Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Issac Forgrave (Chief of Security) in The Return

Posted by Lieutenant Bethany Kovra Gadi (Counselor) in The Return

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Issac Forgrave (Chief of Security) in The Return

(snip)

Bethany side-eyed him herself, but with a slight grin, from where she was standing beside him against the wall. She had to agree with him. It was one reason she brought Luna to her office. She had a way of giving comfort and calmness to the people who stepped into her office. And sometimes it was easier to talk to someone who was incapable of telling your secrets. Her grin turned bigger at his slip and not really thinking about it she bumped her shoulder against his in shared laughter. “No offense taken, I’m not much of a Betazoid anyway.” Bethany could only sense very strong emotions and if anyone had the mental discipline to simply think about wanting to keep their thoughts and feelings private, Bethany would read a thing. She felt herself lucky to be half human and having grown up on Earth. Her lack of talent was looked down upon on Betazed.
Lt Gadi, CNS

“Well, whatever ya are, yer a fine addition to the crew; even if you’re being upstaged by a rabbit.” Bethany’s grin was infectious, and Issac made no real attempt to hide its spread across his face. He was genuinely glad for Bethany’s return; and not just for the opportunity to play with the demanding Luna. The counselor was fine company; despite his initial misgivings of her race and background, they had been quickly overshadowed by her genuine kindness and compassion. The fact that their upbringings had more than a few similarities didn’t hurt things either.

“Ay boss, ain’t there rules against fraternization?” Issac’s eyes shot over to a young security officer; Dangar, if his memory served. Dangar’s grin grew threefold at the glare from his boss; he had a reputation as a bit of a joker, and he was determined to exceed expectations.
“Don’t you got decks ta scrub, ensign?” Issac’s tone was fierce, but his glowing red face and scalp took the heat out of it; his embarrassment was palpable.

-Forgrave, CoS

Bethany’s attention was turned from Forgrave and Luna’s antics to stare at the young ensign and so she wasn’t aware of how red Forgrave had turned. Bethany really wasn’t sure what came over her. Maybe it was the fact she finally had some coffee in her system, maybe she was too raw from losing her patient, maybe it was that she didn’t want Forgrave teased on her account, or maybe life had just been too serious and she needed to let off some steam. She turned her gaze on the very young Dangar and began to make her way towards him, her eyes never leaving his face. The only word that could describe her stride would be ‘sacheted.’ She stopped right at his table, “Oh bless yur sweet young heart. I suppose I can’t hold it against ya’ll that ya’ll weren’t raised ta know the difference between good manners an’ fraternization.” She waited and waited a bit longer looking from him to the chair and then sighed, rather delicately. She sat down, crossing her legs at the ankles and then tucking them slightly under the chair, and gave the ensign her full undivided, southern belle attention. “‘Tis a sad day when a gentleman doesn’t have the manners ta hold a chair out for a lady.” Her voice had changed just a bit. It had always been there, but Bethany actually had a delicate southern accent. Usually not quite so pronounced when she was working due to her focus on having a professional attitude. Now it was slightly more evident. Forgrave would certainly notice it for what it was, simply her accent making itself known and not a jab at him. Others in the room would probably not notice or if they did not place it.

Dangar sat stock still; caught like a deer in headlights - he had in no way expected anything more than a distant, easily-shrugged off warning. He managed to mumble a few indistinguishable words in his defense, but he knew he was caught dead to rights by the feisty counselor. In a rare display of intelligence; he shut his mouth - though his eyes begged, pleaded, and all but screamed for an escape. Of course, none of his fellows came to his aid.
For his part, Issac made an attempt to ‘casually’ cover his mouth; but even hidden, his smile was impossible to miss - it was all but literally stretching from ear to ear; his embarrassment mostly forgotten - if not transposed to Dangar.

She leaned forward just a bit, chin on hand and watched the young man curiously. “I find it simply fascinatin’ how obsessed young officers are with the ‘fraternization’ of the senior staff. Perhaps we should schedule an appointment to discuss this obsession? It certainly can’t be healthy for ya to be focused on such distractin’ thoughts while on duty. And, certainly, I would feel safer if you could be more focused.” She sat there a moment longer just to make the young man squirm. Then she got up, taking her coffee with her and walked away to the sound of snickers and ribbing at the young man’s expense.

Luna had become bored and had now made her way back over toward Forgrave. She seemed to understand that her favorite person shouldn’t be seen with a tiny fluff ball. She hunkered down between his boot and the wall, understanding she was tiny and easily stepped on. Bethany returned to his side, which a mischievous grin on her face.
Lt Gadi, CNS

Issac squatted down, gently picking up Luna and holding the small bun in his arms and scratching her ears absently. “Poor Dangar… I reckon he earned that, though.... hell, I’d be surprised if I hear a peep outa him for the next few weeks after that drubbing ya gave him!” The grin was still stretched across his face, though it had softened a bit. He scoffed and shook his head as Dangar got up, slinking out of the room. “He’s needed ta have the wind outa his sails for a bit now; though I ain’t been sure the best way ta do it - been worried that cracking down on him hard would just make him resentful; so I reckon I might owe ya one for that!”

-Forgrave, CoS

Luna was in heaven. She settled down onto Issac’s arm, and if a rabbit could sigh in contentment, she would have as she scratched her ears. Her bunny eyes probably rolled in pleasure, too. Bethany unclipped the leash that was dangling and tucked it into a pocket. “Ah he’ll be fine. Dangar has a reputation of being able ta take it. The problem is he’s better than his compatriots at dishin’ it. It’s not often someone gets the better of him. He’ll be a few days figure out how ta get back at me. And I’ll let him. And if he’s not over it, well he needed a good trouncing. It’s better for ‘im ta take it out on me than on sumone in the department.” Bethany glanced around as she sipped the coffee. “Mmmm…this is really good and I am all too happy ta give you the credit. So shall we stay or make an all too obvious exit?” She was grinning. The incident seemed to have lightened her mood and she was willing to be the center of some good natured gossip.
Lt Gadi, CNS

“Well, if ‘all too obvious’ is your goal… I think now is as good as it’s gonna get!” Still absently rubbing Luna’s ears, Issac ambled towards the hatch; shooting a grin at the unfortunate Dangar. “Now, I ain’t much for gossip, but I reckon that performance will get some jaws moving… Any bets on what rumor sweeps the ship first?

-Forgrave, CoS

Bethany followed him towards the door and glanced back catching the eye of every single one that she knew was a gossip, assessing. She turned back to him as the doors closed. “Eggers was quite fascinated with the fact you were carrying Luna. So either there will be gossip that someone hurt her or you’re a big teddy bear.” She eyed Luna draped across his arm, “And from the way Luna’s flopped over like that it’s a good bet they think she got hurt not doing all those tricks.” Luna’s ear twitched hearing her name but other than that she didn’t move. “Or I’m about to be the object of Dangar’s ill placed affections, and that will probably come from Dangar’s friends. More a jest at him than at me.” She continued down the corridor heading for a turbolift “However our hasty retreat will probably earn us the attentions of Stylkos. She’s a hopeless romantic and I’m sure we will be quite the pair by morning.” She glanced at Forgrave to see his reaction. Although he’d been hesitant about her when they first met he’d been honest about it and Bethany liked that about him. She liked Forgrave, she liked talking to him, and there was no pretense about him. She wasn’t sure he would take to being romantically involved with an ‘alien’ though.
Lt Gadi, CNS

Issac chuckled and shook his head at her assessment of the situation. “I can’t help but be impressed by yer assessment; though I reckon that is part of the job, eh?” At the mention of Luna, Issac glanced down at his arms, seemingly surprised by the rabbit’s presence. He started to shrug; but thought better of it and continued scritching her ears.

“It is. It’s not an exact science though. Very similar to what you do, trying to determine the motive for someone’s actions, or trying to make an educated guess on what a person will do next.” She glanced a Luna and laughed softly. Luna was sick of being locked in her cage, and Bethany had assumed she’d want to get out and move around. Apparently Luna just wanted to enjoy being with her favorite person who never got tired of seeing her. And to Bethany’s surprise she found she felt the exact same way, and that was something she was going to have to ponder later.

“Hmmmm; I reckon I can be a bit of a softie; ‘least when it comes to critters. But I don’t think that’s news to you, though.... And I think Luna here has my number memorized, so ta speak! Not that I mind; most animals make fine companions. Certainly a higher percentage than the average person… But as far as them in the cafeteria go, I reckon we can let them talk. But Stylkos… Yea, she is hopeless; I ain’t heard about her causing any major trouble, but I remember Braxton mentioned he had to have a word with her regarding Heimdel and himself…” For his part, he hadn’t thought much of himself and Bethany; sure, he certainly enjoyed her company - hell, he had been the one to greet her on her return! Yes, there were misgivings in the back of his head - questions of appropriateness, as well as his lingering prejudices. To add to that, Forgrave was very much so a ‘business first’ man; particularly since becoming the Dresden’s Security Chief, he made few efforts to give himself genuine free time. Today was actually the first time in weeks that he had deliberately taken time away from his duties; though even as he considered that, the question surfaced… How many others on this ship would you have done that for, eh?

-Forgrave, CoS

She stepped into the turbolift as it arrived with the intention of taking Luna to roam the arboretum a bit before having to get to work. “Stylkos doesn’t mean anything by it. She’s honestly happy and excited for everyone. She takes great care to never air ‘dirty laundry’ as she puts it. She can’t seem to help herself. Though if she’s not careful someone might help her help herself. I think Braxton handled it well. Poor Stylkos was so busy imagining flowers and candle light she didn’t bother to see the reality. They seemed to take her apology willingly, though before I left it did seem they were teasing her about it. Nothing horrible though.” Bethany grinned, she wouldn’t call Forgrave a teddy bear, but he certainly had a gentler side to him when it came to animals. There was a strong sense of confusion and contemplation coming from Forgrave. Bethany however wasn’t talented enough to identify the emotion or where it was coming from. She had just enough talent to recognize that something had crossed her awareness. Out of years of habit she tried, but failed to identify anything about the sensation. She had always felt it was a point of disappointment for her Betazoid father. You’re Betazoid how could you not know he was planning to harm himself? The accusation was like a knife to the gut. If she’d just had a little more talent she might have known what he was going to do, but she didn’t and she hadn’t seen it. And she felt responsible for the consequences. she leaned against the wall of the lift, eyes closed, not really aware she was speaking out loud. “Suicide is just self-inflicted homicide. Isn’t accessory by neglect a thing? I didn’t see it, I didn’t know, so I neglected to stop it. But I’ll never be held accountable.” There was guilt and sadness, and an ache the belied the refusal of tears in her voice. Legally and morally Bethany hadn’t done anything wrong, but she felt responsible, that she hadn’t reached him, hadn’t help ‘him’ find his way back.
Lt Gadi, CNS