Lieutenant Laria Herren - Good and Bad Days
Laria Herren
((Turbolift - Decks 9 - 12?, USS Constitution-B))
Getting caught in a malfunctioning turbolift with the commanding officer wasn’t on her to-do list. But sometimes, that’s how things happened. Now Laria was getting to know Commodore Rajel and introducing herself. Although she could sense that maybe her own introduction was more of a service record review than an actual “get to know you” meeting.
Rajel: Yes, I would say that these are good ways to get into diplomacy. Counseling is another one, since they get to know xenology including cultures and some language it is a solid base. And believe it or not Security. In my former life I was part of the Trill Police force and we learn to read people and how to deal with them quite a lot. I do believe however that you chose well, many paths lead to the destination. My father has not studied at the Academy but went through University, joined the diplomatic corps of Trill and finally became an Ambassador. So I got to see it in action at least a little bit. Useful now as CO. ::she grinned:: Have you managed to settle in already?
Herren: I have settled into my new quarters, rearranged the mission specialist’s office, and received my mandatory physical. Since then, I have been familiarizing myself with the background of the Marchlands region.
Rajel: Oh that is some good progress and great material. Despite our years in this region we still have so many species and planets to discover and get to know. It's a little bit exciting. Okay a lot. ::She laughed and looked back up to the ceiling for a moment before turning her attention back to Laria.:: Where on Trill do you hail from?
Her place of birth. Given the commodore’s behavior so far, she assumed that Commodore Rajel was hoping for something more personal. So obviously she was looking for more than just another summary of what was in her record. And that was an easy enough question to share a bit of personal detail. And given that the commodore was also from Trill, she might even be familiar with the region.
Herren: Gheryzan. But that’s only because I was more eager to get my life started than my parents expected. I grew up in Dorvan in the Ayai'leh-hirh foothills. There’s a few ski slopes nearby up on the mountain and lots of mountaineering opportunities, so there was usually a fair amount of traffic moving through. My parents run a bistro there, so I spent a lot of time there or up on the mountains skiing with my cousin, Kaleigh.
It was far from the most popular destination on the planet, but a good place for outdoorsy people and mountaineers to find a nice place to get away. For all she knew, Commodore Rajel had been there before in one life or another.
Rajel: Jaten'yoa.
Jaten’yoa… did she mean the bird? Laria had seen them many times around Dorvan. They were funny-looking, long-billed birds that tended to wander into town looking for food. She didn’t find them too annoying and would sometimes feed them stale bread from the kitchen.
Herren: The bird, ma’am?
Rajel: ::laughing:: Yes the bird. Another of my past lives was a Zoologist. I spent a few months in Freyn near Dorvan with a group of ornithologists, observing the Jaten'yoa and its habits. They are not exactly flock birds so it was difficult to find a nest, but we did. 3 of the 6 eggs made it…
Herren: I know about Freyn. Very nice place, although a bit warmer than Dorvan and the mountains. I’ll always love the snow. Did you get to enjoy the area much or did the study take up all the time?
Rajel: ::She smiled slightly at the memory and then shook her head:: Either way it's a lovely region, though I did not get to make any use of it. You know being so drawn into work that nothing else matters.
Yes, she knew that feeling. More than she knew. Maybe Commodore Rajel had read her personnel record and psychological profile. It was exactly the feeling she got at the start of every new assignment. Captain Uroiso had found her asleep in her office long after her duty shift ended
Herren: I can certainly understand that. You used to be a police officer and a zoologist in some of your past lives. Before you were a commanding officer, what were you in this life?
Rajel: In this lifetime I'm a doctor, medical. Though while I try to keep up to date, I don't get much practice with actually being a doctor any more. But sometimes I'm lucky and I can help out in away missions. ::Pausing:: Of all the positions you had before, which was your favorite, or least favorite. Maybe both. Oh and the most memorable and why?
Favorite and least favorite were easy, and the most memorable part made answering half of the first question easy.
Herren: The first position I had on New Romulus is probably my favorite. Although I don’t know if I would feel quite the same way looking back on it now. The planet was beautiful and I met several wonderful people, both Federation and Republic. But I was also a shiny new ensign fresh out of the box. My first supervisor said I was “so green I’d mistake ya for an Orion”. Maybe things weren’t as great as they seemed. But you will never have a second first assignment.
Right out of the academy she would have seen anything through rose-tinted goggles. She could have been painting registry numbers onto hulls or doing customs interviews on Earth Spacedock and it would take a while for the shine and wonder of being a Starfleet officer to wear off.
Rajel: Response
Herren: As for the least favorite assignment, that probably goes right along with the most memorable. The Gamma Hydra II Consulate. There were memorably good moments, like when I got to take over as the consul for a few weeks and got to see all of the things that go into providing consular assistance for a sector. But, there were memorable days that went in the other direction too…
Rajel: Response
She steeled herself to go over the worst mission of her career.
Herren: There was a Federation couple living on a colony in our sector. It started out easy enough, helping them find a doctor who specialized in treating Humans. But then they got caught up in a blood feud between two houses that had their estates on either side of their farm and were accused of picking sides. They stop responding, and by the time we got out there the farmhouse had “accidentally” burned down. Neither of them made it. ::Laria sank down the wall of the turbolift, joining the commodore in sitting on the floor:: I got on a subspace call with the Director of Consulate Operations that day and asked for a transfer through tears.
Laria had managed to keep it together in front of the Klingon authorities and again when contacting their next of kin on Earth. But she couldn’t keep it together on a call with Rear Admiral Patterson. It was an embarrassing moment, but he’d been genuinely supportive and gotten her a new assignment as a diplomatic officer on a new station. Although it did land her on Starbase 709 with mandatory counseling sessions to help her move on.
Rajel: Response
Herren: What about you, ma’am? What has been your most memorable day in command? ::She paused, ready to listen until thinking of an additional rule to throw in.:: Besides your first day, of course, that is probably pretty memorable for every captain.
Rajel: Response
Lieutenant Laria Herren
Mission Specialist
USS Constitution-B
A239402AG0