Security and the newcomer

Posted on Mon Feb 14th, 2022 @ 7:52am by Lieutenant JG Alena Alessa & Lieutenant JG Sher'ra Verona

1,511 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 4 - The Fires Of Hades
Location: Security Office
Timeline: Mission Day 15, @1430 hours

Alena looked around as she entered the Security department's office. After having left the infirmary, she had headed straight here. The sooner everything was done, the sooner she could start working. However, she wasn't going to ignore the people on the star base. As much as she wanted to work, she also wanted to get to know people.
Looking around, she saw no one in the room. "Hallo?", she called out. "My name is Alena Alessa and I'm here for my security check".

walking out from the brig behind the security station, Sher'ra was keeping herself busy making use these old cardassian systems were either still working or scheduled for updating by engineering. looking up as she walked in, Sher'ra saw Alena standing there, "ah, sorry for the wait, what can I do for you?"

Alena smiled to the other woman. "I'm Alena Alessa. I am here for my security check", she said. "I arrived yesterday"

“Alessa….hmm I think I remember that name coming across my desk” Sher’ra said as she made her way over to the security deck. After a moment, she looked up at Alena, “ah yes, Welcome aboard Ensign. So any former crimes I should know about?”

"No. I have stayed on the straight path. My Ma was big on behaving well", Alena said, thinking of her mother. Catarina Alessa was a force to be reckoned with when she put her mind to something.
Alena felt wistful for a moment. Sitting in her mother's kitchen and listen to stories had been a favorite thing to do when growing up. She pushed the thoughts away. It did her no good to lose focus.

Sher’ra’s smiled, “well you’re no fun at all are you? Keeping on the straight and narrow” she said before tapping a few controls, “there ya go, you’re all done. So do you know where you’ll be working while you’re onboard?”

"I'm the diplomat's aide", Alena said with a smile. "And to be honest, I valued books more than other people when I grew up. when I came to the States with my Ma, we ended up living in a community that was... less than friendly to non-humans. Ma told me around the beginning of my teenage years that I'm part Betazoid. The not-so-friendly people didn't drive us out, as we had a woman on our side who was a force to be reckoned with. She wasn't taking any crap from anyone", Alena chuckled at the memory of Mrs. Anderson saying her piece to the community.
"Mrs. Anderson was one of the Elders in the community, so what she said was what happened. Unfortunately, she died 3 years ago, from old age", she went on, finding herself wistful once again. She would have loved to have had Mrs. Anderson there when she graduated the Academy. But death happened and there was nothing anyone could do to change that. "I've been fortunate to have strong women in my life", she said, forcing the wistfulness away again.

"well I hope I don't disappoint you. I may seem like a scary Klingon, but I'm just as much of a party animal as anyone" Sher'ra said as she thought back to her own time at the academy, "I didn't really explore a great deal of Earth while I was there, but I did do some work at Sisko's. Have you ever been there?"

Alena shook her head. "I didn't spend much time away from campus, and when I did, I was at my Ma's restaurant, helping out. After she started the restaurant, it got a decent crowd coming in regularly. And since she gave me the love of cooking, it was something we did together", she told Sher'ra with a smile. "It was always a joy to be in her kitchen. The cooks and servers were like part of the family. We usually ate dinner or lunch together, at least a few of us, regularly".

"yea, I worked with my mother as a child in her kitchen for our family's restaurant. It's a little Klingon-Federation fusion restaurant on Starbase 212. I learned pretty much everything I know about cooking in that small kitchen"

Alena smiled. "My Ma never turned away anyone. She wholeheartedly believed that people, be it one species or another, aren't that different from the person next to him or her. She always said that I should see with my heart 80% of the time, and the remaining 20% with my head. Just believing that everyone are people, regardless of background, species, rank, and social status, has definitely been one of the things that has had a big impact on my view on the universe", she told Sher'ra.
She thought back to the memory of her mother starting her restaurant. While people had frowned at Ma at first, people had eventually warmed up to the idea that her restaurant was for everyone.

“That’s a very positive attitude to have. I’m sure your parents would be proud of you for keeping their values” Sher’ra replied, remembering the eclectic types of people that would come into her own family’s restaurant. “Did your mother have a specialty or did you cook more generic foods?”

"Mostly South American food. I was born outside Rio De Janeiro and came to the United States when I was 5. An Elder in a small community in the States lived next door to Ma and I back then. She invited us to live with her. Not a friendly community, but Mrs. Anderson was adamant that we should live with her. Thank goodness for her and Ma. I wouldn't have managed without them. As for my father; I don't know who he is. According to Ma, he was Betazoid, and was reassigned to another place right after he learned Ma was expecting me. I wonder if he ran screaming rather than staying with us. But that's his loss. I've been blessed with Ma and Mrs. Anderson in my life. While it would have been nice to have a father figure, I've learned that we managed just fine without him", Alena explained to Sher'ra.

Looking a little lost, Sher’ra simply smiled, “well I’m sure he wanted to be there for you” she said trying to keep her head from spinning from the list of places Alena had said. “If you want, it would be an honour to cook with you some time. I liked to cover for the chef down in the mess hall of the Copernicus from time to time, I’m sure we can find a stall or shop willing to give us a go for an afternoon or two”

"That would be lovely", Alena said with a smile. "It's been quite a day, I must say. A lot of people to meet, and a lot to learn. I am going to love being here", she went on.

"well I'm glad you feel you will be happy here. Just don't go insulting anyone, I don't want any angry diplomats coming around here complaining when my staff have better things to do, like eat lunch"

"Don't worry", Alena said with a grin. "I prefer staying out of trouble. Also, insulting people will get a person nowhere. My Ma always said that I'm too nice for my own good", she added with a chuckle.

"well no wonder you're a diplomat, you're a people Person" Sher'ra said, sitting back in her chair, "There are just too many times where being nice wont work for my job. Sometimes I wonder what the diplomatic world would be like"

Alena smiled. "It can be a bit... well, odd, at first. You can run into people playing nice, but having an agenda, people trying to trap you, insults wrapped up as compliments, and people in general wanting you on their side. If a group of people can benefit from having a person in the corner, they will try to get said person there", she said. "I would say it could border on being brutal at times, at least from what I learned at the Academy", she went on, thinking of the heated discussions and near-fights that had occurred at the Academy whenever politics and the like had been brought up. Sometimes, the campus had been partly divided into groups, which were either friendly or hostile with some of the others.
From what she had read in books, the way campus had been at times was akin to the universe, in terms of having people negotiate with one another, and some people supporting one group, while others supported opposite groups.

"hmm, sounds like a typical day in security. Dealing with liers, thieves and everything in between. Maybe I'd be a good diplomat after all." Sher'ra commented, thinking it over. "Well, unless there's anything else you need me to check. You're good to go"

"I'm fine, thanks", Alena said with a smile. "Thank you so much for your help".

“You’re most welcome”

End:

Lieutenant JG Sher’ra Verona
Chief of Security

&

Ensign Alena Alessa
Diplomat's aide

 

RSS Feed