Jamais vu

Posted on Wed Dec 3, 2014 @ 1:13am by Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings & Lieutenant AJ Taggart

1,336 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: All this has happened before...
Location: Cassandra's Office

ON:

After unpacking his quarters, AJ was walking down the corridor munching on a breakfast roll. This was his territory- the very corridors that snaked throughout the ship. Even when he was a mere crewman, he made sure that he knew every nook, cranny, and system of the ship because you could never know when disaster could strike, whether it was a hostile boarding party or looking for explosives and it was necessary because those few seconds of knowing where cover was could save time and lives. It was simple combat- get them before they get you.

"Lieutenant Taggart, report to the Counselor's Office."

The announcement yanked AJ out of his 'tunnel visioned' state and dropped him back into reality. Thinking for a moment, he realized that he was only a deck up from where he needed to be. Breaking into a quick walk, he made his way into a turbolift with two crewman standing aside and exchanging respectful greetings. Instead of speaking, AJ tapped the button for Deck Five and waited patiently as the lift began to move rapidly. A few moments later, the lift stopped and AJ pushed his way out through the wall of uniformed personnel. Continuing his walk, AJ managed to reach the Counselor's Office in a few short minutes. Entering the reception area, AJ stopped to take a look around. This was a rather calm area that was more softly lit than the rest of the ship and had various floral arrangements and what appeared to be a small perpetual waterfall on the desk. Looking around, he could see no one around sitting at a desk or checking in patients. It was all rather strange.

"Good morning Lieutenant," Cassandra said, appearing behind him. She smiled as he turned and gestured to her office, walking past him and inside, holding the door for him. "Can I get you something to drink?"

AJ thought for a moment before he sat down on the couch opposite the desk. "Good morning. I'll just have coffee with extra cream and sugar." For a few moments, he was transfixed upon the face of the this counselor, specifically the glowing gem in the middle of her forehead encircled by a soft golden band. Then it dawned on him. "You're Taurean. That's exceedingly rare in Starfleet, you must be one of what, fifteen?"

"Close," she said, coming back around with his coffee and handing him the cup and saucer. She got herself a large glass of orange juice and sat down in her favorite armchair across from him. "I'm the only one in Starfleet, one of only four who aren't currently residing on Earth, and one of only thirty seven known living members of the species." She took a sip and crossed her legs. "Of course, I'm only part Taurean, as are the majority of us, but I'm impressed you recognized it."

She smiled and gestured around them. "Welcome back to the ship. I trust you were successful during your hiatus?"

AJ nodded in acknowledgment. "Thanks, I'm usually more accurate with my estimates." Taking a sip of his coffee, he continued. "Yeah, you could say that I was successful. I worked on a couple of projects for the Task Force Command and somehow I ended up back here."

"'Somehow' hm? Who knows why Command moves us around the way they do," Cassandra said, her eyes twinkling. "And how do you feel about your new position as Security Chief?"

AJ shrugged. "Honestly, it's nothing different from when I was enlisted. I make arrests and I shoot the big guns. To be honest, a chimp could do it with minimal training."

"Well I've no doubt we've got the right chimp for the job," she said, giving a slight chuckle, her violet eyes shining. She tucked a lock of orange hair behind her ear and a lock of bubblegum pink hair fell forward to replace it. She put her tone back to a more serious one. "Are you settling back in with the crew? Reconnecting with friends and assimilating into the community well?"

"Well, I've only been back on board a couple of days and the only person I've managed to see is Doctor Anderson, and that was because I needed an anti-radiation injection. I've met a couple of people in my department and that's about it. Hardly anyone actually knows that I'm here besides the Captain, you, and the Doctor."

"Well I'm sure there'll be a staff briefing at some point," Cassandra said. "And of course you'll be meeting more of your own department. Plenty of chances to socialize. Of course, you have the advantage of knowing most of the crew already. I'm still trying to get everyone's names straight." She gave another soft chuckle.

"Well we can learn them together. Also, what's with the hair thing? That definitely can't be regulation." AJ wondered.

"Came this way," Cassandra said, shrugging. "Taurean genetics are rather strong through the women's lines. Even at one-quarter I've still got the multi-colored hair, violet eyes, golden-glow skin and high metabolism. The love of tennis, farm skills and general ability to equivocate I get from my father."

AJ nodded. "Got it. So why did you choose to become a counselor of all things? You don't exactly get to see much action."

"My spin on Taurean tradition," she said. "All the women became midwives, nurses, pediatricians, et cetera. I decided to go a different route, but still wanted to remain a healer. And you'd be surprised how much action a counselor can see." She gave him a wry smile. "How about yourself? What made you start in Intelligence?"

"Well, Counselor, I didn't start in Intelligence. I worked my way up to a commission as an enlisted man, a Master-At-Arms to be exact. Intelligence was just the only option for me at the time when I earned my commission."

"Ah, I see," Cassandra said. "And how did you find it? Are you looking forward to being in a more 'declassified' department?"

"I found it interesting. There's a lot of things that you don't consider until you work in it." Taking another sip of his coffee, AJ continued. "Also, I've learned that there is no such thing as a 'declassified department', every specialty has its own secrets- including mine."

"I know exactly what you mean," Cass said, smiling. "Well, I've certainly asked you plenty of questions, do you have any for me? Or is there anything in general you'd like to discuss?"

"No, I think that's everything. If you need me, you know where I'll be. Thank you, Counselor." AJ rose to leave, putting down the coffee cup in the replicator receptacle. This whole thing was strange to him; he hated the therapy and counseling that often went along with being in Starfleet. If they weren't poking and prodding him one moment, they were asking probing questions to determine his state of mind the next.

"Oh, one more thing," she said innocently as he reached the door. "How did your dinner go?"

AJ turned on his heel and raised his eyebrow. "How did you know about that?" he asked, his tone turning suspicious.

Cassandra grinned slightly. "Happened to overhear a snippet of conversation," she said. "Thought I'd inquire. You know, girls and gossip."

"It went rather well, all things considered." AJ said hesitantly. It was absolutely uncanny how quickly gossip and information traveled through this ship. The next thing he knew the entire ship would be talking about how he had had dinner with the Chief Medical Officer.

Cassandra's smile turned relieved. "Good to hear," she said, looking him up and down once, then standing up and walking to the door to see him out. "Have a good day, Mister Taggart. It was nice meeting you. I'm sure we'll chat again soon."

AJ simply nodded and walked out of the office. It was coming time to meet the Captain and he was never one to abandon his appointments.



JP

Lt. Cassandra Sanders
Chief Counselor


Lt. AJ Taggart
Chief of Security

 

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