[G] Lt. Alora DeVeau - "Tell Me" (Kells)

[Amanda Nordstrom]

(( Chief Science Officer's Office ))

Kells: What happened to the Mercury, for one. Where my old senior staff
went, too: Bale, Wulfantine, Velana, Richards. I -- really, anything you
can tell me would be helpful.

DeVeau: Well...okay, but keep in mind I wasn't really on the Mercury for
very long before it was decommissioned. I don't know anything about
Wulfantine or Velana, I never met them...but, I do know Bale if you mean
Lieutenant Commander Isaac Bale. As for Richards, that's actually a
pretty common human name so I don't know if I know the one you knew.

::There was disappointment in that gaze, eyes familiar to her amidst a
face that held some similarities, but so many differences from the man
she knew. She hadn't meant to disappoint, and wished she had telepathic
abilities so she could somehow pluck the information from the universe's
mind. ::

Kells: No -- no, maybe not. Well, what can you tell me about Isaac?

DeVeau: Unfortunately, I can't really say what happened to Bale. When
the Mercury was towed out of here and we transferred to the Garuda, I
didn't see him come along and to be honest, I haven't really checked his
file to see if it's been updated with a new station.

Kells: I understand. I've checked the records myself, but, well, what
can they tell me? I don't want to know about dates of transfer or
summaries of duty positions, I want to know about my old crew.

::Alora nodded. Bale was...an interesting person. Well, it was
probably easy to say that considering she didn't have _that_ much
experience with him. Except for spilling ice cream on him. From what
she understood, his reaction wasn't the sort of thing people had
expected him to do. Alora wasn't going to complain, though.::

Kells: The towing of the Mercury. Tell me more. What exactly happened to
her?

DeVeau: Oh, the Mercury. Well, we basically had to dump...well, I tell
you what, let me get you the report and you can read up about it.
It's...well, it's probably more than I can really tell you in one
sitting and I'm likely to forget something.

::That seemed to satisfy him, which was good, because honestly, Alora
hadn't been in the best of mind on that particular away mission. If she
had her choice, she'd probably take the option to forget it completely.::

DeVeau: I did get a chance to interact with Captain Kells...well, the
other Kells...for a bit.

Kells: I knew you would have. I mean, I suspected you must have. How was he?

DeVeau: He was...how do I put this...well, he was troubled. Worried
about what people thought about him. I think the choices he made in his
position, the outcomes, good or bad, affected him more deeply that he
might have wanted to admit.

:: From the younger Kells' reaction, he was surprised by her admission.
Had she expected a monster? The older Kells had been far from that, at
least in her limited experience with him. He needed more self
confidence, yes, and maybe he made some mistakes, but he wasn't a madman
or evil creature that she could tell.::

Kells: I didn't expect that.

::Yep. He was surprised. There was one thing that the old Kells had
done which had bothered Alora.::

DeVeau: He also killed my babies.

Kells: He /what/?

DeVeau: Yeah. I mean, I thought maybe if he had to take care of
something, it might help. But...he killed them. Well, actually, he
killed one of them. I managed to somehow get the other to not die.

Kells: Yes-- yes, but-- your /children/--

DeVeau: Oh. No. I mean...they were plants. African violets. I gave
them a couple cause I'm constantly growing them so I constantly have
tons of them around. They're _really_ easy to propagate.

:: Alora made a note to herself - she really needed to clarify when she
described her babies. People were likely to get the wrong idea - just
as this Kells had. ::

DeVeau: I'd offer you one, but I'd have to have a solemn vow that you'd
take care of it and not let it die.

::Stark green eyes leveled themselves in a more direct gaze, a stare, a
searching study as if she were waiting to see what he said and how he
said it.::

Kells: I'll take it if you offer it. I'm a scientist, too, you know. A
geneticist primarily, but I worked with plants for many years during my
training. Afterward, I moved on to some more, hm, exotic specimens, but
I can take care of an African violet, have no fear.

::Ah, but the question was, would he? How different were the two
Kells'? This one certainly seemed less troubled than the other, but she
also hadn't been around him very long.::

DeVeau: That's fine. Do you...have any more specific questions for me?
I'm sorry I've not been very helpful thus far.

Kells: No, no, you've been very helpful. I have just one more question
for you.

::Alora canted her head and arched an eyebrow, but he only answered with
silence. His face admitted to a formation of the said question, as if
he weren't quite how to actually come out and say it.

DeVeau: It's okay, ask me anything you want.

Kells: How will people react if I come back for good? To this ship, say,
or to the station, or even to the region?

::Oh! Well! That wasn't anything she expected, but the question was
met with a smile, a little warmer of an expression than one previously
offered.::

DeVeau: I don't know. There aren't as many familiar people as when you
were last here.

Kells: Yes, there are enough new faces that I suppose that's true. But
surely plenty of them will have heard the name 'Kells,' too. I don't
want to be disruptive to any mission out here, even if that disruption
is solely my presence.

::Alora leaned forward, her elbows resting upon the table while her
fingers interlocked with one another. Her chin settled itself upon the
hammock of fingers as she pondered the question a little more in earnest.::

DeVeau: Well, I think if that's what you want to do, then you should do
it. Yeah, a lot of people are going to know the name 'Kells', but
you're going to deal with that anywhere you go. Starfleet is vast, but
there are certain events and names that get out there and what the other
Kells did is bound to proceed you whether you stay here or take another
position on another ship. So, if you aren't satisfied with how things
went with your 'old' self, so to speak, then start again. You'll have
the hardest time here, probably, which means if you can make it here,
you can make it anywhere. Get the worst out of the way first, I always say.

::Alora wasn't sure if he approved of her answer or if he was trying to
ponder her words. Maybe her advice wasn't the greatest, but it was how
she would feel should she be in a similar position. She really hoped
she never would be though.

DeVeau: Um, anyway...do you mind if I ask some questions of my own?

Kells: Not at all. I've monopolized enough of your time. Ask away.

::Oh good. Alora would stick to a few, because she'd probably keep him
from then until eternity if she asked every niggling little thing that
leaped to mind.::

DeVeau: Well, this 'Ring' entity you spoke of. I'd really like to hear
more about it - if you're willing to talk about it.

Kells: Of what it was -- or is, I suppose -- and of where I encountered
it, and how, and what little history I gleaned, yes. I'd be happy to
tell you.

DeVeau: Please. And anything else you'd be willing to share.

Kells: What it did to me, during those nine months I was aboard. I
don't-- I've talked about it with counselors and the like, and I have
those experiences buried deep down now, and there I'd like them to stay.
For now.

::That time Alora tilted her head to the opposite side and her scrutiny
was a little gentler than before. She nodded, however, encouraging him
to continue to share what he _was_ willing and settling into silence.
She liked to talk but she also knew to listen - especially when someone
was recounting an adventure. ::

Kells: ?


DeVeau: Okay.

Kells: ?

DeVeau: Hmm.

Kells:

DeVeau: Interesting. Okay, another question. You said you weren't here
while the other Kells was here. But you're here now. So where is he?

Kells:

*****

Lt. Alora DeVeau
Chief of Science
Gesneriad Nut
USS Garuda