Posted by Lieutenant Commander Tolar Zarath (Chief Medical Officer) in Arboretum - Psych Eval

Posted by Lieutenant Siennadye Nox (Counselor) in Arboretum - Psych Eval

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Tolar Zarath (Chief Medical Officer) in Arboretum - Psych Eval
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The second day after Sienna had completed her physical evaluation, Tolar Zarath returned the favor, true to his word. The Andorian Doctor entered the Arboretum at 11:45 am ship’s time, with a thermos of hot tea and two cups in his medical bag. He chose a seat off to the side of the garden area where, despite the warmth of the lights that synthesized the sunlight needed for fauna, he could still get a view out of a window to the stars. Once he’d seated himself, he poured a cup of tea and began going over files on a PaDD while he waited for the CNS to arrive.

-Zarath, CMO

Sienna sat down beside him a short 5 minutes later with a basket laden with goodies for their breakfast. She smiled pleasantly and put the basket between them. Opening it caused a waft of steam to arise that smelled of fresh herbs and butter. Inside was a plate of omelettes, a side of fresh fruit, and a side of some kind of biscuit. The biscuit was the obvious source of the heavy butter smell.

She pointed to the omelettes first, “Those are omelettes. They are made mainly with eggs, Gruyere cheese, sour cream, crisp bacon, sautéed mushrooms, bell peppers, tomatoes, caramelized onions, and fresh herbs.” Then she pointed to the biscuits, “Those are English muffins. They are a savory muffin and I have sandwiched fresh sweet cream butter in the middles. Then we have some fruit of course.”

She looked up and smiled, “And what did you bring to drink?”

Nox, CNS

“Well damn.” He chuckled. “I thought I’d brought something nice, but you seem to have taken the cake as it were… That smells wonderful. All earth dishes?” He handed her the other cup, and filled it from the thermos. “It’s a sweeter tea, made from the leaves of a subterranean tree on Andoria. It’s usually favored by the wealthier clans and used for special occasions and holiday meals. I also brought some Hari if you’d like to try some. We call it a bread, but it’s more like what you’d call a scone or a biscuit. Goes well with the tea. The flavors are complimentary to each other.” As he spoke, he produced and unwrapped a small, square shaped parcel which turned out to be several slices of dark, crusty looking bread.

-Zarath, CMO

She took the offered cup and the compliment with equal congeniality. Sienna smelled the tea before tasting it, enjoying the aroma and the uniqueness of it. She sipped and let the flavors sit in her mouth for a moment before swallowing. Obviously she appreciated it as she smiled warmly. “I did bring Earth dishes. I do cook a great deal of them and Betazed foods. I find Earth breakfasts to be lovely and light so I thought they would be perfect. But I have to I disagree with you. You brought something very nice. I have a terrible and yet lovely sweet tooth.”

She picked up one of the offered bread/biscuit as well. She took a bite and then sipped the tea again and nodded. “Yes very nice. Do you eat a lot of varieties of foods, or are you a mostly Andorian food eater?”

Nox, CNS

“Counselor, I’ve been a military man all my life…” He chuckled wryly. “I’ve learned that preference only comes after supply and demand. I used to eat whatever was quickest at hand, and sleep whenever I had a chance. Though I’ve mellowed with age, and learned to enjoy a nice meal now and then.” Tolar made it a point to try each dish she’d brought, and savored a few bites. “To answer you properly, I probably avoid most Andori’i fare when I can, it reminds me of a home I am far away from, and a family I cannot be with. The tea is sort of my one weakness, I suppose.”

-Zarath, CMO

She could imagine with his metabolism, he was regularly looking for food. Andorian’s had a higher metabolism than humans and Betazoids. They burned through their energy faster. There were many questions she could ask, but she liked to have conversation flow without injecting too heavily to find her answers. She would steer the conversation as necessary but the time it took to get there was more about being organic than forced. As to his family, his comment made her curious. “Your file does not have you listed as married. Though that is not the only indication of relationships in ones life, it seems at least on paper, that you are not attached. Has that changed, or do you have other family you miss?”

She sipped her tea and finished the biscuit, munching in contemplative and content silence waiting on his answer.

Nox, CNS

“I am, as yet, unwed.” He chuckled. “It never really crossed my mind to pursue that sort of joining when I was a young man, due to the nature of the work I chose to do. I wanted to fight with the best of the best, I never intended to grow old, so why join a union and procreate? My brothers and sisters could do that and fulfill the clan oathe, I wanted to bring honor to our clan in another way. Perhaps it was selfish of me to feel that way, but I did.” His antennae curled as he took a sip of tea.

“Ironically, I survived the injuries that ended my career as a soldier, the I.G. doctors were surprised I lived through the surgeries. They were even more surprised that I managed to learn to walk again. After I got over the shock of it, I decided I’d rather put people back together than take them apart. I never went home after I recovered…” Tolar Zarath fell silent. He realized that while it wasn’t a lot to say, it was more than he’d said about his life in a long, long time.

-Zarath, CMO

Sienna had a way of drawing out what people subconsciously thought about. It was a talent. Usually, they were surprised at their own realizations or admissions and rarely upset by having told them to the Counselor and her kind and compassionate demeanor. “I can understand that. I have not gone home in a long time, even when I wasn’t here. Betazed is a lovely planet with lovely people, but my work was my passion and my home. Eventually my husband also became my home and my work only slightly secondary to him.”

“I can’t say to have passion about our careers is selfish inherently. In fact, I always thought of being a doctor as one of the least selfish careers a person can have. What is your favorite part of the job?”

Nox, CNS