Saying Hello

Posted on Sun Apr 13th, 2025 @ 12:36am by Lieutenant Katya Davi & Lieutenant Tavana Kolan, Daughter of Kretorg

2,191 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: The Foragers
Location: Security

ON

Katya walked through the ship, humming softly to herself as she listened to the sounds of the Valiant. She was still getting familiar with the air filtration system, the power conduits, and the various other noises that indicated the ship was performing well. Each ship had its own quirks and its own voice. The more she walked around, the more familiar they became.

She was passing security when she realized she had yet to meet the chief. She stopped, turned around, and walked in, hoping that the lieutenant had a few minutes to chat.

Tavana was aware of the other Betazoids and mixes, more so than of the other races on the ship. Her aunt, whom she served with on both her previous assignments, was also a half-Betazoid and they freely shared their thoughts. Here it was different and she was still getting used to it. But she looked up when she sensed the ops chief walking in. "Over here," she said getting up to greet her. "Tavana," she said smiling. "Thank you for the interruption," she added.

Kat also noticed the other telepath. "Hi. I'm Katya." She smiled at the other woman. "And you're welcome. I'm new here and getting familiar with the ship and senior staff." She much preferred working with someone she at least knew a little than a complete stranger.

"Nice to meet you," Tavana responded. "I am also new in a way. I was here for a short time, was away for six months and now I am back, but in a new role. I moved from diplomacy to security. You want to grab something to eat? I am starving," Tavana asked.

"Sure." Kat replied. "I can always do with a sandwich. Or dessert."

"Haha, dessert is a good start," Tavana laughed. "So how did you end up on this boat?" Tavana asked as they made their way to the mess hall.

"What is the old saying? Life is short. Eat dessert first.." She smiled. "I got here like most people. I was transferred. So far I like it."

"Yes this ship has a nice atmosphere," Tavana said. When they arrived at the mess hall, ordered their food and found a suitable place to sit, Tavi dug into her place of various cuts of meats and some cheese. There was also a side order of utterberry pudding, which she ate from in between. "So, what do you do for fun?" she asked in between mouthfuls. She was obviously quite hungry,

Kat ordered a chef salad and chocolate pie. "I like music. I occasionally play a flute or lute I carved, and I like to sing." She took a bite of her pie first and smiled. Then asked, "What about you? What do you like to do?"

"Uhm, not that," Tavana chuckled. "I have the musicality of a rock, but I enjoy music" she added. "As for me, I love extreme sports, like climbing, rock climbing specifically, martial arts and I like to cook with real ingredients," she said. "And eating, I love eating," she chuckled.

"I think I've only gone rock climbing once or twice. It's intense. My climbing is limited to access tunnels and Jefferies Tubes. But I've watched some extreme sports and all I can say is wow." She was impressed. Then she grinned. "I can definitely agree with eating, though. Sadly, I have a fondness for dessert. I blame it on being Betazoid."

"Can you imagine being in a mess hall full of Klingons and the only one eating chocolate lava pudding with Uttraberry sauce?" Tavana giggled as she recalled it. "I love Klingon good and meat, but I cannot resist the sweets. And when I start, it i hard to stop," she chuckled.

Katya giggled. "Oh, my. That would be something to see. I imagine some of them were half drunk with blood wine. I'd be the person sitting in the corner, watching."

"I tried, but they leave no one alone, You are right, they are interesting to watch, and when full of blood wine.. for sure more so," Tavana said laughing. "But, I had to adapt to them too. I grew up with my Betazoid family on Betazed. It was quite a culture shock," she said. "Where did you grow up?"

"I was born on Betazed, but my family fled at the beginning of the Dominion War to a small colony named Catalan. It has a lot of trees and no telepaths, which was a bit of a culture shock."

"I am sure," Tavana said. "Your mental shields are well developed," Tavana said with admiration. "Screening out thoughts was a huge issue for me. There was no nice linear development of my abilities. It was all over the place. From nearly hearing so much I wanted to run away, to muted, that everything was unclear, like you have mental earplugs, or even nothing. My grandparents would talk to me telepathically and thought I ignored them. But, I didn't hear a thing. It only stabilised just before I went to the Academy.

"That must have been difficult," Katya sympathized. "As the only Betazoid family on Catalan, we had to be very careful not to let any of their thoughts influence our own, or leak anything that could be considered influencing others. Some of the villagers were unduly paranoid. But now I appreciate it."

"I know the feeling. I often find that when people find out you are Betazoid, or have Betazoid blood they become cautious. I get that, but still, it is hard to make friends sometimes. I don't have the giveaway eyes, so it is not obvious that I am half Betazoid, but when I tell them, they change," Tavana commented.

Katya nodded. "Fear of the other. Or just paranoia that we're reading their private thoughts. As a child I didn't really understand, but now I get it. They also don't understand that I can't help picking up on mental shouts when they're nearby. I've tried blocking them, but it's hard when it's like a mental scream." She grinned then. "But I have learned not to react in a way they'll notice, which helps." But she couldn't prevent her telepathy from short-circuiting when her emotions were out of control. That was something she was still working on.

"I know exactly what you mean", Tavi agreed. "I struggle to ignore those mental shouts. It is sometimes hard to know it is verbal or not," and she admitted. "And it depends on what those loud thoughts are about. I usually look away, but I am learning. You know or is so nice to be able to talk about it," she said. "I can mentally shout a lot, especially when the Klingon anger shows itself. So, apologies in advance. Usually it is in Klingon though," Tavana laughed.

"You can always talk to me about it. I don't speak Klingon, but I'm Betazoid enough to understand what you mean." Katya smiled. "You can also have your quarters shielded so you don't hear random thoughts. It gives you one place you can have silence."

"I didn't know you can have shields installed," Tavi said surprised and half annoyed, thinking about how different her life could have been had that been available on the D'ama and VaQbach. She pushed those memories aside, not allowing herself to follow that train of thought. "I will definitely ask for that to be installed here," she said. "And thank you," Tavi said with a grateful smile. "It will be great to vent sometimes or to listen to you too," she said with a smile.

Kat nodded. "I'm definitely up for some venting as I did plenty of my own growing up. As for the shielding, it's not well-known as it's not used much, and I think it's only Federation tech, so you won't see it outside Betazed, Federation medical facilities, and some starships. But if the Valiant doesn't have them, I can talk to the captain about altering the force fields for personal quarters."

"Or wearing an aluminum foil helmet," Tavana said straight-faced. "Although we may start a new fashion and," looking at her uniform, "it won't go with this..." she said with mock disappointment.

"No, it doesn't," the Betazoid said, chuckling. "It would have to be steel for a warrior. Something like a Viking helmet from ancient earth." She briefly wondered if that would go well with Klingon opera--but she didn't want to find out.

"Not to worry, I am not a fan either," Tavana responded to the thought without thinking. "I don't get it, it is way over my head," she said emphasizing it with a hand motion above her head. "I had to sit through some full operas on the VaQbach. She suddenly giggled. "My dad was the Captain, so obviously he had to be at performances. So, unfortunately he chose those events to always make me sit with him. She rolled her eyes. "His reason was that if he had to suffer through it, I had to too. He also hated Klingon opera. So, now this one opera was going on and on, and he was falling asleep. Initially I was trying to keep him awake, but I was tired too. Eventually, I fell asleep as well. You don't really have two people in the front row falling asleep without anyone noticing. Funny thing was, no one cared, but for Trill ship's counselor (yes we had one), Anslo, was super offended," she giggled. "He passionate about Klingon poetry and opera. We didn't live that down for a while."

"That counselor was probably the only non-Klingon fan in the audience. I wonder if he was the one who arranged for it. If so it would make sense that he was so offended." Still, it was an amusing story. "I shouldn't say anything. I'm a big fan of Terran musicals myself."

"Now come to think if it, he probably was," Tavana chuckled rolling her eyes. "There is some Klingon music I like. Ironically, I think the everybody has been exposed to Klingon opera only. We have a musician in our family. His music takes you on a journey somewhere, it is really great. Which musicals do you like? Not that I would know them," Tavana chuckled

"The second half of the twentieth century on earth is considered the pinnacle of musical theatre. That's what I listen to most. There are some great holodeck programs where you can watch them on stage, and a couple that let you interact as if you were part of the story. There are a couple of interesting operas about James T. Kirk. He seems to be particularly interesting. I've only seen two. One about how he and Ambassador Spock saved the whales, and another about them defeating Khan Noonien Singh. Even though Captain Kirk is the main character, I like the portrayal of Spock more. He's more believable."

"That is interesting. I would like to see it if you don't mind," Tavana said her curiosity piqued. She took the last few bites from her plates. "Is there anything interesting happening socially or romantically on the ship?" she asked. "i am very challenged in that arena, but I am curious," she admitted. "The Betazoid half is clueless and the Klingon laughs at it," she joked about herself.

"I'll see if it's in the list of holodeck programs and if not, I know where to order a copy," Kat said. "As for romances...I have no idea. I haven't been here very long, and I've only met the senior staff. Sorry." There might have been someone she was interested in, but she wasn't in his league. "I get the Betazoid being clueless. My telepathy short circuits if I ever have a crush on a guy, so I understand."

"Oh, is that what happens," Tavi giggled. "The short circuit... That makes complete sense. Everything is fried and my brain goes blank. Two of my family members really found that someone. One would never have put them together, but yet, it works and they are happy," she said wistfully. "So, is there someone you like?" she asked.

"Not going to answer that particular question," Kat replied with a smile. "Some things are better kept private." Or they were just too embarrassing. And she really didn't want anyone else to know. "Let's just say I don't have the best luck in that regard and leave it at that."

Tavana nodded in appreciating her need for privacy. "Well, we have that in common," Tavana said, lifting her cup of coffee. "Here's to our joint 'not having the best of luck'".

Kat held up her glass of water. "To shared misfortune." She took a drink and set her glass down. She'd finished her salad and pie while they were talking. "This has been great, but I should get back to work." She smiled at Tavi. "It was great meeting you. We need to do this again."

After finishing her drink, Kat stood. "See you later."

OFF

Lieutenant Katya Davi
Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant Tavana Kolan, Daughter of Kretorg
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

 

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