A Second Opinion

Posted on 08 Mar 2013 @ 3:21pm by Lieutenant Dawn Meridian & Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk

2,140 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Meridian's Office
Timeline: MD1 1300HRS

[ON]

Cyrus knew he was due for another evaluation, to make sure that he was still fit for duty. His medications were finally working again, now that the stress of the Shore Leave were behind him. Eager to get this going he smiled as he chimed through. "Chief Warrant Officer Kiwosk here to see a Lieutenant...Meridian?" He hoped he said her name right, but it seemed like French was becoming more and more apparent on this starship.

Dawn wasn't sure how long she'd been spinning around in her chair, but the sound of the chime meant it had definitely been long enough. She sprang to her feet, fighting back a wave of dizziness that threatened to send her tumbling back down. She danced over to the door with only a little bit of wobble.

"Cyrus Kiwosk," she said, as if reading a name tag. She put a finger by her chin, wide grey eyes scanning him up and down. "I thought you'd be taller." She motioned inside. "I'm Dawn - yes, Meridian is right. Have a seat." She smiled.

"I thought you'd sound more French." He retorted as he stepped in, chuckling. "Pleasure to meet you Lieutenant. I trust you're adjusting well to the ship and her many....many problems. " He took a seat and leaned back.

"I've lived on starships for most of my life," Dawn said, settling into the comfy chair across from him. "Doesn't leave much room for an accent." She tilted her head. "Anyway, problems are what I do. Although, from what I've heard, you've been at the core of a few of them, Cyrus."

Cyrus laughed and nodded. "That's an understatement. Between getting my clearance revoked, getting my arse chewed out for things I didn't do and getting it chewed out over disagreements with certain senior staff members...yeah I'd say that I was in a large portion of them. " He smiled . "Well I've needed to clean up my act quite a bit. Security isn't as much as the Marine Corps as I once thought."

"I'd hope not," Dawn replied with a smile. "Hopefully less shooting and more... not yelling all the time." She'd seen marines during her time on the Washington, and they'd often been more distant from her than anyone else. It frustrated her, because there really wasn't any way she could close that gap. "Hopefully you don't run in to any issues while we're in the Rojar system." She paused. "Although, based on how I've heard things went during leave... I wouldn't count on it."

"If you're referring to my Chief of Security, I've been able to resolve most of those troubles...if you're referring to Lieutenant Panne, I'm confident if I show her that I'm as capable an officer as I was a pain in her rear during our stint in the Academy, then I'll be fine." He smiled weakly, suddenly uneasy by the entire thing.

"Speaking of the Shore Leave, near the end, the whole ship storming reminded me of ... well, of the attack, the ambush..."

Dawn tilted her head. "Ambush?"

Cyrus studied her expression, searching for understanding...was it her not knowing about him or not have read his file, or was it just a way from him to open up. "My last mission on board the Fitzgerald...have you read my file?" He asked softly, softer than he would have liked. It was hard staying face in front of this, he knew he was dealing well with it, but it gnawed in the back of his mind everyday, and haunted him in his sleep.

"I try not to read through the history part of the file, most of the time," Dawn said. "Not unless it's relevant to a particular problem. A lot of people hold their pasts really close to them, and feel violated when someone pokes through it without a good reason. Even I do, a little bit." She watched him, her eyes clouded. "If it's important, wouldn't you rather I hear it from you when you're ready to talk about it, in your own words? I didn't mean to bring back any bad memories."

"Well, that's not an easy thing to talk about it....It's still pretty fresh. " He had secretly wish she had read his file. Either way he didn't have a choice now, he had to go through with or else he would be back to the way he was before all this happened.

"Well, how much do you want to know?" He asked, he was clearly uncomfortable in talking about it.

"You don't need to go into much detail," she said. It clearly made him uncomfortable, but it was hard to tell how he was handling it if she didn't hear it from his own mouth.

"Well the short of it was six of us went planetside to rescue a large group of Federation prisoners. We got ambushed, we couldn't be teleported out because the fire team that was sent to the installation shield emitter was KIA, which meant we would have to rescue them via Shuttle craft. When we got out there was a massive ambush and right before we got to the shuttle, a Vorta threw a stolen photon grenade. I had enough time to pick it up and run about a metre behind a rock face before it exploded." He explained quickly.

"Only two marines made it back, myself and my Commanding Officer, Major Fernandez. "

"Oh." She offered him a weak smile. It was hard to imagine losing even one person, let alone four. He definitely seemed to be able to handle it, even if the memory was still painful. "I'd hope Security hasn't been anything like that, especially on a ship like this."

"Theoretically not, but you never know right? I mean things happen, you just have to learn to deal with it I suppose, we did have the situation before we left planetside, but that was easily correctable. Regardless, it's not one of those things you forget."

Dawn blinked. She really didn't know what to say to that, so she decided to change the subject as quickly as she could. "Did... you want anything to drink?"

It was Cyrus's turn to blink. "Um...no...thank you?"

The replicator taunted her without offering any help. So much for that plan. "So, other than Miss Panne and Mister Stone, you're making out all right so far?" She blinked again. "You haven't been here much longer than I have, right?"

"A little longer, but not by much, I started right as Shore Leave began. I mean we're relatively new, you can kind of tell who is new and who isn't. The was that part of the older crew still look like they see Klingons in every corner." He managed a weak smile. "Not exactly the best of jokes."

"Maybe they do see Klingons in every corner." The disturbing seriousness of her tone didn't seem to faze her. "Would make for very angry and ugly corners, though. I prefer my corners bright and un-hairy when possible." Her expression gave no sign that she was joking. "If some members of the crew are seeing hairy corners, I have my work cut out for me."

Unsure whether to laugh at the ridiculousness of what the counselor said or whether to nod in agreement, he opted for a slight shrug and a weak chuckle. "Well said." I wonder if we're going to actually talk about my problems or not... He thought. He didn't mind the conversation, but it was like her mind danced to whatever the tune of the minute happened to be.

He was giving her that look. The look people gave her when they expected her to do what they thought a counsellor should do in their head. She let out a quiet, disappointed breath. "Anyway," she said a bit more loudly than she'd meant to. "How are you making out? After all, you saw a lot of horrible things as a marine. Is being in security instead helping with that?"

"It has actually. It has helped a lot. The nightmares are getting better, but they still are around when I'm stressed out. " He sighed. "I still have insomnia that prevents me from sleeping for longer than an hour or two at a time. The SFI operatives coming aboard really shook me though." He sighed. "I didn't think that I would need to act so soon. I was half hoping that I wouldn't need to for at least a few weeks. "

"It might be worth using meds when things are particularly stressful," she said. "I know it's only a temporary solution, but I think getting so little sleep only makes things worse." Her big grey eyes studied him curiously. "It's a shame so much has already happened on board."

"I'm starting to believe that Starships in general tend to see their fair share of interesting escapades. " He gave it some of what Dawn said some thought. " I'll..try to use the meds a little more often, I've never been one for pills, and I had used up my previous prescription a little sooner than I had liked. But they say they aren't addictive..." He sighed.

"Not physically," Dawn said. She gave a single firm nod. "But if you get too used to them and start to rely on them, you might as well be addicted. They're mostly just to buy you time to think, to deal with things. That won't happen if you're barely awake all the time." She nodded again. "You shouldn't be afraid to use them if you need to sleep. But they're not something that'll last forever, either."

Cyrus gave the idea some thought, he was never one who enjoyed not being in a situation where he couldn't control his own body. He fought had stopped smoking shortly after starting and even alcohol he tried to consume over a large span of time to prevent its hindering effects. "I'll...consider what you're saying Doctor. The last thing I want to do is not be able to help the rest of the crew because I need a 'nap'. " He grinned.

Dawn smiled back at him. "You just have to sneak a nap when no one's looking. What could possibly go wrong?" She waved her hand to dismiss the thought. "It sounds like things are improving, then. That's good to hear. Other than the whole... incident with the operatives."

"Everything happens for a reason...everything runs its course. " Cyrus replied, heaving a sigh at the end. "Whatever they wanted that was worth killing one of their own and nearly killing two others is beyond me. They could have simply asked about it, but speculation leads to false ideas and that is something we just can't afford right now. I was hoping combat just would be kept to a minimum for a couple more months."

"No such luck, I suppose," Dawn said, glancing down. "Although hopefully that'll be the peak of that kind of excitement we have for a long while. It's not just you; I feel like a lot of people are still on edge." She nodded. "I guess it's best not to worry too much about what happened or why. Instead, it's over, and everyone's all right. I'd say you did your job well."

He nodded at the compliment, but didn't say anything. Hus thoughts still raced when he thought back to it. The entire incident seemed almost a blur to him. "How's been your time here? Have you settled in any?" He asked suddenly, eager to change the subject.

Dawn thought for a moment and then gave a small shrug. "It's a very nice ship, filled with a bunch of very strange people. Not that I'm an exception to that." She smiled. "It's nothing if not interesting. I think I'll manage, somehow."

Cyrus smiled and nodded. "Interesting...I think that might be the only word to describe the ship and her crew." Nodding he breathed a slight sight of relief. "If there isn't anything else...Dawn, I should get back to my duties ."

"If you insist," Dawn said, returning his smile. "It's been good to meet you, Cyrus. I think you'll be just fine." She gave him a nod and rose to walk him to the door. "Just don't let the bad guys get us."

Cyrus chuckled and shrugged. "Sure, you make sound easy." Cyrus gave the counselor a quick nod and left with a sense of calm that had been there since his accident. It was good to feel something other than a knot in his stomach.

OFF:

CWO Kiwosk
Security/ Tacitcal
TRT Squad Leader
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Dawn Meridian
Counsellor
USS Galileo

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