. That’s a drastic example, but I hope you realise what I’m getting at?” she asked.

  • Laraan, CNS

Kin nodded. “I do. And I already know that my perspective has been challenged to the point it will never be able to be contained in that same framework. I guess what I am trying to do is find a way to merge the two. I don’t see that my culture’s way is wrong, but I know it is… I don’t really know the right word… limited?” and she sighed a bit. “But I also know that you are right. As my mentor at the Academy said: ‘You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.’ It took me a few weeks to figure that one out, I must say. But it makes sense now.”

Va’Ser-la, Security

Laraan nodded, her smile returning. “Yes indeed. The humans have a funny story or saying for everything it seems.” she sang. “That’s one of the things that make them so endearing, at least that’s how I feel. If you need any help with the merging, I’m happy to help. I’Ve been at it for a long time now and there are things you can do… mostly it’s about indulging in human habits, experiencing them and then reflecting what the equivalent on your world would be. It’s never exactly the same, but often very similar. I remember the first time I’ve watched a game of baseball. It was profoundly confusing for me.” she sang.

  • Laraan

“A young man at the Academy took me to a game once. I found it, well… incredibly dull.” she said with a chuckle.

Va’Ser-la, Security


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