Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Pretha Oberon (Chief Security Officer) in The Arrival

Posted by D Grisham in The Arrival

Posted by Ensign Toren Nalar (Security Officer) in The Arrival

Toren sat outside the Admiral’s office, eyes closed, but mind wide open. If his Mother knew he was reading minds she’d be furious, but she was far away, and he hadn’t seen her for years. Besides, there weren’t many minds to read at this hour, most of the staff had already gone home for the day, and Toren waited in a deserted reception area, with only a pretty Andorian receptionist for company.

Toren reflected on her relative attractiveness, in his youth, he would have thought nothing of chatting her up, taking her out, then to bed, only to never see her again. Toren was like many Betazoids, in that seduction had always been easy, but unlike many of his compatriots, Toren had never been shy about exploiting his abilities to get pretty girls into bed.

All that was in the past now, in fact, he mused, so much of who he used to be had simply faded away. Before the war, he had been sensitive, soft, shy. Then the Cardassians had come, with their Jem’Hadar attack dogs, and Toren had left anything soft and sensitive on the battlefield. After that had been Exile and Starfleet, where he had learned about Duty and Honour, and swiftly discarded them when it became clear that Humans were big on talk and small on action. Then, of course, there had been the Olympic and Micah. Even now he could picture her, beautiful and fierce, he remembered the first time they were together as if it had happened just before.

He knew, despite her ferocity, that she had loved him, and from that love had come Lake, the child he barely knew. After that came Demo Praxx, the man Toren had nearly killed and the beginning of what he thought of as his second Exile. Two years, two damned years. Even now he felt his blood heat up at the thought of it, Starfleet couldn’t just get rid of him, so they had tried to force him out.

It hadn’t worked, of course, Toren had suffered far worse in his life, and although he knew he could never “beat” Starfleet, he certainly wasn’t going to make life easy for them. So here he was, waiting outside an Admiral’s office, as the sun went down over the city and he found himself wondering if the pretty Andorian liked Sushi.

Just as he allowed his mind to drift, a harsh buzz brought him crashing back to reality. “Thank you, Tarah, I’ll see him now” an intercom on the Receptionists desk warbled “Very Good, Admiral” came the almost lyrical reply. Toren was on his feet before she even looked up, her eyes met his, and she gave him a truly charming smile “The Admiral will–“ “Yes, I heard, thank you” Toren cut her off.

He opened the large double doors to the Admirals office himself, stepping into a large, but sparsely furnished room, with a view overlooking San Francisco behind a broad desk that was empty save for a single computer terminal and a still steaming cup of what Toren surmised to be coffee “Good Evening Admiral” he smiled “It’s good of you to make time to see me.”

The Admiral glared at him “You impudent welp, I could have you court-martialled just for having the gall to ask for this meeting at all.” Toren smiled again, but there was no warmth in it, he sat down in the chair opposite the Admiral’s desk without waiting for an invitation “You could Admiral, but we both know you won’t.”

For a moment, the Admiral looked as though he longed to prove Toren wrong, his face showed the conflict inside, but eventually, admitting defeat, he set himself in a posture that radiated as much dignity as he could muster “Tell me what you want.”

Toren opened his hands and shrugged slightly “You know what I want Admiral, it’s what I’ve wanted for two years. I want to be reassigned to the Olympic.” The Admiral snorted “You think we’ll just give you your job back? After what you did?” Toren smiled a cold smile “No Admiral, I’m no fool, I know I’m not likely to ever see a command position again, just a standard security role will do.”

The Admiral tapped at his monitor for a moment “Your wife and daughter are still aboard are they not?” Toren grimaced “She’s not my wife, but yes, they’re both still aboard.”

The Admiral looked up “And that’s why you want to be reassigned there? To go and play happy families?” he spoke without attempting to hide his scorn.

Toren retained his composure “Oh we were never happy” he spoke laconically “But Lake is my daughter, and I haven’t seen her in nearly 3 years” he spoke calmly, but in reality his chest felt tight, the thought of seeing his little girl, the only thing he truly wanted, was almost too much for him to bare.

The Admiral leaned back in his chair and folded his arms “And why should I care? You’ve been nothing but trouble since you showed up at the Academy with that forged letter.”

Toren smiled softly, but his eyes grew cold “It wasn’t a forgery Admiral. I earned my place in Starfleet.” His voice hardened “As you well know.”

The Admiral saw the coldness in Toren’s eyes and heard the iron in his voice and had to suppress a flinch “We did what we could for your people” he said, but his tone was less than convincing.

“You did your duty” Toren spat the last word as if it tasted foul in his mouth “and Betazed burned because of it.” In an instant, the fire in his eyes was gone, and his voice returned to normal “How many people in Starfleet really know what happened there, Admiral? It can’t be more than a dozen or so surely?”

“I…I don’t know” the Admiral stuttered “It was so long ago…” The Admiral was sweating now, suddenly aware that he was in the presence of someone truly dangerous. He wasn’t a soldier; he had never even seen combat before getting caught on Betazed when the Cardassians invaded. He had been hailed as a hero for his work assisting the resistance for the duration of the Occupation, but it was all a lie, he had been rounded up almost immediately and kept in POW camp for the duration. Only after the War, when the Betazoid Elders needed a convenient scapegoat to blame a host of dead Cardassians on was he elevated to the status of War Hero, and now, here was a man who knew the truth, and could undo years of hard work.

“I do good work” the Admiral pleaded.

Toren smiled, knowing he had him right where he wanted him “Oh I don’t doubt it Admiral, but it’s all built on a lie isn’t it? How do you think Starfleet would react to the revelation that the “Hero of Betazed” had spent the war weeping in a POW camp? Or that the real heroes were Betazoid themselves? It certainly would put a damper on any future career plans you might have.”

The Admiral loosened his collar, finding it hard to breath “You promised…” he croaked “When the war ended, you swore you’d never tell…if Starfleet accepted you.”

Toren grinned “Oh indeed I did Admiral, and I kept my end of the bargain, but Starfleet hasn’t been keeping theirs” He waved his hand dismissively as the Admiral tried to interject “Oh I know, I know, I’m a criminal, nearly killed a man, conduct unbecoming and all that, but I did my time in the brig, and I’ve seen every backwater the Federation has to offer, and now I’m out of patience, so, my terms are simple, either assign me to the Olympic, or I’ll ruin your career.”

The Admiral was angry now, but fearful in equal measure “You Bastard, you can’t just make demands like this…” but even as he spoke he knew he had no choice.

Toren grinned “And yet here I am Admiral. So, do we have an accord?” He said, already rising from the chair.

“Fine” the Admiral spat, hitting a few keys on his monitor “There, it’ll take a day or two to go through, and I can’t guarantee that the Olympic will have space in their compliment for you.”

Toren hard already turned to leave, the smile on his face was genuine at last “Oh don’t worry Admiral, I’m sure they will.

===== Several Days Later =====

Toren sat in the cool dark exterior of the Shuttle as the Olympic came into sight and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt the cold weight of nerves deep in his guts. As the Shuttle approached, and the Olympic filled the viewport, he reached out with his mind, trying to find any sign of Lake or Micah. He knew that he was still too far away to pinpoint any individuals, but the mass of thought and feeling was familiar, and yet different, like a childhood bedroom that has been repainted.

As the Shuttle docked, he grabbed his kit bag and stood up, trying to control his breathing, but unable to anything about the sweat that made his hands slick. Stepping off through the airlock, he realised that at last, despite it all, he had come home.

A coffee from his right piped up in query, “Ensign Nalar?” A bold in a security tunic stepped up. She was wire this but the cut off her uniform was proof, to anyone who knew what to look for, that despite her this, nearly cord like look, she was pure muscle. “I’m NE Kinder. I’m here to show you to your quarters and answer any questions you have.”

Kinder looked the man up and down, sizing him up, perhaps. The smile on her face was genuine enough to reach her eyes, but it was professional… Not flirtatious. Crystal blue eyes gazed at him before the hands, clasped behind her back too now dropped to her side. The right rose in offering for him to walk with her. “It’s this way.” She waited for him to acknowledge and take a step before matching his pace as they walked.

NE Kinder
Security

Toren gave her a cursory glance, immediately dismissed her as not his type, and then nodded “Thank you, Kinder.” He imagined he could still find his own way, it hadn’t been that long ago after all, but he decided it would be discourteous to simply dismiss her, so he followed beside her.

“You might already know I was assigned to the Olympic years ago, the layout hasn’t changed much,” he said lightly, not really interested in making anything more than polite conversation.

Ensign Nalar

OOC: Chris!!! Its so good to read Toren again!! I’ll get something for Micah up when I get home from work.

D…

Kinder laughed slightly. “I imagine I was sent more out of courtesy then, instead of necessity.” She shrugged and headed for the lift. “If you want, you are in room 16 Echo. I can let you go on your own. I don’t want you thinking you were being babysat.” She stepped into the lift and stood in the sensor’s view so the door wouldn’t shut till he made up his mind to follow her or head his own way. “I’m getting off on 14 to report your safe arrival.” She said to him, in case he was wondering why she was in the lift after her offer to let him be.

NE Kinder
Security

Toren smile “I expect you were, truth be told I’m not even sure how many of my previous colleagues are still on board.”

Toren nodded and stepped in beside her, not wanting to seem overly rude if he could avoid it “What’s the current COS like?” he said lightly, just trying to avoid an uncomfortable silence.

Ensign Nalar