JP Lieutenant Commanders Toryn Raga & Lael Rosek - Worrying news
aerosknight
((Rosek's Quarters, Deck 9, USS Chin'toka))
Maddy was off in the makeshift nursery again and Lael wasn't about to complain. It was good for Maddy to have that independence and she wasn't about to discourage the young girl from exploring her interests. There was something different about a starship that made it inherently safer.
She slid onto the couch, a mug of Al-Leyan spiced tea in hand.
Toryn stopped in front of Lael’s quarters and pressed the side panel to announce his arrival. He’d let Ishka know that he was going to see her to talk, nothing more and hoped that the love of his life was over her episode from before. He loved her deeply and no longer had any romantic attachment towards Lael. But, despite all that happened they were still friends. If a bit shaky to start since her assignment to the ship.
She looked up at the sound of the door chime and arched an eyebrow.
Rosek: Enter.
With the verbal acknowledgement given the doors opened and Toryn stepped into her quarters. Since he was off duty he was in one of his usual light grey, loose fitting buttoned shirt with dark pants full of pockets. His favorite pair of boots, good for both walking and climbing and of course, an Sez Toural style trench coat with fur lining.
Raga: Hi. ::He smiled:: You wanted to talk?
She nodded, rising from the couch. She'd dressed earlier in a pair of black yoga pants and her pale pink "Jiu-jitsu is my therapy" shirt in preparation for company. Pausing a moment, she motioned toward the replicator.
Rosek: Would you like some spiced tea?
Toryn’s brow raised slightly at her choice of attire and he nodded.
Raga: Yes, please. Hot, with Saza berries.
Saza berries were a fruit that grew in the equatorial island region of Leya-I and something he liked to add to his beverage of choice from time to time. They ranged from shades of light blue to orange. There were a few varieties and looked like Terran raspberries.
Rosek: ::arches an eyebrow:: I think I remember dad putting those in his. What did they taste like? I've never tried them.
Raga: Replicate one and try it. There’s four or five varieties I think.
She strolled toward the replicator and requested the drink. The computer gave a chirp of acknowledgement before the drink dissolved into view. Picking up the mug carefully, she offered it to him.
He took the offered mug and watched her intently, keen on seeing her reaction to the berry infused tea.
At his insistence she abandoned her own drink and requested what she had for Toryn.
She took a cautious sip and made a face at the taste.
Rosek: A bit more tart than I'm used to.
Toryn couldn’t help but laugh at her comment and shot her a teasing sideways glance over the top of his mug.
Raga: Funny, I figured it’d match you perfectly.
He slowly took a sip from his delicious Spiced Tea whilst staring at Lael as innocently as he could manage while trying not to laugh himself into choking on the beverage.
She rolled her eyes, jabbing him playfully in the ribs. The tension had started to fade a bit between them and the teasing had shifted to siblings poking at one another. She had a brother so she was very much used to it.
Rosek: Shush, Raga.
He grunted, coughing a little as the jab mid sip caused some of the hot tea to nearly slide down the wrong pipe. And the coughing rolled into laughter.
Raga: Truth hurts. Sheesh.
He rubbed at his side lightly and held the mug in his other hand. Casting a glance at Lael as his laughter faded he raised a brow.
Raga: So, what is this you wanted to talk about?
She motioned toward the chair perpendicular to the couch before resuming her seat on the sofa. Taking another sip, she paused to gather her thoughts.
Rosek: I've received some information from a contact that my father is believed to have taken some important Council files before he left Leya-I.
Sitting in the offered chair he settled in, opening his trench a bit to cross a leg over the other knee and held the mug in both hands. Elbows on the armrests. Hearing her say that his brow furrowed and he pursed his lips slightly.
Raga: That’s not a good thing Lael. Theft is bad enough, but Council files. I’m assuming they’re not the ‘open to the public’ variety?
Rosek: :: grimaces:: I swear that's an oxymoron. Council files and open to the public do not belong in the same sentence. But from what I understand, no. In fact, their information that has been specifically kept from the public.
Raga: Well, it’s the Council’s business. Why should we care? ::He stated almost like a conditioned response:: They’re the governing body of Leya-I and have done so for, what, a few thousand years?
Rosek: ::pauses:: I would say it becomes my business when they believe that my father handed the files to me and both he and I are being accused of treason. You know probably better than anyone the price that carries.
Toryn was mid sip when she said that and his eyes widened at the same time his hand froze and he looked up at her from the mug, licking his lips and quickly gulping down the tea.
Raga: What? The Winds for? oO For taking the documents of course. That’s what she meant. Oo
He shook his head and seemed both concerned and confused.
Raga: Wh..do you have them? Wait..::He shook his head again:: Why would your father have been given Council files? He’s an Exile.
She grimaced. So far, this was all just hearsay. She'd tried to confirm it, but the Council was keeping a tight lid on it. They were clearly panicked about something.
Rosek: No. I don't have them. And so far I haven't been able to confirm whether my father ever had them in his possession either. It's concerning that the Council is trying to keep this so quiet. It tells me this must be something big.
Raga: Well of course it’s big. If someone did give your father files stolen from the Council, that’d be like one of us stealing Starfleet files and giving them to a random citizen or someone expatriated from the Federation.
Rosek: ::nods and sips her tea:: Understandable. So you can see why I'm taking this accusation and the potential consequences very seriously. Especially since I don't have any Council files in my possession.
Raga: Well, then you have nothing to worry about. The Council is fair and once they find you don’t have any files and nothing leads to you, they’ll drop it.
A wry, unamused grin twisted her features.
Rosek: It doesn't seem like the Council would allow those accusations to slip to public ears unless they truly believed they had strong enough evidence to support them. This couldn't have come from someone random. Whoever this was must have heard it somewhere.
Raga: Could it just be disinformation from someone who wants to hurt your dad? ::He blinked:: Though I don’t know why. Being an Exile is a death sentence, so there’d be no point in doing something like that.
Rosek: ::grimaces:: More than likely somebody trying to hurt me or get me killed. I know of at least one person who has a pretty solid grudge against me.
Raga: ::He considered something a moment:: I could ask my dad. See if he’s heard anything about it. Though last time we talked he was out dealing with some Klingons causing trouble again. ::As he said that last bit his tone took on an almost venomous one::
Rosek: ::pauses:: I'm not sure I want to risk my contact's life on a possibility. I need something more solid before I go down that path.
When she mentioned contact, his brow raised and he looked at her curiously. He felt like he was talking to Knight, or Danara for a moment. All of those people that used to staff the Intelligence department before the changes that removed them from the crew.
Raga: Now you sound like a spook.
Rosek: ::smirks:: I've been told by some that I'd make a good one.
Raga: Stick to Engineering, Rosek. ::He smirked::
Rosek: ::chuckles:: Or maybe I'll steal your old job. As soon as Lephi is ready for Chief that is.
Raga: ::Chuckling:: Hah. Do you even remember how to fire phasers?
Rosek: ::arches an eyebrow:: Last I checked, Mission Specialist doesn't require you to be amazing with a phaser.
Toryn laughed, mostly to himself. He was thinking of his time as Chief of Tac/Sec, rather than as a Mission Specialist.
Raga: Oh, that job. It might not, but I sure had to use phasers a lot. I was referring to the tactical systems though.
She snorted, trying to picture herself as a security officer. She could defend herself well enough in a hand to hand fight, but she was far too brash for security.
Rosek: can you really see me as a tactical or a security officer? Besides, Ganarvuss is security chief. And I wouldn't want to try to take that job from her. She'd likely shoot me.
Raga: He shook his head:: With the way you fight? ::He snorted:: Not a chance. Best if you stick to the lower decks. ::He smirked:: You’re not wrong about Ganarvuss. She’s got an..::He thought for a moment trying to find the right Terran metaphor:: onion streak for certain.
Rosek: ::nods:: Believe me. I have an eye on her. I didn't want to make an issue of it at that meeting because I wasn't entirely sure of what I was seeing. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. But if there's any sort of repeat, I intend to sit her down and talk to her.
Raga: I already spoke with her. So, it might be best to give it a while before you have a chat with her.
She nodded and sipped her tea, her expression thoughtful. She didn't want it to look like she was favoring Lephi because the woman was in her Department. But she'd learned over the years that a little bit of bitterness could turn into a whole lot of bad blood. It seemed to her like Ganarvuss was feeling underappreciated. She wasn't sure how much of that was true and how much of it was in the woman's mind. If the behavior continued it would be necessary to find out. If it really was a case of her being underappreciated, resolving that issue could resolve any bitterness.
Seeing Lael enjoy her tea he took advantage of the moment to do the same, quaffing a large gulp down and taking a moment to savor the flavor and the aroma. Al-Leyan smell being what it was, food had to be intolerably strong to most other species in order for them to taste or enjoy the scent. The tart flavor was a nice contrast from how he felt whenever he kissed Ishka. A thought that he kept to himself for fear of being considered curdled. Or whatever the Terran phrase was.
Rosek: ::pauses:: Thank you for your support in the starboard lounge, by the way. I know some of the crew didn’t handle the last surprise drill too well. But I really think it's the best way to get a genuine assessment of my team's abilities under real pressure. Our enemies aren't going to hold our hand.
She was thinking back to Lenik, recalling how he'd shown her no mercy when he'd forced himself into her mind. Sipping her tea, she allowed herself to remember the pain again for just a moment before forcing it to the back of her mind, locking it away in a box.
Raga: Of course. I can understand the concerns voiced. No one wants to risk an accident near the warp core. And a few probably aren’t keen on another drill like the last one. But, McKnight and the others have all gone through the same things I have. The Expanse hasn’t been merciful to this crew.
His gaze drifted off a little, into his mostly empty mug as the recollection of beaming onto the Consortium cloaked asteroid ship and saving Captain Brell, only to spend months being tortured flitted into his mind. His brows scrunched at the thought and he closed his eyes a moment, not wanting to open up that wound again. The nightmares did that enough as is.
Rosek: ::murmurs:: As pleasant as this has been, you should probably get back to your girlfriend before she comes looking.
Hearing that snapped him out of his dark thoughts and he took a long quaff to finish his tea.
Raga: Right. ::He set the now empty mug on the table between them:: Wouldn’t want to have to explain to whomever our new Captain is, why our Chief Engineer is in a coma right before we’re supposed to head back to the Expanse. ::He chuckled::
Rosek: ::pauses:: I can talk to her. Explain everything.
Raga: I was kidding, Lael. She’s fine. I told her why I was coming over to see you. Well, as much as I could since all you said was to talk. ::He shrugged::
She rose from the couch and strode toward the replicator to recycle the now empty mug. She then turned her attention back to Toryn with a grin.
Rosek: I'll look to your report.
Raga: ::He nodded back:: Oh, that’s what having subordinates is for right? I’m sure Kurt and Amuro will get it to you. ::He teased and chuckled as he walked out of her quarters::
=========================================================
Lieutenant Commander Toryn Raga
Second Officer/SOR Team Leader
USS Chin'toka NCC-97187
PodCast Team Member
Training Team Member
Chin'toka Staff Member
Writer ID: A239410TR0
https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Toryn_Raga
&
Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek, Eng.D.
Chief Engineer
USS Chin'toka, NCC-97187
I238110RH0